Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association

Fresh Facts
Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh experience.

President’s Message……
Newsletter #253
Networking personified! Dec. 2009
That is how I describe OFFMA’s November bus tour. If you have read any of my articles or Volume 24, Number 10
we have talked in person you know that I think NETWORKING is OFFMA’s biggest, most won-
derful asset! This November in a five day span we covered 15 farm visits and networked on
the bus with 27 farms. One could fill a notebook with best practices and new ideas! What
made this tour even better was several of the farms we visited were OFFMA members. On-
tario has so many beautiful farms, filled with family history weaving their own web and cre- Inside this issue:
ating a niche all their own. A special thank you to the following families and their staff: the
Hugli’s, the Fulton’s, the Saunders’, the Brophy’s, the Proulx’s, the Stanley’s, the Quinn’s, Members News 2
the Lunan’s, the Pingle’s and the McDonald’s for sharing your story and farm with us!
One of the many ideas we will implement next season focuses on our employees. At Ful- Views from the Front 3
of the Bus
ton's Pancake House and Sugar Bush, I was impressed with their staff training and motiva-
tional ideas. During their staff orientation they bring in a body language coach and a posi- Ideas from the Bus 4
tive attitude trainer. They also have their staff set goals for the next season and write them Tour
out on poster boards to display all season in the staff lounge.
They have created 'smart cards' which are laminated 4" x 6" Strengths, Weak- 6
nesses, Opportuni-
cards on a clip ring that each staff carry with them to answer ties and Threats
commonly asked questions about the farm (love that idea!!!).
They also place 'Fulton Notes' beside each phone which is The Royal Debrief 7
basically an overview of their website. For an afternoon pick
me up, Shirley, the owner, will go around and give the staff a
Upcoming Events 8
Riesen candy and say, 'here is a 'riesen' to make it to the end The Last Word 9
of the day'. She also has smiley stickers available for all staff
to reward other staff when they see them doing something
wonderful they put a smiley sticker on their name tag. One
last thing that I loved about Fulton's was their 'I Spy' cards.
'I Spy' cards are a laminated sheet with a dry erase marker
for customers to use while they explored the farm using 4 of
their 5 senses.
OFFMA's bus tour is always a good investment of time and
money to take our farm to a higher level of quality in market-
ing, appearance and customer service. A special thank you also goes to
Cathy and Gary (the silent partner) for all their planning, organization, and
keeping us on schedule – thanks for another exceptional bus tour!

Lastly, as the Christmas season is almost here, the Board and I would like to
wish you all a Christmas filled with family, laughter, and rest!

Merry Christmas,

OFFMA President
Page 2 Fresh Facts

MEMBERSHIP NEWS New Members….

Thatcher Farms
Please fill out and send in your member- Dana Thatcher
ship survey. Rockwood, ON 519-856-4073
We realize you are constantly being
Collinspinach
asked to do surveys from various compa- Paul & Robin Collins
nies and organizations. As a member you Rockwood, ON 519-833-2363
have a vested interest in OFFMA’s future
and potentially your own. We have a goal Dixie Orchards
Paul & Lynnette Gray
of getting a minimum of 150 surveys and
Caledon, ON 905-838-5888
presently we have 80 that have been re-
turned. Fulton’s Pancake House & Sugar Bush
Please take the 5 minutes to fill out the Shirley Fulton-Deugo
survey and return it by mail or fax to Ex- Pakenham, ON 613-256-3867
perience Renewal Solutions at 416-784-
Associate Member:
4237 or toll free at 1-866-979-9981. Images Puppet Production
A special thank you gift will be sent out Byron Morton
upon receipt of your survey. Hamilton, ON 905-544-1166

Tom Wilson and Nicole Judge had the grand opening of their Spirit Tree Estate Ci-
dery at the end of September. After years of planning and building, they were ready
for the public. If you are in the Caledon area and even if you are not, stop by and
check out their fabulous new facilities, or visit their web site, spirittreecider.com to
see pictures of the construction of the cidery and the bread oven.
We wish them all the best with their new venture.
 Newsletter #253 Page 3

Views from the Front of the Bus

By Niki Hilton, Springridge Farm

The annual OFFMA Bus Tour made its way

through Eastern Ontario and Quebec this
month. During our visit to fifteen farms we met
an ambitious goat cheese producer, a master of
apple ice wine and a pumpkin launching pirate.
We explored farm markets specializing in agri-
cultural entertainment, honey, maple syrup, jam
and fresh produce.

The increased interest that customers have in

buying local products and foods was a hot topic
on the tour. Several farms were keen to pro-
mote their partnerships with other local food
growers by word of mouth, signage at their es-
tablishment or through linking farm businesses
together online.

In fact, many farm owners mentioned the bene-

fits of investing in their websites over the past
year. Several farms have grown E-Newsletters,
which allow them to contact the public directly
with news bulletins about their businesses.
Farm buzz is also being generated on social me-
dia networks such as Twitter, Facebook, You-
Tube and Flickr.
Niki Hilton examines the diverse products at Fulton’s Pan-
cake House and Sugar Bush. This was Niki’s first time on the
bus tour. She doesn’t handle moving vehicles very well so she
spent most of her time at the front of the bus where she even-
tually became an expert with the microphone.

