As a farmer, you have a field map and planting calendar. But do you have a marketing calendar? I recently consulted with a farm on their marketing strategy, and they told me they only email or post on social media when they need to sell something. The problem is it doesn’t feel good, and it …
Make Farm Marketing Easier with a Marketing Calendar Read More »
When we started Good Heart Farmstead, I was scared of marketing and sales. Yes, now I like marketing so much that I teach farmers how to do it, but back then I thought marketing meant having to introduce myself to strangers and convince them in person why they should buy a CSA. The thought of …
Yes, Even Introverted Farmers Can Be Great Marketers Read More »
The other day Edge snapped this picture of the CSA harvest: We’ve been steadily extending our growing seasons and increasing our Winter CSA for the past few years, and this picture totally lit me up. The snow. The bright carrots. The bounty in the cold dark days of December. Winter growing takes planning and infrastructure. …
“Did your parents think you were crazy for doing this?” A friend asked me this the other day, talking about the farm and our early years living in a yurt with no running water. “I don’t think so…at least they haven’t said that out loud to me,” I told her. “But when I think back …
Farmers should take vacations. I know it’s a bit of an oxymoron, farmers and vacations. But leaving the farm every so often can make you a better farmer. To leave, you need to plan, be efficient, and train employees — all things that increase the sustainability of the farm. So in late September, we left …
Ask what Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is, and you’re likely to get an answer like this: CSA is a way of purchasing directly from a farm, where you pay for a season’s worth of food up front. This gives the farmer cash in the off-season, and as an incentive for paying early, you get a …
