Simon Says: Shop local

By BECKY NELSON
Bramblings
By Becky Nelson

I am reminded of the old game of Simon Says. I don’t imagine the game is still played much on the playground with hand-held devices with games and entertainment the play of the day, but this game for some reason had an impact on my memory and makes me think that real life is a lot like the game.

“Simon Says take one giant step forward. Simon Says take a half step forward. Take a giant step backward.” If you weren’t paying attention or were distracted by other playground activities and distractions, you stepped backward and fell out of the game. This game of life has lots of steps forward, giant steps backward and many, many distractions that keep one from paying attention to the game.

This farming year and the last couple as well, have been a Simon Says game with lots of steps backward and not much forward movement. Being a very small cog in a very large agricultural wheel, we really have not much to complain about on the grand scale at the farm. We just put seeds in the ground, unlike many farmers in the Midwest and the heartland who have been flooded out of business, at least for the year, but if they were flirting on the edges of solvency as are many operations, maybe out of business for good.

There are other challenges in the local farming business that don’t directly affect our bigger neighbors who wholesale the bulk of their product. With direct sales to customers at our little store the mainstay of our income, we rely on having what the consumer wants when the consumer wants it. A freezer empty of beef, a shelf empty of strawberries, and we suffer with diminished sales, which leads to diminished business income, which leads to a whole lot of trouble as all of you know if your personal income takes a hit and you cannot keep up with bills.

A few years of juggling the dollars and farmers find themselves in big trouble with debt piling up a lot faster than crops and payments coming in faster than receipts. This has happened in the dairy industry in a very visible way in New England where the cost of production has far outstripped the payments for milk for multiple years, forcing the closure of many dairy farms. It has happened with many small crop farms, too, with farm stands popping up for three or four years and disappearing or old-time farm stands closing up shop or becoming some other kind of outlet as owners age out and youngsters choose a less demanding career with bigger monetary rewards. Small producers who have relied on farmer’s market sales have found it a harsh climate with not enough return and local farmers markets seem to be dwindling, with fewer vendors resulting in fewer consumers and the small business slump is being seen on the greens of many towns as well.

Farming is tough, but small businesses in general is tough. We cannot compete with our bigger competitors. In order to survive as a business, we small businesses have to offer the extras … extra quality, extra customer service, extra experience. We have to find that special niche at the edges of the retail or restaurant giants and work on the fringes of the buying public’s needs and desires. Blocks to production, loss of a customer base to online or big box shopping, the domino effect of downtowns suffering when a shop closes and folks stop shopping because of the empty storefronts, the reluctance of customers to visit small shops because of the lack of inventory and choice, higher prices and the time it takes to travel to a small shop as compared to a “one stop” shopping experience, the small margins worked result in smaller or non-existent paychecks for ourselves with that demand for long hours open and small margins resulting in shorter hours for employees and the difficulty of finding the quality part-time help we need or the need for us to work incredibly long hours ourselves…the list of challenges for small businesses is long. There comes a time in many cases that the need to throw in the towel and close the shop doors outstrips the desire to keep your business running.

There always seems to be an after-the-fact outcry of community members when a shop closes or a farm locks the barn doors for the last time. Rushed with people trying to score a bargain at a store closing, it is disheartening and painful for the business owners who never saw enough business to stay afloat but have the vultures swoop in to pick the bones of the dying business.

I urge all of you reading, all of you caring and all of you hoping to preserving small farms and small businesses to change your shopping habits. If it means anything at all to you to have the shops and farm stands full and your neighbors able to keep their shops and farm stands and local restaurants open and make enough money to eke out a living in their endeavors, you need to patronize these businesses. You need to shop there, spend money there, eat at the local outlets to keep them in business. We at the farm certainly appreciate our loyal customers and hope that a change in shopping habits will bring more folks to our doors and the doors of other local businesses as well.

Think small. Think local. Shop where you live.