Fresh Facts - May/June 2012

7/31/2019 Fresh Facts - May/June 2012

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Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association

Newsletter #278May/June 2012

Volume 27, Number 5

Fresh Facts

Inside this issue:

Membership News 2

Whats in a name? 3

New Opinions from

the Old Dominion4

Award Winners are

Source for Inspira-

tion and New Ideas

6

5 Considerations for

Mobile Device Policy7

Upcoming Events 8

Rhubarb Con-

tacts8

Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh experience.

Presidents Message

I will never forget the first time I received a letter of com-plaint addressed to me personally. It came by registeredmail and required a signature in order to be delivered.Thats how I knew that the letters author meant business.I still have the letter in the top drawer of my desk, thoughIve not opened it since I first read it. Its been there forabout twelve years and I dont really know why Ive kept it. As any retailer can tell you,a letter that begins with Dear Manager or To the Owner is always greeted with a bit

of trepidation. When one of your products is customer service, sometimes mistakesand misunderstandings can occur. The truth is that every retail business gets a com-plaint every once in a while the trick is understanding how to fix the problem and howto find the suggestions that can help us grow.Here at the farm, we like to think that were in the business of making people happy.We celebrate the seasons, the holidays, birthdays, school trips, great food, and goodfamily fun. We like to think that we work hard to make people happy. Thats why welisten carefully when someone takes the time to tell us of something we can do to im-prove. We want to hear if someone thinks our service was off. I really want to know ifsomething doesnt taste right, or a product doesnt deliver on quality. Thats importantinformation. This farm has grown and changed over the years mainly by listening towhat our visitors are asking for. If someone takes the time to make a suggestion or a

correction, we try extra hard to listen and deliver.Now, to be clear, listening is hard work. Weve all received at least one complaint overthe years that seems like it was delivered straight from Crazyville, Ontario. Those are

just plain funny and to the people who write those wacky letters I say thank you for theentertainment. Amy Strom used to say that if we all kept those kinds of letters we couldput together a really funny book and I know shes right. But not all complaints are fun-ny. Sometimes theyre mean. And so often a comment or complaint is informed bysomething entirely other than you or your business. One of the unique aspects of on-farm markets is that that the farm is normally also someones home a dynamic thatmakes some complaints especially personal. But as a very wise person once told me,you arent your work, so you cant take it too personally.I think Ive kept my twelve year old letter to remind me to think things through to re-

member that theres more than one way to see a situation, and that part of my job is tosee things from both sides. Things have changed a lot in twelve years. If someonewanted to contact us twelve years ago, there was no Facebook, no Twitter, and we did-nt do email. There were no online forums or Google reviews. Now, there are anynumber of ways for a customer to give you their suggestions about your business. Thereal question is this: Are you listening?

Jesse LauzonOFFMA President


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MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Page 2 Fresh Facts

New Members

Welcome aboard. Get involved. Hope to

see you at the annual potluck!

Laura McNally

Cristan Farms, Oakville

905-844-6757

Bill French

Lennox Farms (1988), Shelburne

519-925-6444

Robert & Lynda Taylor

Oaklane Orchards, Clarksburg

519-599-5841

Don Foster

Foster Farms, Midland705-526-8194

Associate Member

Steve Benner

Filchem Inc., Newmarket

905-853-1363

CLASSIFIEDS

FOR SALE:2 glass fronted bakery display cabinets.$600/pair. For information or photosplease contact Tom at (905) 691-8423.

FOR SALE:22 - 3 in. x 30 ft., 154 in. x 20 ft. widerain irrigation pipes, rovatti p.t.o. pump,bauer-rainboy travelling gun 400 ft. .package price $5000.00 phone RaesFarm 905-878-7708.

Once again this year, we will have a table set

up at the Nathan Phillips Square Farmers

Market at Toronto City Hall to distribute your

brochures. If you are interested in this oppor-tunity, please send 200 brochures to the

OFFMA office. There is no charge for this

benefit.

Farmers Wanted for Unique Open-Air Market Opportunity

We are seeking vendors for a possible weekend farmers market in DowntownOshawa. The Warren Mill Garage Market will utilize a multi-level parking garagein Downtown Oshawa. The parking garage is a covered facility making it a rain orshine market and removing the need for vendors to provide their own shelter.Multiple levels allows for a greater variety of vendors in a localized area as wellas a unique shopping experience for visitors.

If you are interested in this opportunity or want to learn more please email us at:[email protected]

New productMapletons Organic Dairy Ice Cream SandwichesDouble chocolate chip cookie sandwich with vanilla ice cream, gluten & nut

free. Individually vacuum packed with label including nutritional values.

24 sandwiches per box. Available at wholesale prices. Contact Mapletonsat 519-638-1115 or [email protected] for additional info.

