AG OPPORTUNITIES Newsletter of the Missouri Alternatives Center Vol. 2, No. 3 May-June 1992 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Marketing Options as Diverse as Missouri The Missouri Alternatives Center recently sponsored an in-service education program for Extension Specialists. The ISE was designed to help specialists better advise farmers on establishing markets for alternative crop and livestock enterprises. The following article shares with our readers some of the ideas that were explored at the meeting. The conference featured experts in the field of agricultural marketing, as well as producers from all over Missouri sharing their stories of struggle and triumph. An alternative agriculture grows, the question most frequently asked is how do I market my product? Forrest Stegelen said, "The traditional view of marketing was selling what you have, while today's marketing focuses on having what you can sell." In his keynote speech Stegelin, Associate Professor of Agricultural Economics for the University of Kentucky, emphasized that the key to marketing is satisfying customer needs and wants while generating a profit. After all a farmer or anyone in business cannot expect to make a profit if no one wants to buy what they have for sale. Traditionally farmers have not had to worry directly about consumers. There was usually some sort of middleman who would buy from the farmer, process the product and sell value-added products to the consumer. The middleman assumed the risk if consumers didn't want to purchase the end product. But this is not the case with most alternatives. The farmer is the one in many cases doing the processing and therefore assuming the marketing risks. Earnie Bobner of Lampe, Missouri is one such farmer. He and his wife Martha own Persimmon Hill Farm. They raise blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and shiitake mushrooms. They sell their berries on the farm, fresh as well as making jams and jellies to sell through their mail-order catalog. Earnie says that the fresh and processed market go hand in hand. If their U-pick operation or roadside stand doesn't sell all of the produce ready to be harvested, they put those leftover berries into jams and jellies, many of which are sold via mail order. Doing their own processing also helps the Bohners provide year round employment for their employees. The processing of berries and mushrooms is done in the off season. The Bogners are able to make a larger profit with their processed goods than they do selling the produce fresh. Even if the producer is not processing the product into a value-added item, the farmer may still be directly marketing the products to the end user. For example, farmers' markets are outlets familiar to many Missourians. There are over 50 farmers' markets currently in Missouri. Many growers around the state depend on these markets in order to sell their produce. Jim Anderson, market development, specialist with the Missouri "Department of Agriculture, travels the state helping communities and farmers establish and maintain farmers' markets. Anderson says there are four keys to a successful farmers' market. They are farmers, consumers, a good location and management. "If the community and the growers are committed to the market it will have a better chance of success." Farmers and consumers alike must see and experience a benefit in order to come to the market. The benefit to the farmer is a good marketing outlet, while consumers are receiving high quality produce. Dave and Beverly Spencer of Spencer's Orchard in Centertown, Missouri, have used the Jefferson City farmers' market to meet and develop a customer base. These customers become accustomed to the consistency and the quality of the Spencer's produce and many now drive out to the Spencer's farm to buy. The Spencers were told that people would not drive to their farm because they live off of a gravel road. However, they have found that people will drive on gravel if there is something at the other end worth buying. "Marketing is so basic that it cannot be considered a separate function…it is the whole business seen from the point of view of its final result, that is from the customer's point of view". (Peter Drucker) Gary Sapp, a farmer, who helped establish the Columbia Farmers' Market, has found the same thing with his customers. He couldn't take all of his produce to the farmers' market so he found himself telling customers that he had what they were looking for at his farm, but not at the market. There were times when people would be waiting at his farm to buy items not for sale at the market. Gary still participates in the farmers' market, but his on-farm sales are increasing as people find out the types of items he has for sale. The farmers mentioned above are just a few of the growers around the state who are successfully selling produce at farmers' markets. But most of these growers know that they are only part of what makes a market successful. Whether a market hires outside management or has a board of directors who manage the market, some type of management is needed to make the market a success. Bob Geigle, market master at Soulard in St. Louis, is an example of how a good manager helps both the farmer and consumer. Bob takes care of the farmers, but his most important