Agricultural Marketing On-Farm

Below you will find the 12 grant recipient articles from the On-Farm Marketing Menu:

"Family Day on the Farm"

Mark and Robin Way, Rumbleway Farm, Conowingo, Maryland

"Family Day on the Farm" is an annual Cecil County, Maryland event hosted by various family farms throughout the county. The purpose of the event is to educate the public about agriculture and life on the farm. In 2001, the event was held at Rumbleway Farm in Conowingo. The farm specializes in pastured poultry, rabbits, and beef cattle, and is in the process of becoming a certified organic farm.

The Ways received grant funding to offset the cost of printing brochures that were distributed during Family Day on the Farm. The brochures describe the farm's history and products, as well as the family's philosophy on raising animals. The color three panel double-sided brochures have several pictures of the farm and contact information.

Family Day on the Farm was a huge success. Approximately 2500 people attended the event. Over 500 brochures were distributed (one per car) and many people returned at later dates to purchase farm products. The Ways have been able to increase their local customer base. Based on the success of this event, they intend to produce a winter newsletter and host their own agricultural field day.

Individual Farm Marketing Grant

“Circle of Seeds Educational Display”

Kate and Hub Knott, owners/operators of Circle of Seeds and The Corn Maze
The Plains, Virginia

The Knotts' 12-acre site in Virginia features a large heirloom seed saving education garden and a six acre corn maze. Visitors tour the garden, and families enjoy time spent wandering through the corn maze, picking pumpkins, and going on hayrides. The Knotts want to teach visitors about sustainable farming and food sources during their visits.

The grant funding enabled the Knotts to build several large educational signs, a giant kiosk, and many small painted signs. A large sign lists ten reasons to buy locally grown food and ten reasons to buy organic food. "Fun Farm Facts" is a sign with questions such as "How far does food travel before reaching the dinner table?" The kiosk holds educational handouts and a map of the U.S. for visitors to mark their hometowns.

The handouts cover topics such as:

• gardening with children
• create a Three Sisters Garden
• how to grow an organic lawn, and
• reasons to buy locally.

The popular handouts have already had a second printing and were added to the website.

The Knotts are very pleased with the success of their work. Visitors had rave reviews for the educational displays. Visitors complimented the educational experience and the non-commercial nature of the place for families to enjoy. Ideas for future expansion include more interactive displays for children and an audio system for narrating hayrides.

Individual Farm Marketing Grant

“Developing a Marketing Brochure to Recruit Potential Restaurant and Individual Buyers”

David Smith, Springfield Farm, Sparks, Maryland

Springfield Farm is developing a free-range pastured animal farm. The farm raises chicken, duck, geese, quail, guinea, turkey, rabbit, and veal. The farm plans to expand into pork, goat, lamb, and beef production. To grow the business needed to finance this further capital investment, Springfield Farm is pursuing several marketing ideas to increase its restaurant and individual customer base.

With financial assistance from the grant, Mr. Smith hired a communications firm to design and print a logo and brochure. The brochure has a three panel double-sided design, with several panels displaying the new Springfield Farm logo. The brochure includes the family's vision for the farm, an update on the farm business, prices and availability of meat, and an order form. Springfield Farm also uses the brochure to thank restaurants for their support over the past year and invite customers to patronize those establishments.

The professionally designed brochure was instrumental in giving Springfield Farm a professional image in the marketplace. The brochure was initially mailed to 125 individuals. Springfield Farm estimates that the brochure helped secure an additional 50-75 individual customers. This represents a 100 percent increase in the farm's individual customer base. Mr. Smith hopes to update the brochure for 2003 and fully expects it to bring in another 50 customers.

Individual Farm Marketing Grant

“Quiet Creek Herb Farm Brochure”

Claire and Rusty Orner, Quiet Creek Herb Farm, Brookville, Pennsylvania

Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is a 30 acre organic farm that grows vegetables, fruits, herbs, and edible and cut flowers. Much of the produce is used to make organic products such as herbal teas, soaps, and dried produce. Quiet Creek also offers educational opportunities for groups ranging from pre-school classes to senior citizen groups.

The Orners wanted to increase Quiet Creek's access to new markets in Pennsylvania and surrounding states by updating their black-and-white copy brochure to a color three panel brochure with photographs. The brochure would be used to target school groups, Master gardeners, garden clubs, and the general public.

