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Building a Farm Business: Five Tips Every Farmer Should Know
994 Plays2 years ago
In this week’s episode, we are thrilled to have Valerie Luhman of Grass Fed Cattle Co with us discussing five key tips to building a successful Farm Business for any Farmer, but especially those who are newer to the field!
Since starting their own Farm Business, Valerie and her husband Jared, have continued to grow Grass Fed Cattle Co, and have established an impressive customer base in their community.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast, the go to resource for farms across the US looking to grow and manage their business. Tune in weekly to hear tips and tactics from our most successful farmers on how to increase sales, access more customers and save time and money. We'll also speak with industry experts, business leaders and partners to share the latest farm business trends selling direct to market.
00:00:27
Speaker
Welcome to the Direct Farm podcast. I'm Sky Hilliard, your host for today's episode.
Meet the Hosts: Skye Hilliard and Valerie Lumen
00:00:32
Speaker
I've been here with Barn to Door for about a year working as part of our success team. Today, we've got the privilege of speaking with Valerie Lumen of Grassfed Cattle Co., a pastured proteins farm based out of Minnesota.
00:00:47
Speaker
Valerie and her husband began working with Barnadore almost four years ago when she was just out of college, newly married and building her dream life as a farmer with Jared. Fast forward four years, Grass-fed Cattle Co. has become a thriving business. They're growing their family and now Valerie actually teaches farms the tactics she implemented that fueled their success.
Valerie's Journey into Farming
00:01:09
Speaker
We're going to dive in now to our conversation with Valerie to discuss the five tips she would give new farmers building a farm business of their own. Welcome Valerie. Thanks so much Skye. So could you start by telling us a little of the personal story for you guys, you know, specifically how you and Jared met, your involvement with FFA, what prompted your dreams of being a farmer?
00:01:32
Speaker
Yeah, I'd love to. So I grew up on a farm and so did my husband, Jared. We both really enjoyed farming with our families. We met in FFA, which is an agricultural student-led leadership organization that we were both involved in throughout high school. I was in eighth grade. He was in 10th grade. He met at an FFA camp and became good friends and later started dating when I was in college.
00:01:56
Speaker
And I guess I always knew I wanted to be part of agriculture. I knew I wanted to somehow tell the story of agriculture because I knew so many people that were disconnected from where their food came from, but I wasn't quite sure what that looked like. I wasn't sure I wanted to be a full-time farmer because I really did want to work with people.
00:02:16
Speaker
I was kind of a combination of my sisters. My older sister wanted to be a doctor, work with people, but not farm. My younger sister, we couldn't get her out of the tractor. So I wanted to do a little bit of both. And so Jared and I got married, and about a year later,
00:02:33
Speaker
We were just looking at small businesses for sale on this website with his brother and we stumbled on Grasswood Cattle Coat and purchased the website logo and then the current customer list from the previous owners who kind of just started it as a hobby. Um, so purchased that from them and really learned a lot along the way as we made it our own and kind of.
00:02:58
Speaker
Not totally changed the brand, but just shifted it to fit with our family and our farm. And Jared was already doing some direct marketing on the farm, so it was a really nice fit. But that kind of fulfilled my dream of wanting to farm and work with people at the same time. And it's been a lot of fun to do with our families and friends.
00:03:18
Speaker
Yeah, so that's a good segue and just starting to talk about our tips here for people who are just starting the farm journey out or even looking to get started, right? There's no farm is really the same when I get to them in onboarding. What do you think the first step is when you guys first made that purchase or even beforehand when you were talking about making the purchase of what became your operation today? What do you think the first step in building the farm businesses?
The Motivation Behind Farming
00:03:43
Speaker
Yeah, I think tip number one is just starting with your why and identifying your motivation. It's easy to look at social media and see farming as a glamorous, you know, fun job that you get to do outdoors, but the reality is that it is hard work. And when you mix in direct marketing and updating your inventory and doing all the customer relations things, it's a lot of hard work and it's not just a stomping through green pastures and
00:04:12
Speaker
and saying hi to nice red cows even though I know sometimes that's what we make it look like. But we've, I mean, along this spring we've had some difficulties on our farm and just accidents that have happened and drought and things like that and it is tough work. So I think identifying that why and being fully committed to that dream that you have together
00:04:35
Speaker
writing it down, sharing it on your website, social media, and on your welcome email with your customers so that they can really be in tune with that why and understand who you are and why you're doing what you're doing.
