Time to Think Big(ger)?

Posted on May 1, 2019 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia, PA

Cutting out the middleman so SPIN farmers put more money in their own pockets was the business model we all started with 10+ years ago. Now, due to the rise of a new food culture, a growing number of grocery shoppers – those don’t have the time to shop farmers markets, don’t want to commit to a CSA, and don’t need to get up close and personal with a farmer – are deciding that eating healthy is worth it, and worth the higher price.

This willingness to pay the real cost of fresh local food is starting to percolate through the supply chain. New-style online grocery delivery services, as well as old-line supermarkets and distributors, are now both vying to serve this new enlightened consumer. But the logistics and economics of large scale food distribution are much the same as they ever were: to maximize efficiency and profitability, buy as much from as few as possible. This was what drove down the cost of food when consumers wanted food cheap, and gave us the supply chain we’re trying to re-engineer.

Now that more consumers want local, and are willing to pay a bit more for it, large scale food distributors are investing in new systems to accommodate the demand. They are open to considering new suppliers, so SPIN farmers now have the opportunity to think bigger. You,too, will need to re-examine how you operate and calculate the tradeoffs between classic SPIN, based on widely diversified production, direct marketing and
premium pricing; and scaled up SPIN that requires specialized production, reliance on a middleman to sell crops, and wholesale pricing.

For one to be right, the other does not have to be wrong, and SPIN farmers can even do both at the same time. You can continue SPIN’s diversified production and direct marketing on part of their farm, while scaling up on one or just a few crops on a larger area of their farm. The mix of diversification, specialization, scale and business models can change over time, to fit you, your circumstances and markets.

Eliminating barriers has always been SPIN’s stock in trade, including mental ones. While small may be beautiful, and a direct connection between farmer and consumer can be fulfilling for both, there is a new opportunity for those who are ready to expand their thinking beyond the CSA and farmers market. Which SPIN model makes sense for you? Classic or Scaled up? Both? The option is yours.

Local limits volume and introduces inefficiencies but the cost can be passed on to the consumer. Small is beautiful when it’s profitable. Scaling up can be beautiful too, if you can do it without killing yourself. That means figuring out different workflow, logistics and economics.

FIND OUT HOW THOSE WHO PIONEERED SPIN-FARMING ARE NOW TAKING IT TO NEW LEVELS IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE.

Advice You Won’t Get at Farm Conferences

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Market Garden, Pleasantdale SK

This time of year I hear from a lot of aspiring farmers. They are filled with passion and enthusiasm and are eager to glomm on to role models. I’m a pretty easy target. I have been at the farmers market in Saskatoon, Sask. Zone 3 Canada for 20 + years, and right now I sell year round, at about 150 market days a year. I see farmers come and go all the time. Typically they last one or two years, then move on to something else. Why? They can’t seem to figure things out, or make things go their way, because they bought into the hard way.

If you are looking to push yourself to the edge, you can do trampoline bridge jumping or traditional farming. But if you want to start a profitable business growing food, traditional farming is not the way to accomplish it. Instead, keep it simple. In Year 1, you don’t need to buy land or a tractor. Use what land you have or can borrow. Keep your investments minimal. Don’t get sidetracked with grow tunnels or aquaponics. That can happen, after you have mastered basic production, which is growing consistently, in volume, at commercial grade.

Also think revenue. Weeks of revenue, total revenue, bill paying revenue, going to
Mexico on a holiday revenue, and how your farm is going to pay for everything. Get grounded in reality quickly in the game. How about refrigeration for your produce. Have you thought about that? Have you researched your local markets/restaurant scene to see where the opportunities are? How about logistics? How are you going to make everything happen? It’s not rocket science, but it does require thought and planning to make an owner/operated farm work.

What helps is a platform for your thinking. That is what you can use SPIN-Farming for. It makes things easier for you by organizing your thinking and keeping you focused on what matters most to your initial success.

So when newbies come to me and say they want grow and sell produce at a farmers market, I say great, but also ask, How many marketing weeks are you targeting? What will be your average weekly cash flow? And I expect an answer, and a pretty good one. Again, SPIN-Farming can help you with this. This is the way I want to get you to start thinking, very early in your career. Notice I use the term career. That is the way you have to look at it, since you are entering a profession and building a business. You have to take it seriously, but that does not mean you have to die trying.

