Business Planning
Are you starting a farm business and you aren’t sure if it’s sustainable or if there is a market for your product? Maybe you are a beginning farmer who is struggling to set up your systems and marketing and are wondering if you have a viable model. Or maybe you have an experienced operation that is looking for new market opportunities and needs help implementing new industry trends? Our team has worked with farmers, artisans, and producers across the country and can help you figure out how to grow your business sustainably. We have crunched the numbers on many different enterprises and can help you pencil out complicated regenerative systems.
Onsite and Virtual Project Management
Do you need someone to manage a project or particular building on your farm? Are you setting everything up and want the oversight of an experienced professional? Our trained professionals can help lower your stress and make sure it’s done right by managing the implementation and training you and your team in best practices and streamlined processes.
On-site Tune-ups and Lean Assessments
How resilient is your business? Are your processes streamlined with every step focused toward adding value to your customers? Have you looked for bottlenecks and turned them into opportunities? We can help you set up your farm so you get the greatest return on your massive investments of time, effort, and money. Many times we can help farms increase process flow by up to 25%!
The lean method was developed in Japan and helped Japanese automakers like Toyota, Lexus, and Honda compete against, and then eventually dominate, the much bigger US automakers such as Ford and GM. Since then, many books have been written on it and it has helped thousands of businesses around the world create more customer value with less resources, leading to higher quality and more valuable products that cost the company less to make. We’re big believers in lean, and have implemented it successfully on multiple farms, streamlining production, reducing labor, and increasing profits.
Value-added Products
As farmers, we frequently have over-abundances or second-grade produce which is perfectly fine to eat, but just not pretty. Or how about taking a product with a short harvest period and turning it into a shelf-stable product that you can sell year-round? Taking product that normally would end up in the compost pile and turning it into high-value, super tasty products is an easy way to increase your bottom line. But where do you start? What are consumers looking for or what crops, processes, and recipes can be profitable? Let us help you outline a strategy to increase your profits by using all the product that you produce.
Farm to Table
Are you a restaurant that wants to add local products to your menu but struggle to develop farmer relationships or know where to start? Are you a grower who is seeking to sell to restaurants but you don’t understand “kitchen talk” or how to get your foot in the door? Or maybe you are looking to start a farm to table restaurant and want help with setup, menu creation, or staff training. With our extensive experience in many different models, we can help you achieve your goals for a one-of-a kind, profitable business.
Agritourism
On-farm events are becoming very popular and profitable for farmers across the nation. As consumers feel the need to connect with their food system, they’re looking for events which allow them to be fed, entertained or educated while also supporting their food system. From weddings to photo shoots, school tours to fall festivals, there is a wide variety of ways to connect and profit from consumers on your farm. Let us help you implement an agri-tourism plan to increase customer awareness and profit on your farm.
Employee Vetting and Training – Leveraging the Multiplier Effect
A common refrain I hear from farmers is “Managing people is so much work; I wish I could farm alone.” Hiring and managing employees is one of the greatest challenges of any farm. But in order for your business to grow, you need to leverage the abilities of others. How do you implement strategies that reduce stress and make sure that your employees are being effective?
Are you an investor or non-profit and wanting to start a farm or expand your operation? Do you need to scale and are hesitant to hire middle management? Or are you looking to hire your first employee and don’t know where to start?
We can vet employees, help you set up training and systems so your new employees succeed, or walk you through what needs to be done to hire your first employee. Adding employees to your farm is what helps you scale and multiply your effort on your business.
Farm Design and Implementation
How do you set up your farm for maximum success? How do you lay out your fields, paddocks, roads, water or buildings for ultimate flow, flexibility for later expansion, or resource conservation? How do you make sure not to waste money on gimmicky products sold by slick salesmen? We’re here to help. We bring to the table our combined decades of experience and visits to hundreds of farms over the years to help you plan your farm for maximum productivity and process flow. We’ll guide you through the process, taking into account the abilities and goals of the farmers, types of enterprises being considered, climate, and capacity of the farmland. We can help you come up with a quick, overarching vision or deep-dive into building the entire farm, evaluating each building, animal pen, or greenhouse. We’re here to help you build a realistic farming dream without spending a fortune!
We follow the ‘Regrarians® Platform’ method of farm planning detailed here. Michael is a graduate of Regrarians’ 10 day Farm Planning Course — the #REX. In our experience the Regrarians Platform is the most comprehensive farm planning system out there.
Farm Vetting
In the process of buying a farm? Overwhelmed and not sure where to start? Download our free ebook, Building Your Farm – Six Areas for Success. This will help you know what key characteristics to look for and obvious red flags. When you’ve narrowed the search, reach out to us and we’ll do a comprehensive site analysis with you, checking 101 key points that any property should be vetted for.
Farm Technology Design and Implementation
Have you ever had a greenhouse heater die on a cold night and lose a house of tomatoes? Or a cooler freeze or get too warm and spoil product? How about blanket wi-fi coverage so you can access a tablet-based record system? The world of farm sensors and technology is exploding, and we stay current on the technology as you are busy running a farm. Our team stays up-to-date on the current trends in the industry and specializes in how technology fits into your existing systems. If you are looking for full-system design and installation, we work closely with Smart Farm Innovations, a long-time friend and colleague.
For example, we may look over your operation and recommend you implement a weather monitoring and greenhouse alarm system. You would then work with Smart Farm Innovations to design and implement the system. They even do super reasonably priced installations, so if you are too busy or not feeling especially techie, they are still commited to your success.
Farm Energy Efficiency
Are you looking to increase your energy efficiency on the farm? Let us help you do a simple energy audit and connect you to state and federal funding that can pay for energy updates on your farm. The programs are easy to work with and projected savings are calculated up front so you know if it makes sense.
Coaching and Advising
Do you need advice on how to reduce your feed costs? Or are you struggling to know if you should hire employees? Do you feel your systems on your farm could use a tune-up? Are you looking to scale your vegetable operation and don’t know where to start? Work with one of our seasoned field experts to answer your questions with real, tested answers. Remember, we’re not trying to sell you a system or product, we’re trying to help you farm smarter, not harder.