Microfarming for Profit by DeWitt Dave

Author:DeWitt, Dave [DeWitt, Dave]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781937226404
Publisher: Perseus Books, LLC

Janie Lamson of Cross Country Nurseries in Rosemont, NJ.

Photo by Rick Epstein, courtesy of www.nj.com.

And besides, they can’t do it all by themselves. This seasonal business requires a lot of part-time help, an average of about eight to ten workers during a typical season that runs from January through harvest time. There is an amazing amount of things to do to manage the growing of 873 different plant varieties, and then having to ship most of them. “How did you do it?” I asked Janie.

“Slow and steady wins the race,” she said. “If you get really big, really fast, and then make a mistake, you can easily lose it all—and quickly.” The best thing to do, she advised, is to first decide what you really want to do and then formulate a plan to do it, tweaking it as you go along. “Don’t diversify too fast and always have a plan B.”

Her advice to new microfarmers is to pay your dues to create a good reputation with your customers. “This means being there dependably year after year, offering excellent customer support.” For the first five years, she says, you should have an alternate funding source—savings, a real job, or possibly an investor. And one of her best suggestions is that if you depend upon machines and technology, always have back-up equipment. She has two heaters in each greenhouse, just in case one fails. She has two computers, two printers, and three monitors. She also has an extra printer to print variety names on plastic tags and labels—which costs $5,000. “But it would take me weeks to order one and get it here if it breaks down, and that would effectively shut down my business during the shipping season. Better to be prepared and have a back-up printer.” That makes sense to me.

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