Small Farm Profits---How to Decide your goals

[Beekissed]

There is an excellent book I found in my library that gave me some good pricing techniques...I think it was co-written by Joel Salatin as well, but I can't remember the title right now.

Just about any of his books will give some idea about meat and egg pricing...even breaks down how to account for time spent on processing.

The book I read had good ideas and tips on how to do farmer's market style marketing and pricing, roadside markets, CSA, etc. If you check out Amazon you can find some real good deals on these kind of books.

 

[FarmerChick]

I used a book called

The New Farmers Market

wonderful....shows every single thing in detail to set up a selling booth, display advantages, how to price, how to sell, etc. etc. etc.
best money I invested! taught me alot.


Now for pricing.

20% higher than the grocery store.

you are selling fresh produce. you are selling local and more natural produce. You must value this product as such. So if you go into the store and cukes are selling for $1.00 each, then you do $1.20 each (example of course, but then I would round up to $1.25 each cause I always use increments of .25) change is a pain to deal with..LOL


and I never bargain......my price is worth my time value and my freshness. ain't happening..LOL...unless they buy my whole box of green beans etc. then I give a little discount for bulk.

and if it is peak season for a million and gazillion tomatoes, then I do price a tad lower knowing I need to move tons of product...but never very low at all.

I stick by the 20% over rule 99% of the time.

No one ever questions my prices and the few that do, they might say, oh that farmer is .25 cheaper than you...well I say, I don't know what he does, but I do...blah, blah, blah and push how great my product is and I get a sale!

People want to hear you stand by your stuff and you value your high quality.

hope some of that helps you



-----one of the worst thing is a backyard gardener goes to the farmer market to unload some extra produce and they under cut everyone by alot on their prices. that is just bad business big time for me the real farmer and for themselves, just giving stuff away to make a buck and not valuing their time and effort.

so think like a true business when selling anything off your farm!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

This is great information, thank you so much, FarmerChick, for sharing it here!

 

[prairiegirl]

FarmerChick, that was great info to share. You are one awesome motivational speaker you. Thanks for the inspiration. I'm sharing this with my DH.

Do you price your pork the same way?

 

[1acrefarm]

Thanks Karen. That is a great resource. I definitely have to figure out my strategy. My small lot presents some challenge even though I have limited free access to other land.

 

[1acrefarm]

-----one of the worst thing is a backyard gardener goes to the farmer market to unload some extra produce and they under cut everyone by alot on their prices. that is just bad business big time for me the real farmer and for themselves, just giving stuff away to make a buck and not valuing their time and effort.

So true. I have two neighbors who sale tomatoes for 75 cents a pound every year even when walmart had them for almost 4 bucks per pound. I do not even try to compete. My extras go to the chickens. I may start buying them out on extreme drought years and selling them elsewhere though. I may even start buying my own tomatoes from them and utilize my space for something else.

 

[me&thegals]

-----one of the worst thing is a backyard gardener goes to the farmer market to unload some extra produce and they under cut everyone by alot on their prices. that is just bad business big time for me the real farmer and for themselves, just giving stuff away to make a buck and not valuing their time and effort.

So true. I have two neighbors who sale tomatoes for 75 cents a pound every year even when walmart had them for almost 4 bucks per pound. I do not even try to compete. My extras go to the chickens. I may start buying them out on extreme drought years and selling them elsewhere though. I may even start buying my own tomatoes from them and utilize my space for something else.

That drives me completely insane! I only market part time and don't depend on that for full income, but still! I realize many marketers do and never underprice my product. It just devalues the whole idea of fresh and local.

Thanks for all the info, FC! I'm going to check out the marketing book you mentioned.

 

[FarmerChick]

I priced my pork according to the prices in my area. I should be a tad higher but am worried about raising my prices right now because of the economy.

We sell ground whole hog sausage in 2 lb. packs. We do $4 lb. so the pack is $8......another farmer sells 1 lb. packs for $5 each......but being 1 lb...it is only a $5 hit each sale. If I raise to $5 per lb. my 2 lb. packs jumps to $10.......Hmmmm...ya know what I mean..LOL-LOL-----BUT THIS is the farm lady that BUYS hogs and doesn't raise them therefore she must be higher priced. Cause her purchase price is higher than my raising my own.

Not this season, but NEXT January I will be upping my price to $10 per 2 lb pack. stinks but by then I will have to so I can cover increasing costs and by next year, it won't be as much of a shell shock to people...they will be expecting higher prices on everything.

Sometimes I gotta give a little to maintain business but I never lose. I make a great profit off hogs

 

[FarmerChick]

1acrefarm

there ya go...but their cheaper produce and swing it around for a profit! nothing wrong with that. BUT YEA??? when something is $4 a lb. why sell for .75 per lb...??? I don't know..LOL

 

[FarmerChick]

I love the New Farmers Market book.......it gave me tons of ideas and has just great info. Before I started I didn't know what was involved to make really big sales and keep the money coming in.....here is a review to give everyone an idea.
Not alot of info in the review, but even the idea of "make lemonade" out of crop failure is a fab idea. I did the "bag o' peppers" idea with my little peppers and YES, they sold out!!!!!!




The New Farmers' Market. - book review
Whole Earth, Winter, 2002 E-mail Print Link How to make a Farmers' Market in your town succeed for everyone. Selling on your own is scary; and buying at a stall is different. This fun book is chock full of great advice about market smarts, guerrilla marketing, niche marketing and having fun peddling good food to eager customers. Tons of "what's worked" for many others. And if you haven't been to a local one lately, check one out. --KK

"Making Lemonade from lemons." For example, when drought in '91 left the couple swamped with golfball-sized potatoes, they promoted them as gourmet "PeeWee Potatoes" in $2 pint boxes. The lemonade theory worked in other ways, too. They put 8-10 peppers of various colors that were too small to sell individually into $1 "Bag O'Peppers." They almost always sold out, Peterson notes.

Farmers' markets offer: minimal marketing start-up costs--requires only truck and selling area; exemption from standard size and pack regulations (at most markets); little or no packaging, advertising and promotion costs--farmers' markets are usually well established and centrally located; better prices--substantially higher than wholesale; and immediate, direct feedback. Customers are the best ones to tell you about quality, variety preferences, and ideas for other crops to plant.