Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association

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

A word from the President- Newsletter #324

Oct.-Nov. 2017
As I write this towards the end of September, things around our farm are in full swing. Volume 33, Number 7
We are in the middle of harvest. Packing is ramped up to two full shifts. The phone
never stops ringing. Storage rooms are starting to fill up. The orchard market is a
steady hum of activity from starting time until the last sale is rung through for the day.
There simply are not enough hours in the day.
Inside this issue:
I am confident that this scenario is being repeated at OFFMA members farms through-
out the province. It is an exciting and exhilarating time for all of us in the business. Membership News 2
Many of you have said that to a certain extent your years profit often depends on the
amount of good weather weekends you have in the fall. Developing an 3
Agri-Tourism Law

By the time you will be reading this I am guessing many of you will be counting the days Member Profile- 4
to Halloween with even more eagerness than your children. You are looking forward to Landman Gardens
days when you can sleep in now and then without feeling guilty. Or maybe spending Managing the 6
some time with friends and family that have been neglected since the spring. Produce Shift
But let me talk to you about another item that I hope you are looking forward to. And if
not, let me try and convince that you should be. Upcoming Events 8

OFFMA tour season is almost here. If you have never taken advantage of OFFMAs
tours you are really missing out. Rose and I have had the privilege of taking in at least
6 of the tours over the years and have always felt that we learned so much. I well re-
member the very first tour we took. We entered the bus rather timidly thinking that eve-
ryone else would already know each other and we would simply be strangers in a
crowd. How wrong we were. Within a few days we felt like part of the family. The en-
ergy, enthusiasm, and willingness to learn by those in the group was almost contagious
and certainly inspiring. I remember different people stating at the end of a tour that
even though it was only the middle of November they could not wait for the next season
to begin so that they could start to implement some of the new ideas they had picked
up.

We presently are planning two tours, one a foodie tour to New York City in
November and another, not to be missed tour, to Ireland in April. Start plan-
ning now. You owe it to yourself and your business. Or perhaps you have
some key employees that you think need some extra motivation. Better yet.
Why not go with your employees.

Bon voyage,

Steve Martin
OFFMA President
Page 2 Fresh Facts

gates forever in November and have

MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Welcome New Member
Debbi Conzelmann
King Cole Ducks
Stouffville, ON
905-836-9461
www.kingcoleducks.com
King Cole Ducks are in the unique position of
being the sole local producer with the capacity
to satisfy the provinces hunger for fresh, quali-
ty, 100% natural local duck products. Their fully
vertically integrated farm includes a product
development centre and cook plant, allowing
them to exclusively produce fully-cooked duck
product for this unique and growing market-
place, serving restaurants, major food retailers,
butcher shops, and independents. In addition,
King Cole Ducks has a new on-farm store that
features all of their quality duck products.
Retired Member
Steve & Micki Smith
Port Elgin, ON
226-930-0137
appleman519@gmail.com
lots of bakery and farm fun items they
are selling. If you are interested in
purchasing their Farm Shop and Fun
Farm Yard items, the URL address is
sale.whittamoresfarm.com .
FOR SALE
Our own grown & pressed ciders &
fruit blends as well as jams.
No preservatives, pure, natural, great
shelf life & delicious.
Please contact Bayfield Berry Farm
for more information 519-482-1666 or
salesberryfarm@tcc.on.ca
FOR SALE
2L and 4L plastic baskets, made in
Canada, sturdy handles, strong dura-
ble plastic, weatherproof, reliable de-
livery. www.shouldicefarm.com
Contact: shouldice1@bell.net,
613-838-4203
FOR SALE
One stationary food stand chip stand
Approx. 11' x 18', semi portable struc-
ture, no wheels but can be lifted on to
a trailer.
10' hood with fire suppression and
proper ventilation, steel interior with
stainless steel around cook area.
Building is 4 years old, very spacious
and nice to work in. Asking $22,000.
Contact Jordan at
info@willowtreefarm.ca

Classifieds FOR SALE

FOR SALE Frozen pitted sour cherries available
Whittamores Farm Market has com- for wholesale and retail from
pleted their website of Items for Delhaven Orchards, 519-676-4475 or
Sale. Whittamores are closing their delhaven@ciaccess.com

Freshly picked from the This is YOUR newsletter.

patch!
Congratulations to the
Murphy Family on their
latest addition, Fionn
William Donald Murphy
was born on Sept. 12.
His parents Calder and
Stephanie are thrilled.
Help to make it informative
and relevant. We are always
looking for article contribu-
tions. If you are not com-
fortable writing, send us
your news or suggest topics
that should be covered and
we can take it from there.
 Newsletter #324 Page 3

