Better Farming – September 2016

31 / 72

Better Farming September 2016 Farm News First > 31
Beef Farmers of Ontario rolled
out a program this year to help
cattle producers gain an edge in
the difficult task of selling direct to
consumers, and early responses
indicate a winning formula.
The Farm to City program involves
providing farmers with the tools to
combine online sales with delivery to
local, pre-defined drop sites. The
program includes access to online
sales and inventory tracking tools as
well as a handbook that provides
step-by-step advice to help producers
get started.
“It’s a good model that avoids the
scale requirements that it takes to get
into retailers in Ontario,” says Cory
Van Groningen, a member of the
provincial marketing association’s
board. He notes Virginia farmer Joel
Salatin pioneered the concept of
niche market, consumer direct
online/delivery drop combination for
meat products.
LeaAnne Wuermli, Beef Farmers
communications manager, says the
idea to develop the program in
Ontario grew out of a recommenda-
tion two years ago that the board
explore local food marketing options
for producers. The organization
obtained $35,000 under Growing
Delivering direct to customers' driveways
Beef Farmers of Ontario program helps farmers combine online sales with urban drop sites.
by MARY BAXTER
DIRECT MARKETING
“It's a good model that avoids the scale requirements that it takes to get into retailers in Ontario” says
Cory Van Groningen of Beef Farmers of Ontario's Farm to City program.