Benefits of Organic/Natural Farming
Why Buy Organic/Natural Products?
Testimonials
By John Everly
Someday, a Web site could be as ubiquitous as a tractor in a farm's tool inventory. Farms are slowly adopting Internet technology to expand their markets.
"If producers are to survive and thrive, they're going to need access to information," said David Lyons, director of business development for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. Last year the Farm Bureau launched FBadvantage.com, a wide-ranging program offering various Internet services.
Lyons said the market is sending farmers signals to adopt information technology. He sees that as the next step in a continuing trend.
In the 19th century, the market told farmers their labor would return them a profit. Enter mechanization in the 20th century. Those farmers who invested in tractors and modern farm implements stayed in business.
At the threshold of the 21st century, the market again has changed to offer profits to farmers who are able to access and utilize information, Lyons said.
"The market is beginning to send another message, that it will reward mind applied to the machine. Buying more land, farming it more hours per day with a bigger tractor, isn't necessarily it now," Lyons said.
Consequently, farming is becoming an electronic business, or "e-business."
One way farmers can succeed is to produce specialized products tailored to a specific market. To do that, farmers need information about available markets and production technology, Lyons said.
"We're also seeing these tools, if utilized correctly, can shorten the distance from consumers to producers. The use of Internet technology to shorten that distance between producers and consumers is very powerful."
Some eastern Iowa farmers who produce specialty products are counting on that.
Phil Hueneke, owner of Gateway Natural Meats near Bellevue, Iowa, entered Internet marketing late last year.
Gateway Natural Meats produces beef, chicken and pork without using any antibiotics, hormones or chemical feed additives. Hueneke has teamed up with Jim and Elly Fink, of Vinton, Iowa, on a Web site promoting their compatible products.
Hueneke's Gateway Natural Meats and the Finks' Northeast Iowa Specialty Meats are featured on their joint Web site, www.iowa-natural-meats.com.
"The goal is to add more people as time goes on" to the Web site, Hueneke said.
Both Hueneke and the Finks already had established businesses before going online, but suspected a whole new market was waiting for them beyond Iowa's borders.
A grant from the Iowa Department of Economic Development helped pay for a feasibility study of an Internet-based marketing plan for Hueneke's business.
The department provides up to $500,000 loans and forgivable loans for businesses that add value to Iowa agriculture commodities.
Joe Jones, value-added agriculture coordinator for IDED, said grant applicants must submit a business plan. The department will look at the proposed project's feasibility and whether it adds value to Iowa farm products. The proposed project is expected to take an innovative approach.
"A lot of the businesses we work with do have Web pages," Jones said. "Most of them have other marketing tools that are more important to them."
After more than a year of research and preparation, Hueneke said they decided to promote via the Internet.
While businesses have promoted products through the Internet for a number of years, Hueneke said they hope to fill a need for naturally produced meats that hasn't been satisfied for Internet shoppers.
"There's very little on there, especially organic pork," Hueneke said. "Customers elsewhere in the country are looking for high-quality meats."
Iowa Natural Meats can take orders over the Internet. Customers can pay for orders online, including credit-card transactions.
Hueneke said while demand for organic and natural foods is growing, many good producers are being left out of the market.
"There are a lot of farmers raising it the right way," but traditional marketing channels have failed them, Hueneke said. "It's too bad."
"You can't depend on local markets anymore," agreed Joan Mitchley-McAvoy, economics instructor with Northeast Iowa Community College in Peosta, Iowa. Mitchley-McAvoy said reaching far-flung markets electronically might be the key to sustaining family farms.
Lyons sees farm e-businesses flourishing in the new information economy. Producers with specialty products can target potential customers.
Internet marketing does lend itself to value-added agriculture, Lyons said. "That's not an accident. The advent of new technology allows them more market power."
Lyons envisions that as farmers step up their use of the Internet, the medium will evolve to serve them better. He predicts producers will increasingly band together to market cooperatively online.
Hueneke and his partners are considering additions to the product lineup offered through the Web site, including different meats and organic cheese.
"If you can add other things with it, it makes it worthwhile for both parties involved," Hueneke says. "The goal is to add more people as time goes on."
For producers willing to do some investigating, the resources are available
The Iowa Department of Economic Development offers resources to assist in a business startup.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection will begin taking applications Monday for its Agricultural Development and Diversification program grants. Grants for potential e-businesses and other entrepreneurs are available for feasibility studies, market research and product development. The deadline to apply for 2001 grants is March 15.
As evidenced by the collapse of many fledgling e-business in 2000, going online is not a magic potion for business success, Jones emphasized.
"You still have to have a good business and a good business plan," he said. The Internet "is just another tool you can use."
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