LEARN THE BUSINESS OF GROWING FOOD FROM THE MOST FORWARD-THINKING MINDS IN FARMING TODAY IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE

Seeding Rate Helps Answer Whether A Crop Is Worth Growing

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Market Garden, Pleasantdale SK

The planning questions keep coming, and last week the big one was, “How do I know if a crop is worth growing?” Getting an accurate read on your seed costs is a big part of the answer. In fact, knowing the cost to seed a bed is make or break in planning.

To get an accurate read on your seed costs, you need to determine your seeding rate per bed. To do that, you need to determine the following for the crop in question:

> # of rows per bed
> width of each row
> in-row spacing
> # of seed required per row
> # of seed required per bed

Using benchmarks from SPIN’s Crop Profiles, let’s look at carrots as an example.

> # of rows per standard size bed: 3
> width of each row: 2”
> in-row spacing: 12” apart; 30 seeds per foot
> # of seed required per row: 750 seeds
> # of seed required per bed: 1,125

Next, using the seed cost stats from SPIN’s Crop Profiles, look at what seed costs look like:
> typical cost per 25M quantities: $20 – $40
> cost to seed a bed: $2 per bed for the most expensive varieties

If you use SPIN’s revenue target of $100 per bed, you can see the seed cost per bed is way less than the revenue per bed. And in fact, some types of carrots can generate revenue of close to $200 per bed. So now you can see why SPIN categorizes carrots as a very high value crop.

Do the same calculations for more expensive sprouting microgreens seed, and you could start to see costs of up to $20 to seed a bed. Factoring in other costs and your labor, you need to determine when the answer to, “Is a crop worth growing?” is “No.”

There are lots of variables that can come into play too. You can tweak your seeding rate, raise your prices, or negotiate seed costs. But as with all businesses, at the end of the day it comes down to knowing what calculations to make. Seeding rate is an important, but overlooked one.

You’ll get a feel for the amount of seed you need to use after a few trial plantings. The goal is to figure out the minimum amount of seed you need in order to achieve your targeted yield. And then record that rate and figure out the cost to seed a bed.

GET MORE SEED SAVVY IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE.

What’s Your Pricing Power? Just Ask.

Posted on January 13, 2019 by Roxanne

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

Pricing is one of the most important elements of marketing. We all know that. The pricing benchmark I set when I first developed the SPIN system was $3 per item or 2/$5. The idea was to use multiple unit pricing to get customers away from thinking about buying in quantity and to buy more items, and make convenient for them to grab and go without having to wait for items to be weighed out.

Customers liked it, and it worked for me. It kept a lot of $5 bills coming my way, and I didn’t have to give out change. Problem was a lot of customers seemed to limit their purchase at $5. So I decided to target $10 purchases. The best way was to make each unit smaller, and change the price to $3 per item, 2/$5 or any 5/$10. This seemed to work, and started getting more $10 sales. Believe it or not, many of my customers said this was too generous.

So I changed my price point yet again. Instead of $3 per unit, I increased it to $5 per unit, keeping unit quantities more or less the same. To make the new price point easier to accept, I made it $5 per unit or 3/$10. That worked. So instead of 5 units for $10, I was selling 3/$10. So less produce for more money. And no complaints from customers. Bottom line is that you have to keep on tweaking your price points. You don’t want to change too often, but don’t get stuck with the same price tier for too long either.

It also underscores the advantage SPIN farmers have over other retailers. Most retail is cut off from any significant dialogue about pricing decisions with those directly affected – customers. So retailers are left with only numbers to try and interpret. We have a HUGE advantage here, selling face to face, especially after you build up a repeat customer base because they’re a group that feels some loyalty and want to see you stay in business! .

Being able to talk face to face with your customers is much better than looking at sales numbers and trying to wring meaning out of them at the end of a market. So when it comes to pricing, use your direct marketing advantage. Just ask. You might be surprised at how much power you have!

LEARN HOW TO PRICE, MARKET AND OPERATE A MONEYMAKING FARM BUSINESS IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE.

How Good a Boss Are You?