Along the way, we encountered innovative methods of farming. We learned about an ap-
ple variety that still clings to trees in January, ready to be hand picked for ice cider. We
were informed about a stump grafting program for fir trees, which shortens the growing
time and maximizes the crop. We also found out that keeping a good-looking herd of
goats creates happy cheese farmers and a better business!

As a rookie on the tour, I found a lot of value in conversing with people on the bus. It was
interesting to hear how other farms are run. No topic of conversation was off limits; farm
owners were willing to share the ins and outs of their businesses. Through this, I was
able to reflect on the farm I work at and understand more about direct farm marketing.
On the final day of the tour, I was given the opportunity to facilitate a few discussions on
the bus. At first I was surprised to have received this responsibility, but later I realized by
leading the discussion I was helping create a stronger connection between the people
on the bus and the farms we visited. It motivated me to witness how willingly people par-
ticipated in critiquing the farm markets we went to and I felt that everyone gained from
the honesty of the debriefings.

The enthusiasm shown by some of the farm marketers was one of the most inspiring as-
pects of the tour. This trip was a reminder of the quality and importance of local farms in
Canada. The tour provided a forum for discussion, idea sharing and a little bit of good old
farm fresh fun.

Why was Santa’s little helper depressed?

Because he had low elf esteem.
 Page 4 Fresh Facts

Ideas were plentiful

on the
Ontario Farm Fresh
Bus Tour
in November.
Here are a couple that
participants picked up
on their tour.

Caroline’s enthusiasm was infectious.

The beekeeper at Intermiel was
very educational and knew the
best way to sell his prod-
uct...sample, sample, sample.
Jasper’s official title is ‘Fulton’s Play-
ground Ambassador’. He has been spe-
cially trained for his role and an over-
sized tag lets everyone know what to
call him.
She is a young farmer who is passion-
ate about making goat cheese. When
funds were low and they wanted to put
in a new orchard, she developed a CSA
with a twist to get financial support
from her customers upfront.
 Newsletter #253 Page 5

Walter Pingle built this giant sized
‘Connet4’ game after he and Colleen
saw it on holidays. It has been a big
hit at their farm.
Heather and Sue saw these cookie cutters on
the bus tour last year, bought some and are
now using them to create ‘Barnyard Buddies’
cookies for their own customers at Valleyview
Little Animal Farm.

Brian Hugli’s alter

ego visited our bus
group. He performed
an entertaining and
educational program
that would be en-
joyed by children and
adults alike. It was
one of the biggest
surprises on the trip.
Who knew that Brian
was a closet pirate.
Page 6 Fresh Facts

Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats

By Dorene Collins, Marketing and Customer Service Program Lead with OMAFRA
Planning for a successful direct farm marketing venture includes developing a business plan
that reviews the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) of your operation.

Strengths and Weaknesses are the two things that are in your control, while Opportunities and
Threats are less in your control and even out of your control such as the weather, world mar-
kets, etc. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses will help in addressing and dealing with the
opportunities and threats that come your way.

Much attention is given to conducting a SWOT analysis of your business in the Quest for New
Farm Value™ - Value Plus workshops (developed by the Canadian Farm Business Management
Council and Gary Morton of Morton Horticultural Associates) being held this winter across On-
tario. An exercise in the workshop includes participants:

Listing three business STRENGTHS.

Examples: Enjoy working with the public; business is located on a major road for easy
access to an on-farm market; family members are engaged in the business; produce a wide
fruit and vegetables to offer the consumer; etc.

Listing three business WEAKNESSES.

Examples: Little focus on financial records to understand what areas of the business
are declining or growing; marketing efforts are too broad and not focused; no written busi-
ness plan in place to direct the business in the short and long term.

Listing three business OPPORTUNITIES.

Examples: Growth in the interest by consumer in local food and support for the
farmer; proximity to growing urban markets and tourism traffic; etc.

Listing three business THREATS.

Examples: weather; world markets and economics; food recalls; etc.

Once you have conducted your SWOT analysis you are in good stead to develop a plan that ex-
amines how you will build on your strengths and opportunities, improve weaknesses and man-
age threats.

To find out more or attend a Quest for New Farm Value™ - Value Plus workshop in your area
visit: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/conference/quest/index.html
Workshops scheduled to date include:
LOCATION Day # 1 Day # 2
Peterborough – Kawartha
January 30, 2010 February 6, 2010
Lakes
Haldimand - Cayuga January 30, 2010 February 6, 2010
Middlesex County February 22, 2010 March 1, 2010
West Carleton - Kinburn February 23, 2010 March 2, 2010
Huron/Perth Counties February 24, 2010 March 3, 2010
Alfred - French Language March, 2010 March, 2010

Helpful resources:
Visit the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) - Business Manage-
ment Unit website at: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/agbusdev.html
Subscribe to our OMAFRA Agricultural Business Update Newsletter at: http://
www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/news/index.html#agbus
 Newsletter #253 Page 7

