3 Things Every Successful Farmer Does

“The future of food will be defined by small farmers.” – Nate Storey, PhD


We’re living in a food economy ripe for disruption. Big Ag can’t deliver the quality of produce or the transparency of interactions that small farmers can, and that’s something motivated modern farmers can get excited about.

The successful farmer takes advantage of this by doing three things.

1. They personally engage with their community.

Successful farmers participate and actively engage with their communities through tours, classes, face-to-face sales, and getting involved in community events.
You’ll know that you’re engaged with your community when your customers know you by name, and when you find yourself changing your crops, and management based on community feedback!
For example, Sarah Ulloah atGood Taste Farm in Fallbrook, California engages with her community by staying active on social media like Instagram and being present at her Farmers Market – a great place to get to know your customers personally!

A photo posted by Good Taste Farm (@goodtastefarm) on

Having community supporthelps farmers find markets, stay in tune with local opportunities, and navigate regulations.
The second thing that every successful farmer does is:

2. They getabove market pricing.

The successful farmer chooses pricing battles that he can win; he (or she)finds a niche and uses it to support theirpricing. The farmer who tries competing with large field producers in a market that they already rule, however, is going to lose.
Smart Greens sells greens direct to consumer at$12.38/lb forgreens like kale and spinach, and $1.94 per head of lettuce.For basil, which is sold wholesale to grocery stores, Smart Greens asks $3.10/oz (or $49.50/lb) in US dollars.

Sure wish there was a “smell it” function on here. You guys are missing out. #greengoodness

A photo posted by Smart Greens (@smartgreens) on

Howdoes Smart Greens have success with these prices?
Smart Greens is able to succeedbyunderstanding that their product is fundamentally different from the others on the shelf, bycommunicating that value clearly to the customer, and bybuilding on that sale to create a relationship which leads to brand-loyalty.

3. They start with what they have.

The days of capital-intensive farm starting are over; this is the age of the accessible farm start up. Farms are easier to start than ever before using high-density equipment and specialty markets to support the farm while it’s still small.
Where starting a farm used to mean investments of over $100K, most Upstart Farmers start their farms with an investment between $10K and $20K by buying scale-ableequipment and leveraging specialty markets.
The successful farmer takes advantage of that and scales as they go.
Most of the Upstart Farmers began with 12, 25, or 50 ZipGrow Towers before scaling up.Not only did that allow them to start with what they had but it allowed them to master their farming method and connect with markets personally on a smallscale.

First 25 completed

A photo posted by @holzster on

Start your own journey to being a successful farmer.

One thing that can help the most with planning and execution is Upstart University.
Here at Bright Agrotech, we believe that the success of the local farmer is the success of the food system. Starting a farm can be hard, so we do everything we can to help out start upfarmers through consulting, guides, and personalized planning.
We even organized our collective knowledge into a guided e-learning platform called Upstart University. Upstart University is the most affordable and knowledge-rich farm training program on the web.
So what do you say? Are you ready to start your future?
Enroll Now

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