About Michael Kilpatrick
Michael Kilpatrick is a farmer and entrepreneur behind Growing Farmers, Small Farm University, Kilpatrick Family Farms, and Farm on Central. He currently runs Farm on Central in Carlisle, OH with his wife and four children.
Farmer. Entrepreneur.
Chief Problem-Solver.
Leading Farm on Central in Carlisle, OH, with my wife Savannah and our four children.
Ten years ago, I was in between farms.
I had just stepped down from Kilpatrick Family Farm, the business I'd spent twelve years building from scratch. My wife Savannah and I were moving from New York to Ohio, which meant starting over completely: new property, new team, new customers.
That fresh start felt terrifying in the moment.
But in hindsight, it gave me the space to step back from production and start studying the internal operations that made farms tick.
I began interviewing other farmers, digging into how their operations worked. Most importantly, I asked the question: "When most regenerative farms are struggling to keep their doors open, what are the profitable farms doing so differently?"
What I saw over and over was that production wasn't the deciding factor. It was the internal structure of the business.
The finances, the team, the operational systems, the marketing & sales — that's what decided whether a farm thrived or not.
Shortly afterwards I started my first education company, Growing Farmers, to begin documenting and sharing the process. And let me tell you... the rabbit hole just kept on going.
In a few years, Growing Farmers grew into a robust farm education platform. I recorded hundreds of hours of content for our Small Farm University, hosted annual Farm Summits, and started interviewing other farmers on the Thriving Farmer Podcast. It reached over 1.75M downloads, becoming one of the top podcasts in agriculture.
In the meantime, my wife Savannah and I closed on a property in Carlisle, Ohio.
With years of production experience behind us, we focused on building the business we really wanted for our lifestyle: a community-first, urban farm.
The summer of 2020, I was finally back in the fields. We opened Farm on Central, and have since expanded the business into a farm grocery store, CSA, u-pick season, community events, and even an ecommerce store where we ship plants nationwide.
And while it's been one challenge after another (the county officials haven't done us any favors!), Farm on Central stands as proof that farming can be both profitable and tailored for the lifestyle you want. It's not either/or.
But it takes a business-first approach to farming to make it work.
Years farming regeneratively
1.75M+
Podcast downloads on the Thriving Farmer Podcast
Farmers trained through Small Farm University
Dozens
Agricultural conferences keynoted across the country
Four things I'm building right now.
Farm on Central
Regenerative family farm and grocery store in Carlisle, OH.
Keynotes for agricultural events and conferences across the country, with a focus on practical business strategies.
Strategic work with 6 and 7-figure regenerative farms on operations, profitability, and scaling.
Building farm tech tools that actually save time — instead of being just another frustrating platform to deal with.
The Kilpatrick family in their greenhouse
building right now
Aerial view of Farm on Central in Carlisle, OH
About Michael
By the numbers
What I'm doing today
Four things I'm
building right now.
The Foundation
Speaking
Conferences & Summits
Consulting
On-Farm Consulting
Software
Farm Software & Apps