Posted on December 6, 2018 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Roxanne C, Philadelphia PA

Among the top reasons people become SPIN farmers is they want to be their own boss. But that doesn’t mean they are good ones. Managing yourself requires a different skill set from managing employees, but it’s a skill set just the same.

What are the signs that you’re not being a good boss of yourself? Vague commitments: “I want this to flow into a full-time business some day.” Frequent excuses: “No one will buy a CSA share from me in my first year in business.” Cop-outs: “I can skip the market just this once.” Indulgences: “Acquaponics is so cool, and I have the space.” Complacency: “As long as I cover the bills, I’m ok.”

Whether you need to get over the first hump, or take your business to the next level, one way to make sure 2019 is all you want it to be is follow these 7 steps:
1) quantify your goals
2) be sure they are realistic
3) write them down
4) share them with someone else
5) break them down to specific tasks
6) create a timetable for completing them
7) meet regularly with someone who’s been over much the same ground to review your progress

Where there is a way, there is not always the will. Beginners and pro’s alike can benefit from having someone other than themselves to be accountable to, whether that be a SPIN coach or a mentor. Look for someone who is experienced enough to know what is possible, so that you don’t under or overachieve, and what is practical, so that you work towards being effective rather than perfect.

In 2019, celebrate your s-mall p-lot in-dependence, but don’t always go it alone.

Learning the Lesson of Sustainability

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Roxanne C, Philadelphia PA

The biggest challenge to sustainability has been defining what it means and developing practices to achieve it. Big Food is starting to make big progress. Rather than just giving lip service to an abstract moral imperative, companies are starting to operate differently, by reducing water and energy consumption and cutting carbon emissions, and putting processes in place to measure and monitor these changes, and incorporating them into their marketing message. They are also starting to reduce waste by improving packaging and manufacturing processes, and blockchain is starting to be used to trace very player in the supply chain. The corporate food industry has learned that its economic sustainability depends on practicing social and environmental sustainability, so it’s motivated.

Since it’s launch in 2006 SPIN-Farming has been teaching this lesson in reverse to new farmers who have been inspired to enter the profession based on the mantras “Small is beautiful” and “The soil is sacred.” While they’ve been well-schooled in social and environmental sustainability, we’ve been showing them how to operate businesses. This really isn’t an option any more. Big Food has plentiful resources, and most importantly the will, to define and advance the cause of sustainability. Sustainability is no longer just a niche, it’s not a selling point that’s exclusive to SPIN farmers, and its meaning will become less useful as a differentiator and less valuable in the marketplace as it becomes the norm.

That means that while the corporate food industry is getting better at being socially and
environmentally responsible, SPIN farmers are having to get better at business. No matter which way you come at it, the lesson is the same: in the long term, the three pillars of sustainability – the economic, social and environmental – support each other and need to be addressed simultaneously. SPIN farmers need to become as obsessive about their bottom lines as their organic matter. Otherwise, the world will progress without us.

LEARN HOW TO START AND KEEP A FARM BUSINESS GOING IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE.

Sustainable Farmer

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia PA

When a consumer demands, and a farmer claims, that a farm is sustainable, what do they mean? Lots of ink has been spilled, research funded, and advocacy groups formed over the last forty years to answer that question. Garth Youngberg and Richard Harwood wrote in 1989 in the American Journal of Alternative Agriculture: “We are yet a long way from knowing just what methods and systems in diverse locations will really lead to sustainability…In many regions of the country, however, and for many crops, the particular mix of methods that will allow curtailing use of harmful farm chemicals or building crop diversity, while also providing economic success, are not yet clear.
The stage is set for challenging not only farm practitioners, but also researchers, educators, and thefarm industry.”

Four decades on, the sustainable challenge is driving significant change in the farming industry. In our online member meetups, many use “sustainable” to describe their growing practices. Here’s how one of our members, John Greenwood who co-owns JNJ Farms with his wife Jan in Macomb, IL, first described sustainable in his farm’s marketing materials when he was just starting out.

“JNJ Farms takes great pride in producing locally grown safe and nutritious food for our customers. We use sustainable practices and don’t use pesticides on our produce. We grow our plants using non-GMO seeds. The production and management techniques we use help us avoid problems with insects before they cause damage to our crops. We can assure you that the produced raised at JNJ Farms is safe for your family. We eat what we grow. If we wouldn’t eat it, we wouldn’t sell it!!!”

