Category Archives: SPIN-Farming

2019 Trends and Who’s Setting Them

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Here’s SPIN-Farming’s Alphabet List of 2019 Trends to look forward to, culled from all the presentations at this year’s Member Meetups. Thanks to all of the forward thinking SPIN farmers listed below who presented their business plans, how they implemented them and the revenue they targeted and achieved.

SPIN’s online Member Meetups are THE place to get in on the latest entrepreneurial farming trends as they are happening and learn from the real-world experience of those who are using SPIN-Farming to create and develop successful businesses. If starting a farm business, or learning the business of growing food, is on your New Year’s to-do list, you’re welcome to join in. (see below).

SPIN’s Alphabet of 2019 Trends
Agrihood – free land access and captive market
Buying clubs – gets around the bad rep of CSA’s
Compostable containers – consumers want them and will pay for them
Demographics – need to target customers more accurately, now that local is such a large market
EBT’s –  catering to the underserved is a big opportunity
Food safety – using it as a competitive advantage
Ginger – new niche crop which works pretty far north
Hiring – some actually need a parking lot for their workers
Ingredient analysis – big part of value added products
Jackfruit – reselling non-local fruits leads customers to your local vegetables
KETO – the special diet crowd becomes a sizable market
Loofa – diversifying with health/beauty products
Moving the farm – not hard to do, is being prompted by search for better markets
Nutrition information – consider it a value add
Onsite farm stands – more are doing them
Pricing power – average unit pricing  is increasing to $4, 3 for $10                                  Quick freeze- farm to freezer is the next big opportunity to expand the local food market
Rural –  urban farmers are giving up the city to expand
Snacking – lots of new product opportunities and customers here
Transit stops – farmers markets are setting up there
Unit prices – the average is creeping up to $3
Vistaprint – your partner for brand building; great for sings, business cards, banners
Weddings – brides want local flowers
X-piration date – prepared foods have a shelf life that needs to be stated
York Fresh Foods – new urban farm role model that is more sustainable
Zoning – city governments are finally taking commercial urban farming seriously

SPIN Farming 2018 Start Performers

SF photo Trends 2019 a

Chris Kimber, 3 Crows Farm, Cranbrook BC                                                                   Lisa Patton, Hope Rising Farm, Garden City MO
Steve Patton, Hope Rising Farm, Garden City MO                                                        Ryan Doan, Urban Greens, Cincinnati OH 
Nick van Riper  Urban Greens, Cincinnati OH                                                                Tom Hinman, Sweet Harvest, New Hartford CT                                                      Blythe Woods, Maggie’s Farm Gettysburg, Gettysburg PA                                          Rex Landings, Cackleberry Farms, Meridian ID                                                Courtney Tchida, Cornercopia Organic Student Farm, Univ. of MN, St.Paul  MN      Cathy LeValley, New Earth Micro Farm, Unionville, MI                              Lourdes Casañares, Masagana Flower Farm, La Broquerie MB 
Bruce Manns, York Fresh Foods, York PA

WANT TO GROW WITH THESE PRO’S?
There are two options. You can purchase membership here, to participate in our online support group and get access to all past and future Member Meetups as well as monthly instant learning sessions conducted by SPIN-Farming’s creator, Wally Satzewich.

If you are committed to starting a business, purchase our learning program here which also comes with a trial membership. Be on trend and in the money in 2019!

Ring Up Holiday Sales

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

If you are in a year round farmers market like I am, you have the opportunity to fill your stocking with some extra Christmas cash. Markets have gotten much more sophisticated about attracting additional shoppers at this time of year, those who want gifts that are craftsy,  not made in China.

The Saskatoon Farmers Market promotes itself as a go-to destination for the holidays, with special events like a Gingerbread House contest (“all team sizes and ages welcome”). This year a special night market in early December became a much anticipated event , and the Dinner in the Dark, that laid out a farmers’ market sourced meal served under gradually dimming light and culminating with dessert in total darkness, sold out weeks in advance.

