By Holli Cederholm In Bowdoinham, Maine, farmers Abby Sadauckas and Jake Galle of Apple Creek Farm raise a diverse mix of grass-based, certified organic livestock for eggs and meat, as well as value-added bone broths and pate, sold year-round at local farmers’ markets and a handful of retail outlets. Aspects of holistic management have informed
By Heather Omand Four MOFGA-certified organic Maine farms – three machinery-powered and one horse-powered – participated in 2015 in a carrot enterprise budget project. Results are presented here, with the horse-powered farm enterprise budget separate due to substantial differences in costs versus the machinery-powered farms. Some farms tracked certain pieces of information more successfully than
By Cheryl Wixson There are certain times in the life of your farm or business when circumstances beyond your control – such as the death of your partner, health of a family member, loss of a facility due to fire or other disaster – require that the business enterprise cease operation for a period of
Wholesale Success is a guide to wholesale marketing, including building relationships, crop planning and pricing, negotiating contracts, postharvest handling, cooling, packing and more. By Cheryl Wixson The market demand for local and organic food is growing. In 1990, U.S. organic food sales were $1 billion; by 2011, they had grown to $31 billion. Certified-organic cropland
By Cheryl Wixson Forty-one days after our company launched its first products, we received an urgent recall from Starwest Botanicals, a supplier of organic herbs and spices, due to Salmonella contamination of organic celery seed, 1 pound size, lot number 40302, shipped between June 29, 2011, and November 29, 2011. We were instructed to examine
Toki Oshima drawing By Tim Nason A number of resources are available to small farmers who desire financing in the form of loans. Although debt is often anathema to farmers, those who have achieved a certain level of reliable, annual cash flow and a record of profitability will find that a loan can provide financing
Requires Creative Strategies By Holli Cederholm In talking with friends from my suburban childhood home about my post-college career path as an organic farmer, the last quality that any of them attributed to farmers is business savvy. In fact the composite group consisting of graphic designers, yoga instructors, plumbers, bartenders, and more than one office
by Melissa White Pillsbury For many farmers, time spent figuring out where and how to sell farm products is not their favorite task; but profitable sales are a must for a successful, long-term business. Spending time in winter preparing for the coming season can alleviate much of the displeasure some associate with marketing and recordkeeping.
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