The Importance of Diversifying Your Products and Markets with Karen McSwain of CFSA
In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, we're delighted to host Karen McSwain, Associate Executive Director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA). Listen as Karen shares the story behind CFSA, why their members pivoted to selling direct, and how their FarmShare program was developed.
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Allyssa: 2:55
From kind of a resource standpoint and networking standpoint, that's a benefit to membership as well of having a wide variety of farms that you work with that can share best practices with each other. So for farms who are looking to become CFSA members, what steps do they need to take to apply towards that membership?
Karen: 3:14
Sure membership is very easy. You can go onto our website. It's a long URL, but if you search Carolina Farm Stewardship Association, you will find it. Lots of links to join CFSA that way, but folks can always call our office and we can get folks signed up that way. We have a lot of different membership levels where farmers or businesses can join at. And we also welcome individuals joining CFSA as well.
Allyssa: 3:42
And so for the farms that go through the registration process, they go through the application process. They are now a CFSA member. What have you found to be some of the most beneficial aspects of membership?
Karen: 3:53
Once you're a member, you have access to free technical assistance. One on technical assistance that CFSA offers. And so we offer those in a number of different programmatic areas. And so right now we're focused on food safety helping farmers either implement basic general food safety practices. And we also help farmers get GAP certified. That's Good Agricultural Practices, and that's a third-party certification that's often required by markets, different market types. So we can help farmers go through that process. We also help farmers implement organic production practices. And we also help them through the organic certification process. We provide technical assistance to farmers on high tunnel production. And so that assistance can start, you know, before a farmer has purchased their high tunnel. Anywhere all the way up until, you know, production planning in the high tunnel, addressing challenges and obstacles, putting together production plans. And we also offer assistance to farmers on accessing different markets. If they're looking to access wholesale markets or direct to consumer markets, we offer all those services and they all include a site visit. Where our staff will come out to the farmer, to the farm and walk around their farm and provide one-on-one direct technical assistance. And that was a piece that we felt was missing from the programs that farmers had access to probably about eight years ago, but it was a lot of workshops and we continue to do workshops. We would find that we'd get to the end of a workshop and a farmer would say that was great information, but I still don't know how to apply it to my specific operation, but that's why we added this additional component where they can get one-on-one technical assistance specific to their operation. And I think that is a very valuable resource that we offer to farmers.
Allyssa: 5:42
You talked about having those site visits. So being able to have the one-on-one time with the farm, but also those resources from a scenario planning standpoint of how do you work through a challenge or an obstacle to also, how do you explore other markets? How do you go direct to market? How do you explore other avenues in addition to wholesale? So maybe walk us through that conversation that you've had with some of your members this past year through the challenges that they've presented.
Karen: 6:09
A year ago, the whole world shifted, and, you know, Farmers really felt the brunt of that. You know, there were a number of Farmers that, you know, woke up one morning and their market was completely gone. Particularly if they were farmers that were selling largely to restaurants, you know, restaurants were closed down. They lost that market. A lot of farmers struggled at the beginning of COVID with Farmer's markets, either shutting down. Or restricting the amount of Farmers that can vend at that market or restricting the number of people going to that market. And obviously people were not enthusiastic about going to Farmer's markets a year ago. So a lot of farmers did, as you say, had to pivot overnight and, you know, change to, putting online sales systems together. So that was very challenging for a lot of farmers. I think in terms of walking Farmers through the decision process of, you know, what, what additional markets, what new markets might fit their operation. There are a lot of questions involved just in terms of, you know, what types of crops are you producing, where is your closest market? How are you going to get your product to market? Um, It might not make sense for a small Farmer to try and access a large wholesale market because they don't have the volume, but it's a great opportunity for them to access a food hub or different grower cooperative that can aggregate that product and then market it to a larger wholesale. You know, do they have a farmer's market in the area that is accepting new farmers? That's a challenge that we find with a lot of new farmers that are entering farmer's markets have our farmer's markets have wait-lists and they're, they're a little bit maxed out. And so trying to figure out other direct to consumer opportunities you know. Does the farmer enjoy that marketing aspect? Do they enjoy the communication and sharing