Harmonize Wins CAFF Small Farm Innovation Challenge Award
We’re proud to share that Harmonize was selected as a winner of this year’s Small Farm Innovation Challenge sponsored by Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF).
It feels especially meaningful to be recognized by CAFF. I’ve long admired their work — particularly their commitment to helping small farmers thoughtfully adopt new technologies. They’ve consistently stood at the intersection of tradition and innovation in agriculture.
The Small Farm Innovation Challenge began in 2019, but it gained serious momentum during COVID, when many small farms were suddenly forced to figure out online sales, digital systems, and new distribution models almost overnight. Since then, CAFF has invested heavily in supporting farmer-led innovation.
Several impressive businesses have emerged from the challenge. One of them, GrownBy, I personally used last year to manage our CSA program at the farm. Others, like farm_ng, have gone on to build substantial companies in the ag-tech space.
I don’t necessarily imagine Harmonize ascending to those heights (though I’d happily be proven wrong).
But I do feel validated.
The Early Days
When I started building Harmonize back in early September, I deeply believed in the idea that farmers (and really anyone for that matter) should be able to log data as easily as sending a text message.
No clipboards. No forgotten notebooks. No “I’ll transcribe that later.”
Just send a message and trusts that it makes its way to a spreadsheet.
As I built it out, I grew more excited. I could clearly see how this might help small farms improve their record-keeping without adding more administrative burden.
But the initial feedback? A bit… lackluster. Folks used it but I didn't see the engagement metrics that I anticipated.
Still, I kept building.
And this was during a season when I was working two farm jobs. I’d wake up at 5am to get a couple of hours in before heading out to the fields. Sundays were build days. I’d test the tool between harvest tasks. I became a little obsessed.
I even remember spending part of Christmas morning — before heading to see family — polishing core features.
Not necessarily glamorous work. Just quiet, persistent tinkering. And often times it felt like play.
Submitting the Application
Early on, I had my eye on submitting Harmonize to the CAFF Innovation Challenge. I knew the deadline and worked toward it deliberately.
I submitted the application on New Year’s Eve.
Then I stepped away.
January required my attention elsewhere — mostly focused on the farm — and as February approached without hearing back, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I figured silence probably meant “not this year.”
Then, the week of Valentine’s Day, I got the email.
I felt a wave of joy.
Followed almost immediately by mild panic.
I hadn’t touched the code in nearly a month. Would I even remember how everything worked?
Fortunately, the muscle memory came back quickly. Within days I was fixing bugs, shipping improvements, and refining the core flows.
It felt good.
The product got better in a short span of time — partly because I returned to it with fresh eyes.
What This Means
The cash prize will help cover scaling costs as we onboard more users. More importantly, the recognition provides a bit of external confirmation that this problem is worth solving.
Harmonize is still early.
But it’s alive.
And I’m committed to continuing to maintain and improve it — steadily, thoughtfully, and in service of the farmers and field workers it’s meant to support.
I’m deeply grateful to CAFF for selecting Harmonize and to the other innovative farmers building tools and systems to strengthen small-scale agriculture.
Today is a good day to celebrate.
But you can be sure I’ll be back to building today.
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