About this item
At Clay Bottom Farm, author Ben Hartman and staff practice kaizen, or continuous improvement, cutting out more waste -- of time, labor, space, money, and more -- every year and aligning their organic production more tightly with customer demand. Applied alongside other lean principles originally developed by the Japanese auto industry, the end result has been increased profits and less work. In this field-guide companion to his award-winning first book, The Lean Farm, Hartman shows market vegetable growers in even more detail how Clay Bottom Farm implements lean thinking in every area of their work, including using kanbans, or replacement signals, to maximize land use; germination chambers to reduce defect waste; and right-sized machinery to save money and labor and increase efficiency.
About the Author
Ben Hartman (b. 1978) grew up in LaGrange County, Indiana, on a corn and soybean farm. After graduating from Goshen College (Goshen, IN) with degrees in English and Philosophy, he lived and grew vegetables on several farms before starting Clay Bottom Farm (Goshen) with his wife, Rachel Hershberger, in 2006. He contributes regularly to Growing for Market magazine. Clay Bottom Farm is recognized as a pioneer in employing the lean production system in a farm context. His first book, The Lean Farm, was published in 2015. The farm has twice won edible Michiana's Reader's Choice Award. When he is not farming or writing, Hartman enjoys camping along with coast of Michigan with his family.
