farm marketing

A full episode to break down the acquisition announcement of GrazeCart by specialty retail point-of-sale provider, POS Nation. 

On this episode Blaine and I unpack common questions like:

• Why did we decide to sell GrazeCart?
• Who is POS Nation? (you'll hear from their team)
• What will our involvement be going forward?
• What did we learn through this process?
• and what we’re most excited about for GrazeCart’s future!

As passionate founders, we're thrilled to have found a partner who is excited about the future of GrazeCart and has the expertise to expand its' position in the marketplace.

In case you're wondering, this podcast isn't going anywhere, and you can consider this episode the launch of season three!

Are you ready to take your vegetable farming to the next level?    

On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Michael shares about this year’s Thriving Farmer Summit and this year is all about Vegetables. The Summit is a free event happening January 12-14th and features a lineup of expert speakers covering topics from fertilizer-free farming methods and winter production to balancing family and farming, soil tests, compost and much more.

Tune in to hear about how this year’s Summit offers valuable insights and practical tips for farmers to improve their farming practices and grow better quality vegetables.

Click here to register for the Vegetable Summit.

You’ll hear:

• About what the Thriving Farmer Vegetable Summit is all about 
• Some details about each of this year’s Session Speakers
• What some of Michael’s biggest takeaways were from his interviews
• How to register for the Vegetable Summit

About the Guest:

Michael Kilpatrick is a farmer and educator in Carlisle, Ohio. Along with his wife, Savannah, they run the Farm on Central, where they pursue their passion of providing fresh and local food to the community.

In addition to co-running the farm, Savannah teaches cooking, canning, and baking classes from her kitchen. Meanwhile, Michael is also the founder of Growing Farmers and the Thriving Farmer Online Summits and is dedicated to providing educational resources for farmers.

Together, they reach a community of over 60,000 farmers, homesteaders, and families!

Resources: 

Website - Register here for the Vegetable Summit

And if you want to keep the conversation going, join us in our Facebook Group to connect with us and other farmers looking to grow their business!

The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor!

Explore new revenue opportunities with Harvest Hosts! List your farm and connect with a community of more than 250,000 RVers eager to support small businesses! You only need to provide space for at least one RVer to stay overnight. In exchange, the RVers will patronize your farm. No hook-ups or RV services required! Ready to add 15K+ in extra revenue with minimal time investment? Visit us at Harvest Hosts.com today!

Team meetings are tough to get right...

Whether you work with a few family members or a full-blown team, you've probably left meetings feeling more confused and discouraged than you came in.

Some of us get so fed up that we attempt to steer the organization without meetings altogether.

After all, between producing livestock and packing orders, who really has time for formal meetings anyway?

However, this only leads to more chaos and sideways energy.

So what's the answer?

In our experience, the key to having really great team meetings boils down to the AGENDA. 

The right agenda helps everyone show up fully prepared, ready to make quality decisions and to stay accountable to their commitments.

Not to mention the agenda we use actually saves us time by consolidating other meetings and eliminating the need for 1-on-1 updates.

We've been using this exact same agenda for over a year and today we've broken down the entire structure for you in this episode.

According to a few recent interviews from CEO Mike Salguero, ButcherBox has scaled beyond $600m in revenue. 

In this episode, Blaine and I share our reactions to ButcherBox's remarkable growth, a breakdown of the strategies they leveraged, as well as what their market position means for the everyday farm-to-fork producer.  

There's a lot of buzz floating around about AI and how it's disrupting countless industries.

But are there actually any practical applications to use to help run a farm-to-fork business?

We answer that question in today's episode by showcasing some of the ways we're using AI to save time while producing better results!

Increasing your AOV (avg. order value) not only increases revnue and margin, but it also reduces your operational headaches...

Why?

Because every order you receive comes with a similar level of overhead and risk. Basically as your order count increases, so increases:

• customer complaints
• packing mistakes
• no-shows & restocking
• failed deliveries
• declined payments
• bad checks
• ... Shall I go on?

This simple lesson is easy to overlook, and it's the inspiration behind this week's episode – Two EASY ways to increase AOV by next week!

It's something rarely talked about, but your brand name and logo does have an impact on the future of your business.

Fun fact, Steve Jobs paid the renown designer Paul Rand, $100k to create the logo for NeXT, Inc. 

Now, I'm not saying you need to drop a large % of your startup capital on your logo, especially in the freelance-art world we live in today.

However, it is important that you get the basics right because a bad name and/or logo, can be a ball and chain for a new farm-to-fork startup...

In this episode, Blaine and I share past stories of old logos we've since moved on from, and how to make that transition if your business could use a rebrand.

A common killer of healthy businesses is poor cash flow. This is like a predator that always strikes when you're not expecting it.

