242. Jason Contreras on Cancer, Courage and Content Creation

Do you have dreams of going from city life to farm life? On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, we’re joined by Jason Contreras of Sow the Land homestead and Youtube channel. In 2016, Jason and his family left their 9-5 work life in LA to start a small homestead in the mountains of North Carolina. Now in remission from cancer, Jason is on a journey to grow his family’s food, create an efficient homestead and share the whole process in the hopes of inspiring others.  Tune in today to hear about Jason and his journey in sowing the land! You’ll hear: What life was like for Jason back in LA 1:59 About their first crops in their California garden 17:52 What their farm looks like today 22:10 How Jason handles butchering their animals 24:30 What farmers should consider before offering educational workshops 32:20 About the expectations Jason sets for people attending their workshops 39:38 The biggest thing Jason has learned in his homesteading journey 40:52 What he would change given the chance to start over 42:55 About what a typical day looks like for Jason 44:28 The drive behind his Youtube channel 47:38   About the Guest: In 2016 Jason and his family sold most of their belongings, left his office job and left the city in Los Angeles to start a small homestead in the mountains of North Carolina. They became passionate about growing their own food and knowing what exactly was in their food after Jason became diagnosed with cancer in 2010. Now in remission, they are on a journey to grow their own food and be healthy and happy. As they grow and learn new things they enjoy sharing the journey in hopes to inspire others.  Besides filming and editing for their Youtube channel Jason enjoys creating and making things in his wood shop. Jason is the jack of all trades taking care of the farm animals, building structures and striving to create the most efficient homestead.   Resources: Website - https://sowtheland.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/sowtheland/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sowtheland/ Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@SowtheLand       GrownBy is the farmer-owned online marketplace. In the last three years, their 200 farmers have sold over $2M of products to shoppers on the GrownBy app. GrownBy works for all scales and types of farm sales. Spring Plant Sale? Yup. Annual Freezer Meat Emptying? Check. Multi-season, multi-farm 300 member CSA operation? Absolutely. GrownBy supports it all. As a cooperative, farmer success is their #1 priority. They are the first farmer-owned cooperative ecommerce platform in the world. With auto-payments, built-in customer notifications, CSA subscriptions, and customers helping to pay site fees, GrownBy is a tailored fit for your farm’s online sales. Upcoming, GrownBy will be the first online platform accepting SNAP/EBT with authorized farms. Startup is free, and pricing is transparent and affordable. The cooperative collects 2% of each transaction, but customers often contribute to this fee and bring down farmer costs significantly. Listeners to the Thriving Farmers Podcast get 50% off their first three months on GrownBy. Just email [email protected] to get this offer. You can learn more at GrownBy.com, or download the app on the Google Play or Apple App stores.