Small Farm Central

Steve Sando searching for new bean varieties.

Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo seems to lead a charmed life as bean seed selector and grower in Napa, California. He travels extensively in  Mexico and Central America to find rare and unusual varieties of dried beans to grow out in his trial gardens; only the tastiest varieties are saved for production in the future. These beans -- ranging from the spotted Vaquero Bean to the Pebbles Bean to extra-tasty varieties of Pinto Beans -- are then sold at farmer's markets, to restaurants, and most interestingly for Small Farm Central readers, on the Internet.

The cornerstone of his web marketing effort is the wonderful Rancho Gordo blog that he updates almost daily with news and photos on new bean varieties that he is testing, recipes that use beans (I can recommend the Breakfast Molletes because I made them on Saturday morning!), and controversial topics related to the larger sustainable agriculture community. I will be writing more in the future about the valuable aspects of blogging for your farm in the future (and of course, what exactly a blog is), but if you want to get a jump start on this topic, start reading farm blogs -- the Rancho Gordo blog is a good mentor. I only wish his blog and regular website were better integrated to help people that read his blog posts more readily convert from readers to buyers of products -- but I think there are some technical restraints because his blog is hosted separately from the regular site.

Vaquero beans from Rancho Gordo.

I am interviewing Steve later this week about his approach to web marketing. I will quiz him on the costs, both money and time, and the rewards of running his website and blog. I hope you can learn a little bit from his blog, try out a few new "New World" recipes, and then learn about how you can duplicate his success through my interview summary that will be coming out in the next week or two.

Especially as it relates to blogging, his website represents persistence and passion. As he writes about his beans, customers, and recipes I am convinced that he loves his subject and it provides a face for his product that is principled and human. The human connection -- the customer knows who we are and why we farm and we know why that customer supports our farm -- is an ideal that we all strive for in the sustainable agriculture community. The internet is just another way to reach people and customers who can keep us doing what we love.