3 Quotes by Ben Hartman

A farmer's work in many ways is like setting a stage. In theater, stage managers lay out furniture and props, set up lights, and clean to get a set ready for actors to take over and create a show. Farmers plow, fertilize, set up irrigation systems and fences, and otherwise prep the stage of their farms for the real actors -- the sun and the life within the seeds and animals -- to create the show.

Every tool on your farm should have a place. It should be in its place or in the hands of a worker. There is no third option. Use the tool, then put it back home.

The dominant business model in the United States assumes a successful business will grow in size every year. But can one also find one’s right size and be satisfied with it? Lean principles—which focus on creating more value over simply more quantity—opened up the possibility for us of not growing bigger, of thriving even within the constraint of size.