At one time or another, nearly all homesteaders
desire to make their homestead self-sufficient and begin to search for
ways to achieve that self-sufficiency. Even the beginning
homesteader hopes to find a way to make an income off the excess products
their homestead produces. Today there are several ways to market
homestead produce; anything from crafts to crops can be turned to cash
with a little know-how. There are several venues open to those who
choose to try their hand at this money-making approach and who are willing
to spend a little time investigating their marketing options.
Most people have heard of their local farmers’ markets and many have even
visited them relatively often. These are a great place to buy fresh
produce; because of this, they are also the most obvious place for a
homesteader to market some of their excess products. Farmers’
markets are known for vegetables and produce. Many also sell fresh
eggs, cheese, even homemade soaps.
Many of these products do not require refrigeration,
however, some do. If the items being sold require refrigeration,
then the seller needs to find a way to keep these products in the cold
while at the market. Be sure to check your state’s regulations
concerning the packing of refrigerated items such as eggs and cheese.
If you don’t know the location a farmers’ market in your area, check with
your local town hall, chamber of commerce or state extension office, they
should have this information available.
Many producers will sell through multiple farmers’ markets by finding
markets within a 50 mile area that meet on different days and various
locations. This allows the producer to decide what product sells
best in which areas and provide items according the best results at each
market. In turn, this increases their selling potential.
A modern variation of the farmers market has become available in some
areas, aiding the savvy producer looking for ways to market produce
without ever leaving their homestead.
CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are becoming
very popular among those trying to make a go at selling their produce.
CSAs offer the producer a relationship with the buyer; in short, it is a
small scale closed market. The producer offers a type of
subscription service to buyers, where the buyer pays an upfront fee or
contracts for a weekly or monthly group of products produced on the farm.
The buyer makes a financial commitment to the homestead producer for the
season. Usually, the fee is paid upfront, although on occasion it
can be arranged in a payment form. The producer has list of what
products he plans to have available, how much he expects to have, and how
often he will have them.
The CSA season is basically the same time frame as
that of the farmer’s markets: from spring through the early fall.
CSAs offer a great benefit to both the producer and the buyer: the
producer knows how much and what kind of products he needs to produce to
meet the agreement and he also knows what his income from it will be,
while the buyer gets fresh produce and the opportunity to get it at better
price than he would if he were paying a middleman on top of the producer’s
price. There are even a few CSAs where the buyer is required to
invest actual work hours on the homestead working with the producer.
In recent years the popularity of CSAs has grown astronomically, becoming
one the preferred ways of marketing and obtaining freshly produced
products.
Another way for the energetic homesteader to market his products is
through the use of food co-ops. A food co-op is simply a grocery
store type organization arranged as a cooperative to bring fresh locally
grown produce to the buyer’s front door. Most food co-ops are
organized by state or region. Food co-ops require that producers
join the co-op and usually require them to spend a few hours in volunteer
service once a month to make sure the products are put together properly
and ready for delivery to the buyers. The co-op often has a website
and newsletter system that lists each product available through the co-op
and the price that each producer requires for the purchase of their
product. The buyer selects the product he wants and which buyer he
wishes to purchase it from.
Basically, they turn in their grocery list and the
co-op sends out a statement to the producers of what they have sold that
month. The producers then must have their products packaged and
delivered to the co-op location on a scheduled date. The co-op then
puts the order together from each buyer and meets the buyer on that date
to deliver the items ordered.
This particular option allows the producer the same
type of options open to him as a farmers’ market but allows for a wider
area of market coverage. It is also a little easier to market meat
products in this fashion because meat products are much harder to maintain
at a farmers’ market than when kept in storage at the homestead and
delivered once a month to a predestined location.
