Finding Your Niche: A Marketing Guide for Kansas Farms

A comprehensive source for new, transitioning and expanding family enterprises.

The full contents of Finding Your Niche is available for free as a download. Please scroll down to view the complete Table of Contents and specific topics of interest.

Introduction

By Julie Mettenburg

Across the U.S., farmers and ranchers who are marketing food products direct to local and regional consumers, restaurants and institutions are part of a growing food movement. Nationwide, the number of farmers markets increased by nearly 10 percent in 2012 alone, continuing a 15-year growth trend, according to the USDA. Niche food products such as organics, heritage breed meats and heirloom produce varieties are similarly gaining in popularity.

Local and niche farm marketing here in Kansas echoes those trends. Our farmers markets now number more than 100 and are expanding into winter markets, multiple days and locations, as demand by consumers increases and new growing practices such as hoophouses help lengthen the season…

KRC sees big potential for small farms to diversify their offerings and their income streams in local and niche markets, for the better health of the farm.

Direct and niche marketing from the farm, however, is not without learning curves and challenges. That is the purpose of this publication: to help you overcome those challenges and provide you with a first-stop guide to the many quality resources available. Local and niche marketing of products direct from your farm can provide a start-up venture for a new farmer just getting started, an expansion for an established farm that may want to bring in new family members, or a new direction for a farm looking to diversify and enter an exciting new future for farming.

On behalf of the Kansas Rural Center, and our local foods staff for whom this guide was a labor of love, best wishes on your farm marketing endeavors. We hope you find this guide informative and helpful.

Table of Contents

Introduction to this Guide

Marketing Strategies

Retail Strategies:

• Selling at Farmers Markets 3

• Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) 10

• Agritourism & On-Farm Sales 20

• Selling through Internet or Mail Order 27

Wholesale Strategies:

• Selling to Retail Outlets 32

• Selling to Restaurants 42

• Selling to Caterers 50

• Selling to Institutions 56

• Operating or Selling to Food Hubs 63

• Cooperative Marketing 73

Other Strategies:

• Product Price & Payment 80

• Increasing Food Access 85

Marketing Tools

• Branding 89

• Products & Printed Media 93

• Virtual Media 97

Beginning Farmers

• Beginning Farmer Resources 103

• Legal Business Structure Options 115

Farm Practices

• Food Safety 123

• Certifications 128

Regulations

Animal Product Regulations:

• Handling & Processing 135

• Licensing Requirements 144

• Inspections 149

• Labeling 153

Plant Product Regulations:

• Handling & Processing 160

• Licensing Requirements 162

• Inspections 163

• Labeling 165

Insurance & Liability 169

Samples & Demonstrations 172

Taxes 175

Weights & Measures 177

Appendix A: Educational Resources for Farm Production 179

Appendix B: Aquaculture/ Aquaponics Resources 191

Kansas Farm Profiles:

• Pure Prairie Organic Farm 193

• Hildebrand Dairy 195

• Shepherd’s Valley Farm 197

• Bauman’s Cedar Valley Farms 200

• Chautauqua Hills Farm 202

• Lazy S Farms 204

• Rolling Prairie Farmers Alliance 206

© 2013 • www.kansasruralcenter.org