Fridays, From the Farm

I was attacked. My business was attacked. My reputation was attacked. It wasn't for any other reason than jealousy, spite, hatefulness and lack of emotional responsibility. I grew from that experience and so did my business. Don't let snobs get in YOUR way!

Here I am ready to talk about 2024 and we haven't even posted a podcast for 2023. We have been busy. Busy growing, learning, expanding, exploring and building. Tune if for a 2023 recap and lets get excited about 2024 together.

Have you completed a health check of your online business? In 2021 its almost impossible to be found online unless you have some sort of social media presence. How are you driving traffic to your website? How are you selling through Facebook or Instagram? Let me share some important details to get you started.

Don’t lose your integrity due to small town snobs. Let’s talk about the dynamic of women in small business. Every town has a snob and the bully mentality is very real. Women can be very supportive and mean to each other. Let’s chat about it.

You might me tempted to upload your small business catalog to Facebook Commerce and sell through them directly. I will give you reasons why you need to create your own website domain and direct your consumer to your personal website.

Did you know this podcast was started in 2019? Crazy how time flies!!! We wanted to share some short recaps about our 2021 year and what we have planned for 2022.

Join me as I share our new adventure into Idaho Pasture Pigs. Its a new breed gaining traction quickly in the farm world. Learn why we chose the breed and see if they might be a good fit for your farm. I am always looking for dialogue on the show. If you want to be a guest on my show, please contact me at thefoxandcrowfarm@gmail.com Visit www.fridaysfromthefarm.com and become a sponsor today!

"Officials at the Federal Reserve have said there is little cause for concern about inflation, but consumers, struggling." "Feedlots are going to have to pivot in their plans with rising feed prices." "Surging feed prices will test recovery in US animal protein production" Its not all doom and gloom for you, the small farmer. Yes, you will likely have to increase your prices, and if you haven't yet, you should be considering it. But this doesn't mean the end for the small farmers. Lets talk about WHY there are these price increases and the NASTY word "GMO." Lets discuss what Monsanto's RoundUp chemical is doing to our corn and soy and livestock and learn how to navigate our customers to a healthy choice.

Heres a great topic and I get it short and sweet (trust me I could go on and on..) Farmers Markets:  How to pick your market?  Do you do more than 1? How to dress up your display and make more money. This segment we chat about customer engagement, displays, pricing and simply HOW TO MAKE MONEY with your farm stuff.

Its been about a month since I left off here on my Podcast! I had a terrible accident and damaged my knee. Im ok though. I just wanted to stop by and say HI and let you know I am still alive and recording :) 

For more information on Wooded Valley Acres visit: www.woodedvalleyacres.com To watch this podcast on my youtube channel visit: https://youtu.be/U1dy6yHS8Hw How do you take that leap of faith from a full time career to self employment?  How do you turn your farm business into a thriving business you can live on?   Join me, Erin (your host) and Elizabeth Bower with Wooded Valley Acres. Elizabeth had been wanting to turn her farm into her primary career. She started small and aimed high. With planning, organization and an achievable goal, Elizabeth was able to ditch her 9-5 and focus solely on building her farm business. Meet The Farmers Cory and Elizabeth Bower purchased their farm in Gilmanton in 2016. It was raw land with a home. Through their efforts, they have established the well working farm that it is today. While Elizabeth comes from generation after generation of farmers including her own small family farm that she grew up on with cows and pigs, Elizabeth's passion for health and healing your body through diet and herbs stems from an autoimmune disease that was brought to the surface after a traumatic attack by a patient at work. Elizabeth was left out of work for an extensive amount of time with many specialists prescribing prescription after prescription with no success. Elizabeth turned to herbs and natural healing. This is where her knowledge and passion of herbal medicine really began and you'll find this when she talks about how she cares for her animals and how she develops her teas and products. Cory grew up in the city of Niagara Falls but always loved the outdoors and wanted a different life for himself. He had friends that he would go hunting with and enjoyed hiking. Soon, he and Elizabeth met in 2013 and their dreams became one. Fast forward 3 years and they turned their dreams into a working farm that has continued to grow ever since.

