Raising the Barn The Farmer's Feed

Sam Hall’s family has deep roots in York County Agriculture. His farm has been in their family for over 150 years and Bush-N-Vine Farm has been a staple of the community since 1979 when his father opened their first market at the farm. Since then, they’ve grown into multiple farm stands across the county, and attracted folks to their farm with their Farm Cafe, CSA, U-PICK, and other agritourism opportunities. Sam joins the podcast to talk about life on a multi-generational farm, their participation in the South Carolina Ag + Art Tour, how they’re growing strawberries 40 weeks out of the year.



Some of the questions we chat about:


What advice does he have for young farmers who are making the transition to working full time on their family’s farm, inheriting their farm and/or starting their own agribusiness? 


What are some of the differentiators of Bush-N-Vine? How do they set themselves apart from other farms in our area?


What different activities are they offering at the South Carolina Ag + Art Tour this year? 


What advice does he have for other farmers participating in Ag + Art as to how to make it a successful experience for visitors and for their farm? 


What advice can he share for visitors as they prepare to spend time at Bush-N-Vine during Ag + Art?


How has agritourism impacted the other areas of their business? 


What is one thing he wishes more consumers knew about farming or running an Ag business like Bush-N-Vine? 


What does the preservation of our farmland and continued investment in rural communities mean to Sam? 


What’s on the Bush-N-Vine Marketing Plan for 2024? 





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Mentioned in this episode:

https://www.bushnvinefarm.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bushnvine/

https://www.agandarttour.com/york

https://www.visityorkcounty.com/



Episode Sponsors:

Visit York County - The South Carolina Ag + Art Tour is back in York County, SC! Join us for this FREE, family-friendly event—a self-guided tour showcasing 25 farms with artisans at every stop. Experience first-hand where your food comes from, witness and shop from artisans in action, enjoy local musicians, and learn about the importance of supporting our local farms! You don’t want to miss this unique event, so mark your calendars for June 8th-9th! Visit agandarttour.com/york to learn more.

In Episode 10 of Raising the Barn, we’re talking with Brandon and Sarah Bowers of Bowers Farm in Pomeria, SC - a small town of about 150 people near Newberry. The farmland has been in Brandon’s family for over 75 years, and since 2014, they have strived to take care of the farm from soil up and help their community know where their food comes from and how its raised.

Some of the questions we chat about:


How did they know it was time to go from DIYing their marketing strategy and enlist the help of a marketing agency? 


What were some of their biggest takeaways from working with local marketing agency, EMILY: Revolutionary Marketing?


What advice would they give to farmers who are thinking about hiring some outside marketing help?


What are the core pillars that they came up with for Bowers Farm and why they’re important? 


How are they using those pillars to tell the story of Bowers Farm?


On their farm, they raise a variety of livestock, but they also have several other offerings and experiences ranging from Farm Stays, to Farm Camp and Farm Tours. How did they go about adding agritourism to their farm?


Has agritourism impacted other areas of their business?


In addition to their farm’s instagram page, Sarah has built her own personal brand under the account, Reluctant Farmer’s Wife. How is the content that she shares on this page different from the content they share on their farm account?


Where do she get inspiration from for her content?


Something we hear from farmers is that it’s hard to find time to create content for social media. What advice do they have for those folks who want to grow their online presence, but don’t feel like they have enough hours in the day? 


What’s on the Bowers Farm marketing plan for 2024? 





Subscribe:

Spotify | Apple Podcasts



Mentioned in this episode:

https://www.bowersfarmsc.com/

https://www.instagram.com/bowersfarmsc/

https://www.instagram.com/reluctantfarmerswife/ 

https://www.lakeshorefamilycampground.com/

https://scagritourism.org/

https://www.ermarketinggroup.com/ 

https://www.agandarttour.com



Episode Sponsors:

Visit York County - The South Carolina Ag + Art Tour is back in York County, SC! Join us for this FREE, family-friendly event—a self-guided tour showcasing 25 farms with artisans at every stop. Experience first-hand where your food comes from, witness and shop from artisans in action, enjoy local musicians, and learn about the importance of supporting our local farms! You don’t want to miss this unique event, so mark your calendars for June 8th-9th! Visit agandarttour.com/york to learn more.

Spring is here - which means farmers across the country are about to open the doors to customers for the 2024 season.

Today on Raising the Barn, Bailey Edwards, Farm Manager at Cherry Place Farm in Rock Hill, SC joins the podcast to talk about how she’s preparing for the opening day at the farm and what should be on every farmer’s marketing check-list before welcoming their first customers of the season. 



Some of the questions we chat about:


In the most recent US Census of Agriculture, the average age of the American farmer is 57.5 years old and Young Farmers under 35 only make up 9% of the farming population. Did she always know that she wanted to continue her family’s legacy? At what point did she make the decision to come back to Cherry Place Farm after college?


