Loading ...ment17 @ 18:50 pm
Well done!
Great example of your planning skills, business sense, and the 6 P’s. Proper Planning Prevents P*ss Poor Performance.
Have you considered multi year contracts with those growers, with some fashion of ‘inflation adjustment’ built into the agreed price? (CPI Perhaps??). The only concern I could possibly see is that if food shortages begin to happen, or Hyper Inflation pounces sudden and hard, is the farmer/grower, still able, or wish too, deliver goods at ‘below cost’?
If you feel comfortable with the grower, you might wish to take this up another notch and discuss with them thier policy for storing such things as fuel, stockpiling fertilizer, and any plans for seed production and storage. Due to cash flows etc., many of the farmers around my neck of the woods have taken a lesson from Corporate America and operate with the ‘Just In Time’ inventories. Any disruption in supplies, parts, etc., could bring some operations to a stand still.
One last question. As a small farmer, I would hesitate, unless I really knew the man (i,e. honest, and would treat me fair) to agree to a ‘percentage’ of the crops. Lets say beets become hard to find, prices sky rocket, so I double my growing area for beets. With added expense to ‘double up’, coming out of my pocket, I would hesitate to basically double the buyers take at no additional cost to them. Makes more sense to me to have agreements on pounds/bushels, of delivered goods at a locked in price than a percentage.
Kudos for creating a plan and implementing it. Hope your health continues to improve. And thanks for posting more often. Best, Farmboy