Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables

At Clay Bottom Farm, author Ben Hartman and staff practice kaizen, or continuous improvement, cutting out more waste--of time, labor, space, money, and more--every year and aligning their organic production more tightly with customer demand. Applied alongside other lean principles originally developed by the Japanese auto industry, the end result has been increased profits and less work.

In this field-guide companion to his award-winning first book, The Lean Farm, Hartman shows market vegetable growers in even more detail how Clay Bottom Farm implements lean thinking in every area of their work, including using kanbans, or replacement signals, to maximize land use; germination chambers to reduce defect waste; and right-sized machinery to save money and labor and increase efficiency. From finding land and assessing infrastructure needs to selling perfect produce at the farmers market, The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables digs deeper into specific, tested methods for waste-free farming that not only help farmers become more successful but make the work more enjoyable. These methods include:





Using Japanese paper pot transplanters

Building your own germinating chambers

Leaning up your greenhouse

Making and applying simple composts

Using lean techniques for pest and weed control

Creating Heijunka, or load-leveling calendars for efficient planning

Farming is not static, and improvement requires constant change. The Lean Farm Guide to Growing Vegetables offers strategies for farmers to stay flexible and profitable even in the face of changing weather and markets. Much more than a simple exercise in cost-cutting, lean farming is about growing better, not cheaper, food--the food your customers want.

La Clay Bottom Farm, autorul Ben Hartman si personalul practica kaizen, sau imbunatatirea continua, reducand mai multe pierderi de timp, munca, spatiu, bani si multe altele - in fiecare an si alinindu-si productia organica mai strans la cererea clientilor. Aplicat alaturi de alte principii slabe dezvoltate initial de industria auto japoneza, rezultatul final a fost cresterea profiturilor si mai putina munca. detaliati modul in care Clay Bottom Farm implementeaza gandirea slaba in fiecare domeniu al activitatii lor, inclusiv folosind kanbanuri sau semnale de inlocuire, pentru a maximiza utilizarea terenului; camere de germinare pentru a reduce deseurile defecte; si utilaje de dimensiuni adecvate pentru a economisi bani si forta de munca si pentru a spori eficienta.