Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association

Fresh Facts

Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh experience.

8 Common Time Management Mistakes to Avoid in 2017

Newsletter #319

Today everyone is busy but being busy and being effective are not the same thing. Do
you spend your day going from crisis to crisis? Do you feel overwhelmed and stressed?
Being organized, feeling in control and having an action plan for each day will make you
more productive and feel better.

Volume 33, Number 1

Jan. 2017

Mistake #1: Too many or no to-do list

Where are your tasks for today? Do you have a single to-do list for today or do you
have things you need to do in:
*Your Inbox? *Your head? *A spiral bound notebook or scraps of paper?
*An Excel spread sheet?
Best practice is to have one prioritized list for each day.
Mistake #2: Your list is not prioritized
When you have things you need to do in several locations chances are you are not doing a good job of prioritizing what to do next.
Do you know how to prioritize your workload?
Mistake #3: No clear goals
"When you don't know where youre going any road will get you there." -Lewis Carroll
When you know where you want to go you can manage your priorities, time, and resources to achieve your goals.
Mistake #4: Not managing distractions and interruptions
What distracts you on a typical day? Checking your email too often and going from crisis to crisis will disrupt your work flow and guarantees it will take longer to get the same
amount of work done or results at the end of the day compared to someone who has
learned how to manage interruptions.
Mistake #5: Procrastination
Are you running out of time? Did you forget about this essential task that needs to be
completed? What are you going to do now, come in early tomorrow or stay late today?
Take the work home with you? Not having a prioritized to-do list will make procrastination a bigger problem.
Mistake #6: Attempting too much
Do you find it difficult to say no? Are you a micro-manager who insists on controlling or
doing all of the work because you don't trust anyone else to do it correctly? This can
lead to reduced performance and more stress.
Mistake #7 Addicted to being busy
Rushing to meet a deadline, checking your email too often and racing to try to get to
continued on page 8

Inside this issue:

Membership News

AGM Announcement

OFFMA Summit

OFFMA Survey
Results, Part 2

Creating an Agsperience

Upcoming Events

Page 2

Fresh Facts

MEMBERSHIP NEWS
Classifieds
WANTED:
Room mate for the OFVC, Sue Gammond has booked a room at the Embassy Suites but is willing to share
with another female. Contact Sue at
807-475-9609.
FOR SALE:

2L and 4L plastic baskets, made in

Canada, sturdy handles, strong durable plastic, weatherproof, reliable,
delivery, www.shouldicefarm.com
shouldice1@bell.net
613-838-4203
FOR SALE:
Delhaven Orchards Ltd.,
Blenheim, ON
Frozen, pitted sour cherries
available for wholesale and retail
Call 519-676-4475 or
e-mail delhaven@ciaccess.com
FOR SALE:

Anyone wanting APPLES?

Mutsu, Royal Gala, Cortland, Red
Delicious, Fuji, Macintosh.
fabulous deal for fellow OFFMA
members :)
text/cell 416 576 8898 or
office@albionorchards.com
Most recent listings can be found on
the members only Facebook page. Definitely worth your while to sign up for
this member benefit.

Welcome to our new member, the

easiest way to get the most out of
your membership is to come out to
an OFFMA event. Plan on it.
Murray & Jo-Anne Morrison

Morrison Pumpkin Farm

Collingwood, ON 705-445-8833
www.facebook.com/morrisonpumpkin-farm
Morrison Pumpkin Farm grows Fall
produce that provides great dcor
for celebrating the Fall season at
their farm just south of Collingwood.
They market their products in an
open air, on-farm market setting
which is family friendly. Their produce line-up includes 30 pumpkin
varieties, 20 squash varieties and
numerous decorative gourds, ornamental corn, corn stalks, and bales
of straw.

Good Luck to
Dave and Joy Westlaken
Dave and Joy have been growing vegetables for over 30 years and joined
OFFMA in 1997. They have recently sold
their business; Empire Valley Farm Market in Wallacetown and have moved to
Rodney.
Dave has gone back to his love of trucking and Joy will be getting used to being
an empty nester on a smaller piece of
property.
We all wish them the best of luck as they
start this new chapter in their lives.

