tips & tricks
“ WHETHER YOU ’ RE growing
for your family or for a farmers ’ market , you ’ re still directly or indirectly selling your produce . Growing a crop that no one wants is a waste of your time and money .”
Consider what your competitors are growing . If you live in an area where summer competition is fierce from field producers , then concentrate on something they can ’ t grow during that period . Most likely , if a restaurant customer wants local organic lettuce and a field producer will sell it at 50 cents a pound , you won ’ t be able to keep that customer over the summer . Figure out what you can do to make ends meet in light of this seasonal competition , or lock your customers into long-term purchasing contracts . The bottom line : choose a crop with a guaranteed market .
Mistake # 6
Growers operate systems that have poor track records , then expect different results
When you ’ re thinking about implementing a system , don ’ t be sold on the supposed profitability . Ask for references for system users that have been in business for several years . If they can ’ t provide them , walk away . Interview references carefully to find out whether or not they ’ re profitable and doing well . For example : Raft designs can be very productive and profitable in areas where greenhouse production is not required for most of the year and where labor is fairly inexpensive . In northern climates , however , greenhouse raft production is simply not cost effective , as evidenced by the lack of established commercial raft growers in the northern United States . Although many are drawn to raft production because of the low start-up costs , the poor productivity per square foot of greenhouse space means that expensive resources are not used as efficiently as they must to be a viable business .
Mistake # 7
Growers grow too big , too fast
Going too big too fast is a common mistake . This leads many beginning growers to get funding for large , expensive facilities before they fully understand their cost structure or the market they ’ re attempting to service . Growers that grow too fast also seem to have catastrophic failures more often . Big system failure means big money failure ; more importantly , system failure causes a gap in supply to customers who want consistent delivery . When this happens , these customers begin to look elsewhere , and by the time the grower is back online , he ’ s often lost many valuable clients . These are failures that threaten the entire enterprise . Growing slowly , on the other hand , requires patience , but allows growers to grow into their market organically , meeting local needs and demands with products . Large entrants tend to flood the market with products that they believe are desired — often with mixed results . There are three things that you can do to avoid the pains of growing too fast :
• Rein in the desire to overwhelm the market
• Develop a niche market
• Get creative and give value
Traversing the learning curve with grace
Every farmer , whether seasoned or completely green , experiences a learning curve when they start building out a new system . This much is inevitable . However , the learning curve doesn ’ t have to represent losses and pain . Smart planning is the best thing you can do for your farm , for although beginner mistakes are inevitable , big losses don ’ t have to be . Hundreds of tools — from farm planning software like Able to learning programs like Upstart University — exist to help new growers and new business owners . Take advantage of them as much as you can .
104 grow cycle