Quiet Creek hired a graphic designer to create and print the brochure, with assistance from the grant funding. The brochure is filled with photographs of flowers and produce, and lists the various activities that the farm has to offer. It was distributed through the Great Outdoors of Northwestern Pennsylvania tourist bureau to rest stops, restaurants, campgrounds, and entertainment facilities.

Forty seven new clients, representing ten percent of the summer clientele, learned about Quiet Creek through the new color brochure. Quiet Creek measured the effect of the brochure in bringing new business by asking every client "How did you find out about Quiet Creek?" The Orners were very pleased with these results and plan to do a second printing of the brochure.

Individual Farm Marketing Grant

"The Greensgrow CSA/Co-op Marketing Plan”

Greensgrow Philadelphia Farm, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Greensgrow Philadelphia Farm is a non-profit experimental farm in a mixed industrial/residential neighborhood of Philadelphia. The farm has supplied salad greens and specialty produce to Philadelphia restaurants for five seasons. In 2002, the farm began a CSA as the first step in developing an inner city coalition of farms that purchase products from rural farms and distribute these items along with urban-grown produce. The farm also began hosting a farmers' market, through which Greensgrow Farm's produce and rural farmers' produce is sold.

Greensgrow Farm used the grant funding to market the CSA membership and farmers' market to the community. A local marketing company created a brochure and logo to use as outreach, marketing, fundraising, and education tools. The brochure also became the foundation for the farm's website. Greensgrow Farm distributed flyers at local restaurants and placed advertisements with coupons for the farmers' market in local newspapers. Due to the uniqueness of the farm, Greensgrow Farm also received publicity in publications throughout the city.

Twenty eight families became members of the CSA, well above the first-year goal to produce for 25 members. The farmers' market expanded its business hours. The number of farmers selling wholesale to Greensgrow Farm for the farmers' market jumped from five to 25 over the season.

The brochure, website, and flyers are valuable marketing tools. The local newspaper advertisements appeared to have the least impact of the marketing efforts, despite their high costs. Next season, Greensgrow Farm plans to increase the CSA shares to 50 families, open the farmers' market earlier in the season, and expand the rural farmer network. The farm will continue to advertise in local newspapers, but will focus on smaller community voice pamphlets.

Individual Farm Marketing Grant

"Mi Casa es Su Casa: Mountain State Farm Tours for Buyers of Lavender & Lemon Balm”

Melissa Dennison, Garden Treasures, Clem, West Virginia

Several growers in West Virginia and Pennsylvania participated in a marketing survey to identify potential customers for lavender, lemon balm, and other herbs. From the survey, the group developed a mailing list to invite these and other potential customers to a farm tour. The purpose of the farm tour was to display value added products, advertise the growers' group, and provide tours of the farm and gardens at Garden Treasures and Greenhouses.

The grant funding helped defray the costs of hosting the farm tour at Garden Treasures and Greenhouses. The farm tour was advertised in the local newspaper. Brochures and posters were also distributed throughout West Virginia at various festivals.

The Farm Tour was well attended. Tours and demonstrations included:

• Lavender Gardens Tour – 75 attendees
• Organic Vegetable Garden Tour – 20 attendees
• Woods Walk - 70 attendees
• Portable Saw Demonstration - 25 attendees
• Greenhouse Tour - 75 attendees

4-H members assisted with children's activities and a bluegrass band performed all day. Several participating growers displayed and sold their products.

Individual Farm Marketing Grant

"Improving CSA Visibility, Membership, and Retention”

Matt Steiman, Manager, Fulton Farm CSA, Wilson College
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

Fulton Farm of Wilson College sells produce through the college's dining hall, a CSA program, a local farmers market, and wholesale restaurant accounts. The managers desired to make the farm more efficient by deriving more of its income from the CSA shares. For several years, the CSA had about 100 member families. The farm set a goal to increase the membership by 25 shares. In addition, only 65 percent of families renewed their membership from year to year. The farm developed a second goal of improving member services to retain more members from year to year.

With financial assistance from the grant, the farm undertook two activities to publicize the CSA. A slide show was developed for recruitment presentations. The farm also printed a brochure describing the CSA. The brochure was distributed at the farm, the farmers' market, and a local health food store. At the end of 2002, the membership stood steady at 100 shares, after replacing those lost after the difficult dry season of 2001. The farm is poised to make a strong marketing push this spring.

