Operating farm equipment in Quebec
If the equipment travels on public roads, a license is required
Green equipment sells for highest prices at auction
John Deere and Fendt equipment received the highest bids
Operating farm equipment in Iowa
A Class C license may be required in certain circumstances
Distracted Driving Risks on Rural Roads
Distracted driving increases risks on rural roads. Farmers can reduce accidents by adopting safer habits, supporting strong laws, and following the Drives 5 principles.
Ep. 62 Planning Your Photo Harvest
Today’s minisode is all about getting ready for the season- farm photo season, that is!
Whether you want good visuals for the crops on your online store, or you want to document your breeding selections, or you’re writing up standard operating procedures for your crew; having the right images makes all the difference.
Those pictures don’t happen by themselves, you need a Farm Picture Plan!
In this episode, we’ll get into…
• How to use your photo archives to understand your farm
• Figuring out what pictures you’ll wish you had this fall
• Setting up your Picture Plan spreadsheet
• Tips for making sure you actually take the shots you need
Enjoy the minisode!
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Support the Seed Farmer Podcast
https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast
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News links
Tourne-Sol’s new sweet corn variety
https://www.instagram.com/p/DWlyiE4jlvm/?img_index=1
Register for the Harvest System Design Course
https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//harvestsystems
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Stay in Touch
Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram
https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/
Get my weekly seed newsletter
https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds
Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)
Get my new book The Seed Farmer
https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook
❤️ Thanks for listening!
Ep. 61 A Suitcase Full of Seeds – Charlie Watt, Homecoming Seeds
Charlie Watt runs Homecoming Seeds in Northfield, Vermont. His seed journey began in Montana under the mentorship of John Austin, a connection that eventually led Charlie back to his roots in the Northeast with a suitcase packed with high-altitude adapted seeds.
In this episode, Charlie shares the logistical challenges of scaling a seed business from a home garden to a production farm. We discuss the steep learning curve of his first year, including winning a venture capital pitch competition and the logistical hurdles of seed contracting. Charlie also reflects on the meaning of his seed company’s name, and how seed work is a homecoming for anyone looking to deepen their relationship with the land.
In the deep dive, Charlie and I get into growing eggplant seed, a crop that has frustrated both of us. We cover when to harvest, how to speed up eggplant seed extraction and the mysteries of eggplant germination rates.
Enjoy the conversation!
Support the Seed Farmer Podcast https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com//supportpodcast
Episode links Homecoming Seeds Website https://homecomingseeds.com
Homecoming Seeds on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/homecomingseeds/
Charlie’s YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@charliewatt22
Stay in Touch
Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/
Get my weekly seed newsletter https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds
Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only) https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/
Get my new book The Seed Farmer https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook
❤️ Thanks for listening!
Ep. 60 ASMR for Seed Fermers
Today’s minisode is an audio immersive tour of our seed warehouse.
We’ll start in the cleaning room to hear the distinct seed rain of different types of seeds. We’ll then put the fleet of seed cleaning machines to work and listen to their different rhythms, from the cascading acceleration of the spiral separator to the roar of the Winnow Wizard.
From there we’ll step into the chilled hums of the seed cold room to hear the sounds of storage. Finally, we head to the pull room to follow the tactile journey of fulfilling a seed order, wrapping up with the unique sounds of our different fulfillment options.
Enjoy the minisode!
And Happy April 1st.
Support the Seed Farmer Podcast http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast
Stay in Touch
Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram https://www.instagram.com/danbrisebois.farm/
Get my weekly seed newsletter https://www.farmerspreadsheetacademy.com/seeds
Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only) https://fermetournesol.qc.ca/
Get my new book The Seed Farmer https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/
❤️ Thanks for listening!
Ep. 59 Climate Resilience and Seed Stewardship – Sarah Kleeger, Adaptive Seeds
Sarah Kleeger runs Adaptive Seeds alongside Andrew Still in Sweet Home, Oregon. Their journey began twenty years ago with the Seed Ambassadors Project, a massive seed-finding expedition through Europe that saw them return to the U.S. with over a thousand rare varieties that had almost no commercial presence in North America.