While some farms operate year-round and other farms operate seasonally – in a place like South Carolina, the “season” is fairly long. Cherry Place Farms is open from ~mid-April right up to Christmas. Aside from the obvious farm tasks - planning, prepping, and planting, from the business perspective, what does planning for the next year look like?


Given her background in PR - what advice does she have for farmers when it comes to working with local media or other businesses to promote their business? 


Did she leverage any new marketing techniques to drive business for the new Cherry Place Farm offerings in 2023 (Farm Yoga, U-Pick Flowers, Cut Flowers, Greenhouse with “pot up your own hanging baskets” and wreath making at Christmas)?


Looking back on 2023 - is there anything that she would have done differently when it comes to marketing the farm? 


What is her favorite TikTok or Instagram trend at the moment?


How is she using social media to drive customers and serve her local community? 


Does she have a favorite campaign or aspect to her business that she’s worked on? 


What’s on the Cherry Place Farm Marketing Plan for 2024? 

On Episode 8 of Raising the Barn, I’m really excited to be joined by the 2022 North Carolina Miss Agriculture Advocacy Ambassador, Miss Katie Haynes.

Katie is using her platform to advocate for the agriculture industry across North Carolina through her TikTok and Instagram accounts. And when she’s not promoting North Carolina Agriculture, she’s spending her time leading her non-profit Smiling While Sending Hope, working on her new photography business, and showing rabbits.

Some of the questions we chat about:


What is the Miss Agriculture pageant and what made her want to participate?
What are some of the roles and responsibilities that come with her newly crowned titles, 2022 North Carolina Miss Agriculture Advocacy Ambassador and North Carolina People’s Choice Miss United States Agriculture?
As a member of Gen-Z, she’s turned to TikTok to help share her story and elevate her platform as NC Miss Agriculture Advocacy Ambassador. Many farmers are looking to get started on TikTok. What advice does she have for those farmers on what young audiences might be interested in?
Where does she get her ideas from on what to post on TikTok?
Katie also runs the non-profit, Smiling While Sending Hope. How is she using social media to help tell the story of her non-profit?
As a member of 4-H, what are some of her favorite things about the 4-H program and how does it help prepare the next generation of farmers and Ag folks?

COVID-19 accelerated our adoption of the virtual world. Corporations shifted from in-person meetings and conferences to Zoom meetings and webinars. Consumers joined virtual happy hours, started to attend virtual concerts, and joined communities online and across social media.

Today’s Raising the Barn guest helped to usher in the world of Virtual Agritourism to the Agriculture and Food community of Vermont.

Sarah Audet is the Interim Executive Director at the Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition and oversees the #Farm24VT event - a day-long social media celebration of agriculture, food, and dairy in Vermont.

Some of the questions we chat about:


What is #Farm24VT and what was the inspiration behind the event?
What are some of the benefits for farmers and agribusiness owners who are joining in on the event?
Agritourism is great for Agribusiness because it may bring new consumers out to the farm (either virtually or in-person) who may not have been a customer before. But then the challenge or opportunity becomes, how do folks keep their attention. And how can farmers turn those participants or attendees into a repeat customer or visitor?
Is the Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition doing anything different to market #Farm24VT this year?
What is she looking forward to most with #Farm24VT this May?
As a woman in Agribusiness - what would she say is one of the advantages that women have in the Ag industry?

There are about as many different varieties of farms out there as there are varieties of tomatoes. Conventional, organic, post-organic, no-till, regenerative, hydroponic - shoppers are constantly consuming labels and messaging when it comes to food and other agriculture products without a clear understanding of what that means. So for the roughly 2 million farms in the US - there is a real need to tell your stories, but with that need comes the challenge of how to do so.

This is something that my guest on episode six of the Raising the Barn podcast is passionate about. Elizabeth Wood is the Director of Agricultural Literacy, Women and Youth Programs for the South Carolina Farm Bureau. In her role, she helps farmers enhance their skills to more effectively engage and educate consumers.

Some of the questions we chat about:


What are some common themes that she’s seen from farms who have been able to tell their stories in a meaningful way?
Social media is an amazing tool because it gives folks the power to tell their story and potentially reach hundreds or thousands of people. But with that wanted attention sometimes comes unwanted attention. What are some tips for farmers who want to have a meaningful engagement online when they have a growing fear of attracting negative attention on their accounts?
How can farmers share important information about farming practices without demonizing the other side?
One of the bigger initiatives of the SC Farm Bureau is your work in advocacy - through your support of local SC farmers and ranchers and your efforts positively impacting legislation here in SC. As someone who works in advocacy, from her perspective, what’s something that she wishes consumers knew or had a better understanding of when it comes to where their food comes from?
It is Women’s History Month and there are many articles about the unique advantages of women in business. What are some of the advantages or strengths that women in agribusiness bring to the table?
Here in SC about ~36% of producers are female, according to the USDA's 2017 Census of Agriculture. What are some of the initiatives that the SCFB Women’s Leadership Program is focusing on this year?