Photo Credit: Audra Mulkern, The Female Farmer Project
Chandler Briggs of Hayshaker Farm and his partner, Leila Schneider, make a living with about six acres of vegetables on the edge of Walla Walla, Washington. Now in their fourth season of production, Chandler and Leila do most of their farming with horses, and sell their produce through two farmers markets, restaurants, and a grocery store.
Chandler takes us deep into farming with horses, including how he uses them on the farm, and how he learned to work with his horses and how they learned to work with him. We also discuss the tools he uses, how they fit into Hayshaker Farm’s fertility plan, and how the farm is set up to work with the horses.
We also dig into marketing in Walla Walla, a relatively small market but one that is growing and changing as a wine industry develops in the valley, along with the accompanying tourist business and demographic changes. Chandler shares how they stand out at their farmers market, and how they’ve set up their market stand to maximize sales as they find their niche in this expanding marketplace.
Chandler takes us deep into farming with horses, including how he uses them on the farm, and how he learned to work with his horses and how they learned to work with him. We also discuss the tools he uses, how they fit into Hayshaker Farm’s fertility plan, and how the farm is set up to work with the horses.
We also dig into marketing in Walla Walla, a relatively small market but one that is growing and changing as a wine industry develops in the valley, along with the accompanying tourist business and demographic changes. Chandler shares how they stand out at their farmers market, and how they’ve set up their market stand to maximize sales as they find their niche in this expanding marketplace.
Sponsors
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Vermont Compost Company: Founded by organic crop growing professionals committed to meeting the need for high-quality composts and compost-based, living soil mixes for certified organic plant production.
Local Food Marketplace: Providing an integrated, scalable solution for farms and food hubs to process customer orders – including online ordering, harvesting, packing, delivery, invoicing and payment processing. Manage multiple product and price lists with ease. Maximize your sales by selling multiple product pack sizes out of the same inventory. Local Food Marketplace will help you reach more customers and save time in fulfilling your customer’s orders.
Vermont Compost Company: Founded by organic crop growing professionals committed to meeting the need for high-quality composts and compost-based, living soil mixes for certified organic plant production.
Local Food Marketplace: Providing an integrated, scalable solution for farms and food hubs to process customer orders – including online ordering, harvesting, packing, delivery, invoicing and payment processing. Manage multiple product and price lists with ease. Maximize your sales by selling multiple product pack sizes out of the same inventory. Local Food Marketplace will help you reach more customers and save time in fulfilling your customer’s orders.
Quotes from the Show
Using the horses is not necessarily harder [than using a tractor]; it's just a different experience.
[Working with horses] definitely teaching me how to be nuanced and to be patient, and how to communicate on different levels of complexity.
With money into the economy to spend on our produce also comes money that makes it more costly to live here.
[Working with horses] definitely teaching me how to be nuanced and to be patient, and how to communicate on different levels of complexity.
With money into the economy to spend on our produce also comes money that makes it more costly to live here.
Show Links
Chandler mentioned the Small Farm Journal, which provides a wealth of information about horse farming and small farming in general.
The Waverly Midwest Horse Sale in Waverly, Iowa, features an amazing assortment of horse-drawn equipment and draft horses, plus a bunch of other cool stuff.
The Waverly Midwest Horse Sale in Waverly, Iowa, features an amazing assortment of horse-drawn equipment and draft horses, plus a bunch of other cool stuff.
Transcript
The transcript for this episode is brought to you byEarth Tools, offering the most complete selection of walk-behind farming equipment and high-quality garden tools in North America. And by Osborne Quality Seeds, a dedicated partner for growers. Visitosborneseed.com for high quality seed, industry-leading customer service, and fast order fulfillment. Additional funding for transcripts provided byNorth Central SARE, providing grants and education to advance innovations in Sustainable Agriculture.