Grant assistance also enabled the Fulton Farm CSA to fund a part-time Member Services Coordinator. Two specific tasks were identified - monthly newsletter publisher and greeter. The greeter managed the distribution of produce and sales of cash and carry items during CSA pick-up hours, allowing the farm staff to continue working in the field while maintaining a personal touch at the CSA pick-ups. Several returning CSA members volunteered their time for these duties in exchange for discounts on their full season shares. The responsibilities were divided among the volunteer members, rather than having one Coordinator.

Fulton Farm considers the utilization of CSA members as volunteer coordinators a remarkable success. The farm managers were able to focus their efforts in the field on pick-up days, translating into better yields. The newsletter and greeters helped to personalize the CSA shares, and passed along information to members at pick-up time that previously was not possible. The greeter program and newsletter will continue this season, funded by the farm.

Individual Farm Marketing Grant

Howard County Farms and Family Fun Coupon Book”

Ten direct farm and food marketers in Howard County
Ginger Myers, Agricultural Marketing Programs,
Howard County Economic Development Authority, Howard County, Maryland

Farmers have access to over 200,000 potential customers in Howard County, Maryland. There are numerous direct farm marketers offering roadside stands, pick-your-owns, corn mazes, petting farms, and other services. These operations are not promoted by the local Chamber of Commerce or tourist groups, and small businesses often cannot afford the membership fees for such organizations.

The objective of this project was to promote direct farm markets and agri-tourism opportunities that are "close to home" for Howard County residents. The Howard County Economic Development Authority, with financial assistance from the grant, produced a promotional booklet with coupons from ten farms.

A USA Today newspaper article titled "Across the USA" mentioned the coupon booklets on May 17, 2002. The article reads

"Maryland: Ellicott City - Public school kindergarten students in Howard County received coupons redeemable at ten local farms. The coupons are part of a county-run program to connect families with agriculture. All 2,875 kindergartners in the county can use the $1 coupons for fresh produce, strawberry picking, hayrides, and other farm events."

The coupons give visitors discounts or "freebies" on goods and services, and the backside of the coupons feature contact information and directions to the farms. The kindergarten students were chosen for the distribution due to the family-centered activities featured in the booklet.

The coupon booklets have been well-received by participating farms and potential customers. While the focus was on Summer 2002, farmers have already expressed interest in participating in a Holiday coupon booklet. Future booklets might include other tourist attractions, as well as separate summer and winter editions.

Group Marketing Grant

"Marketing and Outreach on Behalf of the Southeast Pennsylvania CSA Network”

Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
Members of the Southeast CSA Network

Proximity to urban and suburban population centers creates tremendous market opportunities for small farmers in the mid-Atlantic region. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is one tool being used successfully by small farmers to market their products. Key challenges facing CSA farms include transportation, membership retention, and farmer income and labor. The Southeast CSA, a network of southeastern Pennsylvania CSA farmers, was created to help farmers gain marketing advantages by promoting each other, among other goals.

The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA), with support from the grant, is providing marketing support to the Southeast CSA Network. To facilitate better media coverage for the CSA farms, especially in newspapers, PASA finished the following tasks:

• Update the contact information for CSA farms that belong to the network
• Gather photographs of CSAs
• Provide a description of CSA farms in a press release
• Compile all information and photographs on one CD

PASA will distribute copies of the CD to newspaper reporters and CSA farms in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The goal of this project was to create a "one-stop shop" for newspaper reporters and other media outlets to facilitate extensive media coverage during the CSA membership recruitment season. That season usually lasts from January to March when fields are bare and brown. Thus, it is important to have marketing materials ready for reporters that tout the great benefits of CSA membership through the more mild months of the year.

GROUP MARKETING GRANT

"Shenandoah’s Virtual Store Front”

Shenandoah Alternative Farmers Exchange
Shenandoah Valley, Virginia

A group of farmers in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia formed a marketing group to successfully market meat, vegetable, and bread products through off-farm and farmers' market channels. The group, called the Shenandoah Alternative Farmers Exchange (S.A.F.E.), has developed a repeat customer base at the farmers' markets by offering a wide variety of fresh products. However, some valuable customers may not visit the farmers' markets routinely, so S.A.F.E. would like to broaden their marketing scope to access these customers in other ways.

