Fixes for Underachieving Farm Stand Sales

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Urban Market Garden, Saskatoon, SK

Late spring frequently brings this kind of SOS from beginning farmers: “I can’t make significant sales from my stand at the farmer’s market. Help!” If your stand looks like this, you are suffering from farm stand confusion. Below are some remedies.

The most obvious problem is the lack of clarity regarding pricing and how the produce is being sold. This farmer told me he had a sign that mentions $3.00 per bag, but there is no bagged produce on the table. I assume that the produce that is out is for display only, and that the pre-bagged produce is in the white cooler. Or maybe customers bag their own? This creates stand confusion, which is like switching the consumer’s off button.

Here are 2 tips to eliminate farm stand confusion and start achieving higher sales at your farmers market:

Pre-bag your produce. As I’ve mentioned before, you are not competing with other farmers. You are competing with Whole Foods or the supermarket. Being able to just grab produce provides convenience and time saving, and these are big value-adds.
Place your bagged greens right on the table. Having your produce easily accessible to customers will entice them to your stand and will make a purchase less intimidating. They will know what they are getting and paying without having to ask. To keep the produce in top shape on your table, put ice packs under the bags.

It also never hurts to remind beginners to brush up on their farm stand protocol. The objective is to engage with customers. If you aren’t naturally outgoing, this is easier said than done. Here are some tricks:

If you’re not a big talker, breaking the ice with words is hard. Instead, you can use “visual icebreakers” - photos of your farm. Yours is unusual in that it is a SPIN farm: small plot intensive and ultra-local. People will come over to look at the photos, and you can put up a sign – “Ask me about my SPIN farm.”
Talk about how you practice SPIN-Farming and lead it back to why your produce is fresh and high-quality. We can provide the SPIN logo to you if you would like to use it, and you can do up inexpensive tabletop posters, or hang them on the tablecloth that list your SPIN practices. There is lots of information on the SPIN website about SPIN-Farming that you can us,
Concentrate on selling your farm and produce, not yourself. What helped me get over my shyness was realizing that I did not have to talk about myself, only about my farm and produce.
Provide tips on how your produce can be used. Many farmers give out recipe cards, especially for produce items that may be unfamiliar to customers.

I’m not exaggerating that I am frequently hoarse by the end of my market day. I can’t wait until they engineer a carrot that sells itself.

What Does Commercial Grade Mean?

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Urban Market Garden, Saskatoon, SK It’s not that hard to grow food. It’s quite different to grow it at commercial grade. But there are different levels of commercial grade. Here’s how I have always thought about it. My competition is not other farmer’s at market. It’s Whole Foods. So my produce has to have eye appeal. Appearance and presentation are as important to quality as taste and freshness. That’s why practicing SPIN’s post-harvesting protocols are so important. For instance, the protocol for scallions is to remove the old set ” jacket.” Soak the onions in a bin of cold water, root side down, for a couple of hours, and then strip off the jacket. I also trim off the root end. It’s a little more work, but you’ll more than cover your time that by being able to charge, and get Whole Foods level prices.

Subscription Model Without the Pressure

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of SPIN farmer Linda B. Abundant Life Farm, Walker Valley NY Here is a twist on the classic community supported agriculture (CSA) offering that might be worth a try, especially for new farmers who want to try a subscription model without the pressure of having to supply a set amount of produce each week: don’t provide boxed shares. Instead, offer exclusive pickup hours at your farmstand each week. Here is how Victory Farms in Richmond VA did it.

Shareholders paid into the CSA at $500 and got $600 worth of buying credit. Most farmers markets in Richmond are open from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. At the Victory Farms booth, only shareholders were allowed to buy produce until 11 a.m. After 11 a.m. the remaining produce goes on sale for anyone at the market. Shareholders purchases are deducted from their available credit and when they run out of credit, they simply pay out of pocket during shareholder hours for any produce they want. In essence, this is a “flexible CSA” that allows shareholders to choose what and how much produce they want each week without having to take any more. The window of purchasing time insures that shareholders have first access to weekly produce. And allowing a running credit relieves the farmer’s worry about being short of produce for any one week.

