Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Most farmers plan their season by opening a seed catalog and picking what's pretty, what's new, and what their friends are growing. The best farmers open a one-page sheet, sit down with a customer, and ask three questions.
Ben Hartman calls it the value sheet, and it's the single most important tool on his 15,000 sq ft farm — more than any tractor or wash station. Three columns: what (Salanova, Sun Gold cherries, bunched cilantro with stems — specific, not "lettuce"), when (Thursday at 2 PM, starting week 18 — precise, not "in season"), and how much (a number, not "whatever you've got"). His head chef at Goshen Brewing orders 27 lbs of cilantro a week, every week — so Ben plans his cilantro beds against that number in January, before he orders a single seed. The customer dictates the seed order.
It's not a Ben original — he learned "start with the customer and work backwards" from MIT's Jim Womack, who wrote the book on Toyota's lean production. And it's not just Ben: Leslie Dennis runs a weekly pre-order window at her market booth, Jodi Roebuck calls each chef by phone, Dustin LaBat keeps seeds on hand for one customer's on-demand broccoli, Will Conway plans menus with his on-farm restaurant chef, and Robert Arnold automates the conversation with 400 online customers via text. Same move, different scale. The format doesn't matter — the conversation does.
The test: look at your crop plan and ask "who specifically ordered this?" for every crop. If you can't name a customer, you're guessing, not planning.
➡️ Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at shop.moderngrower.co
🎥 Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! 🌿
Follow Modern Grower:
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerpro
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerco
Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:
🔊 Carrot Cashflow: bit.ly/carrotcashflow
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmart
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart Daily: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmartdaily
🔊The Growing Microgreens Podcast: bit.ly/thegrowingmicrogreenspodcast
🔊The Urban Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xS3ebyyIxmBqp1pl2h87RpU
🔊The Rookie Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xRJ0O4mAIdgX94QvXTI0ZZ7
🔊In Search of Soil Podcast: youtube.com/insearchofsoil
Check out Diego's books:
📖 Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon: amzn.to/4hoqUx6
📖 Ready Farmer One on Amazon: amzn.to/42FjrVX
#BenHartman, #MarketGardening, #FarmBusiness, #CropPlanning, #LeanFarming, #TheLeanFarm, #FarmProfitability, #SmallFarm, #MarketGarden, #ValueSheet, #ModernGrower, #FarmSmart, #RestaurantSales, #CarrotCashflow, #FarmingBusiness, #DiegoFooter, #FarmSmallFarmSmart
0:00 — How Most Farmers Plan vs. How the Best Ones Do
1:00 — Ben Hartman's Most Important Tool Isn't a Tractor
1:45 — Start With the Customer, Work Backwards (Jim Womack / Toyota)
2:30 — The Three Columns: What, When, How Much
3:15 — 27 Pounds of Cilantro: How Ben Runs the Conversation
4:30 — What If You Sell at a Farmers Market?
5:00 — The Same Move on 5 Very Different Farms
5:30 — Leslie Dennis: The Weekly Pre-Order Window
6:15 — Jodi Roebuck: Why He Calls Instead of Emails
6:45 — Dustin LaBat: A Value Sheet of One Row
7:15 — Will Conway: The Chef Asks HIM What's Coming
7:45 — Robert Arnold: Automating the Conversation for 400 Customers
8:30 — The Test: "Who Specifically Ordered This?"
9:15 — Your Version: 5 Steps to Build Your Own Value Sheet
11:15 — Don't Value-Sheet Everyone — Choose the Vital Core (Pareto)
12:15 — Business Breakdown: The Ratio That Reveals Speculation
13:15 — You Grow What You Sell — Not Sell What You Grow
**** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Most farmers plan their season by opening a seed catalog and picking what's pretty, what's new, and what their friends are growing. The best farmers open a one-page sheet, sit down with a customer, and ask three questions.
Ben Hartman calls it the value sheet, and it's the single most important tool on his 15,000 sq ft farm — more than any tractor or wash station. Three columns: what (Salanova, Sun Gold cherries, bunched cilantro with stems — specific, not "lettuce"), when (Thursday at 2 PM, starting week 18 — precise, not "in season"), and how much (a number, not "whatever you've got"). His head chef at Goshen Brewing orders 27 lbs of cilantro a week, every week — so Ben plans his cilantro beds against that number in January, before he orders a single seed. The customer dictates the seed order.
It's not a Ben original — he learned "start with the customer and work backwards" from MIT's Jim Womack, who wrote the book on Toyota's lean production. And it's not just Ben: Leslie Dennis runs a weekly pre-order window at her market booth, Jodi Roebuck calls each chef by phone, Dustin LaBat keeps seeds on hand for one customer's on-demand broccoli, Will Conway plans menus with his on-farm restaurant chef, and Robert Arnold automates the conversation with 400 online customers via text. Same move, different scale. The format doesn't matter — the conversation does.
The test: look at your crop plan and ask "who specifically ordered this?" for every crop. If you can't name a customer, you're guessing, not planning.
➡️ Get market farming tools, seeds, and supplies at shop.moderngrower.co
🎥 Subscribe for more content on sustainable farming, market farming tips, and business insights! 🌿
Follow Modern Grower:
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerpro
➡️ Instagram: instagram.com/moderngrowerco
Listen to other podcasts on the Modern Grower Podcast Network:
🔊 Carrot Cashflow: bit.ly/carrotcashflow
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmart
🔊 Farm Small Farm Smart Daily: bit.ly/farmsmallfarmsmartdaily
🔊The Growing Microgreens Podcast: bit.ly/thegrowingmicrogreenspodcast
🔊The Urban Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xS3ebyyIxmBqp1pl2h87RpU
🔊The Rookie Farmer Podcast: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTd1FPZ7J8xRJ0O4mAIdgX94QvXTI0ZZ7
🔊In Search of Soil Podcast: youtube.com/insearchofsoil
Check out Diego's books:
📖 Sell Everything You Grow on Amazon: amzn.to/4hoqUx6
📖 Ready Farmer One on Amazon: amzn.to/42FjrVX
#BenHartman, #MarketGardening, #FarmBusiness, #CropPlanning, #LeanFarming, #TheLeanFarm, #FarmProfitability, #SmallFarm, #MarketGarden, #ValueSheet, #ModernGrower, #FarmSmart, #RestaurantSales, #CarrotCashflow, #FarmingBusiness, #DiegoFooter, #FarmSmallFarmSmart
0:00 — How Most Farmers Plan vs. How the Best Ones Do
1:00 — Ben Hartman's Most Important Tool Isn't a Tractor
1:45 — Start With the Customer, Work Backwards (Jim Womack / Toyota)
2:30 — The Three Columns: What, When, How Much
3:15 — 27 Pounds of Cilantro: How Ben Runs the Conversation
4:30 — What If You Sell at a Farmers Market?
5:00 — The Same Move on 5 Very Different Farms
5:30 — Leslie Dennis: The Weekly Pre-Order Window
6:15 — Jodi Roebuck: Why He Calls Instead of Emails
6:45 — Dustin LaBat: A Value Sheet of One Row
7:15 — Will Conway: The Chef Asks HIM What's Coming
7:45 — Robert Arnold: Automating the Conversation for 400 Customers
8:30 — The Test: "Who Specifically Ordered This?"
9:15 — Your Version: 5 Steps to Build Your Own Value Sheet
11:15 — Don't Value-Sheet Everyone — Choose the Vital Core (Pareto)
12:15 — Business Breakdown: The Ratio That Reveals Speculation
13:15 — You Grow What You Sell — Not Sell What You Grow
**** Modern Grower and Diego Footer participate in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
