We came across a story from Vermont Public Radio about a new digital currency called Beetcoin.

It’s an electronic currency like Bitcoin, designed for farmers with small and medium-sized operations, and that got us curious about how smaller-scale farms are funded and the economics behind running a farm.

To put that in context, we headed over to Rockefeller Center in New York City, where we met up with Christopher Wayne, the technical director of Greenmarket Farmer’s Market’s technical assistance program. Greenmarket’s oversees New York City’s Farmer’s Market Programs. 

While a farmer’s market might seem like an oasis of natural goodness in the heart of the city, as Christopher Wayne explains, there’s a lot of work with “slow money” that goes on behind the scenes to bring these markets here.

“Slow money” brings us back to Beetcoin. What exactly is slow money?

As Vermont Public Radio’s Angela Evancie explains, “Slow Money is looking to establish networks where the investors in small farms and small food businesses are local, they’re right there in the community … and they are the ones connected to the investors.”

Click play above to hear more about Slow Money and the economics of farming.