Cash For Crops

I could sit and pretend that I am doing all this for the love of gardening but then that wouldn't be entirely true and I’m not that romantic. Farmer's have bills too you know. I have been rereading Ron Macher's book Making Your Small Farm Profitable and have decided to write a bit about marketing and making money which is something that stills frightens me to the core but I am working out a plan. When trying to make a profit from farming it can become incredibly confusing and complicated but one main point from Ron's book stands out to me, diversification.
I am sure plenty of people know about diversification in crops and livestock but something that often gets overlooked is marketing diversification. While farmer’s markets are a convenient solution to selling produce to a ready supply of buyers it can’t be the only solution. One stormy nasty market day can take away a whole week of pay and leave you standing with hundreds of pounds of produce that has been going bad since the moment you picked it. So here is a list of the direct marketing options mentioned in Ron’s book (italicized is exactly what it is listed as in the book everything else is my thoughts on it):

1. Selling to Friends and Neighbors – This seems easier said than done. It also seems like depending on the relationship this could be awkward and hard to approach but would be a good source for word of mouth advertising.

2. Farmer’s Markets –I believe this is a must at least for the beginning but not the end all. I also think that booth fees, distance to market, and frequency of the market are all things to be seriously considered before plunging into a farmer’s market.

3. Roadside Stands – I think this could be good if you have a location or can find one to rent or barter for. Unlike the farmer’s market you have no competition here but again a bad weather day could wipe this option out. Again things like rent and distance must be considered unless there is a high traffic acceptable location on farm.

4. Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) – In case you haven’t heard of this a CSA is where people buy a subscription to your farm and get weekly, monthly, bi-weekly, or however you organize it shares of the produce you grow. The shares are usually a set amount like 10-15 lbs a week and are either delivered or picked up on a regular day. I believe this is an awesome option that could be wonderfully coupled with a farmer’s market; CSA shares go out on Friday and sell excess Saturday at the market for example. I do not believe this is attainable until a person can confidently grow a certain amount of produce year after year.

5. Catalog Sales – I suppose this would be good if you were doing added value products like jam. I don’t see this in my future though. I have little desire to process anything I grow.

6. Shows and Fairs – I can see this for a marketing strategy but I don’t see annual fairs as a good way to sell produce. I think this is another good suggestion for added value products.

7. U-Pick Farms – Obviously this can be very successful. Everyone has seen how people love to flock to these but this isn’t in my future because of location. I do think anyone near or on a busy enough road should consider this.

8. Food Circles – This idea was new to me until reading it in the book. The idea is that you combine the ideas of a CSA and a cooperative. A small limited group of farmer’s all pitch into a CSA like situation and then get paid based off the share they contributed. I think with enough networking this could be a good option but it leaves you relying on the ability of other farmer’s to farm. It also causes problems with whether you are alright with the way the other farmer’s farm; organic versus conventional for example.

After that the book goes into wholesale options which I don’t consider an option but instead a last resort. I simply can’t grow enough of anything to make a living off of two acres. Has anyone used the methods or others not listed?