Where Do You Sell Your Product?

[OzarkNick]

Hello everyone, I am interested in hearing about how you market your goods. I specifically would like to hear about those who raise pasture livestock (chicken, goat, cow, geese, turkey). Who do you sell to? What type of advertising do you do?

[COWS]

For cows my opinion is to take them to an auction and sell them on the hoof. If someone want your nice grass fed beef (or finished as the case may be) attend auctions enough to determine a fair price, possibly add some to your stock, sell him the beef, and possibly deliver it to a nearby proccessing plant where he can pay to have HIS beef processed.

Goats are also sold at livestock auctions. Goats are also sold at auction. Possibly the same procedure would work for them, but I have never owned goats. Goat producers seem to be rather close to other goat owners and they could give better advice.

A lot of states publish a sale paper which carries ads for livestock, seed, and machinery. Check your state agricultrue department.

I see people selling chickens at flea markets but I don't know how successful they are.

COWS

[nobrabbit]

Chicken and eggs - we sell off the farm. Lambs - we sell off the farm or at the stockyard. Calves - we sell at the stockyard.

[big rockpile]

Ok gathering you are in the Ozarks. There is several places that have Goat and Sheep Sales, use to be Springfield, Buffalo and Bolivar. I'm sure many others. If you have enough to fill Semi Trailer I would sell to an individual.

Beef I would advertise Grass Fed, so on and so forth, set up with a Locker to, kill and butcher.

Poultry most I have seen run Tractors, selling as Free Range, if you have Facilities you can so many a year, butchered on your place, no inspection. You have to check with USDA on regulations.

Vegetable Produce sells well in season, if you sell by weight you have to have your scales certified, which is no problem.

You may consider selling Honey and or Sorghum Molasses. They always sell well.

Only time we had problems selling from our place is when we had Amish or Mennonites living in the area.

big rockpile

[OzarkNick]

Thanks for the replies. How do you guys market what you sell straight from the farm? Do you have websites, facebook, signs, cards etc?. Big rockpile, do you know of sights I can get one for sale reports?

Also wondering what the benefits of having pasture raised animals? If I put the label of, "Pasture raised," or, "Free range," or, "Pesticide free," on my meat and produce, (obviously practicing that method) how do I market that? Will restaurants and local food supply stores be interested in my product if it is quality meat and produce? Can they even buy direct from the farm and if so, what credentials would I need?

These are the questions I am trying to wrap my mind around. I'd really like to just know what yall do!

Thanks everyone! Up and coming farmer in the makes right here. Especially with all the great info!

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by OzarkNick

Thanks for the replies. How do you guys market what you sell straight from the farm? Do you have websites, facebook, signs, cards etc?. Big rockpile, do you know of sights I can get one for sale reports?

Also wondering what the benefits of having pasture raised animals? If I put the label of, "Pasture raised," or, "Free range," or, "Pesticide free," on my meat and produce, (obviously practicing that method) how do I market that? Will restaurants and local food supply stores be interested in my product if it is quality meat and produce? Can they even buy direct from the farm and if so, what credentials would I need?

These are the questions I am trying to wrap my mind around. I'd really like to just know what yall do!

Thanks everyone! Up and coming farmer in the makes right here. Especially with all the great info!

I've only dealt with Craigslist and Word of Mouth. Craigslist I learned not to count on Buyers to say they wanted them to hold them. After couple times first one shows with the cash gets them.

Here is Bolivar Sale Barn

http://robertsbrotherslivestock.wordpress.com/about-us/

Most others I know of are mostly Cattle.

big rockpile

[Patchouli]

We have sold for years at Farmer's Markets. Best way to make top dollar on whatever you raise. We advertise by word of mouth and the internet.

[Awnry Abe]

Raw milk and fresh eggs, right off the farm using craigslist for advertising. The cows and chickens can't keep up with demand. We sell a product that we consume ourselves and require to be fresh, clean, and pure. It is an easy, easy, sell. The dairy, in particular, has great margins. But the gross revenue is low.

