Chris Jagger is the owner and operator of Blue Fox Farm, an organic vegetable farm in the Applegate Valley of southern Oregon. He is also the owner and head consultant for Blue Fox Agricultural Services, a full-service agricultural supply and consultation company focusing on ecological solutions for the modern farmer. Both his farm and his agricultural services use living soils as a foundation to scale farming operations efficiently and profitably.
We discuss the changes Chris has seen in the organic and local marketplace and labor environment, and how Blue Fox Farm has worked to downsize in response to those changes. Chris shares how he has worked to determine what makes money with a sensible approach to crop budget analysis.
We also dig into how Blue Fox Farm is getting better crops on a smaller piece of land, the economics of scaling up and scaling down, salad mix production, and mechanization and the choices Blue Fox Farm has made around that.
It’s worth noting here that Chris rounds out his involvement with the agricultural community by hosting the Living Soils Symposium each March. The symposium is an interactive conference for farmers, interested in regenerative farming techniques, to exchange knowledge and gain insight in a peer-to-peer environment.
We discuss the changes Chris has seen in the organic and local marketplace and labor environment, and how Blue Fox Farm has worked to downsize in response to those changes. Chris shares how he has worked to determine what makes money with a sensible approach to crop budget analysis.
We also dig into how Blue Fox Farm is getting better crops on a smaller piece of land, the economics of scaling up and scaling down, salad mix production, and mechanization and the choices Blue Fox Farm has made around that.
It’s worth noting here that Chris rounds out his involvement with the agricultural community by hosting the Living Soils Symposium each March. The symposium is an interactive conference for farmers, interested in regenerative farming techniques, to exchange knowledge and gain insight in a peer-to-peer environment.
Sponsors
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.
BCS America: BCS two-wheel tractors are versatile, maneuverable in tight spaces, light-weight for less compaction, and easy to maintain and repair on farm. Gear-driven and built to last for decades of dependable service on your farm or market garden.
Farmers Web: Making it simple for farms, farm cooperatives, and local food artisans to streamline working with wholesale buyers. Lessening the administrative work that comes with each order helps producers create a more successful relationship with their buyers and can help them work with more buyers overall.
BCS America: BCS two-wheel tractors are versatile, maneuverable in tight spaces, light-weight for less compaction, and easy to maintain and repair on farm. Gear-driven and built to last for decades of dependable service on your farm or market garden.
Farmers Web: Making it simple for farms, farm cooperatives, and local food artisans to streamline working with wholesale buyers. Lessening the administrative work that comes with each order helps producers create a more successful relationship with their buyers and can help them work with more buyers overall.
Quotes from the Show
There is a disparity now between the economy of scale that makes sense to be successful anymore, like being very small scale, and being very large scale, there's these two areas that you can find success and profitability. Then there's this dead zone in between.
Farmers are living artists as far as I'm concerned. We're making art on the fly, so we just look at these things and say how can we adapt?
I learned really quickly to just let go of having to have everything be perfect and dialed in.
I think that a lot of people are scared of mechanizing, because they feel that it takes away from the artisanship of this craft. I really feel like when you mechanize, it allows you to spend more time with the most important thing, which is the crops.
If we plant this much more, is it really going to make us that much more money?
That's the art of life, I think: Each person is an individual, so we can use that individuality to really create an awesome farm-based system that is working like no other farm would.
Farmers are living artists as far as I'm concerned. We're making art on the fly, so we just look at these things and say how can we adapt?
I learned really quickly to just let go of having to have everything be perfect and dialed in.
I think that a lot of people are scared of mechanizing, because they feel that it takes away from the artisanship of this craft. I really feel like when you mechanize, it allows you to spend more time with the most important thing, which is the crops.
If we plant this much more, is it really going to make us that much more money?
That's the art of life, I think: Each person is an individual, so we can use that individuality to really create an awesome farm-based system that is working like no other farm would.
Show Links
Chris built his own flame weeder using Red Dragon propane burners.
We discussed the custom plates Chris has made for his Earthway Seeder.
Blue Fox Farm uses a Rainflo water wheel transplanter to set out plants.
Chris is owner and head consultant for Blue Fox Agricultural Services, a full-service agricultural supply and consultation company focusing on ecological solutions for the modern farmer.
The next Living Soils Symposium will be held in March, 2018.
We discussed the custom plates Chris has made for his Earthway Seeder.
Blue Fox Farm uses a Rainflo water wheel transplanter to set out plants.
Chris is owner and head consultant for Blue Fox Agricultural Services, a full-service agricultural supply and consultation company focusing on ecological solutions for the modern farmer.
The next Living Soils Symposium will be held in March, 2018.
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 byRock Dust Local, the first company in North America specializing in local sourcing and delivery of the BEST rock dusts and biochar for organic farming. Additional funding for transcripts provided byNorth Central SARE, providing grants and education to advance innovations in Sustainable Agriculture.
