We’re at a crossroads. People want to buy the best tasting farm products. However, we’re at the point right now that we are too busy on the weekends to do things other than farm work and typical life stuff. After some consideration we’re not going to any Farmers Markets anytime within the next two years or so. Though we want to get our products to people who want to buy it, we can only allot enough time in the day. We’d only be able to do 1-2 markets twice a month, which is not nearly enough. Plus, it’s not really cool when you are trying to build a customer base and folks are trying to guess if it’s your week that you’ll be there.
With that, we’re going to start shipping. Now, before you get in a big ol’ hubbub about how that’s not the best thing for the environment and the burning of fossil fuels I’d ask you to consider this…
Let’s consider at using a postal carrier. Doesn’t matter if it’s UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL or whatever. First off, these carriers have delivery figured out. Their GPS is better (and they aren’t using Google Maps on a cell phone). Their routes are planned more efficiently (no left turns). They have delivery efficiency figured more than we could ever dream. They are saving fuel, time and doing it safely. The carriers are going to be out doing delivering anyway, so why not just utilize the professionals? Farming has a steep enough learning curve anyway.
Now, the negatives of shipping.
First, the biggest negative for us is customer interaction. Everyone misses out when there is no face to face interaction. How many times have you misinterpreted a text or email because you didn’t see a facial expression to know if someone was upset, joking, etc.? It happens a lot and can easily cause quite a bit of anxiety when there really is no need for it.
My super-awesome wife, whose job is to help kiddos communicate effectively, told me that communication is primarily via non-verbal elements such as expressions, hand gestures, eye contact and posture (cue the moment when you are now going to go Google to see if that is correct).
Second negative point, you don’t get to see the farm. You want to see pigs frolicking in the grass. You want to see the chicks scratching around. You want to hear the turkeys start gobbling. You WANT the farm experience. And I understand, I get it. I want you to come out to the farm as well but we need to be able to sell our product. With that…
Shipping will only be available within Ohio at this point. We want to keep it close because shipping costs can get out of hand quickly. Also, we know through our research that all of the major service carriers can get everything to your doorstep in one day within the state borders. That’s one of the benefits of being located in Central Ohio. Some carriers can even get to Pittsburgh, Louisville and Indianapolis in one day but we’re not wanting to test the limits with shipping just yet.
So even though you may miss out on the day-to-day interaction with the farm, you’re always within a three hour drive to Central Ohio.
The Other Ways to get our Stuff!
There is always “Pick Up” at the Farm. We’re out there every morning and every evening and most of the day on Saturdays (Saturdays will be the primary pick up day but we can always make other arrangements). If you’d ever choose Farm Pick Up when you’re ordering online, we’ll just have to make an arrangement offline to meet up. It’s free for Farm Pickup but there is another extra step involved of making the arrangements offline.
Also, we’re considering a “Pop-Up” Farm Stand. It won’t be this year but we’re working on it for next season. This is how this will work: we’ll send out a notification where you can text to get added to our distribution list. We will send out a notice that the Locabuck Farm Stand has popped up and you’ll receive an instant message letting you know when and where we’ll be located. We’ll ring the proverbial dinner bell and you can come and get it. The “where and when” is to be determined at this point but we’re working with local businesses that we can run an operation that compliments their particular business (if you’re a business owner located in Fairfield/Franklin County and you’d be interested, send me message, adam@locabuck.com).
Here is the bottom line. We’re working to heal the land, provide the best product possible and serve you. And we’re constantly changing things to what we think would work best. We feel this is the best step forward in serving our community.
