John Dindia's guest appearances

John Dindia

The No-Till Growers Podcast Network

The Thriving Farmer Podcast

The Winter Growers Podcast

OwlTail

Today my guest is John Dindia of Lakeview Hill Farm in Traverse City, MI. John and his partner Bailey designed and built their farm from the ground up beginning in 2017 on a 58-acre property with 10 acres of available farmland and a 35-acre woodlot. Now, with 2.5 acres in production, they have five 30’ x 148’ heated greenhouses, a dedicated propagation house connected to a production barn, and seven 20’ x 148’ caterpillar tunnels. Plus, their farm is 75% powered by solar and they are committed to utilizing renewable energy in all aspects of their farm. Seventy percent of gross sales are dedicated to wholesale, including grocery stores, restaurants, and a growers cooperative CSA, all within 15 miles of the farm. The rest comes from an on-site farm stand that they are expanding into a full service farm store later this summer (’23). John and Bailey have been full-time on their farm since the beginning, plus they have five year-round employees with four staff on salary. John and I dig into the details of the heating and lighting systems he uses to maintain productivity during the cold grey winters of Michigan, as well as the support he and Bailey access to finance the startup and growth of their farm business, including loans through the FSA. John offers a ton of expertise and experience for farmers looking to improve their winter growing systems and mindfully grow their farm business for the long haul. Mentioned in the show...  USDA/FSA Farm Loan Programs USDA/NRCS Grants, Programs, &amp; Initiatives John uses Nolt's Greenhouse Supplies &amp; Total Grow LEDs Folks who make the show possible... RIMOL Greenhouses quality greenhouses and high-tunnels. Johnny's Selected Seeds vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources. Farmers Friend for caterpillar tunnels, harvest equipment, tarps, &amp; more! Get free shipping through -&gt;&gt; farmersfriend.com/notill  BCS America for two wheel tractors + implements.

Today my guest is John Dindia of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lakeviewhillfarm/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lakeview Hill Farm</a> in Traverse City, MI. John and his partner Bailey designed and built their farm from the ground up beginning in 2017 on a 58-acre property with 10 acres of available farmland and a 35-acre woodlot. Now, with 2.5 acres in production, they have five 30’ x 148’ heated greenhouses, a dedicated propagation house connected to a production barn, and seven 20’ x 148’ caterpillar tunnels. Plus, their farm is 75% powered by solar and they are committed to utilizing renewable energy in all aspects of their farm. Seventy percent of gross sales are dedicated to wholesale, including grocery stores, restaurants, and a growers cooperative CSA, all within 15 miles of the farm. The rest comes from an on-site farm stand that they are expanding into a full service farm store later this summer (’23). John and Bailey have been full-time on their farm since the beginning, plus they have five year-round employees with four staff on salary. John and I dig into the details of the heating and lighting systems he uses to maintain productivity during the cold grey winters of Michigan, as well as the support he and Bailey access to finance the startup and growth of their farm business, including loans through the FSA. John offers a ton of expertise and experience for farmers looking to improve their winter growing systems and mindfully grow their farm business for the long haul. Mentioned in the show... <a href="https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/farm-loan-programs/index" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> USDA/FSA Farm Loan Programs</a> <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs-initiatives" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">USDA/NRCS Grants, Programs, &amp; Initiatives</a> John uses <a href="https://noltsgreenhousesupplies.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nolt's Greenhouse Supplies</a> &amp; <a href="https://totalgrowlight.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Total Grow LEDs</a> Folks who make the show possible... <a href="http://rimolgreenhouses.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RIMOL Greenhouses</a> quality greenhouses and high-tunnels. <a href="https://www.johnnyseeds.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Johnny's Selected Seeds</a> vegetable, flower, and cover crop seeds. Visit the Growers Library for a wealth of growing resources. <a href="http://farmersfriend.com/notill" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Farmers Friend</a> for caterpillar tunnels, harvest equipment, tarps, &amp; more! Get free shipping through -&gt;&gt; <a href="http://farmersfriend.com/notill" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">farmersfriend.com/notill</a> <a href="https://www.bcsamerica.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BCS America</a> for two wheel tractors + implements.