their story with the customer? If that's something that they're interested in and they enjoy doing then a direct consumer market at a farmer's market or a farm stand might make sense for them. There are some farmers that aren't interested in investing kind of that time into marketing. And for those farmers, a wholesale market. Or a food hub market would be a better opportunity for them. And then once a farmer decides which new or different markets they want to get into sometimes there are different you know, production practices or post-harvest handling practices that they need to be made aware of. If they're selling wholesale or to a food hub. They may have to harvest and do post-harvest handling differently. They might have to get bunch sizes, specific weight. They might have to pack a certain way. If they're selling at a farmer's market, they need to be keeping things in mind, you know, how they going to present their produce? How are they going to keep it the quality up while, it's sitting out at a two or three hours, particularly in the middle of the summer. Do they have the infrastructure to handle the post-harvest handling and storage and cooling that might be required. Um, do they have a diversity of crops to take to a Farmer's market or CSA when customers want a diversity of crops available to them? Or are they more interested in growing a larger amount of two or three crops that they grow really well? And if that's the case, wholesale food hub, institutional sales, might make more sense for them. So there's a whole lot of questions that need to be asked of Farmers. And it really depends on what they're interested in, what their capacity is, what their on farm infrastructure is to help them decide what market is going to be the best option for them.
Allyssa: 9:37
That's great to hear that a lot of these farms were able to explore different options from going online, to selling direct to market and getting creative with their business and how they go about providing those convenient options to their buyers and meeting them where they're at. Do you have a farmer success story in mind that you would like to share with us?
Karen: 9:57
You know, I I'm just blown way by all of the farmers in North and South Carolina. That's so quickly pivoted to online sales, right after things shut down with COVID. CFSA put up a, a kind of a map. To help direct customers to farmers that had just almost overnight pivoted to online sales, home delivery. And it's just, it just amazed me, the first week in March that everything was closed down here going to that map. There was a handful of farmers on there and now, you know, there's just. Probably 150 farms on that map. So it just blows me away of how quickly so many farmers were able to pivot. I think one success story to share is back in May, CFSA launched a program called Farm Shares. And that was really a program that we kind of wedded two needs. One was unemployed restaurant workers who had been unemployed because their restaurants have closed their doors and farmers that were selling to those restaurants you know, kind of lost their market sale overnight. And so CFSA rallied and got some great donors to fund this farm shares program, which allowed us to purchase produce from farmers that normally sell to local food restaurants and then provide a box of produce to you know, unemployed restaurant workers. And that was just a huge success for the farmers because, you know, they were able to very quickly pivot their market. And it's now kind of evolved to really addressing some persistent food insecurity communities and individuals. You know, it was a great project and, and I think that folks should check out there's a video. If you go to our website, you can see a video and really see the impact that that had on farmers and the success story to me is the farmers that were able to take advantage of that program.
Allyssa: 11:51
From having the farms come together to support the community, especially with the restaurants closing down and having community is a way that can also help, you know, the businesses get back on their feet all around, across the board too. So what would you say are some of those tactics that those farms have used?
Karen: 12:08
I think really taking advantage of social media has been great. You know, if folks don't know you exist in what you're doing, it's hard to get new customers and new contacts. So, taking advantage of social media, I think has been fabulous. Constant communication with your customers, letting them know, you know, what you have, providing recipes, providing, you know, information on, on how to use the produce that they're getting. I've seen a lot of folks with direct sales, also providing opportunities for their customers to kind of give back to the larger community. The business that I get home +delivery from. You know, they're, they're always asking, you know, donate a box to your neighbor, give back to your community. And I think that really shows that that farmer is part of the community and it makes the consumer, the customer of people like me feel like I have an ability to give back to the community. Not only am I supporting the farmer, but when I donate a box of produce, I'm supporting other members of my community. So I think, I think it tightens up that kind of community.
Allyssa: 13:06
Kind of looking ahead, we're in the middle of spring, we're quickly approaching summer. Many farms are looking to plan ahead, not just for the season, but looking into end of this year into next year. What are some tactics best practices or advice are you sharing with your members as they're looking to build more certainty with their business online?
