Alliance Overview
This Old Farm Alliance Mission is to bring healthful, local food to Indiana by sustaining, nurturing, and prospering the family farms through cooperative distribution of local, environmentally conscience foods at a cost that both supports the farmer while representing the true cost and value for the customer.
In order to do this, a board of directors has been established, a processing facility purchased, distribution trucks obtained, and marketing accounts started. The ground work is in place for a great local foods distribution network. Now we need you, the grower, to grow healthful food. We hope you find this marketing channel an effective means to get your product out to the supporters of local foods.
Frequently Asked Questions…
What money do I need to invest to be part of the alliance?
No upfront cash is needed. An informal alliance was chosen as opposed to a cooperative to keep initial cost to producer down. You have enough cash tied up in growing your products.
How will I get paid?
This Old Farm will pay producers monthly as product is sold. The producer covers the cost of raising the livestock/produce. This Old Farm covers the cost of processing. Upon sale, processing is paid and then the remaining sales are covered 80% producer/20% This Old Farm. The 20% covers marketing and distribution. The majority of the produce will be processed and prepared for market by the producer to keep those costs low.
What if I have my product processed elsewhere?
For the most part, all meat products should be processed at This Old Farm Meats and Processing. This is to ensure product consistency.
When should I let you know what I am growing?
Produce: Each week during the growing season an updated pricing list will go out on Monday. We need to know by the previous Thursday what should be on that list. Items need to be marked as available next week and what is going to be harvested in two weeks. If you have price break points let us know that information as well. We need to have as much notice of harvesting schedules as possible so we can keep that information going out. Your initial alliance information sheet should be filled out every season to let us have an overview of what you are growing that season.
Meat: Appointments should be made as early as possible. In the case of poultry, make the appointment when the chicks come in. For pork and beef, let us know a timeframe as well. We can always make changes. The more we know, the easier it is to sell your product.
How is pricing determined?
Our mission is to support the sustainable family farm with the best pricing possible. We strive to keep the cost of distribution down so that the majority of the payment goes back to the producer. We ask you to provide information on what it costs you to grow the product. We take that information, with the information we have from the customer base and develop a natural foods wholesale listing. The price is not going to be what you can get retail for your items but you also do not have 30% of your time invested in marketing the products. We will strive to achieve the best price for your product that the market will bear and thus pass back the best payment we can.
Does my product have to be organic or natural?
We are specializing in a differentiated product type. Your farm product must stand out as differentiated. While we don’t tell you how to grow your product, we insist that you tell us exactly how it is grown so we can best represent it. The facility is certified organic so we can take your certified products and label them appropriately.
How will my products be labeled?
For complete traceability, all product will have the farm name and date on it. We want to highlight the grower.
Can you tell me exactly what needs to be grown and guarantee sales?
We have been developing a customer base since 2010. As we’ve developed more customers, we’ve become progressively more reliable in our market predictions. We can typically give estimates on how much of what produce to grow based off of our customers’ needs.
Do you have a market for my grade B products?
All product being marketed need to be of the highest quality as we are working in a niche market. Produce needs to be clean and unblemished, eggs need to be clean, free of stains and cracks. Meat needs to be of the highest quality possible. There are on occasion however, markets available for #2 products when necessary. Please call ahead of time so we can make arrangements for #2 product.
Together we can make a difference. It is our dream that all Americans would venture to the farm. The reality is that we must bring the farm to them. Local food is about the freshest, most environmentally conscience food possible. Thank you for providing the best for Indiana.
