Market Farming

["jay gee" <jgj23 AT mindspring.com>]

Rick Williams wrote:
>>>>
 > Since we're market farmers here, you're telling us
 > in effect that this whole discussion about certification is irellevant.
 
 Yes, from the discussion here, it seems very clear that direct marketers
 have not found a need for certification. That is why I am asking why people
 are wanting to come up with some other kind of certification in lieu of
 organic.

 What will this do for the market farmer who has direct relationship
 marketing already?
<<<<

Branding is an interesting bird.  Bad branding can
put your company out of business (witness the
recent destruction of Firestone Tire) when people
see that the way you do business is not about
serving their needs and safety.

Good branding, such as Goodyear Tire putting
on extra shifts to make suitable, safe replacement
tires to replace suspect Firestone Tires, not only
enhances the brand by saying the brand owner
cares about safe tires being available for SUV
owners, in the particular case it gave Goodyear
and Michelin (who also put on extra production)
an opportunity to make many millions in profits
while doing something beneficial for customers.

Food and the safety issues that automatically
attach to it, are high on consumer's minds
when they shop.  Anything a farmer can do
to make his production safer than the next
guy is a potential marketing plus if it is put
forth to prospective customers plainly,
"my veggies are safe because of x, y and z,
and I dare any testing agency to find problems
with them because we pay for regular random
testing ourselves."

Having a brand label that includes that promise
to consumers is a big marketing plus.  Problem
for many farmers is that market farming alone
does not pay all the bills and if fairly intense
besides.

As I have explained before, when a farmer
has a quality brand identity in a given locale,
local restaurant operators looking for an edge
in their marketing may be willing to buy more
and pay extra for the additional quality and
differentiation provided by the branded farm.

RW also wrote:
>>>>
 For those who do additional marketing, beyond your the above definition of
 market farming, then it might make sense. For those who must market into the
 commodity markets (wholesale markets) and want some differentiation that
 will be a known quantity through the food pathway to the consumer, then it
 makes sense for organic certification.
<<<<

Organic certification is only valuable to a farmer if it allows
the farmer to achieve a higher price for the products being
sold.  Without the higher price, there is no benefit.

If the "organic" brand is diluted by the USDA driving small
organic farmers out of the marketplace, the brand value is
lost to the consumer and the farmer.  It may even be lost
to agribiz because the research shows people who buy
organic are as interested in the philosophy of organic as
they are in the food safety issues.

Market farming is any kind of direct selling by farmers when
you get down to it.  It is about cutting out middlemen so
that the farmer gets the benefit of a higher price and
the customer gets the benefit of a fresher, more wholesome
product, whether that customer is a food retailer, a restauteur
or a market shopper.

A farmer selling branded products in quantity directly to
a supermarket chain is still a market farmer because
s/he has gone directly to the market, i.e., the food retailer.


Jay Gee
not a farmer -- but interested in farming