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Entrepreneurship:  Profitable Ag Enterprises  |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
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julia hayes
True Blue Farmgirl
1132 Posts
julia
medical lake
wa
USA
1132 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 11 2005 : 07:55:33 AM
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thanks for this site. I'm looking forward to checking it out. the name alone is very very inspiring! enjoy you day! Julia
being simple to simply be |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16421 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16421 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2005 : 08:06:08 AM
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Here's an idea I've implemented at my farm that I'll roll out in earnest next summer now that my son and his girlfriend, my daughter and her husband are here to help me. Having visited many small (and some large) farms on my two-month book tour, I feel like this idea is an amalgam of everything I saw and has potential for small farmers everywhere (or smallholders as they are referred to in the UK).
I've watched the CSA (Community Suppported Agriculture) movement from afar. I just never got around to creating one officially...there was something about it that didn't fit me. It felt like a lot of hand holding (too much "windshield time" delivering veggies to the homes of members--which in fact we tried one summer) and not enough return. I've always wanted my eaters to be as involved as possible in the production of their food.
Holding in your hand a cabbage that is organic is a good start; holding in your hand a cabbage that has a face to it (knowing who grew it) is even better; paying $8.00 for it is ideal! You turn it into several meals, you use the core of it, and nothing is wasted. If on top of that value, you harvested it, you'll be as close to one with that cabbage as possible. (In my ideal world, everyone grows their own cabbages.)
I remember a good friend calling me one Saturday morning. A college professor; his marriage was on shaky ground; he was fed-up with University politics; on and on. He asked if there was something he could come out and “do.” I took him to my carrot patch, grabbed a spading fork and trained him. From afar, I watched him dig and dig and dig for hours. He stopped on occasion. Kneeling there, he looked like he was on a prayer bench in church.
Now, traditional U-pick means you've gone to someone's pumpkin patch the week before Halloween and you not only selected a pumpkin but you paid less for it than if you'd bought it at a road side stand or from the front of a grocery store. A cheaper U-pick price meant you were compensated for the effort it took you to drive to the patch and then to pick it. I've experimented with U-pick with some success but allowing just anyone to drive up my road and head to my fields has been disastrous on occasion. More hand-holding. And since I can't always be available for interruptions, U-pick harvesters need to come when it's convenient for me, not them. In other words, the idea of U-pick on my farm runs into complications (a sort of friction), from the get-go.
Somewhere along my long road to farming for profit, I hit upon the value of value-added that gives an eater something spiritual--a cabbage that is much, much more than food. My wall tent bed and breakfast gives testimony to that. It's almost winter here and people are still coming to stay in my tents. It's cold now, the wind blows, they have to use an outhouse and shower in less than comfortable conditions, but they LOVE it. They go home with a story to tell; they've listened to coyotes at night, roosters in the morning, cows throughout the day; they've helped with chores; and they’ve eaten an organic breakfast around a campfire. Now, the food we grew for their breakfast? We could have sold it for maybe $4 at the farmers’ market, $2 U-pick.
What I'm seeing is a universal hunger for something more than food.
So I’m selling shares of my farm, not just food shares like in a CSA. (They aren’t, of course, going to own my land!) But my farmshare families will pay up front for the opportunity to drive out here at any time, park their cars and become farmers. For a fee, maybe $200 dollars per year (similar to the Parks & Recreation fee or cemetery fee you pay on your taxes), my farmshare families will buy a key to my fields (and a one-time intensive training session). They’ll still pay for everything they glean (U-pick). Veggies, flowers, etc. will be on the honor system and I’ll charge per pound what I would charge at the farmers’ market. I’ll have scales available and plenty of bags and discarded milk jugs (temporary flower vases) on hand, etc. I’ll have drinking water, maybe some lemonade available, kid’s toys, a sand-box, a playpen for the little ones, a Swing. (They’ll sign a liability release.) And they’ll come to feel like they have their own farm now! My farm will become what they call in the tourist trade, a destination point. A farm theme park. Here’s our first feedback letter so far.
Dear Megan [my daughter], As the light is fading outside tonight, Erik and I just finished helping Isabella carve her first jack-o-lantern. It is sitting on the counter glowing next to a vase of fresh flowers from the farm and it is so beautiful! How lucky Bella and the rest of us are to be able to come out to the farm, pick the perfect pumpkin on a rainy October night and visit with good friends and a sweet little goat. We are cooking up the pumpkin seeds with Cajun spices and Isabella knows just who grew her pumpkin and where those seeds came from. The only thing better than this will be next year when she can help plant and water her own pumpkin.
I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for your own farm or future farm. Ideas abound and I hope we can continue to share and pass them around. You never know what might become your perfect fit.
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Edited by - MaryJane on Nov 15 2005 10:44:14 AM |
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BlueEggBabe
True Blue Farmgirl
417 Posts
Susan
PA
417 Posts |
Posted - Nov 11 2005 : 09:27:49 AM
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MJ and all,
I belong to a very well established CSA...an oldie and goodie. One of the originals. It has developed and been tended by many loving hands for almost 20 years. In other words..they do it so well, with so much variety for a good chunk of the year that I feel great about letting them do the majority of my veggie growing...and I can still be involved.
I can now focus on growing the herbs, roses and flowers that I need to support my business(with still some heirloom veggies to keep our seed healthy but with less of a focus)
The herb classes that I teach on my farm are part classroom and part hands on in the dirt, part harvest, and part preparation.
The process of learning to plant medicinal herbs, and to watch them grow and flourish to fullness through the seasons, is as much a deep learning experience as reading a qualified textbook on the subject... even more so, in my eyes.
