Make Farming your Day Job - Benoit Family Farmstead
In 2021, Benoit Family Farmstead made the decision to partner with Barn2Door to expand their reach to access new Buyers with Farm eCommerce and streamline their operations. Their Farm has been able to add more products and serve their community, without spending extra hours in the office.
As a member of the Barn2Door Farm Advisor Network, Erica Benoit is excited to share her experience and advice for Farms looking to grow direct sales.
Moving to Direct Farm Sales
In 2015, the Benoit family began their homestead with the intention of knowing exactly what went into the food they were feeding their family. With a passion for sustainable products, they began selling to the local community.
Benoit Family Farmstead began selling pork from their Farm. They planned to sell through a network (Niman RanchⓇ), but they were not accepting new Farmers. This did not stop the family from selling their products locally. Instead, Benoit Family Farmstead chose to sell direct, and even began to buy hog feeders from ranchers in the network (who were unable to build a profitable business).
While other Farmers believed they had to be in big cities to attract Buyers, Benoit connected with their own local community to grow their business. The Farm chose to work with Barn2Door for the ongoing support and resources, including an Onboarding Manager for assistance with setup. In addition to pork, the Farm has now expanded to sell raw milk, chicken, eggs and beef.
Covering Costs with Farm Subscriptions
Erica offered a pork Subscription, and did not know if the efforts would pay off. She had to schedule out butcher dates ahead of time, and plan out how much meat needed to be prepared to fulfill each Subscription. However, it worked! She found Subscriptions to be super helpful for their Farm business operations.
Now, she appreciates having an organized schedule to manage a growing base of Subscription orders. The Farm no longer has to rely strictly on individual sales, because consistent purchases are guaranteed! Subscriptions have helped improve cash flow, manage their budget, and improve organization on the Farm.
Erica found that Subscriptions quickly covered all their feed costs, which was previously an ongoing concern. What once seemed daunting, has now become her favorite feature. Now, roughly 50% of their sales are Subscriptions - providing stable recurring cash flow for their Farm business and peace-of-mind.
Less Tracking, More Selling
Before Barn2Door, in 2020, Benoit Family Farmstead would send out a Google Form for Buyers to select preferences for butcher and fulfillment dates. This made it stressful for the Farm to keep up with different dates and maintain a consistent schedule.
The Farm would have to contact every Buyer manually via text or email to remind them to pick up their butchered meat. Some people would randomly not show up, wasting product and causing confusion for the business. This method was hard to track.
Now, this process is done automatically with Barn2Door, which has simplified tracking all their orders and automated customer order and pick-up reminders in the background. This has allowed Benoit Family Farmstead to focus on diversifying its offerings, and sell products on their own terms.
Erica chooses to sell some products by weight, and others at a fixed price. Barn2Door offers the capabilities for her to do both. She will sell whole chickens, hogs, bacon and pork steak on a set price, since those products are typically a consistent weight.
However, she sells quarter, half and whole beef by the pound, since the weight for those products can vary significantly. With software that helps her quickly manage different product types and sales methods, she can choose how to sell to her Buyers.
Increasing Orders with Email Marketing
Erica knows that to be a staple in her community, she must consistently engage Buyers with weekly emails. She considers what they would want to hear from their Farm, such as product updates, current promotions and any changes on the Farm.
Every time the Farm offers a sale, which is currently 3 times a year, Erica increases excitement by sending out a series of emails 2-3 weeks prior to butcher dates. She will offer a special price to sign up for their Subscriptions via social media and email. By only offering a week for Buyers to sign-up, she builds the fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) for Buyers, increasing their commitments.
Making the Farm a Full-time Business
Erica Benoit had a goal for her husband to be able to quit his off-Farm job and stay home to Farm with the Family. This year, the family has achieved that goal, since the business has taken off.
We achieved the ultimate goal we had when joining Barn2Door; my husband quit his off-Farm job last Thursday! It's been surreal having him home to help with the Farm, spend time with our kids, have less stress; he can even sleep in a little bit more. We're super excited!
- Farmer Erica
After this year, Benoit Family Farmstead hopes to start a Farm store where people can come and buy their products closer to the Farm. They hope to build connections with Buyers in their community to educate on the importance of sustainable agriculture.
Erica also hopes to help other Farmers in their transition to selling direct, serving local communities and running a successful Independent Farm.
Conclusion
Benoit Family Farmstead has built a thriving business that serves local Buyers in Missouri. They now can save time and serve more Buyers with Barn2Door, providing a solution to easily manage customer purchases, inventory, communications and recurring payments.
The Farm hopes to continue its growth trajectory, with the goal of tending to the Farm as a family and expanding their reach in their local community. Erica is excited to support independent Farmers across the country! To learn more about Benoit Family Farmstead, join a Connect Program today.
Barn2Door offers software for Independent Farmers to create and promote their brand, sell online and in-person, and save time managing their business. If you’re curious to learn more, watch this 5-minute video.