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market-farming - Re: Small farms and processing issues

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  • From: "Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Small farms and processing issues
  • Date: Mon, 7 Oct 2002 20:26:07 -0500


Larry Walker, Rainbows End Farms and Orchards wrote:

>>>>>We launched our farm in April. Starting with the house and the property
we have added fencing and the Dexter cattle, sheep, and boer goats.
Broadened the range of forage species. We developed, planted and harvested
the one acre vegetable garden. Planted blueberries, blackberries,
raspberries, black raspberries, and 500 asparagus plants. Planted the
orchard with apples, peaches, plums, cherries and pears. Developed a small
farm pond for trout fishing. In terms of any hopes of generating any inflow
for next year it appears that we are really limited to the meats and the
garden. Now, this poses the very real concern of selecting the best
marketing channels for next year and the planning that must be addressed
during the Fall and winter. That which went to the local markets proved to
us that there is no way that we can recover our investments of time and
capital through selling to others to market. Really, it seems that direct
marketing is the only way in this area of rural Virginia. This is all a very
roundabout way of wondering whether it might be desirable to arrange a
meeting with prospective CSA participants in order to get feedback on what
is really desired. While I might like to grow herbs, ethnic vegetables, and
something more interesting am I not just spinning my wheels if the demand
simply isn't there. Is there a top ten of those vegetables for which there
is always a good return?

======
We have been raising stockers and dairy heifers under contract for about 5
years now and then added the Jersey beef which we have marketed for two but
we started over four years ago to do that because of the 1 and 1/2 year lead
time before you have a product to sell (plus some test marketing). We have
then added the produce as a technique to attract farmer's market clients to
our stand. It is more awkward to just stand there giving out brochures:)

I am sure it varies in different areas, but we consistently found that for
this kind of market, we can make the most return on anything that is fruit.
To watch some of the other market farmers bring and yet not sell beautiful
lettuce and other greens is sad to me. But it just seems like berries are
the easiest to sell and give the most return. Especially strawberries.
Raspberries second. And forget blackberries:) We only pick them for
ourselves because there is too much competition with too low a demand and
too low a price. Next were melons. We are going to concentrate on these
crops more next year. By the way, did anyone try the "roadside" cultivar of
muskmelons? These were the best melons we have every raised in over 30 years
of mostly poor melon success and they sold very well at the market. We sold
a fair number of pumpkins and have a few left for next Saturday and maybe
one more after that? Corn was OK but it is competitive.

If only squash sold as well:)

We have generally gone to the relatively large scale local CSA when they
have an open house, but none this year:( And we are very intrested in both
their cultivation techniques and their marketing. They seem to have a wide
variety of vegetables, mostly smaller sized that fit in the boxes, and have
some species that I have not heard of before. They even include highly
specialized "extras" such as a type of curly willow or some such stems that
are used for decoration. Many root crops as well. It is interesting to see
that people from the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute come too for
those events. The tillage techniques will amaze you I bet. The owner has
said that they will sell into the wholesale market when they absolutely have
to but that it would not be economically feasible for them to produce for
that market.

Sincerely,

Rick Williams
Misty Ridge Farm
Dairy heifers and dairy beef graziers
Viroqua, WI

www.mistyridgefarm.com





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