Newsletter #319

You are cordially invited to

OFFMAs

OFFMAs

Awards of
Excellence
Banquet

Annual General Meeting

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

MarriottGateway to the Falls
Appetizers 6:15 pm
Dinner 6:30 pm
Cost: $45 + HST per person
Call the OFFMA Office for tickets,
905-841-9278 or order from
pre-convention workshop reg form,
enclosed with this newsletter.
Changes to the OFFMA Bylaws
The OFFMA Board of Directors is looking for
ratification from the membership to add the
following category to OFFMAs Bylaws. As
members retire, this category gives them an
opportunity to stay connected to the organization. This change will be presented at the
AGM in February.
5.0 Retired membership Qualifications
Retired Members in this Association are persons who were active members in the Association but no longer own their business and
are no longer involved in the direct farm
marketing industry.
5.1 Retired members are entitled to:
a) attend all association functions
b) receive all newsletters and notices
c) an article of recognition
d) the opportunity to sponsor special events
Innovation Awarddo you or a fellow
OFFMA member have a product or process
that has made your life or your customers
lives better and easier. We have modified
our Food Innovation Award to recognize
OFFMA members who have done innovative things on their farm. Contact the OFFMA office for a nomination form to be considered for this award.

Page 3

will take place on

Wed. February 22, 2017

11:3012:00

Held during the

OFFMA Summit
in conjunction with the
Ont. Fruit & Veg. Convention.
Join us to get an update on
OFFMAs activities.
Leslie Forsythe, Brian Hugli and
Hollis English have competed their
second term as Directors on the
OFFMA Board. They will be stepping down and OFFMA is looking
for replacements for these excellent Board Members. Contact the
office if you are interested helping
the Direct Farm Marketing Industry
grow in Ontario.

is coming to
the OFVC
The Bull Pen is the agricultural version of the Dragons
Den. It had its premier debut at the 2016 Fruit & Vegetable Convention in February in Niagara Falls.
In 2017, we are once again looking for members who
have a product or service that they would like to take
to the next marketing level by getting feedback from
industry experts and peers.
You would need to present the product or service at
the convention in front of the bulls or experts and be
willing to hear the feedback that they are proposing.
If you are interested, please contact the OFFMA office.
We have very limited space for this opportunity so consider doing so sooner rather than later.

Page 4

Fresh Facts

OFFMA Summit

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Chair: Steve Martin, Martins Family Fruit Farm
9:30 - 10:30 Real Revolution Keeping up with change!, Pete Luckett,
formerly from Petes Fruitiques
10:30 11:30

The Bull Pen agricultures answer to the Dragons Den

11:30 12:00

OFFMAs AGM

LUNCH
2:00 3:00 Expanding Your Market what you need to know: Paul Brooks,
Brooks Farms; Shirley Simpson, Talbotville Farm Market and
Jordan McKay, Willowtree Farms
3:00 4:00 Utilizing Digital Tools to Boost Sales & Marketing: Brian Bates,
Bear Creek Organic Farm
4:00 4:30 Round Table Talks 2017 topics: Succession Planning, How to
WOW Your Customers, Team Communications, Batching Up
Moving to the Next Level
Coordinated by Brian Hugli, Huglis Blueberry Ranch

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Chair: Leslie Forsythe, Forsythe Family Farms
9:30 10:00

Staying ahead of the curve with new ideas: Will Heeman,

Heemans Greenhouses and Market

10:00 10:30

How to Staff UP with Motivated Millennials:

Benjamin Guth, Mobilize

10:30 11:30

On-Farm Markets Quebec Style, Bus Tour Debrief:

Colin Campbell, Campbells Orchards

11:30 12:00

Making Informed Decisions on the Fly: Brian Bates,

Bear Creek Organic Farm

LUNCH
2:00 2:30 Make your farm more efficient using Lean Principles:
Garth Baxter, Agri-Bax
2:30 3:30 Thinking Outside the Barn: Jim Forsythe-Forsythe Family
Farms, Brian Bates-Bear Creek Organic Farm, Jan SchooleyApple Hill Lavender

