How to Make the Most of Marketing Your Farm

Cranberry Hill Farm at the market

We started our Beginning Women Farmers Program in an effort to educate and connect farmers who are just starting out so that they can be successful selling the products they offer.  At the Beginning Women Farmer Conference on March 22-23 in Amherst, MA, beginning and established farmers alike came from all over to hear experts in the field speak about how to successfully run a farming operation.  One of our past member farmers, Sherry Simpson of Cranberry Hill Farm, shared her marketing expertise in a recent article by one of our Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals, Sanne Kure-Jensen.  Sherry's advice makes marketing a farm or related business much less overwhelming.  Here are some key points to get started:

[Sherry's] three-step approach was simple, inexpensive and successful: Tell your story, Create a logo and Accessorize. Everything the consumer experiences, from the way your phone is answered, your business card, Farmers’ Market display or website, to a story in the paper is part of your business marketing. Make sure the message says what you want it to say.

Tell Your Story
“You are Local!” said Simpson. Be sure you remind customers and sell your farm and farm family. Tell what you grow and how; explain why are you a farmer and when you started farming. Assume that your customers are not home gardeners and will need details.

Create a Logo
Design a logo and use it on everything. Make it simple and clear. To improve your credibility, use every appropriate partner logo on your brochures, fliers, website and Facebook page. Include your state department of agriculture logo, Harvest New England and Slow Food USA. If you are a member of NOFA, a Chamber of Commerce or other associations, include their logo as well. Be sure to request permission from the organization and have them send you a high resolution image rather than just pulling it from their websites.

Accessorize
Create business cards, product signs, tri-fold brochures, rack cards and signs. Each spring, or for special events, print and mail post cards. Place your Farmers’ Market or Farm Stand hours in the free calendar listings in your local newspaper, Patch and other online calendars. Check with your local or state Visitors’ Bureau, tourism office or Chamber of Commerce to investigate their listing options. Establish a presence on the internet. Take advantage of all the free listings you can: your state’s department of agriculture and any member associations you belong to like a livestock association or Chamber of Commerce.

And that's only a small taste of the wealth of knowledge Sherry offers in her article.  We are always trying to get the word out about tips to help farmers be successful, so if you have any information you think other farmers would like to know about, send us an email and we'll review it to post on the blog!

Best of luck with your marketing!
-Melissa

The Last Beginning Women Farmer Session

Twelve women who enrolled in Connecticut’s Beginning Women Farmer program graduated from the training program at their final class at the Community Farm of Simsbury on May 12. The Connecticut Beginning Women Farmer Program is administered by Holistic Management International in partnership with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut (CT NOFA). 

Sherry Simpson (co-coordinator) handed out framed "Holistic Goals"

The Community Farm of Simsbury hosted the last BWF Session.

Friendly livestock helped teach about grazing and pasture management.

More about pasture management!

The students have attended classes from October 2011 through May 2012 to learn about whole farm planning based on the Holistic Whole Farm Planning process.  This approach to farming challenges farmers to develop a deep understanding of how nature functions and how to manage agricultural and natural resources to capitalize on these functions with the least negative impact on the land and environment around it. Holistic management also instructs farmers to consider every aspect of their farming operation including themselves (their own health, economic needs, hopes), their community, life on the farm, and the greater environment.

The graduates are: 

Allyson Angelini, Full Heart Farm, Mystic (Read more about Allyson's farm here)

Pamela Dunn - Goode Field Farms, Litchfield, CT. goodefieldsfarm.com and boxedgoodes.com. Just signed to host a cooking segment on a local access show and will also be featuring her herb & spice mixes in the bulk section at the new New Morning Store.

Christine Wendel Farrugia- myfarmart.com Sterling, CT.

Renee Giroux - Gillbertie's Herbs in Easton and lives in Washington Depot.  

Darcy Hutzenlaub - Farms at the Food Pantry Farm in Southampton, NY. 

Jolie Milstein - Rhinecliff, NY. Works in NYC at various food security and access activist programs.

Cheryl Placido - Teacher at Waterford Country Day School, Waterford, CT.

Sharon Roy - Raising Grace Farm, Canterbury, CT.

Rachael Silva - Manchester, CT

Courtney Swift - Coventry, CT

Martha Sylvestre - Canterbury, CT. Teacher, certified chef, part-time farmer raising pigs & various poultry.

Cindy White - Bethel, CT. Brand-new; gardener transitioning to farming.

The Demand for Beginning Farmers

The National Young Farmer's Coalition released a study yesterday identifying and analyzing the barrier that new farmers face in making food production their full time career. The Report, Building a Future With Farmers: Challenges Faced by Young American Farmers and a National Strategy to Help Them Succeed surveryed over 1000 beginning farmers and identified the main obstacles, which are no surprise really:

• Capital: Farmers need better access to capital, credit and small operating loans for start-up costs to start a farm business
• Land: Farm land is scarce, it is unaffordable and it is difficult to convince landowners to make long-term lease agreements so that farmers can secure land that they can really invest in
• Health Care: it is vital and unaffordable for beginning farmers

Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack is calling for hundreds of thousands of new farmers  nationwide.  For every single farmer under 35 there are 6 over the age of 65 and the average age of a farmer is 58.  This measn that about 1/4 of our nation's farmers are expected to retire in the next 20 years.  In order to replace these farmers, the US needs 500,000 new farmers - that's 10,000 farmers per state!  And as we have seen this year, farming is a risky business, so all farmers, (but especially less experienced, less financially-secure farmers) need a well crafted safety net for their businesses - provided by the US Government 

The 2012 Farm Bill is being written now, and it needs to include or increase funding to a number of initiatives to support beginning farmers:

• micro-lending programs and loan pre-approval for farmers
• training for people in the Farm Service Agency to work with beginning farmers more effectively
• funding for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts ( Pilot Program
• tax credits for leasing or selling land to a farmer
• expand the Transition Incentives Program
• reinstate funding for the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service, a database of farm apprenticeships and internships
• fully fund the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (which has funded CT NOFA's Beginning Women Farmer program and the regional NOFA's Beginning Farmer Program)
• restore funding to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to provide cost sharing between farmers and the federal government for farmers to invest in organic and sustainable production

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has advice on how to communicate to your legislators the this farm bill needs to be about the future of farming instead of about the continued profit of unsustainable, large-scale farming.  As we continue to mortgage our future, the farm bill has been scaled back considerably, but there is some hope for the Beginning Farmer Programs: http://westernfarmpress.com/government/beginning-farmer-legislation-introduced-farm-bill.  Much of the decision making has been made (mostly behind closed doors) but it's never too late to let your legislators know that you value investments in new farmers, in rural, suburban and urban areas, and for new farms that maintain the land in a way that respects the environment, the community and future generations.

Have a great weekend!
Kristiane

Empowering Beginning Women Farmers through Whole Farm Planning Training

USDA/NIFA has funded a Beginning Farmer Grant to teach beginning women farmers the tools of whole farm planning. Groups have been formed in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. This year's classes will begin in October 2011. Participants must attend at total of 10 sessions with 6 sessions that will take place over the winter of 2011/2012 and 4 farm tours that will take place during the spring of 2012. The Connecticut sessions will be on weekends, generally Saturdays, and last 7 hours.

The program also includes farm mentors with onsite farm visits. If you are a woman farmer who has been farming less than 10 years, contact the CT coordinator, Deb Legge, at deb@ctnofa.org for an application. If you would like to participate as a farmer mentor, please also contact the program coordinator.

This program includes:

·         One-on-one mentorships

·         On-farm field days

·         Business planning seminars

·         Last but not least, a network of women farmers with concerns similar to yours.

 

We also want to remind everyone that these sessions will rely heavily on planning, analysis, marketing strategies, etc. and less on the nuts-and-bolts of actual farming techniques.  Don’t let this throw you off, as there will be plenty of opportunities to learn from each other, share experiences and more.

The 10 seven-hour training sessions have been tentatively scheduled as follows:

10/22/2011 -Session 1 - Orientation/Overview of Holistic Management

11/12/2011 - Session 2 - Holistic Goal and Testing

12/10/2011 - Session 3 - Financial Planning 1

1/14/2012 - Session 4 - Financial Planning 2

2/11/2012 - Session 5  - Business Planning

3/10/2012- Session 6  - Marketing

TBD - Session 7 - Leadership & Communication

TBD - Session 8 - Land Planning

TBD - Session 9 - Soil Fertility

TBD - Session 10 - Grazing Planning / Graduation

Connecticut Coordinator: Deb Legge, deb@ctnofa.org, 203-888-5146

Attention Beginning Women Farmers!

Whole Farm Planning For

Beginning Women Farmers

Quick−answer these three questions:

Do you believe women farmers learn more effectively from each other?

Would you like to learn from other women farmers?

Have you been farming fewer than 10 years?

If you answered "yes" to these questions, you have a chance to join other farming women for support and camaraderie learning about whole farm planning. Through funds from a USDA grant, beginning women farmers in CT can learn more about whole farm planning in a program developed specifically for women. It costs nothing but your time and interest. 

This program includes:

One-on-One Mentorships

On-Farm Field Visits

Business & Financial Planning Training

Network of Women Farmers

Classes will be scheduled beginning early November 2010.  Participants must attend at total of 10 sessions, with 6 sessions taking place over the winter of 2010/2011 and 4 farm tours that will take place during the spring and summer of 2011. Most sessions will be on a weekend and last 7 hours. The program also includes farm mentors with onsite farm visits. Commitment to attend all 10 sessions is expected.  Exact training locations and dates to be determined.

Topics include:

1.       Introduction to Whole Farm Planning; Creating a Values-based Farm Mission; Improved Decision Making Process

2.      Increasing Farm Profitability (Gross Profit Analysis; Enterprise Analysis)

3.      Creating a Farm Financial Plan

4.      Business Planning Basics

5.      Creating a Marketing Plan

6.      Soil Fertility Basics; Examining Enterprise Environmental Impact

7.      Time Management

8.     Land and Infrastructure Planning

9.      Leadership and Communication Skills

10.  Improving Soil Health with Livestock, Cover Crops, and Rotations

Sound good? If you are interested in learning more or applying for this program, please contact Deb Legge at CT NOFA: deb@ctnofa.org or 203-888-5146.

Application deadline is October 15, 2010!