Jordan Green - Economics, Marketing, & Storytelling In Agriculture | #85

In this episode, Jordan and I discuss the importance of economics, marketing, and storytelling in agriculture.

Follow the tour on YouTube

Jordan Green is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served multiple deployments before completing a five-year tour of duty in 2009 and transitioning into full-time farming with his wife, Laura.

Together, Jordan and Laura founded J&L Green Farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, where they raise pasture-based pork and poultry and 100% grass-fed beef on 500 acres, marketing their food directly to consumers.

Key Topics

Escaping the industrial poultry system and its impact on animals and farmersApprenticeship at Polyface Farm and lessons from Joel SalatinMilitary service and how it shaped the decision to start J&L Green FarmThe struggles of starting a farm business during the 2008 financial crisisWhy marketing and storytelling matter as much as production in regenerative farming

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Why cheap food threatens the survival of American farms

00:03:00 Inside poultry houses: dust, ammonia, and farmer servitude

00:08:00 Contracts, mortgages, and the trap of industrial poultry farming

00:17:00 Apprenticeship at Polyface and scaling pasture-based livestock

00:24:00 The reality of death and livestock farming behind the scenes

00:29:00 Joining the Marines and balancing military life with farm dreams

00:36:00 Starting J&L Green Farm with land, capital, and a Polyface contract

00:40:00 Surviving the 2008 housing crash while building a farm business

00:42:00 Why marketing is the hardest but most crucial part of farming

00:49:00 The clash between fast tech and slow ecology in food production

00:55:00 Building customer relationships, not flash sales

01:00:00 Why most farms aren’t welcoming to the public and how J&L differs

Connect with Jordan, J&L Farm:

Website
Instagram

Follow the tour on YouTube