Building Relationships, Building Customers

Relationship-building can be a powerful marketing tool. Hear from two farms of different scales about how they focus on building relationships with customers to be successful.

• Jordan Clasen operates Grade A Gardens in Johnston, which supplies the Des Moines area with certified organic gourmet garlic and fresh vegetables, including onions, shallots, leeks, kale, carrots and potatoes. In 2012 he expanded production on 10 rented, certified organic acres to service wholesale and retail customers, including a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) market.
• Since 2000, Jody Bolluyt has worked as a farmer at Roxbury Farm, a 300-acre diverse community-supported farm near Kinderhook, N.Y. that grows vegetables, herbs and grass-fed pork, lamb and beef for more than 1,200 families. Jody grew up in Adel, Iowa, and has family who farm near Yale, Iowa. During her time at Roxbury Farm, she has focused farm sales on CSA shares, dropping wholesale customers and foregoing sales at farmers markets.