Beef, on the other hand, is the flip side of that model. High revenue and low margins. We currently are raising mutts and thus sell to the auction. I got started in a 500 year draught, so my model may be messed up. I am beginning to see that the land will support more cow/calf pairs with less input.

We are slowly culling non-conforming-to-our-vision cows to come up with a more consistent and superior product. I'll sell direct to the paleo/local/anti-big-ag crowd. It's an easy sell. I should be able to sustain a modest retirement income by retaining and finishing the ugly ones for freezer beef.

The other product we get religious about is lamb. Best meat on the planet. I have a starter flock and will start selling a handful on CL live-on-the-hoof, then grow from there.

Eat what you enjoy. Sell what you eat.

[big rockpile]

We was buying Raw Milk it was keeping well then all of a sudden it wasn't all we could figure was they quit draining the Tank and washing it.

Thing is if you start cutting corners and sell Bad Product at best you are just going to lose customers.

big rockpile

[BlueRose]

I do not know what part of the Ozarks you are in but look at this website ocbuyingstation.com BUB ranch seems to be very honest and treat the sellers very will.

[Wendy]

Craigslist & word of mouth for me. I sell quite a few broilers every year & also turkeys. I sell eggs too. I do the farmer's market sometimes & hope to get back into it again this year.

[OzarkNick]

For those that sell through word of mouth, craigslist, farmers market, friends and family, or through a website, what kind of numbers are you selling? In what quantities? Selling 150 broilers a year, along with 25 turkeys, 10 goats and eggs just won't pay the bills.

I am wondering if you can sell in large quantities just through those means.

Which brings me to another question. Say if one were to specialize in goats and pasture raised chickens. What quantity are we aiming for? I know many will say, "Oh there are too many variables to answer that question," (which I seem to hear a lot) but I am wanting to hear from those who have actually been successful at doing this.

Not to offend anyone but I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to be successful at this. Whether it's standing on the side of a road with a stand and waving a sign or herding 300 head of cattle everyday. I'll do it. I'm motivated, eager to work, I'm in great shape and know my body and mind can do work for long hours.

To those reading, do you do this for a living? I'd love to hear from you, please PM me!

[mmoetc]

Originally Posted by OzarkNick

For those that sell through word of mouth, craigslist, farmers market, friends and family, or through a website, what kind of numbers are you selling? In what quantities? Selling 150 broilers a year, along with 25 turkeys, 10 goats and eggs just won't pay the bills.

I am wondering if you can sell in large quantities just through those means.

Which brings me to another question. Say if one were to specialize in goats and pasture raised chickens. What quantity are we aiming for? I know many will say, "Oh there are too many variables to answer that question," (which I seem to hear a lot) but I am wanting to hear from those who have actually been successful at doing this.

Not to offend anyone but I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to be successful at this. Whether it's standing on the side of a road with a stand and waving a sign or herding 300 head of cattle everyday. I'll do it. I'm motivated, eager to work, I'm in great shape and know my body and mind can do work for long hours.

To those reading, do you do this for a living? I'd love to hear from you, please PM me!

The first question is how much income are you looking for? $1,000, $10,000, $100,000? They all require different answers. Next you need to figure out what your cost of production for any of those animals is. Now you need to do some market research and figure out if you can sell those animals at a high enough price to make you enough margin to meet your income goals. Then you need to figure out if there is enough market available to sell those animals into. I'm not trying to be flippant or dismiss you but no one can answer these, or the thousand other questions, but you. Everyone's situation is different. Most successful producers I know started small, selling extra to friends and neighbors, refining technique, expanding market through word of mouth and hard work, reinvesting money and lots of time into their business and eventually reaching some economy of scale that made them real money. Then they worked harder to stay there. Most of the people I know who haven't succeeded jumped into enterprises without doing the proper research, invested too much without realizing that return can take time and chased trends and fads. The best advice I can give you if you're going to make money marketing livestock is you'd better love the work of raising the animals themselves and at least be competent at explaining that love to others.

[farmerDale]

We sell eggs through word of mouth and do not need to advertise. We only have about 60 hens though. I think building a dedicated hen shed, where one could house 500 or so, would pay very well. We raise 90% of the feed needed, so costs are low, under a dollar a dozen.

