KH-RP-0190 Designing a More Resilient Farm Business

The farm that survives a difficult season may be the one that kept more choices open. Wendy Johnson’s experience of the 1980s farm crisis shaped a business built around low costs, restrained debt, diverse production and relationships with customers.

Included at no extra charge for active KindHarvest annual members. In this five-lesson course, we examine the business design behind Jóia Food & Fiber Farm and Wendy’s thinking about transferring lessons to her family’s larger operation. Perennial crops and livestock are part of the story. The central question is how to build a farm that can remain viable when conditions change.

Listen to the full conversation

Source: Episode 190: What the 1980s Farm Crisis Should Have Taught Us with Wendy Johnson, Regenerative Agriculture Podcast. Originally published: 2 October 2026. Audio is streamed directly from Libsyn.

What you will learn

Assess the commitments that limit your choices; connect a differentiated product with a workable market; judge whether diversity reduces risk; design a small trial before expansion; and identify relationships that can make the business more resilient.

How to use this course

Work through five short lessons, revisit the suggested listening sections and complete the one-page activity in Lesson 5. Finish with a five-question knowledge check beneath that final lesson. Allow around 35–45 minutes for reading, reflection and the activity, plus any podcast listening.

Copy the questions before the system

Wendy’s examples come from Iowa and from the markets and services available to her. Use the design questions locally rather than assuming the same crops, certifications, prices or scale will suit your farm.

Source context

This learning experience draws on Wendy Johnson’s reported farm experience and proposals. It does not establish universal returns, crop suitability or health outcomes. Apply the questions to your own climate, markets, labour and costs. Wendy discusses businesses and organisations in which she is involved; John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture, which supports the source podcast.