Late Season Start Inspires Profitable New Product Line

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Urban Market Garden, Saskatoon, SK
We got off to a late start this year in Saskatoon – about a month behind schedule. So I had to think of new ways to make money without having early produce. One that is working is potted rhubarb cuttings. I dug up the plant, then took cuttings and potted each of them up. I sold out at $10 per pot. So now I am busy potting up more rhubarb, and other perennials. So this transplant product line will replace the lost sales from early produce, which is still several weeks away. Just goes to show that necessity really is the mother of invention.

First Year SPIN: What Sells Best?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Kevin G. Quarter Branch Farm, Lovettsville, VA
I started my 2 acre farm in the fall of 2009. I have grown most of the crops recommended in the SPIN guides. They have all been very popular at my farmers markets in the DC suburbs. The salads were not as profitable as I had hoped, due to the amount of labor it took to harvest, remove the decayed leaves, and bag. This year I am trying to eliminate the decayed leaves by sowing salad at a reduced density (rows 2.25″ apart, 2 seeds per inch in row) and harvesting at a younger stage (2″ leaf). But I’m not sure why I bother with the salad, since, for me, growing heads of romaine or leaf lettuce is far more profitable, both in terms of labor and area.

These are some of my favorite crops. I have found them to be easily marketable, efficient users of space, and economical to harvest (some might take practice). I sell all these items for $3/head or bunch. (Yes, the full-size lettuce is the same price as the mini-head). I used to do the 2/$5 discount. The math was easy and the transactions were often in easy dollar amounts, but I eventually phased out the discount since most people always buy at least two things anyways. I got tired of offering a 16.6% discount for no reason. Most people didn’t seem to mind.

Full-Size Lettuce: I like Jericho plus some leaf types, 10″ x 10″ spacing. $3/each
Mini-Head Lettuce: Try Claremont and some oakleaf types too, 6″ x 6″ spacing. I typically sold 100 mini heads per Saturday. $3/ea or 2/$5
Carrots: Nelson in spring and Napoli in fall, rows 2.25″ apart, 2″ in row, bunch of 8-12 depending on size. $3/bunch, $4/bunch in winter Sweet turnips: Hakurei, rows 4″ apart, 2-3″ in row, bunch of 10), radishes, 2″ x 2″ spacing. Put out samples and they’ll be hooked. $3/bunch or pint
Radishes: 2″ x 2″ spacing. $3/bunch
Swiss chard: Bright Lights, transplant 10″ x 10″ apart. $3/bunch
Butter chard: Fordhook Giant, direct seed rows 4″ apart, cut when leaves are smaller than 4″.Best-tasting salad green I’ve ever had. $3/ 1/4 lb
Fennel: Orion. Last year I tried 10″ x 6″ but these heads were smaller and I only got $2/ea for them. This year I’m trying 18″ x 6″ and targeting $3/ea, which is the same income/square foot, but less labor/sf. Don’t disturb roots or cultivate too deeply or they’ll bolt. If they do, break off the seed stalk to focus energy on bulbing.
Celery: Tango, 18″ x 8″. $3/each
Shallots: These sell at my local grocery store for $1.20/ea (about the size of plum). Grow as many as you can.
Cipollini onions: $3/bunch or pint
Scallions: $2/bunch (bunches of 8
Bunching leeks: $3/bunch
Cucumbers: Diva, 42″ rows, 12″ in row, trellis. $3.50/lb
Tomatoes: Big Beef, 42″ rows, 18″ in row, trellis. $3.50/lb
Peppers: Ace, 18″ apart.$4/lb

I like to grow varieties that are eye-catching and have superior flavor. I found that it takes a lot of effort to sell uncommon vegetables such as kohlrabi or daikon. But if you know they are profitable, it could be worthwhile to be persistent in trying to develop a market for them. Signs, samples, and recipes really make a difference.

