Direct To The Public
Peddling fruits and vegetables to
consumers takes business savvy and planning.
Not all Tennessee
fruit and vegetable growers are shipping their produce off to big commercial
markets.
A growing number are keeping their goods at home to sell
direct to the consumer. Or they are taking the next step in the process
and making the produce into a new product to sell.
The term, says UT Extension fruit and vegetable marketing
specialist Dr. Bob Jenkins, is "value added"-producing an item
and adding to its value to gain more profit. The idea is a good one for
Tennessee farmers, he said.
"They always had this feeling that they were selling
goods for half or less of the price they saw at the grocery store. They
did all this work in growing it and yet somebody else just puts it out on
a shelf and gets more of the consumer's dollar than the grower."
Direct-to-consumer marketing helps a grower in two ways,
Jenkins explained.
"You have to have a big operation to produce enough
wholesale vegetables or fruit to make a living on a few pennies of profit
per carton. The smaller family farms were having a terrible time with that.
By direct marketing, they've not only gotten the few pennies they would
get for producing it, but also what the wholesaler and the grocery store
would get.
"Also they are using a lot of product that might not
be saleable to wholesalers. For example, if they get a little bruise or
hole in an apple they can use it in a pie and just simply cut that spot
out. They haven't lost it, whereas for the wholesale market it has to be
just perfect. When they make cider, they can use small apples that the wholesaler
won't handle. They are able to use a lot higher percentage of their product."
Entertainment Farming
Most consumers are familiar with farmers' markets and roadside
stands and those venues are still growing. But another direct-to-consumer
method, pick your own operations, has lost momentum in the last 10 years
or so. The rapid increase in two-income households has left many families
with no time for such things. The newest trend for producers is what Jenkins
calls entertainment farming.
"People are attracted to farms. Many families have
rural roots and are drawn to what they see as the simplicity of rural life,"
he explained.
Some savvy farmers are tapping into that desire by providing
an opportunity to visit the farm. For a fee, visitors tour the facilities
and pick a pumpkin or a few apples to take home. An operation in Clarksville
attracts 10 to 15 thousand school children to pick pumpkins each fall.
Jenkins conducts a similar program at his own farm in north
Knox County. "In the fall we have from 50 to 150 kids every day. They
see how we grow the apples, hear about the role of honey bees, take a tractor
ride, taste apple products, and pick three apples to take home in a bag."
Such an enterprise provides a steadier income than just
selling the apples-though it doesn't preclude commercial marketing. "The
school children come whether you have a big crop of apples or a little crop,"
Jenkins said. He picks the earlier-ripening apples for commercial sale and
leaves the later ones for the school children.
There are all sorts of variations on this theme, Jenkins
said. Some farmers have petting zoos of farm animals. Others have horse-drawn
wagon rides. You name it, he said, and someone is doing it.
Tom and Mary Nell Breeding of Mount Juliet host school
children. They do a tour of their market, then let the children pick their
own apples in the orchard. Any number of others do something along that
line. In the Halls community in Knox County, Dennis Fox does hayrides. Groups
come in the evening and he takes them on a hayride, tractor-pulled, through
his orchard to a pond and campfire. There he has a food service setup and
serves a meal.
There are expenses to be considered, Jenkins added. Liability
insurance can be very costly, especially where children are concerned.
There are other ways to combine entertainment farming with
value-added products, he said. Some producers are establishing their own
bakeries, food processing operations, restaurants and even convenience stores.
They are making and selling fried apple pies, apple cider, apple butter,
donuts, or just about any other product you can think of that could be made
with the commodity they grow.
Marketing in Tennessee
UT has factored into this trend in several ways, Jenkins
explained.
In the '60s and '70s, UT encouraged Tennessee growers to
attend marketing conferences in other states that were further along with
such programs. There they met other growers and made arrangements to visit
their farms.
"Those initial producers came back and implemented
some of these ideas," he said. "Then Tennessee formed its own
fruit and vegetable growers association and brought in speakers from other
states, so a lot more of our growers heard about it. That was all sponsored
by UT, essentially. Then our own growers who were successful also became
a resource, so we had them on the programs. And finally our growers became
emissaries to other states.
"The Stout Orchard in Leoma is probably one of the
oldest value-added, direct marketing operations in the state. They did it
before almost anyone else.
"A lot of what's happening now is Tennessee growers
are going to these more experienced local marketers and learning from them.
Farmers actually listen to other farmers better than anybody, so we are
very glad to see them do that. At the same time, UT experts became involved
in helping them set up these markets. Our food processing people helped
them with their cider-making operations. Our production people help with
agronomy questions, and the ag engineers with equipment. Anybody who had
a related expertise helped out."
An essential link between UT and growers were individual
county Extension agents, Jenkins added. In Sevier County, now-retired county
agent Joe Woods had a very good relationship with Bill Kilpatrick who was
developing an apple orchard and related on-site marketing. He recognized
what Kilpatrick needed in the way of information and tapped whatever university
resource could provide that expertise. "It worked well to have an on-site,
in-county Extension person doing the facilitating."
Success
One thing that has been surprising to Jenkins is that so
many people with so many different situations are successful at direct marketing.
"You could say, if you want to be successful, be very
accessible and located on a convenient highway, be friendly, and have a
unique marketing situation. As soon as you say that, you turn around and
find somebody who doesn't fit that mold but is successful."
A prime example of this is Oren Wooden in Pikeville.
"He is up on top of a mountain on a little side road
a long way from the main road. It is a fun drive, but certainly not a place
you are just passing by. You have to head there to get there.
"Well, Mr. Wooden and his family last year made and
sold 30,000 fried pies. That was his first year of operation in his new
facility. He's the kind of guy that makes you doubt whether there is any
situation that couldn't be successful if it was presented in the right framework.
"He's gotten good support from Marilyn Geraldson,
the food marketing specialist in Chattanooga who has placed some stories
on Wooden's orchard in the newspaper and on television. Word of mouth is
important, too."
The Woodens, like most direct-market producers, are quality-conscious
and very friendly, Jenkins said. Their whole family is involved-a key factor
in many farm market situations.
"You hardly ever see just a husband and hired help,"
he explained. "The wives and children are there, too. It is really
a good life in the sense that you do a lot of things together."
But it can be a lot of hard work.
"If I have one concern about direct marketing, it's
the impact on the quality of life of the families," he said. "They
work awfully hard and very long hours. Some work all day in the markets
and then at night they are making pies. Until they get to a point where
they can hire some help, they are really straining themselves to the limit.
"Although," he adds, "I don't think any
of these farmers would say they had a problem with that. They would just
view it as the normal course of life to work hard."
To cope with the long hours, some growers run seasonal
operations, working long hours during summer months then closing in winter
for a well-deserved rest. Others, as their operations grow, find a group
of good employees to help.
"It kind of gets away from just growing and selling
apples. You become a financial  manager and personnel manager.
You have to keep everything going." |