Creating a legacy for their family is at the forefront of Pretty Road Co. Lavender and Farm Store. “My husband grew up on a farrow-to-finish hog operation on Pretty Road. He actually worked on the farm that we now own. My brother and sister-in-law live on one corner, the home farm is on the other corner, and we’re down the road. We call it Duffyville.” shares Sandy.
After being cash crop and livestock producers their whole lives, Sandy and Ryan decided they wanted to diversify their operations. At their on-farm store, they sell pork, chicken, lamb, beef, and, most recently, turkey through online pre-ordering. In addition to selling their own products, they source meat from another local family farm. Last year, they added lavender to the mix, converting two acres from their cash crop operation to lavender production. They produce teas and jams in small batches, as well as are hoping to get a distiller to produce oils.
Sandy started selling online pretty early on with a generic e-commerce platform but quickly faced the challenge of selling meat by weight. “I look back now and think, oh my goodness. I would put pictures of meat online and say, this is for sale for $50, and see who would buy it. It was so much work. I was like, what am I doing?”
In addition to not being able to sell by weight, Sandy and her team had issues with charging tax. With most generic e-commerce, all items in the storefront are taxed. “We offer a lot of creative items on our online store as well. A lot of those items are taxed, but the food we offer isn’t. This made selling all our products in one place difficult.”
With the inability to sell meat by weight and the challenges with taxing items, Sandy was looking for a new solution. When speaking with other farms in her coaching group, she found Local Line, an online platform for farmers.
“When I found out that Local Line allows you to sell by the pound, I was hooked! I love how it works. My customers shop online, and I get a notification to approve their order and adjust the weight. Then, I send them an invoice. They can either pay online or in person at the store.” explains Sandy, “It gives us the control. There’s not a lot of margin selling meat, so having the ability to charge the customer exactly what they bought gives us back that control.”
In addition, Sandy enjoys how their process of selling by weight on Local Line cuts down on communication with her customers. “We’re a small family farm, and our kids work with us. The same people that work in the barn, work in the store. There’s just not enough time in the day to then also have to be communicating with customers individually on prices and pick up information. My process with Local Line is clear. It’s straightforward for our customers.”
Local Line also solves their tax problem. Through customizable product price list options, Sandy is able to individually select which items on her storefront are taxed and which aren’t; saving her loads of manual work.
"We are so thankful. It’s just going really well, and Local Line has really helped us. Both of our daughters work with us full-time, and the platform is helping us generate income. When you sell farm products and meats, you have to diversify. So doing online sales, on-farm workshops, and subscription program has helped us grow."
New this year, the team at Pretty Road Farm has launched The Farm Food Monthly Subscription Boxes. “We wanted to do something a little different. There are a lot of very successful CSAs and boxes in our area. So we’re offering baked goods, eggs, produce, farm-raised meats, and more. Whatever our customers want, we’ll go out and gather. We offer three price ranges: $50, $80, and $149.”
Local Line’s e-commerce subscription management feature allows them to manage their different boxes. Sandy lists all three box options as subscription products on a unique price list. The price list allows her to create a monthly fulfillment plan that matches the subscription frequency. “Signing up for our subscription program is really easy. The customer signs up on Local Line, puts their credit card information in, and just sets it and forgets it. They know on this day, their card is going to be charged, and they can pick up their order.”
They also enabled the ability to skip orders, which has been very important for their customers. “The flexibility to skip is huge. I don’t want anyone to feel trapped in any sales situation, so this allows them to be in control.”
Adding a subscription box to their business model has been huge for the family farm. “Launching this program was really scary – it was something entirely new for us, and we didn’t know what the uptake would be. We launched it, and we couldn’t believe it! Our customers love the concept!”.
To start, they’re launching box availability in groups to scale up slowly. Starting with a smaller cohort and increasing spots after month after month. So far, the program has been a hit and ensures recurring revenue for the farm monthly.
Finding the right model and workflow has been a journey for the team at Pretty Road Farm. When asking Sandy what advice she would give other farmers in a similar boat, she says:
“Make the switch. If you’ve encountered hurdles or inefficiencies in your workflow, don’t hesitate to find a better solution. Selling by weight is a hurdle for many family farms—it was for us, too. So find a workflow that works for you and puts you in control.”
As Pretty Road Co. Lavender and Farm Store looks to the future, they’re pretty excited about what’s next: continuing to grow their farm subscription program and diversifying their offering.
"Thank you to the team that built Local Line and is continuing to do so. You're not only helping us feed families, but you're helping us feed our own family.”
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