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Marketing Homestead Products

by Regina Anneler 

At one time or another, nearly all homesteaders desire to make their homestead self-sufficient and begin to search for ways to achieve that self-sufficiency.  Even the beginning homesteader hopes to find a way to make an income off the excess products their homestead produces.  Today there are several ways to market homestead produce; anything from crafts to crops can be turned to cash with a little know-how.  There are several venues open to those who choose to try their hand at this money-making approach and who are willing to spend a little time investigating their marketing options.

Most people have heard of their local farmers’ markets and many have even visited them relatively often.  These are a great place to buy fresh produce; because of this, they are also the most obvious place for a homesteader to market some of their excess products.  Farmers’ markets are known for vegetables and produce.  Many also sell fresh eggs, cheese, even homemade soaps. 

Many of these products do not require refrigeration, however, some do.  If the items being sold require refrigeration, then the seller needs to find a way to keep these products in the cold while at the market.  Be sure to check your state’s regulations concerning the packing of refrigerated items such as eggs and cheese.
If you don’t know the location a farmers’ market in your area, check with your local town hall, chamber of commerce or state extension office, they should have this information available.

Many producers will sell through multiple farmers’ markets by finding markets within a 50 mile area that meet on different days and various locations.  This allows the producer to decide what product sells best in which areas and provide items according the best results at each market.  In turn, this increases their selling potential.

A modern variation of the farmers market has become available in some areas, aiding the savvy producer looking for ways to market produce without ever leaving their homestead. 

CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) are becoming very popular among those trying to make a go at selling their produce. CSAs offer the producer a relationship with the buyer; in short, it is a small scale closed market.  The producer offers a type of subscription service to buyers, where the buyer pays an upfront fee or contracts for a weekly or monthly group of products produced on the farm.  The buyer makes a financial commitment to the homestead producer for the season.  Usually, the fee is paid upfront, although on occasion it can be arranged in a payment form.  The producer has list of what products he plans to have available, how much he expects to have, and how often he will have them.

The CSA season is basically the same time frame as that of the farmer’s markets: from spring through the early fall.  CSAs offer a great benefit to both the producer and the buyer: the producer knows how much and what kind of products he needs to produce to meet the agreement and he also knows what his income from it will be, while the buyer gets fresh produce and the opportunity to get it at better price than he would if he were paying a middleman on top of the producer’s price.  There are even a few CSAs where the buyer is required to invest actual work hours on the homestead working with the producer.  In recent years the popularity of CSAs has grown astronomically, becoming one the preferred ways of marketing and obtaining freshly produced products.

Another way for the energetic homesteader to market his products is through the use of food co-ops.  A food co-op is simply a grocery store type organization arranged as a cooperative to bring fresh locally grown produce to the buyer’s front door.  Most food co-ops are organized by state or region.  Food co-ops require that producers join the co-op and usually require them to spend a few hours in volunteer service once a month to make sure the products are put together properly and ready for delivery to the buyers.  The co-op often has a website and newsletter system that lists each product available through the co-op and the price that each producer requires for the purchase of their product.  The buyer selects the product he wants and which buyer he wishes to purchase it from. 

Basically, they turn in their grocery list and the co-op sends out a statement to the producers of what they have sold that month.  The producers then must have their products packaged and delivered to the co-op location on a scheduled date.  The co-op then puts the order together from each buyer and meets the buyer on that date to deliver the items ordered. 

This particular option allows the producer the same type of options open to him as a farmers’ market but allows for a wider area of market coverage.  It is also a little easier to market meat products in this fashion because meat products are much harder to maintain at a farmers’ market than when kept in storage at the homestead and delivered once a month to a predestined location.

Food co-ops are most often listed through agriculture services and other types of local cooperative newsletters.  You can also do a search for a food cooperative in your area. 

As a producer, the food co-op will have a list or requirements and laws that they must meet in order to market their products through the co-op.  These are most often the same rules and regulations that are needed to sell through a farmers market.  An example of these regulations would be only marketing meat products that are packaged by a state inspected or USDA inspected facility.  Many states require producers selling eggs to apply for an egg license; there are labeling requirements made by states and the USDA for all products produced by even the smallest homesteader.  Don’t fear these requirements - most are easy to attain and often only require weight, producing farm name and address information printed on the product’s label.

In recent years, a desire for fresh and organically grown produce has encouraged the start of small old-time grocers that only market local, organic products in their stores.  Often, some types of health and vitamin stores will also offer a small selection of these organic products as well.  Many of these stores have such a demand for free range chicken eggs that they will purchase all that local producers can supply.  These particular markets have many return customers that develop preferences for particular products grown by certain local growers and will ask the stores to keep a good supply of those favorite products.

This does open up a market using a middle man between the producer and the buyer, however, while the producer may get a little less for the individual products, the need for more products often makes up for this loss in initial profit.  These markets can offer the producer a better deal than you might expect.  Because they purchase so many of the producer’s products they are often a considerable source of steady income.  Most of these markets have such a loyal customer base that they use mailing lists and email alerts to inform their regular customers when products come in.  This can help the producer when selling products through the market; it means if the producer has some products that are rare or very seasonal the store will alert their customers as soon as these items have come in and the results will be quick sales.

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