Jesse Frost

Ben Hartman grew up on a corn and soybean farm in Indiana and graduated college with degrees in English and philosophy. Ben and his wife, Rachel Hershberger, own and operate Clay Bottom Farm in Goshen, Indiana, where they make their living growing and selling specialty crops on less than one acre. The farm has twice won Edible Michiana’s Reader’s Choice award. The Lean Farm, Ben’s first book, won the Shingo Institute’s prestigious Publication Award. In 2017 Ben was named one of Grist’s fifty emerging green leaders in the United States. Clay Bottom Farm has developed an online course in lean farming, which can be found at www.claybottomfarm.com. Ben is also an ambassador for Patagonia, Inc., and a part-time consultant for several leading garden supplies companies: Johnny’s Selected Seeds (US), Modern Grower (US), Nitten Paperpot (Japan), Terrateck (France), and Farmer’s Friend (US).