Reasons to have a website: the Serendipity Factor

A while ago, one Small Farm Central member wrote to me to say that views of her farm had ended up on a commercial because a video producer was able to find her farm through a quick Google search ("Macadamia nut farms in Maui").

A farmer wrote to me last week to tell me about a local, like-minded business that had been quietly digesting the farm blog. The business has ordered consulting services from the farm on how to start a rainwater-collection system on the strength of the blog, website, and of course the farmer.

You never know who is looking for you online and they can never find you if you do not have a website. Even if you feel like your website is in some damp, unloved corner of the web, someone out there is looking for you. This should not be the only reason to have a website because these stray connections often lead nowhere, like the sweet potato enthusiast who contacted me with detailed information about restaurants in his area that serve sweet potatoes. He wanted information about sweet potato festivals or conferences and I pointed him towards a few resources. This connection did not serve the interests of Small Farm Central, but sometimes these contacts will make sense for your business and you will be glad that your name and thoughts were out there for that person to find.

This is the serendipity factor.

Of course, a professional and up-to-date website with high visibility will garner more of these happenstance contacts.

Do you have any good stories of chance Internet encounters? Leave them below in comments.

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The long view at farming conferences

It is officially farming conference season; that time of year when farmers come together to forget about the struggles of the previous year and get excited about the possibilities for next season. So few of us Americans are farmers anymore that throughout most of the year when farmers are focused on their own corner of the world, communication is almost always with people outside of the agricultural community. Whether dealing with farm customers, phone support from the computer manufacturer, or a surly checkout person at the grocery store, there are few people to commiserate with that really understand the highs and lows of working a farm.

It is wonderful to watch the smiling faces of farmers at these conferences when they talk to friends and vendors. They can tell the stories of the year knowing, for once, that they do not have to explain all that background ("Yes, I am actually a farmer" "Well, food actually comes from a farm somewhere not the grocery store" "No really, I'm a farmer").

I am not working on a farm any more as these web projects seem to take enough of my time (see these soft hands?), but going to a conference like Acres USA is still a refreshing experience. It is gratifying to look prospective Small Farm Central members in the eye and tell them about the service and show them a demo. This product is for farmers who just want their web marketing to work and it is gratifying to remember that this is a big help in a farmer's life in finances, time-management, and professionalism. In whatever we do in life, it is important to look up and see the broader picture of the daily work. Going to a farming conference rejuvenates my drive for Small Farm Central just as much as farmers are renewed when they know that they are among equals.

A hearty welcome to the new faces who signed up during the conference and hopefully many more farmers I talked to will join over the next few months. Thanks also to Chris Deatrick who graciously hosted me while I was in Louisville. He corrected my pronunciation of the city's name and took me on a great tour of the city.

Photo by merfam

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Young farmer ponders economic sustainability

(photo by kevindooley)

You may remember Krystle from "Ruminations on farm business from an aspiring farmer." She is young farmer working in New Mexico and now pondering the next steps to take. You can check out her site at http://www.selfmadefarmer.com. The following are excerpts from her November 2007 newsletter; sign up for the mailing list by sending Krystle an email at: lettucehead@selfmadefarmer.com.
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"The best way to stay grounded, it seems, is to develop a vision based on some core values and principles that you believe in, and to return to this vision every time you feel discouraged. So I've spent the last month focusing on a foundation which will ultimately become the backbone of my business plan. My main guide was a publication titled "Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses" developed by the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture.

The first thing I did was identify values, or "standards, beliefs or qualities that you consider worth upholding or pursuing." In other words, they define what it means to me to be successful in farming. They're broken down into four categories: personal, economic, environmental, and community. What resulted was a list that pretty much defined why I've chosen farming as a lifelong vocation. In time, I plan on focusing on these values individually, through future newsletters or articles."

...

"During my first two years of farming in New York, I was fortunate enough to have a mentor who was a lifelong farmer and took me under his wing. I often think to this day that if it hadn't been for his influence, I might've wasted years in the wealthy hobby farming community, where having the rarest breed or the most unique tomatoes outweighs turning a profit. It's great when--of all the things wealthy people can do with their money--they choose to preserve farmland and endangered breeds or varieties; but from what I've seen, such operations tend to have unrealistic expectations that always fall on the staff, and the turnover is high, despite good pay.

Instead, I learned early on that there are profits to be made from farming, if one chooses to be creative and ambitious enough. I also realized that if I could make a living from farming in a way that's both ecologically and financially sustainable, I'd feel like an accomplished human being. Once that was settled, I knew what I needed to learn: how to run a farm as a business. And I knew I wasn't getting it in New York. But I'd added another value to my list: financial sustainability."