00:04:47
Speaker
Yeah, that actually makes a ton of sense. The why part figuring out why you're doing it and if it's worth it to you and because it's going to take commitment, right? Just like you said, there's a lot of different facets. So that seems like a super important tip number one. Definitely the reason that's the first tip.
00:05:07
Speaker
If I've decided I'm committed and I've got some access to some land to grow or graze animals, harvest my products, what do you think is next? What's tip two?
Understanding Your Customers
00:05:20
Speaker
Knowing your customer, defining who and where those customers are located. Most importantly, what pain points that you're trying to solve for those customers. And it has to be more than just feeding someone because we can get food a lot of different places. So trying to identify why your ideal customer might pay more for your products and what keeps them coming back for more.
00:05:46
Speaker
Our ideal customer, we like to say, would be a 35-year-old parent who live in the Idina, Richfield area, which is near our pickup location. A little over an hour from our farm, but we really don't have many people come pick up on the farm. And that those people will care deeply about feeding their family, regenerative, healthy, and local food from a family that they know. That's super good advice and something that a lot of people don't think about a lot, I feel, in onboarding.
00:06:14
Speaker
I haven't spent the time and sat down and figured out just at a general level, let alone demographic level, like you have who they're trying to reach and if they're trying to match up their why or their brand with what other people are looking for, right? Because you don't provide the same exact product as a big box, a super store, like a Walmart or something like that.
00:06:36
Speaker
In my role at Barnador onboarding, we often talk with farms about why a buyer would choose their farm's products. And I kind of started in on this a moment ago, but given the number of available options today, you know, why would they choose you? So what would you have to say about that for tip number three here?
Building a Supportive Brand
00:06:57
Speaker
Yeah, that's a big question. I would say building a brand that customers want to be loyal to. Yes, having quality products, but how do your buyers connect with your brand emotionally? Do they understand your story? Do they want to support you, your family, and your purpose? I just had a customer last week named Lisa who was picking up who said, we just love supporting you and Jared and all that you're doing and
00:07:22
Speaker
It was so fun to chat with her and she's asking all about I'm pregnant with our second right now and I'm looking very pregnant. So everybody has tips or questions or whatever. And she, she was giving me just some tips and just asking how I'm doing and all of that. And it's so fun to have customers that truly engage with our brand and know who we are and what our story is all about.
00:07:47
Speaker
So wanting your customers or your buyers to feel good about your brand, having it be trustworthy to them so that when they see an email or a post from you or anything else, they automatically want to support you and to recommend your brand to other people. I think that's super important too.
00:08:06
Speaker
Um, and then using your brand everywhere, we tried to use our key messages and our same photos and colors on our website, our email signature, the stamp on our boxes or the sticker, um, and just reinforce it, um, everywhere we go, whether that's in person online with our packaging or in phone conversations too. So I think building your brand is one of the most important steps that we can take as farmers to have loyal customers.
00:08:37
Speaker
Yeah, and I feel like the word you said there that I really honed in on was story, right? You've laid the groundwork of why am I getting involved in this? Why do I want to do it? It's something a lot of people aren't thinking about, you know, they are thinking about raising their animals and growing their produce and being able to take a step back and defining the story and the why of your brand are huge elements of this. What are some of the ways you built the brand?
00:09:02
Speaker
Yeah, I would say email marketing was a huge part. The welcome series has helped just so much. If you're a new farmer, I would definitely recommend taking some time to do that. I would say just showing up in their email frequently to continue to tell our story in different ways.
00:09:19
Speaker
and show our customers how we can help and show them how we can help be part of the solution. So giving them updates when products are available, making sure they know we have convenient options for delivery and pickup, giving them recipe ideas, especially that we're focusing on parents who have really busy schedules, giving them quick recipe ideas that they can use our product for.
00:09:43
Speaker
Farm updates, videos, resources, guest blogs, I think all of those have tied into our brand and just us continually showing up for them, making sure they know that we are a trustworthy resource and that our quality products are going to be there when their family needs them.
00:10:01
Speaker
And then I think two other ways are just our in-person events we've done where we actually get to meet people. We usually do a giveaway of some sort and have them sign up for our email list as part of that giveaway. That's just been super valuable. A lot of times people reach out, hi, I met you, you know, last year at this show. And so those have been really valuable for us just to even get those emails.
00:10:26
Speaker
On our list. And then lastly, just social media, um, sharing our everyday life and it might be every day or boring to us, but to them, um, if they're a new follower, it's totally new and it's super exciting to see us move cows to a new pasture, even though we do it every day. So I think those are some of the quick ways that we have built our brand and try to just build that genuine connection with our customers.
