As an Independent Farmer, you want to cut out the middleman and maximize profitability for your Farm business. To succeed, you must shift your focus from production alone to how you position, price, and package your Products for local Buyers. Packaging and pricing are not just logistical details; they are powerful tools to increase your Average Order Value, improve profit margins, and secure repeat customers.

The shift to direct-to-consumer sales has put independent farmers firmly in charge of their businesses. For farms looking to increase profit and manage production peaks, expanding into value-added products—like jams, preserves, skincare or broth — is a strategic next step.

Lois and Jeremy Yoder of Yoder Way Farms successfully transitioned their third-generation commercial dairy to a direct-sales model for beef, pork, chicken and eggs. By taking control of their business and selling direct, they figured out how to grow their Farm's customer base, ensure profitability, and minimize time on the road and in the office.

Even if busy season is winding down for your Farm, that doesn't mean your sales have to go on hiatus. Successful direct-to-consumer Farms use the "off-season" as a critical time to bolster their marketing efforts. It's a great opportunity to connect with your buyers, build your Farm brand, and most importantly, secure recurring revenue for the months ahead.

Selling your pork direct to consumers through online channels can be streamlined by software to make your products more accessible to Buyers and help manage your orders and increase cash flow. Organize your inventory, plan ahead for your harvest dates, and align your fulfillment schedule, before your pigs are processed! Save time with an online Farm store that is accessible via your website, mobile, social media and email.

Starting a flower business requires planning ahead to simplify your operations once you launch your business. Consider how you wish to sell flowers online and in-person, whether you want to offer cut flowers or a U-Pick option (or both) and how you will target and connect with potential Buyers within your community.

Email is by far the most successful avenue to drive consistent, recurring sales. To catapult your Farm success, it is crucial to collect email addresses across all your online and in-person marketing efforts. Follow these 6 tips to attract email sign-ups and fuel more sales for your Farm business.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is used by many businesses to rank high in search engine result pages to attract more organic traffic. Using tactics to make your website easy to navigate and specific to your geographical area and products, your Farm can use SEO to become more visible online to Buyers - reducing your costs to acquire more customers.

To attract and retain a strong base of local Buyers for your products, your Farm must invest in an effective marketing strategy. You cannot expect Buyers to discover and purchase from your Farm once, then continue to return without any ongoing marketing efforts. To truly thrive and ensure your hard work translates into sustainable profits, you need a robust farm marketing strategy.

Bennett Farms, Michigan sells pastured proteins direct to their community. Through in-person and online sales, Tom Bennett has maintained a 6-figure business while supporting his six kids. Tom serves 29 Farmers Markets a week across three states during peak season. Over 7 years, he has cracked the code on best practices for seamless booth prep, attracting new Buyers and converting customers to online sales.

Your Farm Brand is the sum of Buyer interactions with your business that help your Farm stand out and differentiate your products from other alternatives. Your Brand should reflect the foundations of your Farm - from how you raise your products, your commitment to quality, to your relationship with your local community.

With 100’s of Millions of dollars in transactions across 1000’s of Farms in all 50 States, at Barn2Door we’re well aware of the attributes of successful Farmers and Ranchers. There are a consistent set of tactics employed by our most successful Farms to capitalize on Buyer demand for local Products.

With email marketing, you will have the ability to communicate with Buyers straight in their inbox. You can tailor your message depending on the type of Buyer, actions you desire and current events on the Farm. Independent Farmers ‘own’ their customer base, so it is essential you know how to effectively market and communicate to encourage loyalty and purchases.

Whether the focus is the delicious marbling of your grass-fed beef, or the freshness of your bell peppers—successful product photos will help you sell.

Farmers often ask us, “what is a hashtag, anyway?” In this post, we’ll tell you exactly how to use hashtags to effectively to promote your Farm.

With more than 1.16 billion active monthly users, Instagram is a powerful platform for connecting with customers, promoting your Farm brand, and staying top-of-mind (which can lead to increased orders). Good news for you, 90% of all Instagram users follow at least one business account.

Not only do customers expect regular reminders from you, this is how you stay “top-of-mind” for customers—by showing up regularly in their email inbox.