Progress 09/15/03 to 05/14/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Dairy goat producers and mixed crop and livestock farms successfully developed farmstead milk soap operations with instruction, workshops, a production guidebook and record-keeping forms the lead farm provided. Five cooperators in their first production year achieved gross milk soap sales surpassing the lead farm's first production year. Six topped the lead farm's record in the 3rd year of the study. All producers were satisfied with returns on investment and labor in their soap-making enterprises. All invested in farmstead soap-making equipment and soap kitchens on-farm. Cooperators tracked farm and soap production expenses and shared comparative sales results. Cooperators attended production and sales workshops as a farmstead milk soap guild. Six of 10 farms initially recruited completed the 3-year study. Four additional farms were recruited to replace 4 who dropped out because of personal or health problems. Life circumstances all farm families face (working multiple jobs, caring for children and aging parents, health and financial problems); also rapidly rising fuel costs; and difficulties traveling to winter meetings hampered business cooperative formation. Organizational details bogged down cooperative efforts and hindered joint marketing. Advisers suggested the lead farm shift focus in the last study year to building market demand for a producer pool. Cooperators responded well to this prospect; it let them sell independently locally, while working to build wider market demand collectively. It did not obligate them legally, bind them to a formal business structure, or require individual time and financial investment before a wider market is secured. Scotch Hill Farm led this project. It developed new milk and natural ingredient products for cooperators (liquid soap/shampoo; lotion butter; lip balm; all-organic ingredient healing salve, bar and liquid milk soap; all-natural ingredient insect repellant; and bar and liquid dog shampoo). Hand-crank and mechanical milling devices were designed and fabricated, cutting milling time from 5 hours to 10 minutes. Five farms bought and tested prototypes. A new electronic shopping cart (www.cleanharvestsoap.com ) will sell the devices to help maintain web site and marketing. Scotch Hill also developed markets for the guild/producer pool. It made 6-minute, 18-minute and 25-minute films as sales, guild and winter market promo tools. A winter farmers market benefit sale for farm crisis funding was organized; more than 65 farmstead producers (cheese, meat, canned goods, flour, woolen goods, hoop house greens, etc.) took part; this grew to 52 markets held in 20 Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin cities in winter 2007. Local and regional food benefit meals were added at 16 of these annual winter markets in 2007. Benefit sales with goat milk soap were also tried successfully at 14 schools. The lead farm marketed at trade shows. It developed a farmstead product catalog for mailing to more than 5,000 school and non-profit contacts in Wisconsin. Whole sale price lists for all natural ingredient, all organic ingredient and natural ingredient pet products were developed and tested in 4 other markets. PARTICIPANTS: Tony Ends, PI and applied marketing research; sales tips to farmstead producers in this project; writing of technical report; as Co-owner of Scotch Hill Farm. Dela Ends, product and packaging development, milling device design and testing of prototypes, farmstead milk soap-making instruction, workshops and training as Co-owner of Scotch Hill Farm. Don Schuster, oriented farmstead producers and cooperators in project to record keeping and tracking expenses with goat budget he developed; reading and providing feedback on technical report, UW CIAS Outreach Specialist. Claire Mikolayunas, documenting 9 dairy goat producers' achievement of objectives and evaluating their operations for technical report, UW Madison Animal Science and Agronomy graduate student on loan to this project from Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Dairy Goat Initiative and Agriculture Development and Diversification program. Karen Zapatosky, applied research assistant in product development, data collection and record keeping, hands-on instruction of dairy goat cooperators and farmstead producers in this project with Dela Ends. TARGET AUDIENCES: Small and mid-size farms that need to diversify and increase farm production and income; need to extend cash flow and income over winter months; want to encourage enterprise among family members, especially sons and daughters to make room for them in family farm business; want to integrate crop and livestock production by means of adding value and direct marketing; and need to cut down on off-farm employment. Also young adults seeking vocations in agriculture, other than large scale operations that require sizable money down on land, livestock or facilities in specialized agricultural operations. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Four of the farmstead producers who took part in this multi-year project acquired dairy goats in order to participate. All learned livestock and value-added production skills in the project. All continue to raise goats, diversify their production with goat milk products and benefit economically and ecologically from adding value to their goat milk production with soap and integrating crops and livestock. The other five producers were already raising dairy goats. All but one continue to do so. Goals of the project included formation of a guild for professional development and affiliation, ongoing learning and artisan advancement, also possible formation of a business cooperative. The former has proven beneficial to the 9 farmstead milk soap producers. However, the latter has been put on hold for now. This has been in favor of the lead farm in the study pursuing wider markets for the group in a producer pool of "raw batch" or "first batch" soap. The goal is to develop and demonstrate wider markets for the producer pool first before a legal business entity is formed as a cooperative. This has proven more attractive and less risky for farmstead producers; seven of eight continue to look to the lead farm for this leadership. The project has strengthened the ability of each farm family to derive extra income on-farm, rather than driving away to supplement farm income with non-farm work. Several producers have been able to cut livestock numbers and reduce overall production expenses by adding value to raw milk with farmstead skin care products, by selling products directly to the consuming public, and by increasing efficiencies in the guild and producer pool. The project also demonstrated in advantages in affiliating across farmstead product lines in (a) a winter farmers market that extended cash flow beyond seasonal outdoor markets in parish hall events that also featured meals of local and regional foods, (b) benefit sales efforts with schools, non-profits and churches.
Publications
- Stevens, Andrew; January 2007 "Valuing Labor and Improving Efficiency on an Integrated Farm" American Small Farm.
- Heinen, Tom; November 2007 "Markets assisting farmers: Faith groups' events focus on local products" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Schuster, Don; December 2004 "Valuing Labor and Improving Efficiency on an Integrated Farm" Research Brief No. 72, University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agriculture.
- Massey, Jim; February 2005 "The Missing Link: Projects use churches to connect producers, consumers" The Country Today.
- Caspers-Simmet, Jean; December 2005 "Harvesting Hope" Agri News.
- Hasheider, Mary K.; June 2008 "Direct Marketing Producer to Consumer: Profile Tony and Dela Ends" Wisconsin Local Food Marketing Guide.
- Project Leader Tony Ends has contracted with Big Earth Publishing to write a 128-page handbook on sustainable farmstead production, set to be released in winter 2008.
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