John now points out, however, that it doesn’t capture the most important aspect of sustainability for a farmer – profitability. “To me sustainable is making a profit and being able to farm next season.”

While sustainable farming draws cheers from an increasing number of consumers demanding”fresh” and “local” and “nutritious” food, they have to realize it comes with a price, and they have to be willing to pay it. You can’t have sustainable farming unless those doing it can afford to stay in business. .

Congrats to John for managing to figure out the right balance to sustain his farm business for 5 years. And congrats to his customers for making it worth his while. Here’s to the next 5…

Long Haul Farmers

Full Spectrum Sustainability

LEARN HOW TO START A FARM BUSINESS AND KEEP IT GOING FROM PRO’S LIKE JOHN GREENWOOD IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE

Payoff from Consumer Conundrum

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia PA

Love it or hate it, the government is getting good at identifying food safety problems and
notifying the public when illnesses occur. Here is the latest.

But it still lacks the ability to trace and identify the producers who caused the health threat.

At the same time, it’s also promoting more consumption of fresh foods, going so far as to identify PVF’s – powerhouse vegetables and fruits – based on a nutrient dense measurement that not long ago was considered fringey.

The consumers who care about any of this now find themselves in the position of wanting to eat more healthy foods while being supplied continual reasons to mistrust the far-flung food supply chain that produces it. “Got romaine?” was the refrain at this month’s farmers markets, so more consumers are starting to connect the dots between local and safer. So we should thank the government for keeping everyone on
high alert, and if need be, use a food safety premium to justify our prices.

Remember, even though you may be using municipal water and do all the harvest yourself, you need to keep Food Safety top of mind. Farms of all sizes benefit from abiding by GAP standards, and attending a GAP workshop is a worthwhile investment for any farmer who is serious about their business. Take it from Wally.

FIND OUT HOW BACKYARD FARMERS ARE KEEPING GOVERNMENT ON THEIR SIDE IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE

Local Flower Business Pops Up

Posted on July 27, 2018 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia PA

How do you break into the cut flower business? By setting up a pop up florist shop inside a retailer that;s looking to establish its local cred. This is SPIN farmer Lourdes Casañares’ display inside a fruit market she frequents in Manitoba.

She hopes to build up her market here because it is close to her backyard farm, and it is on the busiest highway east of Manitoba. The market owners have been tagging her in their own social media account, which will help increase her own followers. Selling bouquets direct is a cross-selling opportunity for her wedding and events services.

We held a member meetup with Lourdes one year ago where we reviewed how to start a flower farm the SPIN Way, and plotted out Lourdes’ land base, crop repertoire, sources of supply, marketing plan and financial goals. Her trailer cooler should be done next month, which will support her production goal of 50 bouquets a week. Her income goal this year is $9k on 1,660 sq.ft. We’ll see how close she comes at the end of the year. In the meantime you can follow her progress via her FB and IG accounts: masaganaflowerfarm.

LEARN FROM ENTREPRENEURIAL BACKYARD FARMERS LIKE LOURDES CASANARES IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE

Beautifully Easy Economics

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Roxanne

Courtesy of Wally S., Wally’s Market Garden

There’s an easy way to get into the habit of tracking and covering your cost of doing business. Itemize your expenses, like gas, seed costs, farm stand fees, plot rental, sales bags, and then figure out how many units of a crop you need ot sell to cover it. Here’s an example.

What a SPIN farmer sees here are beautiful bouquets and gas money.

These are my gas money crop. Flower can bouquets. Cost to produce them is minimal. Most of the flowers are perennial or gathered from the roadside. Cans are brought to me by customers and other vendors at market. Time to gather and arrange is about 2 hours for 10 cans. 10 stems per can. Price is $10/can. Two hour round trip gas expense is about $50.

The point is to produce just enough units of certain crops to cover your operating expenses. So you develop the mindset of tying together your business goals to your cropping strategies to be sure whatever you grow is earning its keep.

LEARN THE BUSINESS OF GROWING FOOD FROM THE BEST MINDS IN FARMING TODAY IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE

SPIN-Farming – A New Way to Learn to Farm

Category Archives: Business Management