It is just as important for a farmer to diversify their crops as it is for them to diversify their marketing strategy. Because we are diversifying our marketing plan by using direct marketing and wholesale marketing we are minimizing the risks involved. However, without risk there would be no reward. Every farmer runs the risk of experiencing bad harvest seasons with natural hazards in the environment. We can mitigate some of this risk by establishing a community-supported agriculture. A CSA consists of individuals within a community that share the risk and rewards of local food production. Our CSA will be designed to distribute vegetables year round. Each share will be negotiated on a sliding scale depending on the CSA member’s ability or interest to volunteer on the farm. Each share is designed to provide the vegetable needs of a family of four each week.
Another way we can connect with the community is by bringing people to the farm with a pick-your-own fruit operation. This will give us an opportunity to show the community our farm operations and all of the benefits associated with organic farming. Along with the pick-your-own fruit operations we will set up a farm store to sell produce that people don’t want to pick on their own. Our farm store will also be a resource for our neighbors as well, who can sell their own farm products, as long as they are not in direct competition with what we produce, and could include homemade crafts and local art.
A major factor we need to take into consideration is a possible backlash of organic produce after we launch our campaign. In the society that we live in today, people are becoming more socially responsible to reduce their carbon footprint. Our campaign will focus on educating people on the benefits of organic foods. It will be important to not only emphasize the health benefits of organic produce but also the environmental benefits.