Are you looking for innovative ideas to keep

you ahead of the competition?

If so, you need to be participating in Farm

Retail Talks Facebook Page by John Stan-

ley. A global perspective on local retailing

dont miss out.


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Page 3Newsletter #278

Whats in a name? Apparently, morethan one would expect! Cathy askedme to share with you our experienceof having a business name changeforced upon us. We grow lavenderand have a lavender shop just outsideof the scenic village of Sparta. Weare now going into our sixth seasonand have, already, in our 5th seasonhad a name change.Prior to starting our business, wespent a lot of time testing names. Ourfirst step was to do a name searchwhen we registeredour business. Thesearch was clearand we proceededwith the registrationof Lavender Blue asour business name.

After a couple ofyears, our lawyersuggested that wetry to trademark ourname with the Cana-dian IntellectualProperty Office. Af-ter 18 months, we received a letterfrom the Intellectual Property Officestating there were no problems withour application and we were only wait-ing for the advertising period to close.The name would be posted for a peri-od of time and any concerns could bebrought forward.During this time we did receive a letterfrom a farm with the French version ofour name. Apparently, since Canadais a bilingual country, when you trademark in one official language, you au-

tomatically get the trademark in theother official language. After muchdiscussion, our trademark lawyer ad-vised that we change our name. Wewere devastated after all the brandingwe had done and all the labels andbrochures we had already printed. Itwas not an easy decision but wecould see that the lawyer was right.

We sat down with a branding consult-ant who told us this change was a giftbecause in her opinion, our originalname was not memorable enough andtherefore wasnt making a strongenough impression on our customers.She suggested that we think of aname that more reflects who we are.After much deliberation we finally set-tled on my last name. I was very ap-prehensive about this. However, it hasbeen a very fortuitous choice, as mylast name is Steed and 'steed' is the

old English word forhorse. The reasonwe initially moved toour farm was be-cause we had hors-es and we growEnglish lavender.We now use a horsehead with a lavenderspike as its mane forour logo. It tells mystory and we hopepeople will remem-ber the lavender

farm with the horses. During this pro-cess we also developed a tag linewhich has been very beneficial in pro-moting our product:

Discover Indulge Escape.I was very concerned moving forwardwith a new name and what confusionthat would create. A year and a halflater it has not affected our business ina negative way and we have actuallyreceived a lot of positive feedbackabout the name and the logo.

At our first event with the new name, I

was very careful to remind our regularcustomers of the change. As I chattedwith a customer, who had been intoour shop many times, I informed herwe had changed our name. Shelooked me straight in the eye and said'Well, what was your name before?'What's in a name? Apparently, notmuch!

Whats in a name?By Suzanne Steed, Steed & Company


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Page 4 Fresh Facts

We have been attending the North

American Farm Direct Marketing Asso-ciation conventions fairly regularlysince 1990. It has come to be a timeof renewing friendships with marketersfrom across Canada, the USA and inmore recent years, England. This yearwe enjoyed staying in Williamsburg,the heart of the American Revolutionand the original state capital of Virgin-ia.

The speaker sessions

began with a call to beaware of the changingdemographics of Ameri-ca. Kelly McDonald wasthe keynote speaker, hertopic- How to Market toPeople Not Like You:Know it or Blow it Rulesfor Reaching DiverseCustomers. (Her book ofthe same name is inter-esting and an easy

read). A number ofgrowers/marketers havebeen experiencing increased frustra-tion in what their customers were doingwhen visiting their farms especially inpick your own, and needed to under-stand why as well as what they coulddo about it.

Although American demographics aredifferent from Canadas, the trends aresimilar. The Diversity Index which

measures the probability that two peo-ple chosen at random would be of adifferent race and ethnicity is rising.Diversity is progressive and positive,especially when it is anticipated andprepared for. Some strategies to man-age these changes include:

1. Be Relevant identify whatpeople want and give it to them.

New Opinions from the Old DominionNAFDMA 2012 Convention Williamsburg, VirginiaBy Leslie Forsythe, Forsythe Family Farms Inc., OFFMA Board Member

2. Know your target- what do the

different ethnic groups value.3. Be respectful, followingthrough on customersexpectations.

4. Tap into their values and staytrue to yours.

5. Recognize different needs andmeet them.

Recognize that times are changingand be ready. Do youhave a diverse staff

who can communicatewith your customers,signs in different lan-guages or universalsymbols, training forcultural sensitivity?Pay attention to theshifting demographicsand values of your cus-tomers and the com-munity around you.

Another trend I havenoticed at the conven-tion is the gradual increase in speakersessions on transition planning andexit strategies (oh, our aging popula-tion). On the flip side the next genera-tion of farm marketers had opportuni-ties to focus on their needs and ven-tures through round table discussionsand speaker sessions.

