June 2008

Farmfoody site launched to connect small farmers and consumers

Take a small farmer who doesn’t have time to market his products, mix him with a consumer who wants to find fresh, local food, and you end up with a satisfying relationship.

Such partnerships are being created by a new networking Web site at www.farmfoody.org.

Farmfoody is for you if you’re a busy farmer with a diversified operation but no time to market, or if you’re a farmer who doesn’t have a way to let customers know your produce can be found at the local farmers’ market.

It’s also for you if you’re a consumer who wants a direct relationship with a farm.

With this free service, farmers can connect with consumers in an easily updated Internet format.

A farmer’s home page on the site is easy to change, and when other members sign up as friends of the farm, they automatically will receive a farmer’s announcements of upcoming events or picking seasons.

“We believe a social network increases the economic leverage for the independent farm,” said Steve Knoblock, co-founder of Farmfoody. “A social network gives the small farm leverage in a big agriculture economy by helping farmers manage their relationships with customers more efficiently.”

Launched this spring, the site helps consumers feel connected with farms. And it’s a way for them to reap the benefits of knowing when and where to buy fresh local produce and knowing where it comes from, explained co-founder Tom Davenport, owner of Hollin Farms in Fauquier County.

“Everything in agriculture is changing now because of the economy, and small farmers have had to diversify and find niches,” Davenport said. He took over his father’s purebred Angus farm in the 1990s and added an 8-acre peach orchard. He also sells hay to horse owners, and he operates pick-your-own potato, strawberry, tomato and pumpkin patches. Davenport still has the cattle, and sells them directly from the farm as natural Angus beef.

“The only way we survive is through direct marketing, and most people find out about us on the Internet,” said Matt Davenport, who manages the farm while his father markets it. Farmfoody will “have enormous benefits for farmers (located) on the fringes of the urban folks,” he added.

The Web site currently is focusing on Virginia farmers who are close to urban areas such as Charlottesville, Richmond, Norfolk and Northern Virginia. Many farmers might find their farms already listed on Farmfoody, because Tom Davenport copied farm information from a Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ list of pick-your-own operations to “seed” the site.

Farmers who are listed on the site can get a password and establish ownership of their information by contacting Davenport at 540-592-3701. Once they do that, they can edit their portions of the site and begin posting bulletins. There are currently people from all over the United States signed up as farmers, “foodies” (people who enjoy eating fresh locally grown foods), chefs or gardeners, Davenport said.

“People have become too disconnected from the sources of their food,” said Mitzi Price, a foodie on the site. “I want to support local farmers. ... This Web site is one way to do so.”

Kerry Ann Wildt, co-owner of Wild T Bison Farm in Richmond County, said she signed up with Farmfoody because her small 50-head bison farm doesn’t have its own Web site. Although her farm’s been signed up for only about a month, she’s already received inquiries.

Davenport and Knoblock are planning new features and are hopeful that the site will become a primary tool for farmers and customers alike.

Although the service is free right now, the co-owners have been tossing around ideas to generate income. “We’re just doing it because it’s a lot of fun and it seems like we’re doing something that’s really important,” Davenport said. “But we have to get enough people signed up before it becomes useful.”