Can You Make It Work? Developed by: Melody Hefner Susan Donaldson University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

What we’ll be doing Comparing and contrasting some success stories with your current experiences Exploring at least three factors that made a sustainable enterprise successful, using an in-depth case study Comparing and contrasting your proposed enterprises with the case studies Finding ways to make your enterprises work!

The “What if?” game

How have others made their enterprises successful? USDA NRCS

Case Study One: Story Hill Farm, Montana

Story Hill Farm 20 acres Enterprise is a supplemental source of income Sell organically grown bedding plants, garden produce and eggs Not actually certified organic Sell plants and produce to local food cooperative and restaurants Minimal sales at farmers’ market, U-pick and custom livestock

How did they get started? Noted rapidly growing market for organically grown, locally produced food Researched products that would grow in their area, would produce enough to be profitable, and would be marketable in their area Talked with other growers, the local food coop, local chefs and consumers Received advice from NRCS and Cooperative Extension Service

Mission statement Growing Together “Growing Together” This is more of a tag line than a mission statement, but it reflects the values that would go into a more formalized mission statement.

Story Hill Farm No formal business plan Marketing plan consists of personal contact with customers, including Production costs are recorded, but labor is all done by family, and it is difficult to quantify costs for individual products Selling price determined by looking at the competition’s prices and talking with potential customers

Story Hill Farm Capital investment financed by owner No employees – “As a recovering businessman, I want to avoid having employees, with all the attendant costs and frustrations.” Accept cash, check and invoice, occasionally run a tab or barter

Short-term goals Healthy food for the family Modest commercial production Soil building and enhancement Learning Weed control

Long-term goals Increase knowledge and efficiency Match products to market Maximize profit while minimizing the labor cost for every dollar gained in sales Increase diversity of family food production Use farm for education of children and others Continue experimentation to keep it interesting Use permaculture philosophy in management

Educational outreach

Any change in original goals? “Labor costs and availability have forced us to scale back… some of our goals and to search for more labor-efficient products and growing techniques.”

Contingency plans? “Risks come in lots of flavors. Anyone in business must be comfortable with living with risks.” Story Hill Farm says: “Small size enables nimble behavior!”

Story Hill Farm What are some of the positive and negative aspects of running your own business? Positives: making your own decisions, controlling your own risks, satisfaction of seeing results, family closeness (watching kids and grandkids grow), producing much of your own food Negatives: amount of time that must be spent to turn a relatively small profit

Lauren and Ewell Culbertson Longmont, Colorado Case Study Two

Pachamama Organic Farm Grow and sell certified organic produce and plants 40-acre farm, two ponds and wetlands 12 of 40 acres are used to grow certified organic produce Sell at farmers’ markets and have a CSA Allow farm visits during the CSA season on pick-up days and for a few “festivals”

Pachamama Farm Web site “Consider making a commitment to treating yourself and your family to an 18-week diet centered around fresh, organically grown produce that nourishes the body and spirit. By shifting $25 of your current food purchases per week from the corporate food system to our local, family-operated, organic farm you will be creating powerful change in our community and our world. CSA is about more than just vegetables."

Pachamama Farm Name means “Earth Mother” in Quechua Certified organic Manage soil by: –Performing annual soil test –Adding compost and compost tea –Growing cover crops

Goals for their enterprise Original goals: –Earn a decent living –“Get the farming monkey off my back” Goals modified recently: –“Want to farm successfully by working less strenuously – more delegation”

How did you get started? “Read everything I could find Visited every farm I could find Went to many conferences Gardened for five years Consulted NRCS and other farmers for advice”

What came next? Had/have a written plan Personally funded Year-round plan was refined as time went on Trial-and-error on marketing Selling price? “Charge as much as the market will bear.”

Workforce Three full-time 12 part-time (seasonal) Wages determined by local market: “Ask around and pay a little bit more than I think others pay.” Employees receive a quarter-acre garden space for their own use Employer pays for gas for cars, rain gear and rubber boots

Risk management Risk management Grow many different crops CSA memberships pay up front, no refunds Also sell at farmers’ markets, restaurants and grocery stores Accept payment in the form of cash, check, invoice and barter

Pachamama Farm What are some of the positive and negative aspects of running your own business? Positives: Allows more creativity and freedom, and a chance for increased income. No boss, no petty office politics. Negatives: Higher risk, no employer-paid benefits, such as FICA, health insurance and retirement.

Cooperative efforts with “the competition” Pachamama Farms: New for 2008, Partnership with Full Circle Farm! “Full Circle Farm in Longmont will supply our members with warm-season organic produce items that do not grow well in our cooler microclimate. Members will enjoy a longer CSA season and an expanded produce selection in 2008 at no additional cost!”

Bear River Valley Beef, California “When you purchase our pasture-raised beef, you help support our Family Farm and preserve rural agriculture land with sustainable agriculture practices. This is land we deeply care about, where we live and raise our children. The Grass Fed Beef we market is the same beef we serve our family and you can rest assured that our beef is safe to eat every day.”

Bear River Valley Beef Grass-fed beef, finished on organic grass pastures Cattle are guaranteed to be free of hormones and antibiotics, and minimally processed with no artificial ingredients Beef is USDA inspected

Marketing Marketed via Web site and word- of-mouth Product shipped via UPS or delivered by truck in local area Seasonal sales, from spring to fall Tout the health benefits of consuming grass-fed versus grain-fed beef Offer recipes and cooking instructions on Web site

How did they get started? After running a traditional cow/calf operation for many years and establishing a superior cow herd whose calves were sold into the commodity market, Hugo realized that he could provide a much better product and service by retaining ownership of the cattle and finishing them on grass.

Pitfalls, positives and negatives of their business? Obviously, these factors are not mentioned on their Web site! Neither is the bottom line mentioned on their Web site, so we don’t know if they make a profit.

Now it’s your turn to look at some case studies! NRCS WSU Food Alliance St. Paul Farmer’s Market

What to include in your presentation: Step 1: Chose a case study from those provided. Step 2: Read individually or in a small group. Step 3: What were the: Products? Production systems? Marketing strategies?

What to include in your presentation: Step 4: What was unique? What was the “aha!”? (Find three interesting points.) Step 5: What didn’t work well? What were the pitfalls? Step 6: What would you do differently? Step 7: Share your findings with fellow participants.

What have you learned? You learn from your mistakes (They’re not all bad!) Be prepared to be flexible Networking is essential Successful people share what they learn

What have you learned? In-depth analysis will help improve your plan Set short- and long-term goals Remember that maximizing profits may not be your most important goal

Homework Now it’s time to analyze your own property and/or enterprise: What were your original goals? How has your map changed? How have your goals changed? How has your property management changed? What does your to-do list look like?