It doesn't matter if you have a great product, happy customers, or even healthy profit margins... It only takes one bad cash crisis to cause it all to fall apart.

The good thing is that you can protect yourself from this fate!

In this episode, Blaine and I break-down the most common mistakes that create cash flow disasters and how to avoid them.

To ship, or not to ship? 8 years ago, that's the big question Blaine and were battling with at Seven Sons...

Up to that point, we had built a very successful buying club model, delivering to 50+ pickup locations throughout our region.

Shipping always felt WAY too expensive, and a bad value proposition for our customers. Fast-forward to today, and we've closed all 50+ pickup locations and now exclusively ship door-to-door.

What changed, and is a buying club program something you should even consider today? Those are the question we answer in today's episode: Shipping vs Curbside!

Retail vs wholesale... Which is most relevant for you in 2023?

The short answer is that it depends!

In this episode we unpack the pros & cons of both channels in order to help you determine where both fit into your 2023 strategy.

Click for website & show notes

Are your priced stay profitable in 2023? According to the USDA, consumers paid 12.4% more at the grocery store in Oct, 2022, vs Oct, 2021.

As we continue through a season of unpredictable inflation, the consequences for neglecting price corrections has never been higher. At best-case, unsustainable pricing suffocates your ability to invest in growth.

Maybe that's how you feel now... We've all been there.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. In today's episode of Food Chain Wars, Blaine and I unpack the thinking & systems we use stay on top of profitable margins!

Click for website & show notes

With season 2, we're relaunching the show under a new name (Food Chain Wars). Our vision is to grow the show into the most valuble free resource for farm2fork marketers (regardless if you use GrazeCart or not).

We're here to help you climb the value-chain and reclaim your rightful market-share from big-ag and greedy 'greenwashing' corperations. That's what this show is about!

Sound interesting? Catch the trailer to learn more about what to expect out of season 2!

Hosts:

• Doug Roose, VP of Producer Marketing, ADM
• Shelby Schweitzer, Product Line Marketing Manager, ADM
• Emily Lacina, Crop Insurance Product Line Manager, ADM
• Guest: Kallie Schade, Grain Origination Specialist

Hosts:  

Doug Roose, VP of Producer Marketing, ADM

Shelby Schweitzer, Product Line Marketing Manager, ADM

Emily Lacina, Crop Insurance Product Line Manager, ADM

Guest: Holly Spangler, Editor, Prairie Farmer Magazine, and Family Farmer

Hosts:  

Doug Roose, VP of Producer Marketing, ADM

Shelby Schweitzer, Product Line Marketing Manager, ADM

Emily Lacina, Crop Insurance Product Line Manager, ADM

Guests:

Dr. Nick Weshinskey, Faculty Member, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

Paul Ruholl, Central Illinois Grain Origination Team, ADM

Elizabeth Mitsdarffer, Central Illinois Grain Origination Team, ADM

In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, we're delighted to welcome Jamal Miller, Director of Product Marketing at Mailchimp. Jamal shares tactics and tips that Farmers can implement today to get more out of their email marketing efforts. Listen in to learn how you can fully leverage the Barn2Door & Mailchimp integration to increase your Farm's sales and save time.

Show Notes:
Watch Jamal Miller discuss data proven strategies to fuel your online sales with email: https://directfarmconference.com/dataproven-strategies-to-fuel-your-online-sales-with-email
https://mailchimp.com/
https://www.barn2door.com/resources

People check their email inboxes even more often than they check their social media accounts. This being the case, a Farm’s earning potential increases with the utilization of an intelligent email marketing strategy.
In this episode we are joined by Cade Midyett, Growth Marketing Manager at Barn2Door, and Sam San Nicolas, Software Development Manager at Barn2Door. They will help unpack why emails are so important, how to leverage different types of emails for your customers, and also how to implement and master Barn2Door’s latest email integration with Mailchimp!

Show Notes:
https://www.barn2door.com/resources

Daphne Bicaise and her entire farming family were refugees from The Republic of Congo, rebuilding their family farm in the state of Texas with less than an acre of land.
Daphne shares with us how they navigated rebuilding their farm, engaged customers through storytelling, and how they’ve established a multigenerational farm brand.

Show Notes:
https://www.agricolafamilyfarm.com/
https://www.barn2door.com/resources

Angelica Hayton is a fifth generation farmer who owns and runs Hayton Farms Berries, located on Fir Island in Skagit Valley, Washington.
Angelica shares about how her farm adapted to COVID-19 and found great success, by beginning to offer pre-orders and home deliveries. Also sharing with us her exciting journey to grow a rare Pink Lemonade Blueberry!

Show Notes:
https://www.haytonfarmsberries.com/
https://www.barn2door.com/resources