285 Boost Your Farm's Revenue with Value-Added Products: Insights from Kendall Ballantine
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Release Date: 10/30/2024
354 Stop Selling the Product & Start Building the Offer
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
(formerly ConvertKit.com) -- it is easy to use, powerful, and getting better every year. It also integrates with most e-commerce providers and tools. Ep 236 – How to Raise Your Prices (and Make More $) Using Price Anchoring Ep 334 – The Anatomy of a Great Email Offer — An Audit -- this is the monthly health membership I joined that allows me to get 2 sets of comprehensive blood tests per year (the ones that most doctors don't check for, but are really significant! It's been an empowering step for me!) The cost is $399/year, and covers the tests! Use this affiliate link...
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353 Turn FAQs Into Farm Sales: Answer the Questions That Stop Customers From Buying
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
The other day I found the perfect desk on Facebook Marketplace. Great photos. Fair price. Only ten minutes away from my house. But I didn’t buy it. Why? Because one simple piece of information was missing — the dimensions. Without that one detail, I couldn’t tell if it would fit our space… so I moved on. And it made me realize something. Farm customers do this all the time. They want to buy… but a small unanswered question stops them from moving forward. If customers are interested in your farm but not actually buying, the problem might not be your product -- it might be the...
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352 The Hidden Goal of Every Farm Promotion
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
I thought the goal of my recent promotion was simple: sell 40 prepaid online store credit memberships. That was it. 40 spots. Hit the revenue goal. Move on. But as I was building the emails, teasing it on social media, and checking my stats inside (my email service provider), I noticed something unexpected… My email list had jumped a LOT. And it wasn’t random. It was happening because of how I positioned the promotion before it ever opened. That’s when it clicked! Every promotion has a second goal. And most farmers completely miss it. Yes, promotions are meant to...
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351 How to Find Weekly Email Topic Ideas When You Don't Know What to Say
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Ever sit down to write your weekly email… Cursor blinking. Brain dead. And you’re thinking: “I KNOW I should email my list… but what on earth do I say this week?” In this episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on how I actually find ideas when I feel stuck! Most great emails don’t start with “content ideas” at all! They start with stories hiding in plain sight. If writing your weekly email feels harder than it should, chances are you’re looking in the wrong place for ideas. In this episode, I walk you through how to identify the central story of an email, and why...
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350 Lessons from a Handmade Goat Soap Business - Interview with Hooves and Feathers
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
A few months ago, I opened my mailbox to find a beautifully packaged starter box of goat milk soap from Allan Laird of Hooves and Feathers. Allan is a Farm Marketing School student… and he was proudly showing me his homework. 😊 Inside the box were thoughtfully chosen products, a clear “try-this-first” experience, and a sense that this wasn’t just soap — it was a brand with intention. I remember thinking, This is what happens when someone applies simple marketing frameworks with consistency. So I called Allan and said, “You need to come on the podcast and walk us through what...
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349 What Do I Put on My Farm’s Website Homepage?!
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Have you ever stared at your farm’s website homepage and thought… what am I even supposed to put here? Your website is the source of truth for your brand. It’s where people go to learn more, double-check you, and decide if they want to buy. And if your homepage is unclear or overwhelming, most people won’t stick around. In today’s episode, I’m breaking down a simple framework for what actually belongs on your farm’s website homepage—so it’s clear, strategic, and helps turn visitors into customers. We’re talking about the specific messaging blocks every strong farm...
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348 Building a Values-Led Farm Business with Value-Added Products (Without Going Full-Time)
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
What if your farm didn’t have to “scale up” to be successful? What if it could stay small, seasonal, creative — and still feel deeply worth it? In this conversation, I sit down with a farmer who has intentionally chosen a different path: one rooted in values, flexibility, and creativity — and who’s built a beautiful business around it. This episode is a quietly powerful case study. Claire and I talk about: Running a farm while not being a full-time farmer Letting creativity lead your product development Using one strong “gateway...
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347 A Step-by-Step Promotion Plan for Selling Monthly Meat Shares
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
What if I told you I recently ran a 7-day CSA Chicken + Pork Share promotion on my farm, using only email, a private Facebook group, and a simple promotion framework? It went REALLY well, exceeding my sales predictions. If you’ve ever thought about launching a monthly meat share — or already have one and want to sell it more consistently — this episode is your behind-the-scenes look at how I design, organize, and execute a high-performing farm promotion from scratch. I walk you through: How I structured the product How I worked with my partner farm How I decided pricing, timing,...
