logo
episode-header-image
Jul 25
48m 21s

170: Cartoons, Crops, and Community: Rei...

Harry Duran
About this episode

Have you ever wondered how to combine sustainable farming, education, and entertainment into a single innovative concept? I sat down with Mike Smart, founder of Smart Farms, to discuss his unique approach to revolutionizing the food industry and educating the next generation.

Mike's journey is a fascinating blend of technology, entrepreneurship, and agriculture. From his early days in crypto and digital payments to his current focus on sustainable farming, Mike has always been driven by a desire to empower individuals and decentralize systems. His latest venture, Smart Farms and the Bucket Buddies brand, is a testament to this vision.

At the heart of Mike's concept is the Bucket Buddies book series, which features anthropomorphic characters teaching children about farming, nutrition, and sustainability. But it doesn't stop there – the brand extends to physical products, grow kits, and plans for animated content, all designed to engage children and families in the world of agriculture.

We delved into Mike's ambitious plans for scaling his concept, including the development of hyperlocal farms across the country and the creation of educational experiences that blend entertainment with hands-on learning. Mike also shared his thoughts on the challenges of bringing such a multifaceted project to life and his strategies for attracting investors and partners.

If you're interested in innovative approaches to sustainable agriculture, education, or building a brand with a purpose, you won't want to miss this inspiring conversation with Mike Smart. Tune in to hear how one entrepreneur is working to transform our relationship with food from the ground up.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

CEA Summit East - https://indoor.ag/cea-summit-east-2025/

Indoor AgCon - https://indoor.ag/

Key Takeaways

5:35 Crypto journey and payment industry experiences

8:14 Origins of indoor farming interest

13:44 Creating the Bucket Buddies book series

19:33 Walt Disney-like vision for Smart Farms

23:52 Current progress and future plans

29:14 Scaling the brand and outsourcing production

34:53 Immediate needs and ideal partners

Tweetable Quotes

"How about we funnel all of that consumerism into sustainable farming methods and then scale those sustainable farming methods as a nonprofit as opposed to forcing people to pay taxes to jump on board with whatever systems they can remain centralized and shut us off from our electricity or shut us off from our food supply anytime they want."
"Adults are indoctrinated and it's harder and in fact impossible to change the mind of an adult who doesn't want to change their mind. And so it just only makes sense to start with educating the youth, making this stuff entertaining, fun, stickable, addicting."
"I'm Daddy in my world and I'm fixing everything I can fix with these processes. And if I can create a subscription service to these micro local hyperlocal farms and instill the curriculum into all the libraries and the schools and homeschool communities so that the kids are learning Smart Farms is where we get our food... Then we're going to be a household name."

Resources Mentioned

Website - Https://smartfarms.global

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-smart-bucket-buddies

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/share/16n455CPLE/

X -

Up next
Aug 15
173: Unlocking Million Dollar Grants for Indoor Farmers with Andy Seckinger
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the complexities of applying for agricultural grants? I sat down with Andy Seckinger, Sales Director at United Grants of America, to demystify the process and explore effective sales strategies for farmers and entrepreneurs.Andy's journey from a ... Show More
56m 36s
Aug 8
172: Gyroplant's Game-Changing Superstructures for CEA with Marcus Comaschi
Struggling with the complexities of indoor farming and looking for innovative solutions to streamline your operations? Join me as I explore groundbreaking ideas with Marcus Comaschi, R&D engineer at Gyroplant, who is revolutionizing the way we think about plant substrates in cont ... Show More
52m 7s
Aug 1
171: Vertical Farming’s Missing Link: Integrating Greenhouse Wisdom with Wessel van Paassen of Green Simplicity
Ever wondered why some vertical farms thrive while others struggle? The answer might lie in combining traditional horticultural wisdom with cutting-edge technology.I sat down with Wessel van Paassen, Managing Director at Green Simplicity, to explore the intersection of greenhouse ... Show More
49m 17s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2024
Seeding Sustainability: Agriculture Innovations to Feed Future Generations
The agriculture industry will need to feed a projected 10 billion people by 2050. To meet this demand, project teams are transforming production—finding climate-friendly ways to maximize yields. Guests share how they’re helping agriculture giants like Cargill reduce carbon emissi ... Show More
25m 19s
Aug 2024
S5E31 Jad Allam | Manufacturing Yields, Growing Young Engineers, & Engineering Analytics
Send us a textIn this episode, Jad Allam discusses his journey into engineering, starting as a process engineer at Applied Medical and eventually becoming a Group Vice President. He shares his experiences in scaling up the Gen 2 Voyant device production, including the challenges ... Show More
48m 32s
Jul 2022
The future of supply chain with Ox's CEO Charu Thomas
Ox optimizes fulfillment operations by automating manual tasks and increasing workforce efficiency. Ox's CEO Charu Thomas started thinking about this space in college and then ended up founded a company in Northwest Arkansas!As a second-year undergraduate, Charu took her concept ... Show More
33m 51s
Aug 2024
Driving Supply Chain Solutions for Life Sciences with AI - with Andrei Tadique of Takeda
Today's guest is Andrei Tadique, Director and Head of Manufacturing Science at Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Andrei joins us on today's podcast to discuss the biggest challenges for Life Sciences leaders in driving logistics and supply chain workflows. In the course of his conversation ... Show More
24m 19s
Aug 20
Carbon Robotics on a New Era of Farming with Robots and Sustainable Innovation - Ep. 270
Paul Mikesell, Founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics, shares how combining artificial intelligence and lasers is transforming modern agriculture. From identifying and eliminating billions of weeds without chemicals to boosting crop yields and reducing operational costs, AI-driven ro ... Show More
34m 57s
Jul 2024
Why Sustainable Farming Will Save The World with Peter Ballerstedt, PhD : 1178
In this episode of The Human Upgrade, Dr. Peter Ballerstedt, a leading expert in ruminant animal agriculture, discusses the essential role of ruminant animals in sustainable farming. You'll learn about the critical importance of animals like cows and sheep in maintaining soil hea ... Show More
1h 1m
Oct 2023
Saving Crops with AI
AI can solve some of today's most complex challenges, and over the years this has become reality even in the agricultural industry. Due to environmental factors and other threats, sustainable farming is becoming more at risk, and by harnessing the power of AI, tools to help local ... Show More
35m 27s
Jan 2025
China Plans Space Solar Array, Apple's First USA-Made iPhone Chips, and OpenAI's Economic Blueprint
We're experimenting and would love to hear from you!In this episode of 'Discover Daily', we explore China's revolutionary space-based solar power project, set to launch in 2028. This massive undertaking promises to deliver solar energy with six times the intens ... Show More
7m 53s
Jan 2025
Exploring the Past, Present, and Future of AI/ML
In this episode of the Data Science Salon Podcast, host Anna Anisin sits down with two influential leaders in AI and data science to discuss their experiences, challenges, and insights into the evolving landscape of the industry. First, Fatma Tarlaci, Chief Technology Officer at ... Show More
40m 47s
Dec 2024
How Diamond Cooling Could Power the Future of AI, with Akash Systems
In this episode of No Priors, Sarah sits down with Felix Ejeckam and Ty Mitchell, founders of Akash Systems, a company pioneering diamond-based cooling technology for semiconductors used in space applications and large-scale AI data centers. Felix and Ty discuss how their backgro ... Show More
42m 21s