Developing an Agri-Tourism Law for Ontario

Several American States have lob-
bied for and instituted Agri-Tourism
laws that help protect the farmer
who has decided to open his gates
to the public and share his farm with
the consumer. The American laws
state that an agritourism profession-
al is not liable for the injury or death
of a participant resulting from the
inherent risks of an agri-tourism ac-
tivity if a warning like the one below
is posted at the farm.
We all know that agriculture plays a
substantial role in the economy, cul-
ture and history of Ontario. We also
know that more and more Ontarians
are removed from day-to-day agri-
cultural experiences and any under-
standing of how their food is grown
or where it comes from. Agri-tourism
provides a valuable opportunity for
the public to interact with, experience
and understand agriculture. However,
inherent risks exist on farms and the
elimination of these risks would dimin-
ish the agri-tourism experience, but
farmers should not be held liable for
these inherent risks.
OFFMAs Board of Directors has decid-
ed to pursue setting into place a similar
law for Ontario. A subcommittee of Dar-
lene Downey, Meghan Snyder and
Mark Saunders has been struck and
after the first meeting a search was
completed of States that presently offer
similar protection for their farmers.
If you are interested in being part of this
subcommittee, please contact the OFF-
MA office and let Cathy know.
An update of this initiative will be
provided in upcoming newsletters as
necessary.

WARNING:
Under Ohio law, there is no liability for an injury to or death of a
participant in an agritourism activity conducted at this agritour-
ism location if that injury or death results from the inherent
risks of that agritourism activity. Inherent risks of agritourism
activities include, but are not limited to, the risk of injury inher-
ent to land, equipment, and animals as well as the potential for
you as a participant to act in a negligent manner that may con-
tribute to your injury or death. You are assuming the risk of par-
ticipating in this agritourism activity.

Darlene Downey shared this picture of a

sign they have posted on their farm on the
OFFMA members only Facebook page. It
got a lot of positive feedback from the rest of
the membership.
If you are not on the OFFMA members only
Facebook page..what are you waiting for?
Simply search Facebook for Ontario Farm
Fresh Marketing Association and ask to join
the group.
Lately we have been discussing
*charging for school tours
*selling bushel baskets
*how to deal with negative social media
comments
Get on board today!
 Page 4 Fresh Facts
Member Profile: Rebecca Landman from Landman Gardens,
Grand Valley interviewed by Cathy Bartolic
1.Can you give us some background
on how you got involved in the Di-
rect Farm Marketing industry?
I am a farm girl, born and raised on a
dairy farm. I am the second oldest in a
family of 6 children and have fond
memories of everyone doing barn
chores after dinner. We all loved grow-
ing up on the farm but coming back to
the farm after my education was not
part of the original plan. I was more
interested in a culinary career and at-
tended Canadore College from 2007 to
2009 for a culinary management diplo-
ma. I also attended Fleming College
for their Sustainable Agriculture Pro-
gram in 2011. However, once I started
working in various kitchens, I found
that there was a huge disconnect be-
tween where the food was coming
from and how it was being prepared,
especially when using meat of any
kind. It was so different from what I
was used to growing up on the farm
where we made the best use of all the
parts available.
After college, I decided to try my hand
at a couple of bakeries but always felt
like there was something missing. My
mom got sick and I moved back to the
farm to help my dad. During that peri-
od, my mom and I convinced my dad
to build me a commercial kitchen. The
plan was that I would do some baking
A peak inside the Blackhouse, all set for another wonderful dinner.
and make some pickles and pre-
serves that I could take to a couple of
farmers markets. The idea was to try
several different products to see
what my consumers were looking for
and what I could do the best job of
selling. To my surprise, everything
that went to the market was selling
well and feedback was very positive.
Unfortunately, my mom passed away
that spring. Shortly afterwards, Land-
man Gardens started hosting dinners
in the blackhouse that my dad built
on the farm in 2009 as part of a gath-
ering of drystonewall experts. A
blackhouse is a traditional type of
house which used to be common in
the Scottish Highlands, and is usually
built with a drystone wall and
thatched roof.
The dairy quota has been sold and
goats are now being milked. One of
my brothers manages the goat oper-
ation. We also raised chickens and
pork which is sold from the farm and
used in the on-farm dinners.
I was also influenced by my grand-
parents who also lived on the farm
when I was growing up. I remember
spending hours with my grandfather
learning about earthworms and the
cycles of nature.
2. Outline how a typical day un-
folds.
Really there are no typical days at
Landman Gardens but this is how
our baking day usually happens.
4:30 to 7:00am Get up and start
some of the baking
7:00 to 8:00 Get farm chores done
mainly feeding pigs,
chickens and turkeys
8:00 to noon Continue baking
1:00 to 5:00 Packaging and organ-
izing orders, some-
times delivering or-
ders, prepping for
market the next day
 Newsletter #324 Page 5