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346 What to Put Inside Your Farm’s Media Kit with Erika Tebbens
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Last summer, I got invited to be on TV. Exciting, right? Then they asked a simple follow-up question: “Can you send over your media kit?” And I froze. I didn’t have one. I wasn’t even totally sure what should be in one. Fast forward to this winter, as I start doing more speaking, partnerships, and visibility work for both my farm and My Digital Farmer -- I realized this was a gap I needed to close. So I invited someone back on the show who lives and breathes this stuff. On today’s episode, I’m joined again by Erika Tebbens from Taste the Local Difference. If Erika sounds familiar,...
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345 — The Energy of Money: FMS Money Mindset Series
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
This week on the podcast, I’m pulling back the curtain on something I’ve never shared publicly before… Inside Farm Marketing School, we’ve been doing a powerful three-month deep dive on rewriting your money story -- and today, I’m releasing one of those private “members-only” private podcasts here on the main feed. This is Episode 2 of that private series, and it’s all about the energy of money -- how it flows, how it gets blocked, and why the emotional tone behind your money exchanges matters just as much as the dollars themselves. You’ll hear stories from my own life,...
info_outlineAre you creating value-added products and selling them in your farm business? After hearing this episode, you may decide to get started!
"Value-added" refers to any agricultural products that have been processed or enhanced in a way that increases their market value. This could involve transforming raw farm products into something more convenient, shelf-stable, or unique, thus making them more appealing to customers. For example, turning fresh vegetables into pickles, making jams from fruit, or creating bone broth from animal by-products are all considered value-added because they offer more convenience, flavor, or functionality compared to their raw form. These products often allow farmers to increase their profit margins and diversify their income streams.
In this episode, Kendall Ballantine from Central Park Farms dives into the world of value-added products and how they transformed her direct-to-consumer farm business into a thriving operation. Discover how these simple innovations can create new revenue streams, support business growth, and help farms stay afloat during the off-season.
Tune in to learn:
- How Kendall turned chicken bones into bone broth, chicken pot pie, and over 40 other freezer meals for her online store.
- Where to start with value-added products.
- How to come up with value added product ideas.
- Creative marketing tips to entice buyers to buy your value added products.
- Common mistakes farmers make when they first start out with value-added.
- How to price your value added so you remain profitable.
This conversation is packed with actionable insights to inspire your own farm business!
Today's Guest: Meet Kendall Ballantine.
Follow Kendall's marketing tips at www.instagram.com/
Her website: www.onlinemarketingforfarmers.com
Workshop: Increasing Revenue with Value Added Products
Workhorse Collective, Kendall's Coaching Program
Podcast Sponsor:
This podcast was sponsored by Local Line, my preferred e-commerce platform for farmers. Are you looking for a new solution for your farm? I can't recommend it enough. Easy to use inventory management, great customer service, continuous improvement, and a culture dedicated to equipping farmers with marketing expertise, Local Line should definitely be one of the e-commerce solutions you consider as you switch. Local Line is offering a free premium feature for free for one year on top of your paid subscription. Claim your discount by signing up for a Local Line account today and using the coupon code: MDF2024. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: www.mydigitalfarmer.com/localline
Some of the resources mentioned in this episode:
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Farm Marketing School - my monthly online marketing school membership just for farmers. Farm Marketing School is an on-demand library of marketing workshops and project plans that will help you build some of the most important parts of your marketing system: building a promotion calendar, setting up your Google Business Profile, auditing your sales funnel, updating your home page of your website, building your first email nurture sequence, acquiring and deploying testimonials, writing great weekly email promotions, nurture emails, onboarding emails, and practicing different types of offers. You get to chose what you want to study and build each month. These projects are designed to be completed in under 30 days, so that you slowly build your marketing system piece by piece. Use the step by step project planner and resource folder to help you jumpstart your work. Take advantage of my new marketing crash course inside or take the onboarding assessment tool to help you identify where your funnel is broken and what project to do first. To see what courses are currently inside of FMS, or to try out Farm Marketing School for a month at mydigitalfarmer.com/fms Start and cancel your membership anytime.
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