The Lean Farm’s author, Ben Hartman, is a market gardener in Indiana. He and his wife, Rachel Hershberger, “earn a comfortable living from farming.” They love farming and wanted to cut down on waste (wasted food and wasted effort in general) and become more productive. To achieve this goal, the farmers applied the principles of “lean production” which were developed in Japan and used extensively in Toyota factories.
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Efficiency-minded farmers Rachel Hershberger and Ben Hartman.
I didn’t expect to enjoy the book. Thinking of a farm as a factory is not only soul-less but also the foundation of many serious agricultural problems (i.e., factory farms). But the writer won me over (numerous quotes from Wendell Berry helped).
Hartman and Hershberger have five acres in total including four greenhouses that cover 9000 ft2 (about 1/5 acre). They started with three acres under cultivation. After applying the lean principles, they now grow on just one acre.
From tools to crop selection, from market displays to soil management, the couple applied “the principle of lean” to all elements of their farm. For example, in the toolshed, Hartman replaced many specialized tools with multi-purpose ones. He traded in a large tractor for a compact tractor and invested in implements for their BCS walking tractor. Hoarders can heed the advice that “everything you keep is a cost”—often calculated as the time it takes to sort through stuff to find what you want.
One way to reduce waste is to “minimize moves.” For a few tasks, the lean consultant imagined watching the farm “from overhead and traced a line on paper whenever people moved around.” The resulting squiggles helped them realize how simply moving a few tools and changing the order of the steps could get the work done more quickly. For example, when harvesting, they often bring bags, rubber bands, twist ties and washing supplies to the plants “to get the crop from the soil to the delivery bag — right in the field.” Head lettuce is cut just below the soil surface leaving the root undisturbed. The bed is transplanted just minutes after harvest. This technique is great for the soil (never bare, old roots add organic matter) and saves time.
Sometimes extra steps are added, however, to increase yields per plant or square foot. Hand-pollinating tomatoes with a wand increased “yield significantly because more blossoms set fruit.” This meant they could reduce the number of plants and have the same yield. They later replaced the wands with a hive of bees in the greenhouse.
Hartman offers tips on efficient farm record keeping, including “Don’t bother tracking everything.” However, by analyzing records of crop yields and sales, farmers can replace low-profit items with high-profit items. Hartman and Hershberger now grow forty varieties of vegetables — half of what they grew a few years ago. Some, like watermelons, took up too much garden space or created too much work. But, Hartman explains, “If a crop cannot pay the rent that doesn’t necessarily mean you should eliminate the crop.” They found it wasn’t worthwhile to grow head lettuce in the greenhouse but they still grow it in the fields.
The change in crops also reflects their goal to level the load — spread
work out evenly over the week, the month and the year. The farmers now grow greens year-round and more storage crops. They also put aside chores, such as tool maintenance, for the slower months.
I question some of the advice, such as “Order supplies just in time.” I can understand how ordering several years’ worth of seeds, for example, leads to waste in terms of reduced viability and the cost of ‘extra stuff.’ But Hartman orders seed as he needs it throughout the year. Seems like a risky option which contradicts the levelling the workload idea.
Other simple tips are great, like when a problem occurs ask “why” five times to get to the root cause of the issue.
Hartman provides tips from efficient orchards, grain and livestock operations, but the book is most valuable for market gardeners. Nevertheless, I can’t imagine a farm, or even household, that wouldn’t benefit from at least some of the tips in this book.
As for my concern that a lean farm is a soul-less farm, it’s not. One reason Hartman went lean was to achieve more quality time — so he can create pottery and Hershberger can do her metalsmithing.
- Janet Wallace