5:00 to 6:00 Evening farm chores thrilled with it and the quality of
6:00 to 10:30 dinner, answering seedbeds it produces in only one
emails, updating website pass.

3. What accomplishments are you 6. Share with us some of your

most proud of? goals for the next five years.
We have had a lot of success with
We are most proud of the business that workshops. Our participants have
we have been able to build from almost been as young as 22 and as old as
nothing in a relatively short amount of sixty-three. Our plan is to be able to
time. We are now baking up to approxi- offer one workshop per week from
mately 45 pies a day. We grow food April to November next year. We
and sell food but that is not what it is all are also exploring the idea of offer-
about. A few weeks ago we had a lady
ing hot lunches. We dont know at
buy a pie from us and she came back
the following week and said I want to this point what that looks like exact-
tell you about that pie I got last week, ly but that is something we are seri-
not knowing what to expect I asked her ously considering.
to go on. That pie tasted just like the
ones my mom used to make. My sister
and I sat down and ate the whole pie
while we talked about our mom.
We are helping people relive their
memories and build new memories. We
are in the business of connecting peo-
ple to their food.

4. How much time do you spend on

your cell phone each day?
Including calls and social media I spend
1.5 to 2 hours a day on average.

5. What is your favourite tool on the

farm?
We just got a BCS rototiller and I am
Rebecca Landman with her hens and their mobile coop.

Rebeccas success story of the year centres around an article that was written
about Landman Gardens and posted on the Ontario Tourism Marketing Part-
nership Corporations (OTMPC) e-newsletter. Landman Gardens regularly
gets about 500 page views per day, after this e-newsletter article their page
views spiked to 3146 per day. That translated into Rebecca selling 30 Black-
house dinners when she normally would sell 9 during that same time period.
She is now sold out until the end of the year. In order to meet demand, Rebec-
ca has hired a new person to help with the dinners. She calculates that the
one article has increase her revenue this year by close to $30,000.
Rebecca also admits to having people drive from Hamilton when they saw pic-
tures of her butter tarts on social media. Landman Gardens is located in
Grand Valley. Dont underestimate the power that the various social media
platforms have. Plan your strategy and then execute it for the most return.
Page 6 Fresh Facts

Managing the Produce Shift

By Jessica Kelly, Direct Farm Marketing Specialist, OMAFRA

As I meet on-farm marketers from across the province, some common trends
and patterns often emerge in the conversations. This season, I have been struck
by the number of conversations Ive had around shifting consumer purchasing
habits for fresh produce:

Sales of value-added items have surpassed sales of fresh produce.

Per-customer sales of fresh fruits and vegetables are declining.

Does this sound familiar? Declining purchases of fresh produce at some on-farm
markets has some businesses reassessing not only what they sell, but how they
sell it. Farms are taking a hard look at how they price experiences (tours, pick-
your-own) versus products, while others are continuing to up the ante on the
quality, diversity and creativity they bring to their value-added offerings.

I visited a farm stand in St. Catherines where the farmhouse was recently reno-
vated to operate a bed & breakfast. Through word-of-mouth alone, their book-
ings in their first month exceeded expectations. I also had the pleasure of enjoy-
ing one of 13th Street Winerys Burger Days with five friends. We definitely spent
more time on the farm (and perhaps purchased more wine!) than we would have,
had the event not drawn us in.

When it comes to creative products and experiences, direct farm marketers al-
ways amaze meand make me hungry! Here is a sampling of just a few of the
experience-enriching, creative ideas I encountered this season.
Happy Fall!

Gourmet delights with none of

the work! Double baked
potatoes and stuffed portobello
mushroom caps at Willowtree

Weekend breakfast treats with Mon-

day to Friday conveniencefrozen
toaster pancakes at White Meadows
Farm.
 Newsletter #324 Page 7

A cheeky cast of characters and their

corresponding t-shirts at Brooks
Farms.