We sell our lamb cut and wrapped, and we gross at least double what the auction/regular outlet would be. We are very rural, but there is a huge desire these days, even two hours from a traffic light, for outdoor raised goods. So far we just sell lamb to our regular year to year customers. We just asked our egg buyers to start with, and once the word gets out, the demand laps it all up.

So much so, that I plan on getting some pigs and maybe turkeys next year. It is unreal what people will pay for good meat, and the perception that it is raised in a "non factory" manner. We enjoy this side of our farming venture more than the grain side. It is more personal, and is way less weather, machinery, and market dependent and so is much less stressful to us.

A few different things netting you 8 or 10 thousand each, goes a long way, and enables one spouse to stay home easier for example.

[ceresone]

Check out Peace Valley Poultry

[Wendy]

For those that sell through word of mouth, craigslist, farmers market, friends and family, or through a website, what kind of numbers are you selling? In what quantities? Selling 150 broilers a year, along with 25 turkeys, 10 goats and eggs just won't pay the bills.

If you are planning to do this as your sole source of income, you will have to raise A LOT to pay expenses plus make any money. I sell about 100 broilers a year. I make money doing it, but it's just a supplement to what hubby makes at his full time job. If you start getting into things big time then you will have to follow your state guidelines as far as selling or risk getting caught & paying fines. What exactly are your plans? Live solely off of your homestead or just make some extra $$ on the side? Very few can live only off of what they make on their farm unless you are farming a large amount of land & raising a huge amount of animals.

[grandma12703]

We have a website and do get calls periodically for our club lambs from it. We also sell sheep at the auctions in Norwood, Vienna and Salem. We have sold rabbits and poultry through the same auctions. Rabbits have brought anywhere from $5-$10, Poultry range even more. Our sheep and goats have always brought a decent price as well. I have also sold breeding ewes on craigslist and they have done well. We did have some hogs and I sold them on craigslist and got a decent price. We do a huge garden and sell our produce and eggs at a farmers market and do very well with it.

[redgate]

We farm as a full time lifestyle and business. We are still fairly new to it in the big scheme of things (only about 4 years now), but have enjoyed good success so far. We offer grass-fed beef, forest raised hogs, dairy goats, meat rabbits, pastured eggs, pastured broilers, pastured turkeys, and livestock guardian dogs. We also offer classes, clinic, and tours. As a side business, we use our draft horses to give horse-drawn carriage/wagon rides when we have time. We direct market everything to customers. I also added a Facebook page for customers who like to know what is going on around the farm at any given time. I have no middle-man fees or wholesale pricing to worry about, and customers like the ease of purchase, as well as the "know their farmer" source for their food. They love coming out and seeing "their" turkey roaming the pasture before harvest.

Direct sales definitely has the most profit statistically, but networking is key! Word of mouth is the best to get business, so you have to network. A couple of good customers who love your product will spread the word and do most of the advertising for you after that. We just moved our farm to this little city about 18 months ago and started our current business in this state this year (January). We sold out of everything we offered and still turned folks down. The demand was overwhelmingly unexpected. Rather than auction prices of $5-$10 per bird or rabbit, we got $4/lb for dressed weights. That comes to about !5-$20 per animal, basically doubling your profit. Direct-to-consumer sales is always the most profitable on a small scale, especially if you know how to market, how to keep costs down, and gain loyal customers.

We used business cards, craigslist, and website in the early days, and used any excuse possible to get people to our farm. Eggs are not very profitable, but are great for gaining customers and the layers are useful for pest control around the farm. Everyone eats eggs. Once they come out to the farm they see the other offerings, and go from there. Pound for pound, our turkey was by far the most profitable. Every product has its advantages and disadvantages though. I think the key to our success is that we sell EVERYTHING on a pre-paid deposit basis. This ensures the customer is locked in and will show up to get the item they ordered.