00:10:53
Speaker
Yeah. And you do events, right. But that could be a market day as well. That's a great way to make that connection with people and start to tell your story and meet new folks and bring them on into social media or the email list. So super good tip. Love tip number three. So.
00:11:11
Speaker
Moving on to the next one here, assuming I'm a new farm and I've got my wife figured out, I've defined my ideal customer, right? And then I've spent a lot of time figuring out how to brand ourself and tell our story. Now, what do you think tip number four is? And it seems like we've got to be close to making money at this point, right? So let's hope so.
Optimizing Purchase Experience
00:11:36
Speaker
Uh, yeah, pricing and packaging. Our product is tip number four. You can nail tips one, two, and three, but if you don't understand how buyers want to purchase your products, that's the most important part at the end of the day. So for instance, if we're selling grass-fed beef, like we are only by the quarter half or whole, you're really limiting the market opportunity to about 3% of potential buyers who own a chest freezer, which always shocks me.
00:12:04
Speaker
I do believe that number is potentially growing. We continue to have more customers reach out who say, I just bought a test freezer, even if it is a small one, just because they want to feel confident about their food supply. And especially for families, I think they're realizing that's one of the most convenient, affordable ways to purchase high quality products locally.
00:12:26
Speaker
Then there's urban environments as well, right? And they don't even have the option of getting a chest freezer. So if you're just outside of the city, and that's really what you're kind of targeting for a market, quarter halves and holes are going to be tough because people don't even have the option of that kind of storage. And they've just got either the top or bottom freezer of their fridge. So good point.
00:12:47
Speaker
Right. Yeah. We see a lot of customers in apartment buildings and obviously they aren't usually the ones that are ordering a half beef share. They're usually the ones offering or ordering a bundle or a subscription box that comes once a month.
00:13:02
Speaker
So I think it's important to think back to your ideal customer and who are those people where do they live and what kind of storage do they have and what's most convenient for them as far as how your product is packaged.
00:13:19
Speaker
So we have a lot of people that are just shopping for two people or even for two adults and two children. And those people want to have regular weekly or monthly deliveries. So I think just having those pricing and packaging options that are easy and simple to understand a long list of instructions or
00:13:42
Speaker
just a lot of words we find will just confuse people. So I'd definitely recommend having bullet points versus like paragraphs about things. And again, just simplicity I think is key when it comes to offering different options for packaging. So we have some of our bestsellers or just our bundle boxes of chicken and our meat clubs and beef clubs, that kind of thing. People love to feel confident about it. They love to have
00:14:11
Speaker
just a simple list of what's going to be included and order that every year or every month or however often that they are ordering those specific packages. Yeah, absolutely. And household size is something that a lot of people forget and that does relate back to our ideal customer too, right? You've got to put a little bit of time and thought into who it is you're selling to and who you want to be selling to, right? So yeah, it's about a third of America that lives alone or just with one other person.
00:14:39
Speaker
And then another third is about three or four, and then another third is larger families. Really important to kind of keep that in mind when you're putting packages together. You're selling to their needs, not necessarily yours. And simplifying makes a ton of sense as well because people get confused. I do this eight hours a day and when people send me cut sheets for quarters, halves and wholes, my eyes start to glaze over because it's a lot and it's not always clear that if you're
00:15:07
Speaker
choosing this cut, then another cut kind of goes out the window. And it's really hard to keep all that straight. And so easy bullet points, simplicity in your messaging, simplicity in your packaging makes a ton of sense. So yeah, great tip. And simplicity for you as a farmer too, because that
00:15:26
Speaker
That is a huge part, but yeah. And I was just going to add that when you said you're catering to their needs, I would highly recommend surveying your customers because we found that some of our people who were opting out of our subscription boxes were saying, it's just too much per month. And I was like, how is 20 pounds per month too much? But, you know, as farmers,
00:15:50
Speaker
We just eat a lot of meat. We have it available and we love it. But some people don't eat that much. So asking them before you're building out those boxes or even after, after you've had them out for a while, surveying them, asking them for some feedback, we found that to be just so valuable for us in our business.
00:16:10
Speaker
Yeah, 100%. That's a simplicity for you is a big part of this, right? We are trying to save time after all with signing up for Barn to Door. That's an important element of this for sure. So tip number five, let's move on to this one here. As a new farm, how can I succeed in a crowded market?
