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Walla
Walla Agriculture KEYS TO
SUCCESS FOR SMALL FARMERS
- Choose something you love to do. It's hard
work under the best of circumstances. If you are doing it just
for the money, it's unlikely the energy, creativity, and satisfaction
necessary for success will be present.
- Create a high quality product. Quality is the
single most important element that will differentiate your product
from mass produced alternatives. More and more consumers want
fresher, better tasting, healthier products than those available
from large retailers.
- Start small and grow naturally. Invest your
ingenuity first, labor second, and money third. If you start small,
the effort you put in and the income you generate are more likely
to be matched. Let the market demand dictate your growth.
- Make decisions based on good records. Base
business decisions on what is, not on what you hope or guess the
situation to be. Even if everything else is right, poor financial
management and decision-making can still kill your business.
- Follow demand-driven production. Produce what
your customers want. Get to know your customers. Keep adjusting
your products according to their tastes and purchases.
- Establish a loyal customer base, preferably local.
In addition to high quality and meeting customer demand, focus
on your niche. Personal contact, exceeding expectations, providing
steady supply, and community involvement will help secure a strong
base of repeat customers.
- Provide more than just food or a product. People
are hungry for a connection to the rhythms of the earth and for
a sense of community. Provide your customers with an experience
of the satisfactions and spiritual rewards of your farm life.
Provide them with some fun, peace, and relaxation.
- Get the whole family or partners involved.
Value-added processing takes additional energy and skills. When
several family members are involved, each person can contribute
his or her unique talents and specialize for efficiency.
- Keep informed. It is important to keep informed
about your customers, your competition, the laws concerning your
business, and other producers like yourself.
- Plan for the future. To be successful, you
have to know where you are headed. Each path requires different
courses of action. Set goals for your business and a plan of action
to achieve them.
Compiled by John Fouts. For more information, contact WSU Extension
at (509) 524-2685 or email John Fouts fouts@wsu.edu.
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