S.A.F.E. developed a "virtual store front" at each farm, through which each farm can sell other farms' products. If a customer calls ahead to place an order from a particular farm, he or she has access to all of the products from all of the S.A.F.E. farms. The group learned very quickly that customers preferred to visit each farm separately for products rather than place one order at one farm.

Rather than continue to market the "virtual store front", S.A.F.E. switched its marketing focus to highlight each farm's products at farmers' markets and other venues. With the grant funding, the group was able to launch several marketing activities to establish name recognition and promote the group's products. The marketing efforts included:

• Printed brochure listing each farm's products
• Booth at a local shop on Saturday mornings
• Banner for use at seven farmers' markets
• Fund-raiser dinner showcasing S.A.F.E. meat products
• Ads in local newspapers
• Booth at a local wine festival
• Self-guided farm tour of local alternative farming operations.

S.A.F.E. plans to continue its marketing efforts this season, with another fundraising dinner, a farm tour, and a trade show.

GROUP MARKETING GRANT

"Central Susquehanna Valley Direct Farm Marketer’s Directory”

Forty six farmers from a six county region in central Pennsylvania
The Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce
The Former Union County Chamber of Commerce
The Union County Industrial Development Corporation
Penn State Cooperative Extension
The Union County GIS Department
The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture

In 2000, Penn State Cooperative Extension staff completed a survey of growers in the Central Susquehanna Valley. The survey results indicated that there was significant interest in developing a direct marketer's directory to promote locally-grown products. With financial assistance from the grant, the Agricultural Committee of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce (GSVCC) led a partnership to produce a farm market brochure.

Forty six farmers from six counties (Lycoming, Montour, Columbia, Northumberland, Union, and Snyder) participated in the project. Penn State Cooperative Extension and a professional graphic artist designed the directory layout. The brochure folds out to a map of the six-county region with a number marking each farm's location. On the reverse side of the brochure, the farm market directory lists each farm's name, address, telephone number, hours of operation, products sold, and additional notes.

The Agricultural Committee of the GSVCC has been very pleased with the outcome of this project. The brochures were welcomed with warm reception and appreciation by visitors bureaus, campgrounds, hotels, GSVCC members, and local tourist attractions. Besides distributing a highly valuable brochure throughout the region, the project has created partnerships with many additional benefits.

Those involved in this project hope the brochure will serve as a reminder of the value of small diverse farms in the area. Other objectives include:

• fostering a spirit of cooperative marketing with producers that could lead to both wholesale and retail opportunities for growers and
• evolving the farmer listings into tourist stops for those producers so inclined to accommodate this type of activity.

There are several opportunities for further growth and development. Subsequent editions of the brochure will hopefully have many more farmer participants. To this end, it is a top priority to find a better means of identifying potential farmer participants.

group Marketing Grant

"Advertising a CSA through Community Group Presentations”

Maryland Certified Organic Growers Co-operative, Inc., Maryland

The Maryland Certified Organic Growers Co-operative (MCOGC) is a group of 12 Maryland certified organic growers located throughout central and western Maryland. The cooperative was formed with the intention of combining grower resources to collectively market their products. To this end, MCOGC is operating the Mountains to Bay CSA for the fourth season in 2003. One of the primary issues associated with the successful operation of a CSA program is recruitment of members. A substantial challenge for the MCOGC is that there are 12 geographically diverse farms, rather than one farm to which potential members may identify.

The grant funding provided professional marketing materials and resources to MCOGC to support membership in its CSA. Eight CSA marketing presentations were made at various locations on Maryland's Western shore in 2002. The presentations included speakers, videos, and literature. In 2003, MCOGC decided to focus its marketing efforts on two communities - Columbia and Annapolis, Maryland. Advertisements were run in two weekly newspaper publications.

The presentations made to targeted audiences were not effective in recruiting members to the CSA. The audiences at the presentations generally numbered fewer than 20 people. Also, farmers were not able to attend the springtime presentations, where their attendance may have increased interest. The weekly newspaper advertisements resulted in 64 households contacting the CSA coordinator, with approximately 50 percent of these households subsequently joining the program. Though newspaper advertising was more expensive than presentations, it was more effective at recruiting new CSA members.

Group Marketing Grant