From themarketgardener.com:
Jean-Martin Fortier (JM) is a farmer, writer, and educator specializing in organic and biologically intensive cropping practices. He is passionate about demonstrating how small farms can play an important role in the rebuild of the food system.
His internationally recognized 10-acre micro-farm in Quebec, Canada is a perfect example of this: At les Jardins de la Grelinette, only 1½ acres are cultivated in permanent beds, yet the farm gross more than $100 000 per acre with operating margins of about 60 per cent, enough to financially sustain his family. The focus at la Grelinette has been to grow better-not bigger- in order to optimize the cropping system, making it more lucrative and viable in the process.
Jean-Martin’s acclaimed book, The Market Gardener, tells the story of how he and his wife, Maude-Hélène Desroches, started their farm and how they successfully operate it. The book (originally published in French as Le Jardinier-Maraîcher) has been popular with both urban and rural readers, having sold more than 40,000 copies since its original release in the fall of 2012.
In his work, JM places a strong emphasis on intelligent farm design, appropriate technologies and harnessing the power of soil biology as key components of successful farming. A storyteller who can weave the technical aspects of farming with anecdotes from his farm, JM has facilitated more than fifty workshops and conferences in Canada, Europe and the United States. He has written for farming magazines such as Canadian Organic Grower, La Terre de Chez Nous, Growing for Market and Mother Earth News and also serves as a tool advisor for companies such as Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Dubois Agrinovation.
Regularly featured in mainstream newspapers, radio shows and television, JM believes in replacing mass production with production by the masses. His message is one of empowerment in order to educate, encourage and inspire people into pursuing a farming career and lifestyle. During a recent speaking tour in western Canada, he was dubbed a “Rockstar Farmer.” He hopes such recognition of food producers will advocate more support for the emerging new generation of small-scale farmers.