by Eric Soderholm, Organic Transition Coordinator
Farmers that grow a wide range of products know how tough it can be to predict farmers’ market customer buying habits. Sometimes the week-to-week differences are so dramatic, they are downright laughable. Like the sudden interest in Lacinato kale for making the kale chip recipe featured in the New York Times food section. Or the spike in sales of beef heart after a recent NPR story.
In my experience selling at farmers market, the cuts of meat patrons choose is the most variable of all.
In a business where profit margins are already so thin, it can be crushing to turn folks away after selling out of Italian sausage when there is a freezer full back at the farm. Even worse is coming home from market in 90 degree heat with some frozen cuts of meat that no one took an interest in.
Consider your options to better gauge the needs of your customers. There are a number of companies that offer online ordering programs specifically designed for small farmers. These programs allow customers to see what products you have available and pre-order for pick up at a designated farmers’ market location.
If the markets you serve are too small or poorly attended to warrant investing in an online system, there are simpler means. Developing a pre-order email list can be even more effective at drawing in customers each week. Collect email address from patrons that want to receive weekly farm updates. Using these contacts, you can send out a list of what meats are available and give customers instructions to pre-order exactly what they want. Then you can easily prep orders and calculate totals before the rush of market time.
At a farm that raises and markets both produce and meat, I have consistently observed that customers are often much more eager to buy meat than vegetables. I believe that implementing a meat pre-order system has brought in more customers and that many of these folks are buying produce as well before they leave our table. It can help to recommend meat recipes that incorporate some of your other offerings. Five minutes spent researching and spreading a recipe can sometimes inspire even the most stubborn of your anti-vegetable customers!
To learn about the laws relevant to marketing meat and other farm products in the Carolinas, check out the publication just released by CFSA– Growing Your Local Food Business: A Guide to Laws and Regulations.