Livestock Market Report

The Harvest Flip Calendar is a fun educational tool to take with you to the market or share with new customers. Outreach by education is a powerful marketing strategy that will help you build relationships and keep clients coming back for your products.

Use Social Media and Email Sure, some people believe (and not without merit) that social media is an evil scourge of our time, but it's a necessary evil if you aim to attract and engage market customers.

“Bringing a quality fresh cut herb to the market has as much to do with growing a healthy plant as it does with the care given to it during harvesting and beyond,” says author and herb grower Sandie Shores in her article, Selling Fresh-cut Herbs at...

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In many climates, spinach grows well for at least three out of four seasons, and for the most part, customers know what to do with this crop—it is good for cooking and for salads, not to mention that it's highly nutritious and easy to use.

Customers, consciously or not, like a nice package and nice display. Remember, a lot of customers walk through looking for something specific or at least something that inspires them.

Home-Canned Goods Jams Jellies Salsa Fruits Vegetables Sauerkraut Relishes 5. Maximize such abilities. Opportunities for hobby farmers and other small-scale growers to sell at farmers markets are available year-round in much of the country.

Always keep a cooler of ice and keep swapping out any rough looking greens, and remember to mist them with clean and fresh tap water regularly so they look happy. Make Your Inventory Look Plentiful No matter what you put on your table, try to put out...

One last note: Offer an individual price per squash and a buck price per unit to encourage them to purchase more. Because they store well (as long as you store them in a relatively cool, dark place that does not freeze) you can reasonably rely on having...

Customers are already looking for fresh tomatoes in May when the weather really starts to warm up (in our area at least). Here are four ways to increase sales at the farmers market.

By Weight The option above doesn't negate this one—a pile of cucumbers sold by weight has many advantages. For Pickling Remember that some people love small, pickling cucumbers. So where a giant pile of cucumbers sold by the pound might appeal to one...

It depends on your situation, location and clientele. (Going much bigger might put too much weight on the bottom flowers.) We use simple, round deli containers for packaging, but you can also use unvented clamshells.

Again, don't be afraid to give them a clove to try for free if they're hesitant to add garlic to their favorite dishes; you just might amend an old family recipe in the process. Ultimately, choose something that showcases your garlic.

Bringing a formidable array of farming experience, Amy Matthews, Matthew Jose and Leslie Gottschalk (pictured above, left to right) are implementing intensive management practices in Indianapolis to produce some of the city's best local, fresh fruits...

… Despite the gold rush feeling in craft beer, a successful hops enterprise has to be patient, as hops are a perennial crop that can take two to three seasons for full yield.” Embrace Convenience With our increasingly time-strapped society, offering...

You should never price something below what it cost you to produce it. This is arbitrary, but if a crop cost you $3 in seed, $10 in labor and $4 in fertilizer, no matter how much yield you get, you should charge no less than $17 for all of it.

In the end, know that your booth will be inspected just like everyone else's. Know What You're Allowed To Sell Offering for sale an item that is not legal for sale most likely won't get you shut down, but it won't make anyone's day better.

The value of a theme is that it can make all of your social media look cohesive so that when someone sees a flier out in a coffee shop, they may later recognize the images online when they are searching for a local farmer.

Peddling sweet corn from the back of an SUV or melons from a pickup parked in the shade mark simple, successful beginnings, as do veggies displayed on picnic tables under a colorful canopy or sold from bare bones, homemade stands.

Many mills have deep backlogs and long wait times because there is a shortage of mills in the U.S. Test Before Selling Before selling anything, engage a tester or two to give your product(s) a whirl.

The type of packing you need to invest in may be governed by local regulations. If your juice is not pasteurized, you may also need specific labeling to inform shoppers. Tags farmers' market , juice , Lists , marketing , selling

Nonprofit farmer- and consumer-rights organization Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has taken on the subject of raw milk as one of its primary areas of action. You just need to be creative in marketing it to them.

Share Recipes People love to know what to do with your food. You could plan for “Throwback Thursdays” with older pictures of yourselves or the farm. So whether the recipe comes from you, or from somewhere else, as long as it has relevance to your...

So go ahead and start small, start slow, and start unique. Explore three ways to start your agritourism business and take advantage of this booming area of entrepreneurship. If not, they can become overdone stereotypes that don't reflect what you really...

Although the first CSA operations emerged on the East Coast in the 1980s, the model isn't new to Californians, says Ryan Galt, assistant professor of agricultural sustainability and society at UC Davis.

It's a good deal either way. There's a lot of flexibility here, so figure out what your strengths are and brainstorm how you can share them with the world. Pickle Package This fits in there with the idea of the ready-to-cook farm meal.

As busy farmers, we don't always succeed at this, but even when a bit of communication doesn't absolutely require a response, sending a simple “Thank you so much,” to confirm you read a message or Facebook comment and appreciate it, will show them...