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  • From: "Rick Hopkins" <rdhopkins AT americanpasturage.com>
  • To: <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Farm markets vs. getting out of farming
  • Date: Fri, 7 Feb 2003 22:28:27 -0600

Rick W.

Have you looked a forming a coop? We have several successful coops in
operation and new ones forming regularly.

I live in the largest calf producing county in the U.S. so I am familiar
with a potential for market saturation. I still encourage others to enter
the direct marketing channels as the demand is there for the right product.

Have you surveyed your customers or potential customers for their
preferences? I don't think you can sit and wait for the consumer to change
their preferences. Find out what they want today, then worry about next
week. Supply side economics don't work with beef.

We are also diversified and continuing to diversify considering I am only
one farm hand. I don't know much about growing market garden produce, but I
am moving into it this year because I see a market for it. In other words I
am doing it for the money, if you can understand that concept.

What is your perception of a huge population? I live on the fringe of a
seven county area that has over 10,000 farms generating an average of
$33,100 a year in revenue. These are all small farms, most of them beef
producers. The metro has a population of roughly 150,000 population, with
an area population of 330,000.

It appears from the map you are closer to La Crosse than I am to Springfield
and the per capita income in La Crosse is around $6000 a year higher than
Springfield. I think you have a market there, you just haven't identified
it.

Rick H.

-----Original Message-----
From: market-farming-admin AT lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-admin AT lists.ibiblio.org]On Behalf Of Rick
Williams
Sent: Friday, February 07, 2003 7:16 PM
To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: RE: [Market-farming] Farm markets vs. getting out of farming


Jay Gee wrote:
> I don't have to be a farmer to understand what you are saying.
>
> I have lived in Southern California much of my life.
>
> Throughout that time I have been acquainted with people
> in show business and people aspiring to be in show biz.
> For whatever reasons, these showbiz wannabees often
> have little or minimal talent, yet they keep banging their
> heads against the wall trying to get through it.

Farming and acting are quite different. Acting is an extremely limited
profession in terms of the numbers who can aspire to it.

Your comparison would be more valid with pro sports. Only a few with luck
and talent can ever enter.

With farming, as in many occupations or endeavors, almost anyone can become
involved at the level that they aspire to.

Our farm is highly diversified and has dairy heifers, stockers, dairy beef,
produce, bird products. Of those, dairy beef direct marketed has the highest
return the way we do it. But it is not easy and the market as I have
repeatedly stressed is extrememly "thin." That means that if many other
people get in the market, it will be highly saturated. This may change if
the consumer changes their buying patterns and their preferences.

We are sharing this information with others. It is the kind of information
that is often NOT shared. There have been too many with agendas who want to
promote a particular market who paint a very rosy picture when in fact it is
not that way in our market. Your markets are different because you have huge
populations with very few farmers. We literally could have 1,000 direct
marketers in our county if all the dairy farmers decided to do so with their
dairy beef. But there are not nearly enough buyers. So there will be a
balance one way or the other.

Sincerely,

Rick Williams
Misty Ridge Farm
Direct marketed dairy beef and produce
(also dairy heifers and beef stockers)
Viroqua, WI


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