I could easily teach a class indoors for the entire day.
Going outside, and experiencing the living plant lends itself to another deeper level of understanding and appreciation.I have witnessed it over and over again in myself and my students.
True healing (and study of healing) HAS to start THERE!!!
Here is a note that I received Saturday after my course sadly ended for another year:
“..The atmosphere of your home and gardens, the process of growing and harvesting the plants together and then creating something beneficial....all of it smells, tastes and heals better due to the combined efforts and energies put into it by our collective hands.”
Throw in preparing good food together, sharing some laughter and common love of plants,preparing helpful things for our families, and add a wandering flock of silly chickens for entertainment....
worth every penny and soooooo much more valuable to the soul of all involved than pulling a box of tea off the shelf at the supermarket.
I have never had trouble filling these classes.However,it's not what I teach that fills the course, its the experiences and magic shared that keeps them coming.
Oh Yes! Sooo much more than food .....
and medicine,
and healthcare
and the economy,
and ....oh, NOW you got me started!!!
GREAT topic!
Robin, I just signed up for the newsletter..Thanks for the link!
www.feedsackfarmgirls.blogspot.com
www.farmatcoventry.com
"If more of us valued good food, cheer and song above hoarded gold,the world would be a merrier place."
J.J.R.Tolkien |
Edited by - BlueEggBabe on Nov 11 2005 09:29:45 AM |
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prairiemaid
True Blue Farmgirl
200 Posts
Margret
Canada
200 Posts |
Posted - Nov 12 2005 : 06:17:54 AM
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Thank you ladies! Very inspirational!
Call me old fashioned. |
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ByHzGrace
True Blue Farmgirl
348 Posts
348 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2005 : 05:16:33 AM
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| we call em: nature's pantry subscriptions: $300/bushelfruit/NOv-April, $200/1/2bushel choice of orange-grapefruit-mixed. |
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blueroses
True Blue Farmgirl
1323 Posts
Debbie
in the Pandhandle of
Idaho
USA
1323 Posts |
Posted - Nov 16 2005 : 09:44:54 AM
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This is a wonderful idea. I would love the opportunity to participate. I live a couple of hours away, but what a great way to spend my weekends. Working the land and picking what I need. I pay for upick now, but this would be so much more rewarding. I think you guys down in Moscow got all our topsoil in the great flood. I have a hard time planting up where I live. And we have a short growing season. I would be very interested in this concept.
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
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ThymeForEweFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
705 Posts
Robin
An organic farm in the forest in
Maine
USA
705 Posts |
Posted - Nov 16 2005 : 10:13:42 AM
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I have some of the same concerns about u-pick as Mary Jane. I love having people here - but I need to have them supervised at least to some degree. I've had people walk over seedlings they thought were weeds on the way to cut spinach. I worry about someone touching the electric fence so I need to keep them away from that. It's not safe to have them near it and I can't afford to have the animals not hear that ticking from the charger. If the charger's ticking they know they'll get zapped. If they don't hear it all bets are off.
>>>So I’m selling shares of my farm, not just food shares like in a CSA.
What a great idea! I really like the idea of being able to give access to particular people. That's very clever. |
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Meg
Moderator/Farmgirl True
974 Posts
Meg
Idaho
USA
974 Posts |
Posted - Nov 21 2005 : 10:24:30 AM
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Debbie - We would love for you to join us next summer! After the holidays we are looking forward to furthering our brainstorm into a plan and we'll certainly pass it along once we do so!!
Robin - We are very excited to share the farm with all of those that share the farmgirl dream but may not have the space or time. And what a wonderful way to gather!
MaryJane's daughter,
Meg
megan@maryjanesfarm.org |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16421 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16421 Posts |
Posted - May 25 2006 : 07:11:11 AM
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We finally finished our "Country Club" U-pick brochures. If any of you are interested in seeing how we set it up, let us know and we'll drop a brochure in the mail to you. (Don't forget to e-mail us your address!) I think it's a model that could work on any farm. But we'll know better at the end of the summer. "Entremanures" on the rise!
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Edited by - MaryJane on May 25 2006 07:11:39 AM |
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sillyfoulks
True Blue Farmgirl
164 Posts
Elizabeth
Illinois
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - May 25 2006 : 07:34:19 AM
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I too have many of the same concerns that MaryJane expressed. Having just anybody stop by, at any given time is a major concern. More often then not I am home alone during the days. Our nearest neighbor is a mile down a road with very little traffic. What is a real concern is my children, who are just reaching an age where they can be left home for very short periods of time. There is also damage that can occur and dangers to unsuspecting visitors. For now I will be delivering any vegetables the 3 miles into town. We are just getting started and until our clients reach a higher number this is the best rememdy that I can come up with, at least for now. I am very interested in learning how the Country Club U-pick works. I have toyed with the idea of a coop of sorts to share the work load. "You come work, you take home veggies." I am just not sure how to make it really work, or if the market is there in our small community.
Elizabeth
Not how long, but how well you have lived is the main thing.
http://livingcountrystyle.blogspot.com/ |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2006 : 7:07:43 PM
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I'm back on the farm-entreprenurial line of thinking and this thread is such a good one. What are you gals thinking lately along these lines?
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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bohemiangel
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Bridget
Ligonier
pa
USA
2087 Posts |
Posted - Nov 15 2006 : 12:10:55 PM
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Great information...I'm gonna bookmark that one!
"... to thine ownself be true." |
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Entrepreneurship: Profitable Ag Enterprises |
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Profitable Ag Enterprises