OFFMA members Shane vanCasteren of Nicholyn Farms in Barriespoke about his healthy school lunchprogram and Angela Saunders (ourCanadian representative on theNAFDMA board) spoke about OnFarm Weddings.

The bus tour, like ours in November,gave us the opportunity to talk withfellow marketers, see some beautiful

Change isconstant,

keep your

heads up

and be

prepared.


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farms and scenery as well as dis-cuss the various market stops andthe concerns theyve encountered.

The NADFMA conference helps usexpand our horizons, make new

friends and find out that almosteveryone from anywhere encoun-ters similar problems to ours. Par-ticipating gives us exposure towhat is up and coming, new per-spectives, a chance to compareour experiences with others, andrenewed confidence and energy toprepare for our next farm season.

The message this year Changeis constant, keep your heads up

and prepare. Be aware of whoyour customers are; how can youmeet their needs. All people, nomatter how different from you,have a desire for connection.

28th Annual NAFDMA Convention

- Pacific Northwest 2013 -Doubletree by Hilton Hotel

Portland, Oregon

February 1-6, 2013

This convention will be co-ordinated

with the North American Strawberry

Growers Association, the North

American Raspberry and Blackberry

Association and the Pacific

Northwest Farm Direct Marketing

Association.

Watch

www.nafdma.com/PNW2013

for additional details


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Page 6 Fresh Facts

Award Winners are Source for Inspiration and New IdeasSubmitted by Carl Fletcher, OMAFRA Strategic Business Planning Lead. For more programinformation go to www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/about/growingforward/busdev.htm

Over the past five years many innova-tive Ontario farmers have been recog-

nized through the Premiers Award forAgri-Food Innovation Excellence.

The award winners from 2006 through2010 and the stories of their innova-tions can be found athttp://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/premier_award/index.html

Some innovative ideas can be copieddirectly. Other ideas can be a triggerthat with a twist or two along the way

- can lead to a new idea that eithersolves a challenge or creates an oppor-tunity.

In an active business like farming, inno-vations do have their own lifespan astechnology, markets, business goalsand personal goals can change overtime. Still the awards are a testamentto the ingenuity of Ontario farmers.

Here are a couple innovation awards

that caught my imagination.

1. Innovations in packaging and pro-cessing can be the value added stepsthat help break into markets and gain

support in the distri-bution, warehouse,storage, and retailchannels.

Andreas Sperlich's(6093400 Canada

Ltd. Norfolk Apiaries)engineering back-ground helped himlook at the apiaryworld with a creative

and functional perspective. He came upwith a sweet invention. The "Bee OPac" is unique in that bees pack theirown product directly into thermo-moulded consumer-ready packages.This innovation has resulted into a field-

to-fork experience, with product uptakein Canada, as well as the US, Mexico

and Europe. Harvesting with Bee O Pacis efficient because it involves 75 percent less human handling and labourthan other systems. The Bee O Pac hasadded new value to a very old product.

2. Immi-grationfromSouthEast

Asia,

CentralandSouth

Americaand theMiddleEasthave resulted in communities with de-mands for not only different foods butalso different types of existing foods.

When Jacob MacKellar (McKellar

Farms) was looking for a value-addedproduct to supplement his 3,000 acrecash crop operation, he chose edama-me, which is a type of soybean harvest-ed in the pod right before it reaches the"hardening" stage. It is a popular food in

Asia and, increasingly, in North Americathat is consumed as a snack or as avegetable dish, used in soups or pro-cessed into sweets. This non-traditionalcrop replaces imports and provides ex-cellent returns. Industry representatives

project a 500,000 pound market in thenext few years, and McKellar will beahead of the pack, with a planned har-vest of 100,000 pounds in 2011.

Check out the 250 Premiers Awards forAgri-Food Innovation Excellence postedon the website. A great idea for your op-eration may be waiting to be discoveredthere!


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According to mobiThinking, cellularsubscriptions worldwide are at 6 bil-lion. Yes, thats billion. Companiesare making significant revenue frommobile devices: Google $2.5 billionlast year. eBay expects customers tobuy/sell $8 billion this year and Pay-Pal expects to see $7 billion in mobilepayments.

When that much money is changinghands over mobile devices, marketingdepartments take notice. And humanresources needs to realize that at-tempts to ban mobile device usage inthe workplace could be met with awhole lot of resistance, and perhapsfor good reason. So maybe its timeto consider drafting some guidelineson the responsible use of mobile de-vices in the workplace. If you do,here are a handful of things to consid-er:

Ownership: From a company per-spective, it sounds so wonderful tohave employees own their equip-

ment. The concept of Bring Your OwnDevice (BYOD) is catching on. But italso raises some questions aboutwho is financially responsible forequipment maintenance and whathappens if the equipment is lost orstolen. Another consideration if em-ployees will be expected to use theirown equipment, is what are definedreimbursable and non-reimbursableexpenses when it comes to homewireless routers, aircards, apps, etc?