task is taking care of the consumers. If a person comes to a farmers' market and has a bad experience with a particular grower, they probably won't ever come back to the market. This is why Bob takes an interest in making sure that the customers leave Soulard happy. One of the most important things Bob does is guarantee the accuracy of the scales used by the growers. In the past, consumers had no way of knowing if the grower was using accurate scales. At Soulard, any person who feels that they were not given the amount of produce that they paid for can bring it to Bob, who will check it on his scale. If the customer was not given the correct amount, Bob will accompany that person back to the vendor and either get a refund for the person or get them the amount of produce they paid for. (The Missouri Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures Department can help farmers obtain registered scales.) Bob has also worked to get Soulard to accept food stamps. He says that 500,000 people in Missouri are on food stamps, and if your market doesn't accept food stamps you are missing a lot of potential customers. Jim Anderson is working with the USDA and other farmers' markets in order to increase the number of markets that accept food stamps. It does require some paper work, but the Missouri Department of Agriculture is willing to help Missouri markets. Farmers' markets and mail order are not the only types of marketing outlets available to farmers. Many growers, including some of those previously mentioned, have pick-your-own or roadside stand operations. Dave Thies of Thies Farm and Greenhouse in St. Louis is one such farmer. Dave, and his brother Darrell, own and operate a third generation roadside stand near Lambert airport. The Thies have attracted new customers down to an art form. Some of the activities they use to entice people to visit their farm include: Inviting preschool and elementary school students out to the farm to look at the greenhouses and to see a farm in the city. They also hold festivals and other activities throughout the marketing season. Some may wonder if all of these promotional efforts are worth the work, but the answer to this question lies in the fact that the 'Thies have been in business for three generations. In Hartsburg, Missouri, SGB Farm is proving that if you produce good berries and Christmas trees, customers will buy. C.L. and Alleen Scrivner raise blueberries and Christmas trees on their farm in central Missouri. The berries are sold via U-pick and the trees are sold primarily via choose-and-cut. The Scrivners are able to use the attractive lay of their land to attract and retain customers. The Scrivner's blueberry patch overlooks the Christmas trees which helps sell berry pickers on the idea of coming back in the fall to buy Christmas trees. And in order to get to the Christmas trees, the people must walk through the berry patch, which is good advertisement for the berries. Mary Pauley of Pauley's Plants in Columbia started out her business using a different marketing outlet. Mary contacted retail stores around mid-Missouri asking if she could sell bedding and potted plants to them. For the first few years she took her own racks and plants to the stores, took care of the plants and assumed all of the plant loss. But her determination has paid off. Mary now sells the majority of her plants at her greenhouses, and the rest are sold at the Columbia Farmers' Market. There are as many ways to successfully market a product as there are people raising alternatives. The key seems to be setting out a plan and not being afraid to grow and change with your business. We have not been able to include all of the marketing tips that were discussed, but we have tried to share a few of the marketing options people are using. **Sources for more information on Marketing** Jim Anderson Missouri Department of Agriculture P.O. Box 630 Jefferson City, MO 65102 573-751-3394 Missouri Small Business Development Centers, For information on the location nearest you call CONNECT at 1-800-262-4484. Missouri Alternatives Center 531 Clark Hall University of Missouri Columbia, MO 65211 1-800-433-3704 In Print *Cooking with Edible Flowers and Culinary Herbs-Produced* by Media Methods, 24097 North Shore Drive, Edwardsburg, MI 49112; VHS or 8 mm available. *Direct Marketing*-40 pages on market research, pricing, display, roadside stands, farmers' market, and subscription farming. Available from ATTRA, P.O. Box 3657, Fayetteville, AR 72702, 1-800-346-9140. *How to Conduct a "Tasting" Event*-The board of directors of the Tasting of Summer Produce has compiled this information package to assist organizations that are interested in producing events similar to the Tasting of Summer Produce, last held in Oakland, CA. Available from the Small Farm Center, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8699. *Farm Machinery Days for Small and Part-time Farmers*-Small farmers are often at an economic disadvantage when it comes to owning and operating farm machinery. But a number of options are available to small farmers who wish to overcome some of these competitive disadvantages. This 56 page bulletin discusses these options and outlines methods to help farmers reduce their machinery costs, Bulletin NRAES-45. Available from MRAES, 152 Riley Robb