Market Farming

["Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>]

Jay Gee wrote:
> 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

I sure don't see how the branding has anything at all to do with good or
bad. That is quite another issue and is a perception of the public and the
potential customers. The brand is to give visibility.

> 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.

Well said in terms of the price enhancement. Perhaps some would value it for
their farm due to motivations other than just the money though, and are
doing it for personal pride.

> 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.

Although some people may say that, most do not differentiate that much with
"organic" and "organic local." Isn't it the clientele of market farmers who
are more interested in that part of organic?

If you look at the total organic sales, it is clear that 90+ % of sales are
not associated with local. This is especially true of processed products
that are very high value-added. In other words, the votes that people make
every day with their money is more of a true indication of what they really
value.

> 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.

How do you view the concept suggested by some here that market farmers have
a joint regional or perhaps country-wide label vs. having their own label?

Our farm already has a logo that we developed using our farm name using
conventional fonts but doing some kerning and leading to make it very
disinctive (especially the M). From our perspective our "brand" is Misty
Ridge Farm and go by that name.

My point is this: can a farm such as ours, actually get increased customers,
increased volume per customer, from some kind of regional/national brand
name compared to our own brand name? We only market locally and although
have a rare customer through the internet from a long distance, we do not
seek that kind of customer.

Sincerely,

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

www.mistyridgefarm.com