Efficient Heating/Lighting for Winter Growing & Mindfully Leveraging Loans with John Dindia of Lakeview Hill Farm

Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast we’re speaking with John Dindia from Lakeview Hill Farm, located in Traverse City, MI. Lakeview Hill Farm is a certified organic produce farm specializing in hoophouse and greenhouse production. They grow a variety of vegetables with a focus on greenhouse heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, salad greens, and microgreens. Lakeview Hill Farm has made a commitment to utilize renewable energy. With agriculture being one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels, it’s extremely important to lead the way with practices that sustain the environment and are financially beneficial to the business. And Lakeview Hill Farm is indeed leading the way with a 100% solar powered farm! Hear how they achieve this on today’s episode.   You’ll hear: What Lakeview Hill Farm grows in their tunnels 2:17 What varieties of cucumbers they grow 4:56 What time of year they harvest 9:23 What they grow in caterpillar tunnels during the Summer 10:11 How they got started 14:37 How they approach micrograin production 18:10 What kind of solar setup they have 22:17 What prompted the switch to greenhouses 30:56 Where Lakeview Hill Farm buys their certified organic ginger seed 32:56 About the layout of the buildings on the farm 47:11 John’s favorite farming tool 51:50 John’s advice for someone just getting into farming 52:58 About the Guest:Lakeview Hill Farm is a certified organic produce farm located in Traverse City, MI --  owned and operated by John Dindia and Bailey Samp. The farm started in 2017, has experienced rapid growth, and reached over $500,000 in gross sales in 2021. Currently employing 4 full-time year around employees and 2 additional seasonal employees, the farm primarily focuses on early season Summer fruit greenhouse production and year-round baby leaf salad greens and microgreens. 75% of the farm's revenue comes from four 5,000 sq. ft. heated greenhouses and four 150 ft. long caterpillar tunnels. The farm sells 95% of its produce within a 15 mile radius, primarily to local grocery stores and co-ops, restaurants, farmers markets, an on-farm store, and a multi-farm CSA program. Resources:Website - https://www.lakeviewhillfarm.com Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/lakeviewhillorganics Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lakeviewhillfarm/

<a href="https://www.thrivingfarmerpodcast.com/john-dindia/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Today on the Thriving Farmer Podcast</a> we’re speaking with John Dindia from <a href="https://www.lakeviewhillfarm.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lakeview Hill Farm</a>, located in Traverse City, MI. <a href="https://www.lakeviewhillfarm.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lakeview Hill Farm</a> is a certified organic produce farm specializing in hoophouse and greenhouse production. They grow a variety of vegetables with a focus on greenhouse heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, salad greens, and microgreens. Lakeview Hill Farm has made a commitment to utilize renewable energy. With agriculture being one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels, it’s extremely important to lead the way with practices that sustain the environment and are financially beneficial to the business. And Lakeview Hill Farm is indeed leading the way with a 100% solar powered farm! <a href="https://www.thrivingfarmerpodcast.com/john-dindia/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hear how they achieve this on today’s episode.</a> You’ll hear: What Lakeview Hill Farm grows in their tunnels 2:17 What varieties of cucumbers they grow 4:56 What time of year they harvest 9:23 What they grow in caterpillar tunnels during the Summer 10:11 How they got started 14:37 How they approach micrograin production 18:10 What kind of solar setup they have 22:17 What prompted the switch to greenhouses 30:56 Where Lakeview Hill Farm buys their certified organic ginger seed 32:56 About the layout of the buildings on the farm 47:11 John’s favorite farming tool 51:50 John’s advice for someone just getting into farming 52:58 About the Guest:Lakeview Hill Farm is a certified organic produce farm located in Traverse City, MI --  owned and operated by John Dindia and Bailey Samp. The farm started in 2017, has experienced rapid growth, and reached over $500,000 in gross sales in 2021. Currently employing 4 full-time year around employees and 2 additional seasonal employees, the farm primarily focuses on early season Summer fruit greenhouse production and year-round baby leaf salad greens and microgreens. 75% of the farm's revenue comes from four 5,000 sq. ft. heated greenhouses and four 150 ft. long caterpillar tunnels. The farm sells 95% of its produce within a 15 mile radius, primarily to local grocery stores and co-ops, restaurants, farmers markets, an on-farm store, and a multi-farm CSA program. Resources:Website - <a href="https://www.lakeviewhillfarm.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.lakeviewhillfarm.com</a> Facebook - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lakeviewhillorganics" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/lakeviewhillorganics</a> Instagram - <a href="https://www.instagram.com/lakeviewhillfarm/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/lakeviewhillfarm/</a>