Farm blogging is not necessarily difficult and time-consuming. Try regularly posting a photo and frame with a few words of background -- a vibrant photo with an engaging description will go a long way in creating a connection with your customers.

It shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes to post a blog entry like this. Perfect for those summer weeks when the last thing you want to do is write a long blog post.

Eugene from Catskill Merino, a sheep farm and Small Farm Central subscriber in Goshen, New York, does this consistently and effectively. See here or here.

Of course, every good rule is flexible and it is a good idea to break this rule if you do not have anything to say with a photo. If words do the job and you can't find a good photo, break the "one photo, one blog" rule!

(Whew, I made it to the end of the post without using some hackneyed "picture is a worth a thousand words" reference.)

Wake up a little early this morning and write your farm blog.
This is the second installment of "5 farm blog ideas" -- click here to see part 1.

1. "A day at the market": Describe in detail -- from waking up before dawn to unpacking the truck after dark -- a day in the life of the farmer's market. The whole cycle is not something most customers appreciate because they see you for a few minutes in the mid-afternoon and do not think about the long hours that it takes. On the days you really need some sympathy, this is a good blog entry to print out and stick in every customer's bag as they leave your stand.
2. Cold weather farming: What do you do at the farm to get crops to customers in the cold season? Frost protections, specialized crops, and over-wintering are all interesting topics for non-farmers.
   
3. Cleaning up the farm: What does it take to get the farm ready for winter? The tiny farm blog did a great job of this by describing how he uses the bucket of a front-end loader to clean rows. He finds it "too easy," akin to cheating, but it is a great example of how creativity with farm implements is often utilized. This inventiveness goes on at every farm, but it is not something that the average eater knows about.
4. Focus on the crop: Whether you produce vegetables, meats, or other products you have probably gained knowledge on the crops you grow over the years. The Ladybug Letter did this recently with pumpkins. Most of us do not have Andy's virtuosity, he discusses nursery rhymes, special varieties ("Cucurbita maxima"), Cinderella, and Nixon, but just write down your knowledge of a particular crop and you have a blog article that customers will love.
5. Conferences: As the work slows down on the farm, the farming conference season kicks into high gear. One way to remember what you learned at the conference is to write about it in terms that your customers can understand. Explaining the ideas in simple terms will help you challenge some of your assumptions and your customers will become more connected to the farm. That sounds like a win-win.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.. Among the many things I am thankful for in my life, I am thankful for the friends that I have made across the country while providing the Small Farm Central service. I am also thankful for the education and experiences that led to this project; it provides me with a lot of pleasure.

Have a great Thanksgiving -- back to the mailing list series after the holiday.

Wake up a little early this morning and write your farm blog.
This is part 1 of an on-going series. Click here to read part 2.

1. Variety feature: write about one of the special varieties that make small-scale farming so interesting to you and the customers. These varieties are bred for taste and are meant for ripe picking instead of shipping. They also have a history -- find out what that history is on the Internet. Do you cook this variety differently than the standard-issue grocery store fare? What is different about the way the plant looks? Is it more difficult to grow? Did you save the seed?
2. Choose a specific challenge: there are always challenges in farming and it is temptation to write about farming from a breezy overhead view; mentioning each challenge in one sentence and moving on to what you think people find more interesting. Today, focus on one particular problem and all the ideas you have for solving it, what books you are reading to find answers, and any other sources you can call on (neighbor farms, family, etc). By telling the detailed story of one problem, customers will understand how inventive you must be to grow your crops.
3. The first time.. : discuss the first time you ever thought about farming. Did you grow up on a family farm? Did you visit your grandfather's farm when you were young? Many of your customers don't know how you got into farming.
4. What's the neighbor up to: You probably have people in the area also doing innovative projects in agriculture and food. Highlight one of your neighbors and friends today. By telling their story, you are demonstrating how it takes a whole community to produce the food, not just one farm.
5. Worker feature: Let one of your interns or workers write a post today. You can of course review it before you post it online, but this activity will give your worker a different way of reflecting on the farm and make them feel more valued in the business. It is very hard work on a farm and a distraction will be good for your worker.

I will continue this "5 farm blog ideas" post in the future to get you writing today!

Of course you can get your own website up and running, complete with farm blog, on the Small Farm Central in just a few hours and very inexpensively. Call us today (412-567-3864) or email us at info@smallfarmcentral.com to get started today.