Be sure to tune in for a month you won't want to miss. "Make it Happen", a series of stories told from artist, horse trainers, entrepreneurs, farmers all sharing their success and failures. I often mention the theme "Make it Happen" because it is something I believe in. YOU can achieve amazing things if you are willing to put in the work, the effort, learn to deal with the failures and push yourself to YOUR limits. You set up those boundaries to be safe but today we are going to talk about breaking beyond your comfort zone and exploring more about your hidden potential.

We just experienced something we never would have expected as a small farm. Our USDA butcher, East Conway Beef and Pork, in Conway NH suffered a catastrophic loss due to a structure fire on Monday April 11, 2022. This was a total game changer for us. Not only did we lose our pigs that we delivered the day before but we lost our future dates for processing our pork. We are not alone, this is a huge ripple affect across the farm community.

Join us and our guest, Jared with Red Fox Carpentry, on this special podcast. Jared talks about his big barn project in Ohio, how he started his business and his plans for the future.

Elaina Enzien, our guest for today, shares vast amounts of information about the UNH Cooperative Extension, her newest Podcast and her horse training. It's pretty common to "meet" new friends through social media, especially in a small state like New Hampshire and when you have common interest. I had the chance to finally meet Elaina in person a few weeks ago and couldnt wait to get her on the show.  I hope you are able to tune in for this one. She shares a lot of information about her latest research study for her Masters Degree as well as the current issues with USDA processing and how this can affect big and small scale farmers. AND, shes got some fun stuff about horses and horse training. Here is the link to the beef producers survey for Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire: https://unh.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a2xJGB7ICq90Zym A link to UNH Cooperative Extension: https://extension.unh.edu/ Link to their podcast: https://www.facebook.com/beefbroads

I just wanted to share a recap of our month of March and what we have planned for April. Thank you to our guest for the month of March for our series on Women in Farming: Amy Matarozzo with LorrenJoyce Farm (https://www.lorrenjoycefarm.com) Nancy Mangs with Wild Berry Farm (www.berriesandfleece.com) Nikki Seavey with Blueberry Ridge Ranch (www.blueberryridgenh.com) Jenn Forest with Half a Penny Farm (https://www.halfapennyfarm.com) Thank you to all of our listeners!!

I was so lucky to be able to sit down with Jenn Forest with Half a Penny Farm in Barnstead NH to discuss her farm and how she got started. It started as a simple idea many years ago to “someday” have a farm. Fast forward 15 years later with a knock on a door, countless hours of hard work and the unwavering kindness and generosity of the Halfpenny and Welch families the dream of Half-A-Penny Farm was realized. Located in Center Barnstead, NH, Half-A-Penny Farm is the product of the dedication and determination of two brothers. Shane and Norman Forest set a goal of raising free range, grass fed, black Angus beef. With many hours and passionate persistence, they have made this dream a reality.

*Warning: Some Explicit Language My husband offered to interview me on my trip into Farming and working full time from my Farm. We talk about my past, my introduction into farming, my woes of getting started into entrepreneurship and where I am today. This is a powerhouse of stories, motivation and insight of what worked and what didnt work for me. I hope this is encouraging for those of you who are listening that someone time you will fall flat on your face, you will get hurt, will you lose but you can still MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!!!

Visit them at www.berriesandfleece.com About Wild Berry Farm Wild Berry Farm is a blueberry farm located in Sanbornton, New Hampshire.  We have have several fields with 50+ Tall Bush Blueberry Bushes that produce small dark berries with intense flavor. When in season, we offer packaged blueberries or invite you and your family to pick your own. In addition to blueberries, we offer many products that are grown and/or produced in New Hampshire. We strive to provide you with the highest quality products that are useful and you will love.

Well, here it is!! 1 official year since the launch of my website www.farmtodoornh.com What a monumental year for me, our farm and for all of our vendors and customers. The moment the state shut down we all worked together to get our food online and ready to be delivered to our community for FREE. Here we are, still offering the same Farm Fresh food with FREE delivery today. I started my 2020 year with a serious kick in my stomach by my professional colleagues that nearly broke my heart in two and ruined my spirit. I'd say I made a pretty good recovery despite that. I am eternally grateful for my husband Jared Hanselman who has been my biggest supporter, inspiration and mentor. Guys, all I can say is "MAKE IT HAPPEN"