In this episode, Sarah shares what it’s like growing over 380 crops in a year while balancing trials, stewardship and producing seeds for the catalog. We discuss OSSI (the Open Source Seed Initiative) as a way to keep seeds in the public domain. And we get into contract seed growing and how Adaptive Seeds tries to incentivize quality and share the risk with their grower network. We also touch on the impacts of wildfires and smoke seasons on both farmers and the seeds themselves.
In the deep dive, Sarah and I get into her favorite crop: Amaranth. We cover why amaranth is such a climate-adaptable grain, how to determine the perfect moment to harvest the seed, and Sarah’s threshing machine of choice.
And of course we talk about the cats of Adaptive Seeds.
Enjoy the conversation!
Support the Seed Farmer Podcast
http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast
Episode links
Adaptive Seeds Website
Adaptive Seeds on Instagram
OSSI – Open Source Seed Initiative
News Links
Fundraiser to support Saved by Seeds: Embracing Diversity, Adaptation, and Diversity. Chris Smith’s upcoming book.
Stay in Touch
Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram
Get my weekly seed newsletter
Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)
Get my new book The Seed Farmer
https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/
❤️ Thanks for listening!
Ep. 58 My favorite seed books
Let’s head over to my library and take a look at the books that have most influenced my journey as a seed grower. Whether you are just starting out or looking to develop your own farm-original variety, these are the titles I return to time and time again.
🌱Basic Seed Books
• How to Save Your Own Seeds by Seeds of Diversity Canada
• Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth
• The Seed Garden by Micaela Colley and Jared Zystro (Editors: Lee Buttala and Shanyn Siegel)
🥕Advanced Seed Books
• The Organic Seed Grower by John Navazio
🌸Plant Breeding Books
• Breeding Organic Vegetables by Rowan White and Brian Connolly
• Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties by Carol Deppe
✍️One more seed book …
The Seed Farmer by Dan Brisebois (I might be a bit biased on this one, but this is the book I wrote to fill the gaps I found in the others!)
So, those are my 6 favorite seed books (plus one of my own). I hope these resources inspire you to harvest some seed this year.
Enjoy the minisode!
Support the Seed Farmer Podcast
http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast
Stay in Touch
Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram
Get my weekly seed newsletter
Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)
Get my new book The Seed Farmer
https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/
❤️ Thanks for listening!
Ep. 57 Looking for Seed Opportunities on Market Farms – Jesse Frost, Rough Draft Farm
Jesse Frost operates Rough Draft Farm in Kentucky with his wife, Hannah Crabtree. Jesse is also the author of The Living Soil Handbook and hosts the No-Till Growers Podcast. As a writer and farmer, Jesse approaches plant breeding as a creative process; a rough draft shaped by the unique terroir of his land.
In this episode, Jesse shares how he moved past the seed intimidation of his early years to a more integrated approach, and simply looking for seed opportunities within his existing market rotations. We discussed the evolution of the Topper Popper pepper, a project that actually began at Tourne-Sol (where I farm) and that Jesse refined on his farm. Jesse gets into how to find the capacity for seed work without sacrificing production and being patient with your farm’s evolution. And how all you need is a pocket full of rubber bands to become a plant breeder.
In the deep dive, Jesse and I get into Sweet Potatoes. How to harvest them, how to cure them, and how to propagate them as slips without scurf.
Enjoy the conversation!
Support the Seed Farmer Podcast
http://spreadsheet.farm/supportpodcast
Episode links
Rough Draft Farm on instagram
Rough Draft Farm website
No Till Growers on instagram
No-Till Growers website
Stay in Touch
Follow the Seed Farmer on instagram
Get my weekly seed newsletter
Order Tourne-Sol seeds (Canadian orders only)
Get my new book The Seed Farmer
https://danbrisebois.com/seedfarmerbook/
❤️ Thanks for listening!