Natural
Farming Systems in the South video series
Southern
SAWG has produced several high quality educational videos
featuring sustainable Southern farms that include direct marketing
in their operations. Click the link above to see the
complete list of videos and accompanying enterprise manuals,
view clips, and get ordering information.
Farm
Stories from SSAWG
Elmwood
Stock Farm
Ann
Bell and Mac Stone of Georgetown, KY raise vegetables, fruits,
beef, lamb, and poultry for sale at two area farmers' markets
in addition to home delivery and restaurants.
Dripping
Springs Gardens
Farmers'
markets provide Mark Cain of Huntsville, AR an outlet for
a diverse mix of fruits, veggies, and value added products,
including their specialty - bouquets of specialty cut flowers
made on-site.
Maple
Springs Gardens
Raising
over 40 varieties of veggies, plus flowers and berries, Ken
Dawson and Libby Outlaw of Cedar Grove, NC rely on several
farmers' markets for peak season sales.
Crystal
Organic Farm
The
year-round local farmers' markets account for half of Nicholas
Donck's fruit and vegetable sales from his farm in Newborn,
GA.
Perigrine
Farms
Alex
and Betsy Hitt take advantage of established markets around
Graham, NC to sell their diverse crops of flowers and vegetables.
Periwinkle
Farms
Three
markets near the Chapel Hill area of NC provide Cathy Jones
and Michael Perry a sustainable sales outlet for flowers,
herbs, vegetables, and eggs.
Rosie's
Organic Farms
Rosie
Koenig of Gainesville, FL markets her ten acres of fruit and
vegetable crops, including winter greenhouse products, through
three farmers' markets.
Mauthe's
Dairy
Value-added
dairy production has opened up four farmers' markets as outlets
for Jamie and Kenny Mauthe of McComb, MS.
Millberg
Farms
Tim
Miller sells about one-third of his heirloom vegetables, pecans,
pears, peaches, and plums at a farmers' market near Kyle,
TX.
Celebrity
Dairy
Flemming
and Britt Pfann of Siler City, NC began selling their goat
cheeses at a local farmers' market, which still complements
their sales to restaurants, stores, and other direct outlets.
DeSoto
Lakes Organics
Concepts
of balance and diversity of crops translates to diverse marketing
through farmers' markets and other outlets for Bill and Pam
Pischer of Sarasota, FL.
Potomac
Vegetable Farms
Ellen
Polishuk of Purcellville, VA participates in five seasonal
markets in the DC suburbs, selling vegetables, flowers, and
herbs to a predominantly upscale customer base.
Sechrist
Ranch
Peggy
and Richard Sechrist of Fredericksburg, TX utilized local
farmers' markets to launch their products and build a local
market for their organic beef.
Smith
Farms
Chuck
and Mary Smith diversified their operation in New Castle,
KY from tobacco to beef and organic veggies, having recently
added poultry due to feedback from shoppers at local farmers'
markets.
Au
Naturel Farm
A
variety of crops such as vegetables, beef, and poultry provide
Alison and Paul Wiediger of Smith Grove, KY with a year round
income from two farmers' markets and other direct outlets. |
2006
Conference Marketing Presentations
The 2006 Southern SAWG Conference, Practical Tools and
Solutions for Sustaining Family Farms, offered a wealth
of valuable information presented by experienced farmers and
other knowledgeable professionals. Below are several of these
presentations related to direct marketing.
Click
on the session title to view the presentation. The presentation
will open in a new window. Some files contain graphics or
images that will take time to load. Items marked PDF require
Adobe
Acrobat Reader (click for free download info) or another
pdf-compatible program.
Evaluating
Your Business
S.
Gary Bullen, North Carolina State University
Guidelines for evaluating a new or existing farm enterprise
by presenting approaches to the questions of will it make
money, is there a market for it, and will it fit my farm?
Promoting
Farm Products
Keecha
Harris, Harris and Associates
Details
on promotions of your farm's products, including health and
safety claims and labeling.
Producer
Only Farmers' Markets
Alison
Wiediger, Au Naturel Farm
A
farmer's first hand view of the What, Why, and How of producer
only farmers' markets.
(Click http://www.skyfarmersmarket.com
for Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws, and Rules and Regulations
for Southern Kentucky Regional Farmers' Market referenced
in above presentation)
Starting
a Producer Only Farmers' Market (pdf)
Don
Wambles, Alabama Farmers' Market Authority
A
detailed step-by-step "How To" for starting a producer-only
farmers market.
Farmers
Fresh Food Network (pdf)
Laurie
Moore, FFFN
An
organizational profile of a farm marketing cooperative.
Using
the Internet to Get Customers (pdf)
Jean
Mills, Tuscaloosa CSA
An
introduction to online communications tools, plus information
and resources for getting started and getting the most out
of the Internet marketing for your farm.
The
Web availability of these 2006 Conference presentations is
made possible in part through our ongoing partnership with
USDA Risk Management Agency.
|
| 
Free
online posting of farmers' markets is offered through SSAWG
partnerships with Local Harvest, Rodale's New Farm, and other
organizations. Visit our Farm
Finder page for more info.
Links
to other resources:
USDA's
Agricultural Marketing Service has partnered with several
nonprofits, foundations, and other organizations to for the
Farmers Market Consortium. The group has published the
free Farmers
Market Guide, available for download here.
National
Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) has
published a number of resources related to farmers' markets,
available online through a searchable database.
The
Rodale Institute offers
a host of resources for farmers, including direct marketing
publications sold through their online store.
Sustainable
Agriculture Network, SAN, provides access to books and
articles on sustainable ag, including marketing specialty
crops and developing direct market opportunities.
The
New Farmers' Market and Sell
What You Sow are recommended reading for market organizers
and vendors alike. Both are available from New
World Publishing.
Dynamic
Farmers' Marketing: A Guide to Successfully Selling Your Farmers'
Market Products, 1997, by Jeff Ishee. ish-bittersweet@juno.com
This
informal book is like sitting on a tailgate at the market
and eavesdropping on valuable conversations between successful
farmers. 129 pp. $14.95 plus $2.50 shipping. Bittersweet Farmstead,
P.O. Box 52, Middlebrook, VA 24459; 540-886-8477.
Funding
Sources
The
USDA
Farmers Market Promotion Program offers funding for direct
market projects. View calls for proposals and other
information here.
USDA Rural Development provides funding for Enterprise
Development, Business Opportunity, and Value-Added Producers.
The Southern
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
program has provided support for a variety of direct marketing
programs. View recent calls for proposals and reports
from previously funded projects.
Project
for Public Spaces has provided funding for markets and
marketing organizations through a collaborative effort with
the W.K. Kellogg and Ford Foundations. Information on
that and other grant programs as well as additional direct
market resources are available on their site.
Discussion
Forums
The
SARE-sponsored Sustainable Agriculture Network (SANET) Listserv
features a discussion of sustainable agriculture topics, including
discussions about farmers' markets. Details are available
at http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html.
New
Farm hosts a General
Marketing discussion forum, covering several aspects of
agricultural marketing such as direct sales through farmers'
markets.
If
you know of list servers or discussion forums that focus on
direct marketing, please let us know. |
