From grapes to great greens Frank Fitts could tell you a thing or two about the value of building connections, taking a leap of faith and pairing a cheery chardonnay with some crunchy kale.
Frank comes from a professional background in the wine distribution industry. He was wooed by wine in his late senior year at Southern Methodist University. This passion for wine led him to becoming a certified sommelier, working at a wine shop and transitioning to a full time career as a wine distributor. He loved the industry and wore many hats, meeting with restaurateurs, planning events and networking with industry professionals. He saw longevity in his chosen path.
He now owns and operates Yellow Hammer Farms, a 2250sq ft indoor vertical farm in the urban area of Birmingham Alabama, a city with a foodie reputation and renowned wine bars. Frank is the farmer, distributor and business developer while his wife Jillian has taken on an administrative role.
They predominantly serve restaurants and grocery stores directly by providing them with a steady supply of fresh hydroponically grown produce. The business is 90% wholesale focussed.
The 420 Towers of their ZipFarm™ are housed in a leased warehouse space with additional space for offices and storage.
Inspired by his grandfather's legacy
It’s been just over 18 months since Frank left his wine industry career to become a fully-fledged modern day farmer, but the idea was sparked several years ago.
It was only after his beloved grandfather passed away in December of 2016 that Frank considered a lifestyle change. Reflecting back on his childhood, his Grandfather, who spent his adult life as a corporate lawyer in Cleveland Ohio always talked about retiring on a farm, “He had never touched anything farm related in his life. It sounded relaxing to him,” explains Frank.
And he did just that, in the middle of nowhere North Carolina he built a house complete with a pool and a pond and started a corn farm, and not just any corn, but a specific strain of corn grown for popcorn. “We would visit and it was so much fun, as a kid it was a blast.”
It was these memories that first sparked the idea that he would want to follow the same path of retiring on a farm.
At that same time while working as a wine distributor he would talk with restaurateurs and they would have conversations about distribution issues for produce that was fresh.
‘I could hear just how much they loved to use local produce, but they had issues changing their menu because they couldn’t rely on supply.”
Demand was certainly there and fortunately for Frank, he was in an industry where he was already well connected to the very people who needed this service.
And the dots connected…
“I thought, hey I would love to retire on a farm, and I have all these folks saying I need fresh produce…If I can control each variable, then I can control the output and have it all year round.”
So in Early 2017 he did his due diligence and began crunching numbers drawing up spreadsheets and looking into the viability of starting a controlled environment agricultural business in his region. He also discovered the innovations of ZipGrow and the advantages of growing truly vertically in Towers. He took that same analytical and educational approach that he did to the wine industry, taking every opportunity to get a solid footing of knowledge of the Ag-Tech industry and ZipGrow systems.
I was looking at the system of Zipgrow and liked how modular it was…it seemed like a great fit.”
He continued to work full time and educated himself through UpStart University along with additional business tools to see if it made sense for him to plunge into entrepreneurship as a modern day farmer.
He talked to some of the restaurateurs that he had built close relationships with to pitch the idea “some of them were saying, are you ready right now? Do you need a downpayment for rent? Let’s do this!”
Planning a business
Yellow Hammer Farms raised 435k in start-up funds with the assistance of Harvest Returns, a Texas based ag-financing company that connects businesses with passive investors who have a passion for agriculture.
Frank created a substantial business plan and worked with the Alabama Small Business Development Center (ASBDC) to hone it. He explains that having a good understanding of the costs, yields and growth plans on his spreadsheets along with the data provided by ZipGrow helped with funding “it’s been pretty dead-on accurate.”
His advice to other growers “You have to figure out where you are going to sell first because if you don’t it will be an uphill battle.”
He also recommends establishing a good relationship with key community members, using all resources possible, and starting conversations with suppliers and the county early and often.
Development of the business has not come without its setbacks. Frank says they didn’t foresee how tough it would be to launch a business during the pandemic. Supply chain challenges and a rare compressor issue set back their original opening date and tested their resilience as entrepreneurs.
Frank secured a small warehouse space in a business park in Birmingham Alabama where he relies heavily on the connections he has built to foster a strong business to business model and relationships. On June 18, 2021 they officially opened Yellow Hammer Farms.
Fostering community
While the business model relies mostly on wholesale contracts, Yellow Hammer Farms is also open to serve customers directly.
With his knowledge from the wine industry, he understands first hand the connection that people have when they see a working farm and then experiencing the fruits of its labor.
“I wanted to give people the opportunity to see the farm for themselves.”
State Laws in Alabama also allow consumers to purchase fresh produce directly from suppliers tax free. They built the area with direct to consumer options in mind complete with a gallery area so that their local community can see an indoor farm in action.
“When you visit a winery or a brewery you have this unconscious connection to it, so I loved the idea of bringing that to farming. Very rarely do you see a named farm on a menu that you can go and visit.”
Top crops that they produce include:
- Mint
- Basil- multiple varieties
- Kale
- Parsley
- Dill
- Head Lettuce
In addition to supporting local restaurants Yellow Hammer Farms also supplies to major retail chains including Piggly Wiggly.
Because we are able to grow so fast, fresh and in large quantities, wholesalers are the key for us. Restaurants love what we are doing. We are always trying to test new things to see how they are doing. Sometimes it goes great, sometimes it does not, that's the fun part."
Frank and Jillian are continuing to expand their grocer presence and have just invested in additional Towers to scale up their operation.
“I want to focus on what we are good at…let’s be unique in things that we can be unique in. We’ve seen incredible demand and love for our herbs. I was planning on selling a lot of herbs but was not anticipating this much. It’s great to be able to offer grocery stores herbs that have only traveled maybe 30 miles. Increased shelf life is a huge factor.”
Yellow Hammer Farms became part of the Alabama Farmers Market this summer, where Frank enjoys meeting more locals, sharing their produce and their hydroponic farming experiences. The farm switched over to using Growfoam® substrates this fall, a full-circle sustainable media. By the end of 2022, all the produce grown at Yellow Hammer Farms will be seeded in Growfoam® plugs, this allows all residual materials to be fully composted after harvest.
Goals for the future
Frank and Jillian already have their sights set on growth for their business. They expanded their family of Farmers with the birth of their daughter M’Liss in July of 2021. She will be growing up with parents who literally grow up!
Other future growth includes pop-up shops at the farm offering other locally produced products. “I would love to be able to help other local businesses get themselves off the ground.”
“I still enjoy a great wine” says Frank, now he has unlimited salad to pair with it!
Learn more about Yellow Hammer Farms and following their indoor farming journey on their website, Instagram and Facebook page.