It’s fun and lucrative to play Santa. Handmade candles, soaps, baked goods, basically any non-produce item will sell, if you put a ribbon around it. To give you a flavor of our market this time of year, come along with Gail and I on a behind the scenes tour of this year’s holiday market.
Merry Xmas.
Wally

Year round indoor markets are in the unique position to capture extra sales at the holidays by attracting gift shoppers. But as a vendor you need to step up your game in terms of product offerings.

SPIN photo holiday tree

Decorating the tree has become a yearly ritual for vendors. We put forth a team effort and bond over some spiked hot cocoa. This tree is not local, and it’s not even alive. When it comes to marketing, we do what’s practical.  

Bakers really cash in. Platters of homemade cookies can go for as much as $50. Sometimes people gift themselves. At this time of year, you don’t have to twist any arms.

Blog holiday bakers

Candles are another sure bet. Diversifying your produce operation with value added items like these eliminates the hassle of having to have a commercial kitchen.

Blog holiday candles

 

SPIN photo holiday bird feeder

Another sure bet, tried and tested for several years by Gail. Bird feeder gifts are always the right size and color.

SPIN photo holiday book signing

A book signed by the author is a very personal gift. One you won’t get from a big box store. And whenever you are looking for a gift that is 100% pure how-to, always keep in mind a SPIN guide.

Even outside events draw crowds.

Blog holiday ice sculpture

 

SPIN photo holiday blues snowman

HAVE A COOL YULE EVERYBODY!

 

 

A New Role Model for Urban Farms

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Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia PA

Bruce Manns says, “It’s not a bad thing to be a business person in the inner city.” He doesn’t sound like your typical urban farmer do-gooder, and he isn’t. Sure, his York Fresh Food Farms shares the same mission as other non-profit farms, but he’s following a different playbook. He knows grant funding is fickle, and believes inner cities need commerce as much as charity. So he’s developing a business around a mobile market in York PA.

Zero competition in a market usually means no one has been able to figure out how to make money in it. When it comes to building a food business in underserved areas, few have really tried. But Bruce is using SPIN-Farming to figure it out, and is applying commercial farming practices and standards at his non-profit urban farm. He’s made impressive progress since he started up two years ago. This year he’s on track to gross $25k on 80,000 sq.ft. Next year is goal is to double that.

Urban farming is hot, so finding land and funding his farm’s startup weren’t hard. With Bruce’s gardening background, growing high quality food wasn’t either. So far this tracks the stories of lots of for-profit SPIN farmers.

But instead of setting up a stand at either one of the city’s three well-established indoor farmers markets, and catering to middle and upper income demographics, Bruce is bringing his crops to those who want healthy food, have no way to get to it, and are really strapped for cash. His 3 point business model: professional grade, predictable, affordable. His 3 success factors: respect, pragmatism, team work.

His new best practice? It’s not composting. It’s not rain water harvesting. It’s not cover cropping. It’s making money. The lesson here is that while your customers may be the underserved and hungry, that doesn’t mean you can’t make money. Bruce is planning to cover 100% of his operating expenses in 2019 which, he says, is remarkable for a non-profit farm. It doesn’t have to be. The more money you make, the more you can spend. The better you get at farming, the less time you have to spend grant writing. The less dependent you are on grants, the more sustainable your farm becomes. It’s a valuable lesson for all farmers, especially those trying to do good.  .

SF photo PPT Bruce Manns in the field tour

LEARN FROM OTHER UP AND COMING ROLE MODELS IN THE BACKYARD FARMING BUSINESS TODAY, LIKE BRUCE MANNS  IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE.

 

 

Member Meetup with Bruce Manns, York Fresh Food Farms

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SF photo fb Bruce Manns a

WHEN: October 18, 2018

WHERE: Online.

REGISTER: Members can register here.

LEARN FROM THE BEST MINDS IN THE BACKYARD FARMING BUSINESS TODAY, LIKE BRUCE MANNS WHO IS USING SPIN-FARMING TO COVER ALL OF HIS NON-PROFIT’S OPERATING EXPENSES  IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WHEN YOU PURCHASE ANY SPIN GUIDE.

Learning the Lesson of Sustainability

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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.

SF photo Sustainable LLC

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

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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…

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SF photo fb sustainable farm sign b

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

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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.

SF photo Recall

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

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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.

SF photo fb flowers

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

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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.

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