The Reason Season One Will End in May

As you no doubt heard in this week’s episode with Kristyn Leach (she’s just great, isn’t she?), the first season of The No-Till Market Garden Podcast will end in May. Yes, long before I’ve had a chance to interview even half the growers on my list, which will only grow exponentially throughout the rest of the season. 

There are several reasons—we’ll get to those in a second—but, first, I have a challenge for you. If you want to hear a second season, we need your support to get the Patreon to at least $1000/month in order to continue the podcast in the Fall (beginning in October) .

For some context, here are the reasons I’m ending the podcast in May—listicle style:

I’m a Farmer

One of the most important reasons I started the podcast was simply to learn. There just was not a lot of practical information out there about how to grow no-till, much less how to do so profitably. Genuinely, almost nothing. But, I also wanted to share what I learned, because i knew if I was looking for more about no-till, so were thousands of other growers. But indeed, I needed to improve my own system, my own farm. So, after almost 8 months of doing the podcast, I will be able to return to the soil and implement some of the methods I’ve learned. And obviously, with the amount of work and time the podcast requires, I can’t do both simultaneously, at least not as well as I’d like or as well as my guests and audience—y’all—deserve. 

I’m a Farmer (Part 2) 

As I return to farming full-time, I’ll be able to employ what I learned—successes and failures—to help add perspective to each and every conversation, episode, blog post. I don’t think it is at all requisite to operate a farm business in order to produce an honest and great farming podcast, but I do think that it makes our podcast what it is—I am a farmer, with a mortgage, trusting my livelihood to no-till methods. There is a power in coming from that first-hand experience, but it does require my undivided attention be on farming for the growing season.  

Y’all are Farmers, Too

Straight up, I would love to be able to do the podcast all year, but farmers are already starting to farm again or are at least gearing up for the year ahead (January as I write), and nailing down interview time is already a job in and of itself. Rather than pester peeps during the busy season, I figure let’s slow down, take our time, and everyone freakin’ farm their hearts out for the Summer. Try something that piqued your interest here and discuss it (in the Fall, of course) in our Growers Community forum.

Y’all Are Farmers, Too (Part Two)

I don’t know about you, but Jackson and I can only take so much farming information during the Summer (especially the later half). In Biodynamics, they say the earth inhales in the Fall and exhales in the Spring and I think that is a perfect analogy for both farming and learning—I take it all in in the Fall and let it all out in the Spring. While everyone’s brain is all output (myself included), I don’t want to try to shove anything else in there. Plus, there is always Farm Small, Farm Smart by Diego Footer or the Intellectual Agrarian by Terrance Layhew (two of our favorites) for when you need a nerdy farmer fix.

Go. Subscribe to those, too. We’ll wait.

Big Ambitions for Season Two

What spare time I do have in the Summer (LOL) will be spent gearing up for a more ambitious second season. I’m not going to share the details—yet—just know it’s gonna be awesome. However, as I mentioned in Kristyn’s episode (and likely in every episode from here on out), I cannot do another season if we do not get the Patreon—that is, the page where supporters pledge $2 or more/month to support the cause—to $1000/month. That may seem like a lot, but that would only cover my and Jackson’s time plus the overhead costs of the site, the podcast host, etc. It would also allow for more objectivity than only relying on advertising dollars. While we would love to provide the opportunity for organizations who have the best interests of growers in mind to show their support for the no-till movement, we would rather be beholden to you—our audience—and serve you above all else.

Here is your opportunity to move no-till veg another step forward.

If every listener contributed $2/month (that’s less than a dollar an episode), we’d be all set. We’ve created something we believe in—that we believe you believe in, too—and have been encouraged by the overwhelming positive response we’ve received already. You can also support the show by Venmo-ing us a donation @notilgrowers, via PayPal, or however you want. A check is fine, too. So is an unmarked envelope of cash taped to the underside of a park bench.

Thanks y’all, we appreciate it, and remember that there is still a lot of season one left, so make sure you are subscribed wherever you get your podcasts! And share the fire out of it!

- Farmer Jesse