Chris McGuire and his wife, Juli, own and operate Two Onion Farm in Belmont, Wisconsin. With four acres of vegetables and ¾ of an acre of apples – all certified organic – Two Onion Farm is packing 300 CSA shares each week for delivery in Madison, Wisconsin, Dubuque, Iowa, and Galena, Illinois.
Chris digs into the details of weed control without tractors on Two Onion Farm, with an emphasis on prevention and reducing the bank of weed seeds in the soil. We also explore details of the farm’s use of drip irrigation to make the most of a limited water supply.
We talk extensively about Two Onion Farm’s organic apple production, including how they manage that alongside of the vegetables and incorporate it into the marketing for their CSA shares.
Chris also gets into the ways that Two Onion Farm has managed their worker-share program, and how that has changed over the years as their employee management has gotten better. And given that they’ve improved their employee management, Chris talks about how he has improved their hiring process and employee engagement.
We also hear about Two Onion Farms’ new transplant-production greenhouse, and the energy savings and automation features they included when it was constructed last year.
The Farmer to Farmer Podcast is generously supported by Vermont Compost Company.
Chris digs into the details of weed control without tractors on Two Onion Farm, with an emphasis on prevention and reducing the bank of weed seeds in the soil. We also explore details of the farm’s use of drip irrigation to make the most of a limited water supply.
We talk extensively about Two Onion Farm’s organic apple production, including how they manage that alongside of the vegetables and incorporate it into the marketing for their CSA shares.
Chris also gets into the ways that Two Onion Farm has managed their worker-share program, and how that has changed over the years as their employee management has gotten better. And given that they’ve improved their employee management, Chris talks about how he has improved their hiring process and employee engagement.
We also hear about Two Onion Farms’ new transplant-production greenhouse, and the energy savings and automation features they included when it was constructed last year.
The Farmer to Farmer Podcast is generously supported by Vermont Compost Company.
Sponsors
Vermont Compost: 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.
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Audible: Discover the world of audio-books, and absorb yourself in the latest in business management texts, farming essays, or just a dramatic retelling of the Star Wars saga. Get a free audiobook download and a 30-day free trial at audibletrial.com/farmertofarmer.
Quotes from the Show
I don't have a great theory, or silver bullet about how to keep the weeds under control. I feel like it mostly boils down to having enough people on hand to go out and do the hoeing and weeding when it needs to be done.
Very quickly within a year, well, within one to three years, we eliminated all the fruit except for the apples. Some of the reasons were kind of specific to the individual fruits, but overall the reason was it was just too much to manage.
I think the productivity of our paid employees has really increased with our experience. We didn't improve as much in managing members. I'm not sure there's as much room for improvement.
There's not a whole lot you can do with a really bad, or mediocre employee.
I think that giving over responsibilities has improved the satisfaction of our employees with the job, and also the quality of the work that's been done in pretty much every case.
Most employees, they don't want to screw up. They want to come here and do a good job. I think realizing that, and then doing our best as supervisors to make it crystal clear to them what constitutes a good job here on this farm, that's really what we have to do as employers.
Very quickly within a year, well, within one to three years, we eliminated all the fruit except for the apples. Some of the reasons were kind of specific to the individual fruits, but overall the reason was it was just too much to manage.
I think the productivity of our paid employees has really increased with our experience. We didn't improve as much in managing members. I'm not sure there's as much room for improvement.
There's not a whole lot you can do with a really bad, or mediocre employee.
I think that giving over responsibilities has improved the satisfaction of our employees with the job, and also the quality of the work that's been done in pretty much every case.
Most employees, they don't want to screw up. They want to come here and do a good job. I think realizing that, and then doing our best as supervisors to make it crystal clear to them what constitutes a good job here on this farm, that's really what we have to do as employers.
Show Links
Chris’ favorite tool is his Tallman Orchard Ladder.
Transcript
The transcript for this episode is brought to you by Earth Tools, offering the most complete selection of walk-behind farming equipment and high-quality garden tools in North America; and by Growing for Market, where you can get 20% off your subscription with the code “podcast” at checkout.
