Edible Michiana

Leaner, Greener, More Profitable and Productive: Doing more with less on America’s small farms

• Clay Bottom Farm (Goshen, Indiana) feeds 200 people on less than one acre of active cultivation. Photo courtesy of Clay Bottom Farm

• Photo by David Johnson

  Rachel Hershberger and Ben Hartman transformed their small farm—and their lives—with “Lean,” a Japanese auto industry model for reducing waste and maximizing value.

• Photo by David Johnson

• Value, as Hartman defines it, takes into account the quality of life of the farmers, their communities and their ecosystems. Photo courtesy of Clay Bottom Farm

• Photo by David Johnson

• Illustration by Emma Gerigscott from The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015)