Compatibility: The great part of allow-ing employees to use their ownequipment is they know how to use it.This translates into greater productivi-ty. The challenge internally becomeshow to make sure all these differentdevices are compatible with existingcompany systems. Businesses might

not be gaining any ad-vantages if they have tocreate lots of worka-rounds to accommo-date different devices.

Network Access: Em-ployees need to knowwhat information theycan access and fromwhere. There will beinformation thats ac-ceptable to access onpublic WiFi and otherdata that should not.

Security: Training should be conduct-ed to remind employees about confi-dential and proprietary information.Maybe certain types of work cannot bedone in public places, such as coffeeshops. Along with basic technologysecurity like how to create good pass-words.

Terms and Agreements: Outlining theprocedure for an employee resigna-

tion, termination or layoff on the frontend can avoid confusion and misun-derstandings later. If employees vio-late the mobile guidelines, will anytype of disciplinary action be issued?Or will this policy be considered a ben-efit of sorts with the possibility of beingrevoked if not followed properly?

Keep in mind that any policy should bedriven by your corporate culture. Thereare lots of right answers when it

comes to using mobile devices atwork. Discussing the options will cre-ate a better outcome. Giving employ-ees some valuable guidance on thebest way to use their mobile deviceswill help both the employee and thecompany. This is one of those timeswhen its best to share what shouldbe done versus what not to do.

Five Considerations for a Mobile Device PolicyBy Sharlyn Lauby, hrbartender.com


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July 12-14 , St. Williams, ON

check out website at www.fruitvegtechxchange.com

Aug. 14 Save the Datelocation to be determined, details

to follow shortly.

Sept. 11-13 , Woodstock, ON V

Visit www.outdoorfarmshow.com for more information

Nov. 4? , Chicago Region, details coming in the August/

September issue.stay tuned.

Page 8 Fresh Facts

Ontario Farm Fresh

Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director

2002 Vandorf Rd. Aurora, ON L4G 7B9

Phone: 905-841-9278

Fax: 905-726-3369

E-mail: [email protected]

www.ontariofarmfresh.com

Jesse Lauzon, President

Springridge Farm

Brian Hugli, Vice President

HugIis Blueberry Ranch

Amy Strom, Past President

Stroms FarmCara Epp, Associate Member

Cara Epp Marketing

Leslie Forsythe, Forsythe Family Farms

Jay Howell, Brantview Apples & Cider

Hollis English, Murphys Farmstead

Colleen Pingle, Pingles Farm Market

Geri Rounds, Rounds Ranch

Steve Smith, Smiths Apples

Carl Fletcher, OMAFRA

(Acting Advisor to the Board)

FOUND: Rhubarb Growers

A member called asking where she may be able to source some rhubarb. Here are

the responses to the e-mail blast that went out, in case others are looking for rhu-

barb as well.

We will be starting to harvest rhubarb around May 15th. It is available onour farm. We process rhubarb as well starting in early June. The cost is$30 for forty pounds. It is cut to 1/2" and washed ready to be used. Forfurther info contact Brian French, Lennox Farms 519-939-3156

I have approximately 100 lb of cut rhubarb for pies etc. available - frozen& fresh rhubarb coming on - I am anticipating of having 400-500lb extra offresh available. It would be FOB Bayfield. Please call for more info. Mar-lene Beyerlein, Bayfield Berry Farm 519-482-1666 or e-mail

[email protected]

We have both rhubarb for sale wholesale and we process here for pies also.It depends on the quantities required. Contact Henri Linde, Valley FarmMarket, Elmvale, 705 322-2646

Anne Nauman from Naumans Farm will also have rhubarb available forwholesale sales. Call Anne at 519-699-5524.

Jimmys Farm is holding a Scarecrow Competition

The scarecrows will be used in the fields throughout the summer to scare away those pesky crows.

You have a chance to win an annual pass for the family and other prizes too. The winning scarecrows will be

featured on the farm and on our website and the others will also be used around the farm.

Scarecrows using recycled things are especially welcome and the only rule is that the scarecrow cannot be

higher than 6 feet.

What a great idea. You get customer participation. Kids will want to bring their parents and friends back to the farm to

see how their scarecrow is doing, whether or not it was a winning scarecrow. The local media may want to get involved.

It is a green event because you are encouraging the recycling of products and you get a pile of scarecrows to put in your

fields!! Win Win Win.

Documents

Fresh Facts - May/June 2012