00:16:30
Speaker
Hip number five is simple, just convenience. All of our buyers are busy and a lot of them are parents or they're people with full-time jobs. So the ability for them to just purchase and get our product easily is so important. So we offer a pickup location in Edina in a really well-known area.
00:16:51
Speaker
We're there about once a week and people can see those options right away when they are adding something to their cart or they can choose a delivery option. It gives them a window of time and we're going to deliver that product. But making sure that those are convenient times, offering some morning ones, some evening ones, making sure that a lot of our customers are within that same area. So I know Barn to Door recommends that pickups are within five miles of our buyers or even less.
00:17:21
Speaker
And that if not, maybe you offer options in their local loop at a business or a church or a school that they go to often. And then considering delivery, I know it was tough for us right away to figure out, but delivery was one of the pieces of feedback we got from our customers from a survey that we sent out. They really wanted a delivery option and we're so glad we had it set up before COVID.
00:17:49
Speaker
But being smart about it, narrow your focus, charge the delivery fee you need to charge to make it worth your time and mileage. Um, but our customers do really love the convenience of their meat arriving right on their doorstep, whether that's a small box of ground beef or their meat club or their half beef share. I think lastly, considering subscriptions, if your farm products are available weekly,
00:18:17
Speaker
or every other week or monthly and offer subscriptions, they're going to keep people coming back and make it easy and convenient for those customers to have ongoing access to our products. So we found that, again, focusing on that simplicity with the subscription boxes, but they're definitely worth the time to get customers coming back and just have everything be automated makes it so simple.
00:18:44
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. If it's not convenient, ultimately, people are going to go somewhere else, right? And you found that and tons of other farmers have found that. We've seen that in the data. It's something like 85% of people aren't willing to drive more than 20 minutes to pick up food. People aren't going to be going to on-farm pickup if your farm's not right in the middle of, like you said, the local loop, which is where people are going to and from regularly throughout the week.
00:19:11
Speaker
just think about your own habits and the habits of your friends and family. How are you going to plug into their days and make it easy enough for them to buy your product? And again, that gets back to commitment, right? If you're committed to this, it's going to take a little bit of time and you're going to have to figure out a way to get to that market. We've got plenty of people that are rural farms and need to make trips to a local market for people to be able to
00:19:37
Speaker
tap into population and money. Subscriptions are great as well. We see a lot of people really loving having the ability to set up subscriptions inside of Barn to Door. So people come back regularly and they don't have to worry about them actually jumping back into the platform and making another purchase because it's already set up.
00:19:59
Speaker
All really fantastic advice.
Advice for New Farmers
00:20:01
Speaker
That gets us to the end of our five tips for new farms. So if you are setting up your farm right now, I would implement these tips that Valerie is talking about today. And before we wrap up, Valerie, I just wanted to check and see if there's anything else you'd like to share with the listeners, any advice, encouragement, final stories, anything.
00:20:21
Speaker
Yeah, I would love to just encourage people that are just starting out. I know it can be overwhelming hearing all of these tips and tidbits all at once, but at the end of the day, make sure you have a quality product and tell your story. People want to genuinely connect with you and your family and your farm, so make that type of priority and be true to who you are.
00:20:44
Speaker
And then also if you've been doing this a while or you're going through some big life changes like we are about to welcome a new baby, share that with your customers and do your best to continue to offer those convenient options for them, but also make it work for you and your family. So keep it simple if you can. It's I think good to be human and continue to foster those true relationships.
00:21:07
Speaker
With our customers, I have so many that I think of as not only customers, but also friends or people I could turn to for advice or resources or things like that. So, just continue to foster those true relationships through social, email, in person, wherever you are talking to your customers. I think that's what makes having a small business like this so fun and so rewarding.
00:21:34
Speaker
Cool. Well, very well said. I want to extend my thanks to Valerie for joining us on this week's podcast episode and her ongoing contributions to help other farms here at Barnadore successfully build their business and feed their local community. So thank you very much, Valerie. Here at Barnadore, we're humbled to support thousands of farms across the country. We're honored to get the opportunity to learn from our most successful farms here, like Valerie, who share the tactics, resources, and tools they use to grow and manage their farm business.
00:22:03
Speaker
For more information about Barn to Door, check out our website at www.barntodoor.com. And there you can find a litany of free resources to help your farm increase sales, access more customers, or save time. So thank you for tuning in and see you next time.
00:22:25
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in. For more free farm resources, tips, and tactics that are most successful farms use to grow and manage their business, visit barnadore.com slash resources. Also don't forget to subscribe to the direct farm podcast to automatically download our weekly episodes. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.