...
"In looking at the big picture, I acknowledge that the only way an alternative food system is ever going to become established is if every generation builds upon the work of the one before it. To reinvent the wheel unnecessarily is not only counter-productive, but it's also a waste of time. I've learned to value continuity and collaboration more than ever.

With these realizations in mind, I'm now more open to the possibility of striking up a partnership with an existing farmer and working out some way that I can invest in their farm, rather than build one from the ground up. Whether it'll actually pan out that way, who knows? If there's anything I've learned in New Mexico, it's to hang on to your values and just wait and see...!"

-Krystle

Nine practical solutions for the consumption of home canned food

When I go to see my grandma I gain a lot of weight
With her dear hands she gives me plate after plate.
She cans the pickles, sweet & dill
She cans the songs of the whippoorwill
And the morning dew and the evening moon
'N' I really got to go see her pretty soon
'Cause these canned goods I buy at the store
Ain't got the summer in them anymore.

-Greg Brown, Canned Goods

There were hot August and September evenings in the kitchen over a hot stove top ‘preserving the harvest’ from the farmer’s market, CSA, and home garden. The gardens are now frozen and farmer’s markets are closed, so I am starting to look at the cupboard (in my case the cupboard is a collection of boxes pushed to a remote corner of the kitchen) with thoughts of how and when to pop open those time capsules - bundles of joy and summer.

The food in those jars is no longer simple sustenance. There is a story in each jar: the place the food was bought or grown, the family or friends who helped, and the weather on that day. It is a splinter of life intersecting with produce in a deeply personal way that food from the grocery store never can never match.

This home food preservation isn’t logical; it doesn’t fit into any mainstream economic theory. I spent seven hours one evening on seven quarts of canned tomato sauce. This was not hard labor throughout the process, but I was mindful of the canning throughout that long summer evening. At any reasonable rate of return on my labor, they were wasted hours that could have been spent creating value in other pursuits. What happened to that core tenant of capitalism: specialization?

This irrationality is one of the reasons that we are still canning at home and more people try it each year. It is seen as old-fashioned, anachronistic. It doesn’t make sense – it is something that you can’t discuss in mixed company or at the office unless you are willing to brave a long explanations and puzzled stares.

“Let me get this straight: you made your own pickles? Out of cucumbers?”

But as you know it is a testament to experimental cooking, the bounty of summer, and your own resourcefulness. It is anti-economic; not necessarily against modern society, but a way of running parallel. It is quiet, messy, and the opposite of fast food. 

Now theory ends – you’ve put in the time over your boiling-water canner and it is time to collect on debts and eat that home canned food. Here are some suggestions on how to eat it all; just don’t be shy. That food is for eatin’, not just for lookin’.

1. Alone
   Hoard the hard-earned food for just yourself. Tell your friends and family that they should have accepted the invitation to your canning party if they wanted to get in on the end product.
2. “Meet the foodies”
   Invite neighbors and coworkers over to an “informal” winter dinner. As they walk in the door hand each guest a menu which lists each dish along with the date the food was preserved, from what farm the produce was purchased, and to really elicit the desired effect attach all recipes so your guests know exactly how long you slaved over the stove for each dish.
3. With closed eyes
   Eat peach butter straight from the jar with a spoon with closed eyes. Imagine the steps from bud growth in the spring to that moment. Be surprised to see snow falling outside when you open your eyes.
4. Reverently
   Leave each jar on the counter for a few days before a planned usage. Delight in how the winter sun glints on your little piece of summer, then cook and eat the meal with a touch of sadness.
5. Gift-it
   Preserved food is a perfect antidote to the January Blues, so give the gift of summer this Christmas.
6. In your sleep
   Who here can say they haven’t ever woken up with an empty jar of bread and butter pickles laying on the bed next to them?
7. With friends
   A friend of mine loves the pickled okra I have made the last few years, so I always save a few bottles for his enjoyment.
8. Feverishly
   If you find applesauce running down your shirt or drinking the pickle juice at the end of the container, you may be suffering from eating style #8.
9. Over-planned
   In August, plan out your meals for the whole winter down to the last jar of tomato sauce. Pick a weeknight as the night of preservation and choose a recipe from the list for each week December to March.

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Small Farm Central bridges the gap between technology and agriculture by providing web services to direct marketing small farms across the country. We help farms reach their marketing potential with inexpensive, professional websites that any farmer can use. Come get a free demo today.