January - A 2007 View On Marketing

By Rick VanVranken

FARMER-to-consumer retail marketing became a successful sales strategy for many produce farmers over the past 50 years. Converting barns or selling from tables, tailgates, and wagons along the roadside, today's farm markets are more elaborate country stores complete with bakeries, delis, petting zoos and other attractions. Often, though, the farm family's lucrative farm stand is what allowed them to retain the farm in the face of increasing production costs, greater wholesale competition, and development pressures.

Direct marketing does not necessarily reduce costs, but definitely changes them. Maintaining a steady supply of produce for a retail market means managing multiple, smaller plantings of a greater variety of crops. Attracting consumers to the farm limits transportation, but requires savvy merchandising, the use of proper advertising, signage, displays, and customer service. But because there is room for savings when selling at "what the market will bear" retail prices instead of "commodity supply-demand" wholesale prices, there is potential for greater profits than hauling truckloads of produce to the terminal market.

VanVranken is an agricultural agent at Rutgers Cooperative Extension in Mays Landing, NJ; vanvranken@aesop.rutgers.edu