An outdated pop-up tent trailer trans-

formed into a food truck and con-
versation starter at Market Days at
Montgomerys Inn in Etobicoke.

Jessica Kelly, OMAFRAs Direct Farm Marketing Specialist, has created an

Instagram account: @jkelly.localfood.
She hopes to share ideas and inspirations from visiting on-farms markets
and farmers markets in different corners of the province.
Feel free to follow along!

Alex Sawatzky is a PhD Candidate

in Public Health at the University of
Guelph. She is also an artist, and
is passionate about using art to
capture, connect, and convey in-
formation visually using a combi-
nation of methods and mediums.
Alex works alongside individuals
and groups to generate, synthe-
size, and transform ideas into
illustrations that tell stories in ef-
fective and meaningful ways. If
you are interested in collaborating
or learning more, she can be
reached at:
asawatzk@uoguelph.ca.
 Page 8 Fresh Facts

Ontario Farm Fresh
Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director
2002 Vandorf Rd. Aurora, ON L4G 7B9
Phone: 905-841-9278
E-mail: info@ontariofarmfresh.com
www.ontariofarmfresh.com
2017-18 OFFMA Board of Directors
Steve Martin, President
Martins Family Fruit Farm
Kristin Ego MacPhail, Vice President
Ego Nurseries Ltd.
Leslie Forsythe, Past President
Forsythe Family Farms
Cara Ferguson, Associate Member
Edana Integrated Marketing
Nicole Judge, Spirit Tree Estate Cidery
Erin McLean, McLean Berry Farm
Colleen McKay, Your Farm Market
Jordan McKay, Willowtree Farm
Dana Thatcher, Thatcher Farms
Karen Whitty, Whitty Farms
Jessica Kelly, OMAFRA Advisor
Upcoming Events
Oct. 23 F2F WorkshopPhotography for Social Media, 4pm to 7pm,
Tincap Farms, Brockville
Nov. 2 Food Entrepreneurship: From concept to kitchen to commercialization,
Monora Park Pavillion, for more info visit www.orangevillebusiness.ca
Nov. 14-16 Foodie Tour of New York City
Nov. 20 F2F WorkshopSchool Tours-Making Them Efficient and Profitable,
3pm to 6pm, Brooks Farms, Mount Albert
Nov. 30 AMIs Advanced Farm Management Program developed specifically for
Direct Farm Marketers. Five days of intense learning to help run
your business more efficiently. Contact Deanna at AMI for more info,
Deanna@takeanewapproach.ca
Dec. 5-7 Great Lakes Expo, Devos Place Conference Center, Grand Rapids
Michigan, check out glexpo.com for more info. Watch OFFMAs member
only Facebook page for updates on carpooling and hospitality suite.
April 16-20, 2018 Tour to Ireland
Learning Opportunities
OFFMAs Farm 2 Fork (F2F) Workshops
#1 Photography for Social Media
Tincap Farms, Brockville, Ontario
Monday, October 23rd, 4pm to 7pm
Join Mary Louise Scappaticci and fellow OFFMA members at Tincap Farms.
Mary Louise is a passionate Artist and Teacher that uses her art to encourage
others to express themselves and to 'Dare to be Different. She approaches
everything in a unique way. Mary Louise is presently teaching at Thousand Is-
lands Secondary School Visual Arts, Photography, Media Arts. Teaching is
just as much her passion as painting and she has fun watching people learn to
express themselves and tap into their creativity.
A light dinner will be provided.

#2 School Tours Making Them Efficient and Profitable

Brooks Farms, Mount Albert, Ontario
Monday, November 20th 3pm to 6pm
Are you doing school tours? Are you thinking about offering this activity at your
farm? Come out and connect with other OFFMA members who are interested
in School Tours and chat with them to see how you can offer something on
your farm or how you can make your tours more profitable.
A light dinner will be provided.

Registration form included with this newsletter

OFFMA has partnered with the Agri-Food Management Institute (AMI) to bring an Advanced Farm Manage-
ment Program specifically for direct farm marketers.

The Advanced Farm Management Program (AFMP) is designed for Ontario farm business owners and man-
agers who want to elevate their management skills. It involves 5 days of learning over three months. The
program is intended for established businesses and will cover:

Enterprise and financial analysis

Holistic risk assessment
Human resources strategy
Costing management and much more

Register before November 10th for the early bird discount of 10% off tuition. For more information about the
program visit www.advancedfarmmanagement.ca or contact Deanna at Deanna@takeanewapproach.ca.