Try to find room to squeeze in some tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, if you can. These are not classic starter SPIN crops but I find they are extremely profitable to pick and, if you trellis them, they are very profitable per square foot also. Don’t let your personal preferences determine what you grow. I don’t like eating radishes but a lot of people do. I typically sell $120 to $200 of radishes at my Saturday market. Besides, I have found that I enjoy eating vegetables much more now that I grow them myself. There must be a relationship between the amount of work that goes into growing a vegetable and how good it tastes. Hopefully you will have a similar experience.

Fast Track Farming

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Urban Market Garden, Saskatoon, SK
It’s the time of year when I get inundated with URGENT!!! messages from those who are suddenly motivated to begin their farming careers this season. While planning is the hallmark of SPIN-Farming, I can’t resist a challenge. How do you fast track farm startup? Well, you need to know the difference between mission critical and distractions. Distractions are double digging, high tunnels, and designer rain catchment systems. Below is the information I’m requesting of a late starting first year SPIN farmer in
Ottawa ON to get him focused on what is mission critical.

What is the current size of land base you plan on putting into production.
Is the land ready to plant?
Do you have access to water?
Do you have/have access to a rototiller?
Do you have garden tools and a seeder?
Do you live in the city, or on the outskirts?
Describe your ” home base.”
Do you have post harvest cooling capacity?
Can you get potato seed/onion sets/garlic quickly?
Where will you be selling? A farmers market?
Have you considered restaurant sales for crops such as pea greens/sunflower greens?
Have you considered indoor tray production of pea/micro greens?

Note: if you want to get into the game really quickly this season, Quick Greens (Dig Deeper guide 3) and indoor production (Dig Deeper guide 5) explains this type of “fast track” production.

Farm Stand Display

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Urban Market Garden, Saskatoon, SK

Now that we’ve expanded our product line to bedding plant, my wife Gail came up with a new design for our market stand. She got some grow lights put into our stand, so we can leave them there between markets. You can see the live plants, as well as our storage crops we continue to sell form our harvest last fall.

Grow Tables

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Urban Market Garden, Saskatoon, SK
Our spring was way behind schedule this year – still shoveling snow at the end of March and freezing temperatures throughout April. So I’ve had to rev up indoor production. I built some grow tables in the basement and and put in garlic transplants. We test marketed them with surprisingly good success. We are now moving on to basil bedding plant production.Following SPIN’s mix and match pricing model, each plant is sold at $3.00 each, or 2/$5.00, with customers being able to mix and match with potatoes, greens, and micro greens. Instead of our sales crashing due to the uncooperative weather, we’ve got good steady income. I see lots of potential for grow table production.

Carrot Production for Early Spring Sales

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of John Y. John’s Backyard Garden, Missoula MT
Wally’s garlic experiment sounds like our carrot experiment. When I looked at last year’s overall sales I saw the best opportunity appeared to be more carrot sales earlier in the season. So I planted seeds in 128-cell trays a few weeks ago and are taking them outside this weekend. Our winter was pretty mild and temps last week and this week in the 60′s F so hoping the transplants will make it.

Like Wally, we had left-over carrots from last fall. We left about half a row in the ground over the winter. When prepping the garden last week, we were surprised to find that about 90% of the carrots were not only good, but great! Sweet, juicy, and delicious.

I think combining fall plantings with spring transplants might be the answer to improved carrot production and increased sales for our garden.

Early Spring Market

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Urban Market Garden, Saskatoon, SK

I upgraded my refrigerated storage capacity, so now I can offer great looking/in good condition storage carrots for sale at early spring markets. They were harvested late Sept./early Oct. and were not washed. They were stored in the commercial cooler, with temperatures consistently between 35 F and 40 F.

Right now at our market there is a carrot shortage, so premium prices of $3.00 to $5.00 per lb., are the rule, at least for me. I’m washing a batch right now for sale this week. Storage potatoes are also giving a big boost to my early spring sales. I sold several hundred pounds of storage potatoes this week at about $2.00 – $3.00 per lb. Storage crops are what can get a SPIN farmer to $1,000+ market days in early spring.