Farming: Starved soils and vanishing labour

This episode explores what plants really need from the soil beneath them, and the labour shortage forcing farms to rethink how the work gets done. Part of The Coffee Producer Toolkit, a series made in collaboration with Lucia Solis, it will help you understand coffee farming better than most professionals you'll meet at a trade show. Each episode takes one part of the farming business — agronomy, processing, fermentation, storage, quality, sales — and lays out what the best farms are actually doing.    Please spread the word about Filter Stories!   Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast)  and Lucia (@lluciasolis) - and tag us in an Instagram story.    Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Stay up to date with Lucia through her newsletter   Write a review on Apple Podcasts   Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify   Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories   Related podcast episodes: Lucia: #79: Farm First: Lalo Perez on Long-Term Coffee Health   James: The Science of Coffee: The Magic of Soils The Science of Coffee: Plant Genetics   People mentioned in the episode: Fernando Castillo Guatemala Paulino Quintero, Colombia Orlando Osoria, Colombia Julia Ortega, Mexico Sergio de la Vequia, Mexico Hugo Lopez, Innovakit Manuel Mata, Colombia Sam Knowlton, Soil Symbiotics Lalo Perez, Biofilia    Resources: Anacafe technical management  Coffee Cascara Compost Guidelines (English)  Compostaje de la pulpa/cáscara de café (Espanol) Netafim Drip Irrigation manual Innovakit: abonador (fertiliser applicator)  Innovakit: aroplateo (tree guard for weed whacking)  Innovakit: selector de arvenses (low-drift sprayer) Innovakit: canguaro (sleeves)  World Coffee Research variety catalogue Recommended varieties: Centroamericano, H1, H16, Mundo Maya Coffee&Climate Toolbox Access Agriculture World Coffee Research Resources Barista Hustle’s Coffee Farm Management series   The Coffee Producer Toolkit is made possible by these leading coffee organisations:   The Coffee Quest | BWT | Descamex | InterAmerican | Pinhalense | Novonesis | GrainPro   Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here.Use ProfilePrint to find the coffee your customers loved last year (without a week of cupping!). Use promo code "FILTER" to get 10% off your first year of a Mini Beluga subscription. Click here to discover ProfilePrint's many uses. Support hundreds of thousands of coffee farmers with Fairtrade. Discover how here. Office coffee = easy recurring revenue. WMF’s Elevation 10 and Peak 50 do the work for you. Learn more here.  What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.