To give you an idea of scale, this year (to test the market and learn our new climate since we moved the farm), we raised 175 broilers, 2 beef steers, 2 hogs, 20 turkeys, about 40 rabbits, and 30 layers. As I said, we sold almost everything, keeping just enough for ourselves to get by, and we turned down a LOT of customers. Based on feedback, records, profitability, and other aspects, for the 2015 season we are basically doubling most aspects. We have planned 400 broilers, 40 turkeys, 2 steers, 60 layers, 6 hogs, 80 (ish) rabbits, and we are retaining all our dairy goats to grow the herd for a brush-control venture we want to try. I honestly don't anticipate any issue selling them all. We have customers itching to get their deposits in to ensure they don't miss out, but I don't update the website or send out order forms until the end of January (for the whole year). If all goes as planned, we hope to continue to double again in 2016 and possible again in 2017. That should get us totally out of debt (to ourselves, since we personally paid the upfront expenses to the business), and put us at a very comfortable living wage, barring any MAJOR unexpected expenses or events. We are members of the WWOOF organization, which gives us additional help around the farm for just the cost of room and board, and we are accepting our first full-season intern for the 2015 year. We plan to add additional interns as we grow to give us the extra hands needed.

You have to determine your goals, the investments you want to make in it, the amount you need to sustain yourselves (i.e. do you want to pay for your own meat, pay your property taxes, or pay a salary?) and so forth. You MUST keep good records to have a profitable business. We use quickbooks, and it allows me to see, at a glance, which area of the farm is losing money or making money, where our biggest expenses are, and so forth. You need a business plan. Of course, you will tweak it a bit as you go. You will learn you enjoy some animals more than others, and your land may sustain more or less grazers than others. You will learn more about your market, and you can tailor accordingly, but you must have a plan. If you start somewhat small (an amount just slightly bigger than you could eat or give away without going broke), and sell as much as possible without starving, it will help you plan the following year. There comes a point where you will force yourself out of your comfort zone. "I now have 400 broilers to sell or I'm eating a LOT of chicken for the next year!!) It will motivate you. Expect a learning curve, unexpected expenses, mortality, etc. That's why it's better to start smaller and grow with the demand.

This is a HUGE topic, and no one way is right for everyone, but it definitely works. We are half way to making a living wage at this point, and feel very comfortable with our plan. We love our life, very much enjoy being stewards of our land, and enjoy working with our customers (which I recommend if you are going to be successful!) A great book to help you think outside the box is Joel Salatin's "You Can Farm." He has others that are more focused, but he covers a lot of info in that book, including Farmer's Markets, pricing items, stacking enterprises to make the most use of your land, and so forth. A very good book for someone just starting or thinking about it.

I'd be happy to answer any questions as best as I can. I'm sure there are more experienced folks out there, so you should find someone who is already successful at farming the way you would like to. You can learn from everyone, but focus your efforts on those doing what you want to do. You are welcome to view our website for more info about what we do... www.redgatefarmllc.com Hope that helps!

[redgate]

I was just reading some of your other posts, and wanted to add that we do all the above on a 25 acre plot. We are currently using only about 7 acres of it (the rest is overgrown woodlands). You could easily support yourself on 40-100 acres like you were thinking in your other posts. I would caution you on the debt and outside job though. Many do it, but will put a HUGE wrench into your goals of creating a profitable farm if you spend time NOT working on it in order to pay the loan. Starting small and living simply is the better option if you really want to make a go of it as fast as possible. Many have done both ways, so you'll have to decide, but there is a saying in the horse world called "Horse Poor" referring to to someone who wants horses, but has to work to afford them, and then has no time to be with them. The same could apply to farming. Another book that could help you out in regards to living simply sustainably (at least of your family) on smaller acreage is The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live it by John Seymour. This book is great for giving you a visual plan as to how to set up a property on 1, 5, or 10 acres, and you can easily multiple that to 25, 40, and so on. It just gives you an idea how everything can work together in an efficient way. I reference it a lot.

[bigjon]

I do veggies-but advertising is the same-roadside stand-local barn market-2 of a chain grocery store-craigslist&this summer (2015) i'll try my first farmers market.COME ON SPRING!