Karen: 13:24
Well, one of the things that I saw during, you know, during the beginning and even still in the pandemic is there's been an increased interest in local food and maybe people are coming to it because they saw that, you know, farmers were struggling and needed different alternative markets to sell their produce at. You know, our folks were going to, you know, delivery services because they didn't want to leave their house. But I think that there has been. Definitely an uptick in interest in support of the local food system. And I think that farmers need to take advantage of that and figure out how do we keep that enthusiasm going? How do we keep those new or increased customers in a local food system there? So I would be thinking about ways to you know, entice. Or, you know, continue to hold onto those consumers. So if the home delivery online service is working for your business for your farm, Farmers invested a lot of time into making that shift and they want to keep that momentum going. And so I would figure out what is it that your online customers want? Things have settled down a little bit and you're in the swing of this new market, this new kind of delivery system. Are there things that you can add to that that will kind of keep people coming back, you know, or can you add recipes? Can you add other products that you might not sell, but if you can add jams or baked goods or cheeses or, you know, even things that you don't produce or grow yourself, but you know, your neighbor does, how do you make it more of a one-stop shop for folks? So they're not having to go to multiple places. What little things can you add? I would say also communicating with your customer, your consumer, letting them know the impact, the positive impact that their business has had on your operation, because then that makes them feel like they're more part of their community and they really did make a difference when they were buying produce from you every week. It really had an impact. And I think sharing that with the consumers would be beneficial. I think, you know, one thing that COVID-19 showed is, you know, it's challenging to have diverse markets. But if you have diverse markets, when one market shuts down or slows down or some there's an impact of that market, you already have your process. You're set up to be able to increase what you're selling to a different market. So I think we talk a lot about diversity in agriculture, about production and crop production, and make sure that you're growing a diverse number of crops. But I think if you can. Having a diverse markets that you're marketing to is helpful because you all of your eggs aren't in one basket.
Allyssa: 16:01
You touched on a lot of great insights there from. Product diversification to partnering with other farms. You don't have to produce everything right on your farm and sell it directly from your farm, but finding a way to make it convenient for your buyers. If they're interested in purchasing produce from you and you have another farm down the road that does jam or something, you know, that's a great way to have those value added products and have them, interact and support the community too. And then you touched on delivery as well, which I think is important to know that that's an option. It's what buyers are looking for. And in addition to that I think of subscriptions or CSA boxes too, because I think thinking ahead, and how can you build that recurring cashflow as well? Have you noticed some farms are looking into adding in subscriptions or CSA boxes into their business model as well?
Karen: 16:51
I think they are for that reason, having a known customer, having known cashflow. That is very helpful, but it's also very helpful when you're doing crop planning. You know, that you're going to have, X amount of customers that are going to want, you know, a pint of cherry tomatoes every week, or, you know, a pound of potatoes. And so I think, yes, I think they are looking more into CSA is to have that known market.
Allyssa: 17:14
Well, before we sign off, is there one final piece of advice that you would like to share to farmers who are looking to build more certainty for their business throughout the rest of this year? And even looking ahead to next year as well?
Karen: 17:27
If you're in North or South Carolina contact us and we can provide you with some technical assistance. I would say you know, talk to your neighbors, talk to farmers in your community, find out what other farmers are doing in your location that's been successful. I think diversity is really kind of the best approach moving forward. I'm hopeful that. We're moving in a direction where things are opening back up again, and we won't close down again. But it, you know, there's still that chance that things might close back down again for a little while. And so I would say, you know, maybe not implement what you need for that to happen, but be thinking about it. Do I have a diverse markets that I can sell my crops to? So I don't find myself in a situation where I don't have a market and I have this beautiful crop that I can't sell.
Allyssa: 18:13
Thank you Karen so much for joining us.
Karen: 18:16
Thank you for having me.
Allyssa: 18:17
I also want to extend my things to the entire membership at CFSA at Barn2Door we are delighted to partner with CFSA to support local organic farms in North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as farmers in all 50 states. For more information on CFSA you can visit their website, carolinafarmstewards.org and to learn more about Barn2Door, including access to numerous free resources and best practices for your farm, you can go to Barn2Door.com/Resources. Thank you for tuning in and we will see you next time.