Hall, Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, NY 14853, (607) 255-7654. *Best of Missouri Hands Volume IV*-A catalog that markets Missouri high-quality crafts, will include a section listing Missouri stores and galleries that sell Missouri crafts, wine or specialty foods. The catalog will be published in May 1992. For more information contact: Edie Pigg, MABDA, Drawer VR, T-16 Research Park, Columbia, MO 65211, (573) 882-9889. *Rural Enterprise*-Includes information on direct marketing, agricultural diversification, rural home-based business and rural economic development. For more information contact: Rural Enterprise, P.O. Box 878, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051, (414) 255-0100. In The News Checking Honey Bee Productivity - A sensitive electronic scale that automatically weighs bee hives every 15 minutes day and night is giving scientists in Tucson, Arizona, a better understanding of the hard-working honey bee. Readings from the scale indirectly measure such things as number of insects foraging at different times of the day and when the bees brought back the most nectar and pollen. Rapid weight loss of a hive can mean pesticides have killed foraging bees or that the queen is dead. The sooner the beekeeper learns of these conditions, the sooner the hive can be brought back to health. (Agricultural Research, February 1992.) Leafy green vegetables have been popping up all over the city since Little Rock, Arkansas, initiated its Tear-Down-Turnip program last spring. Instead of grass, the city plants turnips, kale and spinach on lots after houses are torn down. It's easy to do since the soil is already tilled by demolition machinery. Once the seeds have been scattered, they need no further cultivation. Unsightly, weed filled vacant lots have become useful and provide a nutritious crop available free for the picking to city residents. (Southern Rural Development Center Capsules, February 1992.) Book tells of Bed and Breakfast Business-You may be inhabiting a source of income. Opening homes as "bed and breakfast" spots is becoming a popular tourism-related business. To help you think through whether this would be a wise thing to do, two University Extension Specialists have written a publication, "Bed and Breakfast" Is it the right business for you?" available at county extension centers across the state. "A bed and breakfast business offers the advantage of having relatively low start-up costs," says co-author Wanda Eubank, extension environmental design specialist at the University of Missouri-Columbia. "But like any small business it's a lot of work." (Missouri Farm News Service, March 18, 1992.) Small Garden Gives Big Yields with Close Plantings-Close planting can produce large crops of vegetables from small areas of home garden with minimum effort. Dan Wooley, research associate at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Southwest Center, Mount Vernon, Missouri, has produced vast amounts of vegetables on a miniscule area of land three times since 1981. "You don't need a large garden to keep a family in vegetables from spring to fall," says Wooley. "A plot about 30 by 30 feet, or 900 square feet, is enough for a family of three." Wooley produced half a ton of vegetables on 450 square feet in his 1991 demonstration garden. He also grew the same amount of vegetables using conventional plant spacing, but this garden required nearly 2.5 times the area. Wooley plants vegetables the same distance apart between rows as within them. For example he grows snap beans on the square six inches apart and sweet corn ten inches apart. (Missouri Farm News Service, April 15, 1992.) Sustainable Options Hotline Initiated for Growers-A National Sustainable Options Hotline, (402) 846-5428, has been started by the Center for Rural Affairs to help farmers who want to take advantage of the new sustainable farm program options enacted in the 1990 farm bill. The hotline provides counseling for growers who wish to enroll in the Integrated Farm Management Program Option and or the Water Quality Incentives Program. Assistance is also available for those wanting to enroll field windbreaks, grass waterways, and contour grass strips into the Conservation Reserve Program or to make farm program base adjustments for environmental purposes, (Conservation Impact, January 1992.) MISSOURI ALTERNATIVES CENTER =============================== The Missouri Alternatives Center is supported by University Extension; Lincoln University; MU Extension Division; MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; and the MO Dept of Conservation. MAC provides information to Missourians on alternative crops, livestock, small farm options and alternative rural enterprises. MAC is open weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm. For more information contact: Missouri Alternatives Center University of Missouri 628 Clark Hall Columbia, MO 65211 (800) 433-3704 (573) 882-1905 Debi Kelly, Editor Ag Opportunities is published six times yearly. Questions or address corrections should be sent to the Missouri Alternatives Center. Ag Opportunities can be found on the WWW at http://agebb.missouri.edu/mac/agopp/ University Extension does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability or status as a Vietnam-era veteran in employment or programs.