Recap of the 2020 DIRECT Farm Conference
On Tuesday, August 4th, Barn2Door was delighted to host hundreds of Farmers from across the country who tuned in for the first 2020 DIRECT Farm Conference. The free, virtual event brought together distinguished farmers and industry experts to share best practices, tactics and insights to build a direct-to-market business.
The day revolved around the 4 Levers for Farm Success™—Quality, Brand, Price and Convenience—with a Keynote, an In Practice session, and an ACRES Survey Presentation for each Lever. Keynote speakers offered inspirational advice and wisdom, while In Practice Farmers provided tactical guidance and suggestions based on what’s worked for their business.
Here are some of the key takeaways from each of the sessions throughout the day. If you’d like to watch any of the presentations in full, you can freely access all the content online anytime at: https://www.directfarmconference.com/videos.
QUALITY
The morning started with Paul Dorrance, owner of Pastured Providence—speaker, sustainable agriculture advocate and consultant—speaking about Quality as the foundation for any Farm business. His session impressed Quality as the foundation for setting core Values, defining Stewardship practices, impacting Soil Health, and ultimately defining the end Product. He shared personal experience growing his own grass fed beef operation, relaying pasture-specific and broader “Quality” takeaways for other types of Farms. Watch Paul’s full Keynote.
The Quality In Practice session was led by Kelsey Ducheneaux, owner of DX Beef. Kelsey has joined Barn2Door for webinars in the past, sharing how she transitioned her family’s cow-calf operation into a direct-to-market grass fed beef business. Kelsey imparted the need for resilient ecosystems and communities, and the central role that local Farmers and Ranchers can play in each. Kelsey shared that biodiversity helps create more resilient ecosystems, while educating consumers to keep business local (both Farm inputs and outputs) helps build more resilient communities. Watch Kelsey’s full session.
BRAND
The Keynote session on Brand was delivered by Nona Jones, who serves as the Head of Faith-Based Partnerships at Facebook. She works with faith communities to bring their relationships online, building strong local brands to compete in a world where attendees often “shop” houses of worship online before stepping through a door. She drew parallels between faith groups and Farms as cornerstones of their communities which serve to nourish people, but also compete for patronage. Too often, faith communities and farms alike are reluctant to move online. She shared some tips on building authentic, effective online brands—including some insights to the Facebook algorithm which emphasized engagement over content. Watch Nona’s full session for more details.
Valerie Luhman, of Grass Fed Cattle Co followed thereafter with helpful guidance for other Farms building a brand online. Valerie shared her efforts over the preceding year to build her Farm brand virtually on Facebook, Instagram and via email, to connect with buyers in the Twin Cities several hours away. She shared the 3 E’s (Educate, Entertain, and eCommerce) breakup “asks for the sale” and gave some time-saving tips such as scheduling emails and mapping out a content schedule each week in advance. Watch Valerie’s full In Practice session.
PRICE
We were thrilled to welcome Paul Greive, of southern California’s Pasturebird to deliver the keynote on Price. Drawing on his experience building one of the largest pastured poultry operations in the U.S, he challenged Farms to move beyond Cost-Plus pricing. When it comes to premium products, Paul asserted that Farms are leaving money on the table if you’re not taking into account the competition and customers’ willingness to pay higher prices. If you simply cover your costs and add on a profit, you may be making less than you could otherwise. Watch Paul’s full keynote.
For the In Practice session on Price, Tom Bennett joined the DIRECT lineup to share how subscriptions to meat bundles have underwritten their business—providing month-to-month revenue certainty, saving time and delighting customers. Tom emphasized treating your subscription customers right (they offer 12-month, farmer’s choice boxes every 30 days). Subscribers get the most premium products in well-packaged boxes. And, Tom reaches a new type of customer—who wants the value of buying in bulk but lacks freezer space for a half hog. Watch Tom’s full In Practice session.
CONCENIENCE
The final Keynote of the day was Karen Huh, who drew upon her experience in the food and beverage industry—including an executive role at Starbucks Coffee Company—to share that Convenience is “the tipping point”. Your Farm can have the best products, a strong brand and well-priced products and inventory, but without making it easy and convenient for buyers, you simply won’t have sales. Watch Karen’s full keynote here.
Our final In Practice speaker was Jessica Evans, owner of Evans Family Farm and make-it-work direct home delivery extraordinaire! Jessica shared how her family observed the need for the “Amazon Prime Experience” for their local pastured proteins. So, she pulled out the minivan seats, filled some coolers and began direct home delivery along their wholesale route - her business is booming. Watch Jessica’s full In Practice session.
ANNOUNCEMENTS!
The day concluded with Barn2Door’s founder and CEO, Janelle Maiocco, sharing some exciting announcements!
The DIRECT Farm Podcast—the weekly listen for Farms selling direct. Continue growing your direct-to-market business and keep digging into the 4 Levers for Farm Success.
Local Farm Finder, which helps consumers discover and access Farms selling direct online in their community. We’re here to support Farms, so we’re excited to make it one step easier for buyers to connect with local Farmers.
Again, you can watch all the 2020 DIRECT Farm Conference recordings.
If you’re curious to learn how Barn2Door can support your Farm, watch this 5 minute video to learn how it works.