The Royal Debrief

Ontario Farm Fresh was well represented at the Royal
Agricultural Winter Fair this year. We took part in the
Journey to Your Good Health display which was one of
the key areas in the marketplace. It was made up of a
number of organizations that had a message related to Christmas Tip:
agriculture and healthy food. On December
Our booth was available to the membership to come 5 & 6th, the
and interact with the consumers in the “Ask a Farmer” village of
section or take the opportunity to sell some of your Alton will
farm products for a day or two. Rumour has it that the be
RCMP had to re-route Camilla’s path through the Journey to Your Good Health offering
because she wanted to stop at the OFFMA booth. Mark Henry from Fields on the
chance to
West Lake was there at the time and the Duchess stopped to have her picture
get your picture
taken with him. taken with the
When presentations were not happening at the main stage, OFFMA had a video Grinch. How cool
that introduced some of our members to the Royal visitors and told them about is that? You can
Ontario farms they could visit. get your picture
We also launched our puppet show at the Tim Horton’s Ag-tivity Centre. Rocky taken with Santa
the Rooster did an excellent job of encouraging people to visit a farm and talked anywhere but
about all the things they could learn on a farm. It was a big hit. you’ll have to go
The Royal gets approximately 350,000 visitors each year. If we made an impres- to Alton to get
sion on 1% by enlightening them a little bit about Ontario farms, we would con- one with the
Grinch.
sider the show a success.
 Page 8 Fresh Facts

Upcoming Events

Dec. 8-10 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO, Grand Rapids,
Michigan. For details, visit www.glexpo.com
Jan. 11-13 OFVGA’s Annual General Meeting & Convention, Crowne Plaza Hotel,
Niagara Falls, for inquities contact 1-866-898-8488 ext. 116

Ontario Farm Fresh
Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director
2002 Vandorf Rd.
Aurora, ON L4G 7B9
Phone: 905-841-9278
Fax: 905-726-3369
E-mail: info@ontariofarmfresh.com
www.ontariofarmfresh.com
2009-10 OFFMA Board of Directors
Amy Strom, President
Strom’s Farm
Jesse Lauzon, Vice President
Springridge Farm
Mark Saunders, Past President
Saunders Farm
Paul Brooks, Brooks Farms
Jay Howell, Brantview Apples & Cider
Anne Just, Kurtz Orchards
Marg Land, Annex Publishing
(Associate Member)
Colleen Pingle, Pingle’s Farm Market
Geri Rounds, Rounds Ranch
Steve Smith, Smith’s Apples
Dorene Collins, OMAFRA
(Advisor to the Board)
The three phrases that
sum up Christmas best
are:
 Peace on Earth,
 Goodwill to Men,
and
 Batteries not in-
cluded.
Jan. 28-31 Organic Agriculture Conference, Guelph, Contact: organix@georgian.net or
Visit guelphorganicconf.ca
Feb. 3-5 Managing Excellence in Agriculture Conference, Saskatoon, Sask.,
Contact 1-888-232-3262 or visit farmcentre.com
Feb. 5-12 North America Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association Convention 2010,
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, go to nafdma.com for further details
Feb. 23 John Stanley Workshop—Innovative Merchandising and Displays to
Increase your Bottomline, Brock University, call Cathy Bartolic 905-841-
9278 for details
Feb. 24– 25 Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention, Brock University, go to ofvc.ca for
further details
March 23 Marketing Caravan, Guelph, Contact: Cathy Bartolic at 905-841-9278
March 25 Marketing Caravan, Kingston, Contact: Cathy Bartolic at 905-841-9278
The last word about the bus tour….
As I scan through the pictures from our latest bus tour the memories come flooding
back. This was the first time since I have been organizing the tour, that over half our
hosts were Ontario Farm Fresh members. They all put on an incredible show for their
peers and fellow members. I didn’t realize they would be nervous about us coming to
visit and that they would be cleaning and polishing for days before our arrival to make
sure that everything was perfect. And everything was perfect from the meals to the
wagon rides to the shopping experiences. I can’t thank our hosts enough for opening
their farms and businesses and answering any and all questions that arose. Without
them there would not have been a tour at all. Ultimately, this type of communication
benefits us all as an industry and moves us forward. (Quebec by the way is very jealous
of what we have in Ontario.)
A couple of observations; when the Murphy kids, actually they are young adults, intro-
duced themselves, Laura Hughes smiled and said, ‘Now which one of you were on this
tour as an infant? I know your mom brought one of you on this bus tour.” I guess we
can now officially say that the second generation is coming on the tours.
I also noticed on this trip, more than any other, that a number of speakers talked about
taking time for yourself and for your family. Not always looking at how you can get big-
ger but how you can do things better. We all tend to want to add more and more
things but will that make us more money, bring us more customers or just make us
more busy?? Good point and one that needs to be answered by everyone personally.
If you have never been on the tour, make a new years’ resolution to join us next year.
We will be touring Central Ontario and will try and keep the tour shorter for those who
don’t enjoy sitting on a bus for long periods of time. In March 2011, we are planning a
trip to tour farm shops in the UK, so start saving your pennies now. That will be a once
in a lifetime opportunity.
- Cathy Bartolic