Blue Lizard Farm, tucked away 150 miles northeast of Las Vegas, is a vibrant agricultural oasis in the Nevada desert. Their journey since 2005 is a reminder of their innovation and determination.
With an increasing demand for local produce in their area, they leveraged technology to sell, streamline their inventory management, and establish deep-rooted connections within their local community. This story explores how Blue Lizard Farm leverages Local Line, a farm e-commerce software, to distribute fresh, local produce in a desert climate.
Blue Lizard Farm was founded in 2005 when Rodney Mehring and his family moved from Las Vegas to a ten-acre plot in Caliente, Nevada.
"We moved up from Las Vegas in 2005 and bought our 10 acres. Our goal was to find a way to make a living on our land. We experimented with various ideas, but farming, combined with my background in gardening and beekeeping, eventually became our focus.” - Rodney, Blue Lizard Farm
They grew lettuce and spinach in their hoop houses in the early days. “Hoop houses are a must,” says Rodney. Their hoop houses protect the crops from the extreme temperature fluctuations and high winds in Nevada.
Named after the Nevada fence and whip-tail lizard inhabiting their farm, Blue Lizard Farm thrives today using hoop houses to grow various fruits, vegetables, and even microgreens!
Blue Lizard Farm sells part of their produce to Alex Pope, a local Nevada grocer and forager. They provide another portion of produce to the Home Feed Nevada program, which helps address food insecurity and supports local farms. “The Home Feed Nevada program is a stable place to sell my produce. I deliver it to Three Square (Southern Nevada’s major food bank), and they distribute it to small sister food banks throughout the South,” explains Rodney.
Partnering with Alex and the Home Feed Nevada program has been an excellent opportunity for them to deliver fresh produce to locals and those in need. As Rodney continues these partnerships, the demand to buy directly from Blue Lizard Farm has also steadily risen.
Rodney originally tested another platform for selling direct-to-consumer (DTC), but it only made the process more cumbersome than convenient. Despite this challenge, Rodney remained committed to providing fresh, local produce to his close-knit community.
Another Google search for farm e-commerce solutions led Rodney to discover Local Line, and from that moment, their journey on the platform began!
Local Line has been instrumental in helping Blue Lizard Farm streamline its DTC sales. Local Line’s inventory management feature has enhanced efficiency and simplified inventory tracking. As Rodney emphasizes, "The inventory aspect is probably the most helpful to me. I don’t have to worry about underselling or overselling!"
"At local farmer’s markets, managing inventory manually was time-consuming. I was away from the farm for part of the day, and sometimes, I was gone for at least a full day. Local Line’s inventory feature helps me a lot." - Rodney, Blue Lizard Farm
Fulfillment couldn’t be any easier with Local Line. Blue Lizard Farm uses Local Line to set minimum order costs before deliveries to nearby towns, ensuring their transportation costs are covered. "Customers place their orders a week ahead, and I make trips to deliver the produce once I have enough orders to cover fuel costs," Rodney explained.
Local Line’s customer relationship management (CRM) feature allows effective communication. Customers can easily place orders online and schedule pickup, giving Rodney more time to do what he wants: farming. "When we have problems, I just email all the customers with one email, letting them know what's going on," Rodney notes.
Rodney also appreciates the flexibility of opening and closing his farm store. “When my season ends, I can pause [my] Local Line use. When I re-open in the spring, it’s not costing me lots of money through my downtime,” shares Rodney. Additionally, Rodney expresses his appreciation for Local Line’s speedy and quality customer service.
"The customer service you guys provide for Local Line has been outstanding. I send an email saying, “I need help with this”, and boom! Somebody is on it. The ease of using it [Local Line] has been fantastic." - Rodney, Blue Lizard Farm
“The best part of Local Line is that I'm not here trying to run this software program. It's a two-hour once-a-week kind of a thing, and it's all set and ready to go. Before, it was chaos making sure I wasn’t under or over-selling. Local Line takes that away, and I'm able to do what I really want to, which is farming.” - Rodney, Blue Lizard Farm
Rodney has found a way to deliver local produce to his Nevada community, largely thanks to Local Line's farm e-commerce software. Using Local Line to manage inventory, facilitate direct sales, and build customer relationships has enabled Blue Lizard Farm to focus on what they do best: Growing high-quality, fresh produce in the Nevada desert.
Blue Lizard Farm’s success story inspires other farmers in unique growing locations, using innovative solutions like Local Line to grow, farm, and sell DTC successfully.
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