Nicolas Donck was one of the pioneer farmers who helped to set up the Morningside Farmers’ Market in Atlanta ten years ago. The market started out small, a good match for the small, organic farm he was developing. As the years passed, the customers at Morningside learned to appreciate the fresh, delicious food and demand has grown. As more customers have come to the market, Nicolas’ offerings have increased, along with those of the other farmers. Morningside Farmers’ Market has given its farmers a connection to this increasing customer base for local, organic produce, so they have been able to increase production."This is the perfect moment to start a new farmers’ market," Nicolas says. There is a growing demand, as evidenced by the crowds at Morningside and the new farmers’ markets popping up all across the state. It works out well for new farmers to start a new farmers’ market so that they can grow together. By the time the farmers’ market has developed a faithful customer base and really taken off (about three years), the farmers will have learned enough to increase their production to meet the demand. These new markets also will help build a sense of community in the farm’s local area.
For Nicolas, the real value to his organic farm is the ability to live with his family close to the earth. He says, "It’s what makes it worthwhile. Having the kids out there with you in the fields, watching them grow! I love it!" Nicolas and his wife, Madeline Rains, run Crystal Organic Farm with the help of their children, Gillen and Jesse.
Nicolas Donck
Crystal Organic Farm
Newborn, GA 30056
770-784-6571
madnic@mindspring.com
Wes and Charlotte Swancy provide fresh, organic produce for about 130 families in the Atlanta area for 6 to 7 months a year. They are operating a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for the second year on a portion of their 150-acre family farm in the foothills of north Georgia. Last year they started the CSA with 25 shareholders and increased their number of shareholders five-fold by word of mouth, the national Local Harvest website listing and advertising at their farmers’ markets. This method of marketing has great potential for Georgia, according to Wes. During 2004, several new CSAs started in the north Georgia area.Instead of a large prepayment, the CSA at Riverview allows the members to pay for their share a week in advance of the delivery. The price will be dependent on what is available that week but averages around $25. Approximately half to two thirds of the farm’s income comes from the CSA. Riverview also markets at the Morningside Farmers’ Market and the Spruill Gallery Farmers’ Market and they do a limited amount of wholesale and on-farm marketing. The CSA has become the core of their marketing and the Swancys plan to focus on this strategy and expand their number of shareholders next year.
Wes and Charlotte Swancy
Riverview Farm
888 Graves Rd. NE
Ranger, GA 30734
706-334-2926
singingfrog@earthlink.net
Experience has contributed to the success of Andy and Hilda Byrd’s Whippoorwill Hollow Organic Farm. Andy’s parents ran a grocery store and Hilda worked on her family’s farm. Today the Byrd’s own Whippoorwill Hollow Organic Farm in Walnut Grove, Georgia. Their farm is located on the busy Highway 138, near its junction with Highway 78. They have an on-farm store where they sell produce, organic feed, and Fertrell products Tuesday through Saturday. They also sell at four farmers’ markets: Square Market in Covington, Morningside in Atlanta, Decatur Farmers’ Market, and Athens Downtown Farmers’ Market. In addition to these marketing outlets, they run a small CSA and have a pickyour- own operation. Not one to overlook a marketing opportunity, the Byrds also are interested in education and tourism, giving tours and providing animals and a nature trail to the groups that visit. All of these outlets contribute to the success of the farm, with the farmers’ markets making the largest contribution.Andy and Hilda Byrd
Whippoorwill Hollow Organic Farm
3905 Hwy. 138
Covington, GA 30014
678-625-3272
whippoorwillholf@aol.com
www.whippoorwillhollowfarm.com
The Chef’s Garden Internet marketing plan has proven to be successful, with orders doubling for their herb and vegetable plants over the last two years. Cindy and George Martin started The Chef’s Garden 6 years ago as an Internet business in Chulafinnee, Alabama, about 10 miles south of Anniston. Being on the web allows them to compete with large growers while living in a rural setting.The plants are grown in greenhouses, specially packed, and then shipped via UPS for 1 to 3 day delivery. Sales are to customer all over the USA, both rural and urban.
Cindy is a self-taught webmaster, and she designed and manages the site herself. An informative website, a good product and excellent customer service are the necessary ingredients for a successful farm web store, according to Cindy. The excellent customer service brings people back to the site, to learn and to buy. Remarkably, half of the visitors to www.chefsgarden.com are return visitors.
Customers are loyal to those that treat them right and deliver a good product. It has taken six years, but Cindy and George Martin feel that The Chef’s Garden is now a sustainable business that will support their family.
Cindy & George Martin
The Chef ’s Garden
866-855-6344 (toll-free)
mail@chefsgarden.com
www.chefsgarden.com
The computer system Eric Wagoner has adapted and modified from opensource software does the administrative work of this co-op, which was formed by a group of farmers in the Athens, Georgia area. E-mail messages are sent to the 75 co-op members, listing the produce that is available each week. Members can order through the website, reply to the e-mail, or phone in their order. Items that are ordered are forwarded to the appropriate farmer along with labels that can be printed and put on the bag. The software eliminates hours of paperwork, as it keeps track of the finances. Eric and Chris Wagoner, the current managers of the co-op, pick up the bags each week and take them to a central location for pickup by members.There are three reasons that this unique method of marketing is working for seven farmers located around this university town. All of the farmers contribute to promoting the co-op, they only have to harvest what is ordered, and they have a committed customer base. Every week, each farmer reports by e-mail what their farm has available to sell and the cost. The only other job required of the farmer for this co-op marketing method is to harvest the orders and have them ready for pickup. The co-op takes 10% of each sale to maintain itself. Total co-op sales per week vary from $300-$900. Eric will be making his co-op management software available for other farmer groups in the near future.
Eric and Chris Wagoner, Managers
Locally Grown Co-op
310 Woody Road
Royston, GA 30662
706-245-9774
eric@locallygrowncoop.com
www.locallygrowncoop.com
An early frost pushed Neil Taylor of TaylOrganic Farm into value-added marketing around 1998. The day before the frost, Neil picked 15 bushels of green tomatoes, and then turned them into green tomato relish. Each year since, he has added new products, building up to his 2004 line of 30 unique value-added products such as blueberry cider, dilly beans, and heirloom tomato juice mix.These products are mostly sold through four farmers’ markets: Morningside Farmers’ Market, the Green Market at Piedmont Park and Spruill Gallery Market in Atlanta, and the Chattanooga Farmers’ Market. He also sells to wholesale and restaurant customers. At this point, sales cover production costs, but Neil is streamlining his operation to develop profits. He is moving away from greens to vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes, blueberries, blackberries, and figs that can be sold fresh and/or frozen and processed into value-added products.
Because he has had to use a non-organic certified kitchen copacker, he has not been able to sell his products as organic. The copacker processes, packages and labels the product. There is no certified organic kitchen copacker in Georgia; the nearest is in North Carolina. Neil advises those interested in getting into value-added products to find a place to process the product and most importantly, to determine a market.
Neil Taylor
TaylOrganic Farm
7095 Hwy. 155
Ellenwood, GA 30294
770-981-0827
taylorganic@mindspring.com
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