The lean farm : how to minimize waste, increase efficiency, and maximize value and profits with less work
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Lean principles were originally developed by the Japanese automotive industry, but Hartman has applied them to farming. As a result, he's been able to drastically cut waste, increase profit, and make his family farm more environmentally and economically sustainable. With ample examples from his one-acre farm in Indiana, Hartman illustrates how to incorporate lean practices, on farms of any size or scale, at each step of the production chain, from starting a farming operation and harvesting crops to training employees and selling goods. Hartman's approach of working smarter, not harder, aims to prevent the kind of burnout that start-up farmers often encounter and enable a new generation of young people to choose farming as a viable career path.--COVER.