In This Episode:
Dave Chapman talks to Michael about making farming decisions considering family and environmental priorities, the challenges of organic greenhouse tomatoes, keeping the integrity of the organic intact.
>> Simplifying operations to make more time for family and raising kids
>> Energy efficiency and heated greenhouses in the age of climate change
>> Managing tomato monocropping with no till
>> How the theory of limiting constraints from the book ‘The Goal’ was really influential for them as business owners
>> The current turning point in the organic agriculture movement
Quotes from the episode:
“In all these things that we do, we have to figure out how to make it sustainable emotionally and how we make it sustainable economically”
“The young farmers I do know are much more sophisticated about figuring out how they’re going to make a living in farming than we were”
About the Guest
Long Wind Farm began in 1984 with Dave Chapman and a team of oxen. For three decades, they have provided New England with truly delicious and organic tomatoes. Grown in Vermont soil in glass greenhouses, their tomatoes are available as early as March and as late as December each year. Dave is a founding member of the Vermont Organic Farmers and has been very active in the movement to Keep The Soil In Organic. Dave is proud to be a current member of the Policy Committee of the Organic Farmers Association and served on the USDA Hydroponic Task Force.
Resources and mentions
Long Wind Farm, East Thedford Vermont
‘The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement” by Eliyahu Goldratt
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