Downsizing a farm while becoming more profitable
Indiana farmer and author Ben Hartman visits Snohomish County's Focus on Farming Conference to share ways to improve efficiency and profit margins.
Ben Hartman, owner of Claybottom Farm located in Goshen, Indiana, has spent years downsizing his farm to its current size of one-third of an acre.
While the farm’s footprint shrunk, Claybottom Farm’s profit margins and sales continue to increase. The small farm is in northern Indiana near South Bend.
Hartman was onhand during Snohomish County’s Focus on Farming Conference that took place Nov. 4 at Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe where he was one of the keynote speakers.
“Congratulations on what you produce,” Hartman said to hundreds of people attending the one-day conference. “It’s not about what you produce, but who you become when you work the land.”
He said Claybottom Farm sells all its produce within two miles of his home and don’t have to travel. One hundred percent of the farm’s compost also comes within two miles of the farm.
