Heather Secrist raises two acres of vegetables, as well as pastured pork and lamb, on sixteen acres at Suncrest Gardens Farm in the rural hills of Cochrane, Wisconsin – and turns it all into pizzas and other value-added foods. With sales on farm during pizza nights and a new “garden café”, as well as to a farmers market in Winona, Minnesota, Heather has developed a business model that works for herself and for her family.
Heather returned to the region where she grew up on a family farm to start Suncrest Gardens Farm in 2003, and has been making pizza for on-farm pizza nights since long before it was cool. She shares with us how she grew the farm and value-added operation to provide her with a full-time living, including developing the infrastructure, marketing to regular and occasional customers, and how she’s negotiated the regulations for her small-scale processing facility, as well as how her marketing strategy has evolved through the years.
Heather returned to the region where she grew up on a family farm to start Suncrest Gardens Farm in 2003, and has been making pizza for on-farm pizza nights since long before it was cool. She shares with us how she grew the farm and value-added operation to provide her with a full-time living, including developing the infrastructure, marketing to regular and occasional customers, and how she’s negotiated the regulations for her small-scale processing facility, as well as how her marketing strategy has evolved through the years.
Sponsors
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Vermont Compost Company: Founded by organic crop growing professionals committed to meeting the need for high-quality composts and compost-based, living soil mixes for certified organic plant production.
High Mowing Organic Seeds: The first independently owned, farm-based seed company proudly serving organic growers with a full line of 100% certified organic and Non-GMO Project verified vegetable, herb, flower and cover crop seeds. Professional quality seeds grown by organic farmers, for organic farmers. Purchase your seeds early and receive a 10% discount through our Community Supported Seeds program – visit highmowingseeds.com/save.
Quotes from the Show
When I first had the idea of the farm here, because of its limited size, I knew that having a licensed kitchen was going to be an integral part of this farm.
The "Eat well, smile often" tagline was something that came very early in the whole farm. It's really what's at the heart of everything.
It came to a certain point where the farm really needed all of my time and energy for it to become what it needed, and that was a really great point to come to and watch it flourish more because I was able to put even more into it.
Now it's trying to figure out how much less I can grow and still have enough to meet my needs.
The "Eat well, smile often" tagline was something that came very early in the whole farm. It's really what's at the heart of everything.
It came to a certain point where the farm really needed all of my time and energy for it to become what it needed, and that was a really great point to come to and watch it flourish more because I was able to put even more into it.
Now it's trying to figure out how much less I can grow and still have enough to meet my needs.
Show Links
Heather uses Single Platform to manage her farm’s presence on search engines, travel and review sites, and online directories.
Transcript
The transcript for this episode is brought to you by Earth Tools, offering the most complete selection of walk-behind farming equipment and high-quality garden tools in North America. And by Osborne Quality Seeds, a dedicated partner for growers. Visit osborneseed.com for high quality seed, industry-leading customer service, and fast order fulfillment. And by CoolBot, allowing you to build an affordable walk-in cooler powered by a window air-conditioning unit. Save $20 on your CoolBot when you visit farmertofarmerpodcast.com/coolbot. Additional funding for transcripts provided by North Central SARE, providing grants and education to advance innovations in Sustainable Agriculture.
