221. Matt Carr on Scaling Your Farm Business

How has your farm evolved and what changes have you made to scale your business? On this week’s Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Matt Carr, Owner of Linden Lane Farms, a family operated farm located in Krestova, Canada. Linden Lane Farms has been in operation since 1978.   The farm started as five acres of land used to produce food for the Carr family. Eventually, the farm grew onto a new 150-acre property primarily used for raising and processing livestock.   In the early 2000s, new meat regulations and policies severely limited the productivity of the farm and pushed them out of the local niche, leading to many tough years.   Around 2010, grandson Matt became seriously interested in horticulture, growing a garden and propagating ornamental plants at the farm. Matt currently manages the daily operations of the farm, as well as the weekly farmer’s markets.   Join us to hear all about this Canadian farm’s unique approach to their generational farm! You’ll hear: What Linden Lane Farms was like in the beginning 3:00 What initially got Matt into farming 5:53 The farm’s sales model 8:34 Products are they shipping nationwide 13:18 The story behind the farm’s name 18:47 Systems and equipment used on the farm 25:01 Matt’s other business 36:41 Matt’s favorite farming tool 45:59 About the Guest: Matt is the owner and production manager of Linden Lane Farms, a diversified organic market garden and nursery that focuses on production, research, and education. Along with managing the farm’s day to day operations in Krestova, Matt is the lead agrologist for Cultivate Horticulture, which provides innovative tools, technology, and equipment, as well as horticultural agronomy consultation, for both hobbyists and commercial producers. He has a passion for farming and innovation, and is on a mission to inspire the next generation of growers faced with the future challenges of food production. Resources: Website: www.lindenlanefarms.ca Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindenlanefarms and www.facebook.com/cultivatehort.ca Instagram: www.instagram.com/lindenlanefarms The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! GrownBy is the farmer-owned online marketplace. In the last three years, their 200 farmers have sold over $2M of products to shoppers on the GrownBy app. GrownBy works for all scales and types of farm sales. Spring Plant Sale? Yup. Annual Freezer Meat Emptying? Check. Multi-season, multi-farm 300 member CSA operation? Absolutely. GrownBy supports it all. As a cooperative, farmer success is their #1 priority. They are the first farmer-owned cooperative ecommerce platform in the world. With auto-payments, built-in customer notifications, CSA subscriptions, and customers helping to pay site fees, GrownBy is a tailored fit for your farm’s online sales. Upcoming, GrownBy will be the first online platform accepting SNAP/EBT with authorized farms. Startup is free, and pricing is transparent and affordable. The cooperative collects 2% of each transaction, but customers often contribute to this fee and bring down farmer costs significantly. Listeners to the Thriving Farmers Podcast get 50% off their first three months on GrownBy. Just email [email protected] to get this offer. You can learn more at GrownBy.com, or download the app on the Google Play or Apple App stores.