Newsletter #319

OFFMA Survey Results Part 2 of 5

Farm & Direct Farm Marketing (DFM) Business Findings
By Suzanne Ainley
Over half of all farms in Ontario, according to Statistics Canada in 2011,
are operated as sole proprietorships. In
comparison, respondents to the 2016
OFFMA survey were more likely to operate their farms as family corporations
(40%), or a partnership with or without
written agreements (32%). Only about
a quarter of the farms that responded
to the 2016 survey were sole proprietorships.
Although the 2011 Census of Agriculture found, on average, Ontario farms
were 244 acres, the typical DFM farm
in Ontario according to results of the
2016 survey were 138 acres. The
range in size of farms reported had the
smallest at 4 acres and the largest being 819 acres. The share of the farmland used for different activities revealed that the typical DFM farm uses
0.5 acres for fruit production (50% of
respondent involved in this type of
farming), 2 acres for berries(50% of
respondent involved in this type of
farming), vegetable production accounts for 10 acres (66% of respondent involved in this type of farming), 20
acres were being used for cash crops

(49% of respondent involved in this

type of farming), 1 acre as woodlot
(42% of respondent involved in this
type of farming), agritainment accommodates 2 acres (64% of respondent
involved) and 1 acre dedicated towards food processing or storage
(45% of respondent involved).
Further inquiring about the types of
activities individual farms were involved in illustrated these DFM businesses overall were active in 4-5 different activities based on what provided them with farm sales in 2015. The
activities with the highest reported
gross sales being in: on-farm direct
sales, off-farm sales, cash crops &
livestock sales, agri-tainment, and onfarm food services. Very few reported
being involved in providing outdoor
recreation (20% involved, less than
2% of sales) or on-farm accommodations (20% involved, no sales).

We found out the majority of the responding farms lived directly on their
farm, 83 percent indicated approximately two acres, on average, of their
farm was used for the farm familys
home.
Table 2: Percentage of Gross Sales by Activities, 2015
Type of Activity

Percentage of sales, on average,

amongst farms with activity

On-farm Sales (n=74)

47.8

Off-farm Sales (n=58)

32.5

On-farm Food Services (n=42)

9.3

Educational Activities (n=41)

4.7

Cash Crops & Livestock Sales (n=38)

24.2

Agri-tainment (n=37)

18.7

Special Events (n=28)

5.8

Outdoor Recreation (n=16)

1.4

Accommodations (n=15)

Note: percentage doesnt total to 100 as farms participate in multiple activties

Page 5

Page 6

Fresh Facts

Creating an Ag-sperience
By Erica Pate, OMAFRAs Direct Farm Marketing Specialist (A)
I spent a lot of time on the road
throughout the fall, not only on OFFMAs study tour but also at conferences and visits to direct farm marketers. While on these various road trips,
one of the lessons that has stuck with
me is the importance of creating a
unique experience for your guests. I
saw many different approaches taken
to making lasting impressions, not only
by providing visitors with quality, local
produce, but by creating memorable
experiences. After all, I believe that the
old saying is true for direct farm marketers: people will forget what you
said, people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you
made them feel (Maya Angelou).
It does not have to be a big investment
or a time-consuming service; by making a few small changes you can leave
a lasting impression on your guests.
Here are a few examples from the
road:

Food service: Make your farm a

place to stop by providing lunch or
ready-to-eat products. One farm I visited during a conference recognized a
lack of eateries in the area, and began
to provide prepared food and baked
goods now its a popular stop for
lunch!
Bakery: If you have a bakery, make
sure you take advantage of the delicious smells wafting from the kitchen. Is your kitchen part of the market? Can customers walk in and enjoy the smell of apple pies baking?
After all, if you cant smell it, you
cant sell it. Have your customers
enjoy the smell of fresh baked bread
or pies and see if they can resist.
Trails: One of the stops on the
study tour was an alpaca farm. I had
never realized how beautiful Quebec

was until this bus trip. Sutton Alpacas

sits on a picturesque farm surrounded
by mountains and forest, and they open
this space up to their guests, who can
enjoy 1.5 km of self-guided trails.
Agri-tainment: A few direct farm marketers have noticed that it is the experience they offer that draws their customers more than anything else. People
come to them for the open space, the
activities, to meet farmersyouve
heard all this before. But it is important
to acknowledge that your farm or retail
area could provide a unique experience
for your customers that they dont normally have access to. Eating lunch outside can be a part of the job for farmers, but how often do your customers
have the chance to have a picnic on a
farm? Or run around straw bales? Ive
always been amazed at how long children can spend playing around a few
straw bales, but then I have to remember that they dont have the chance to
do this every day. Simply putting a picnic table outside your market, a few
straw bales or a tire swing could make
your guests day. And when your
guests leave feeling good, they will remember their visit.
Customer service: Investing time to
train your employees to provide excep-

There is nothing like the smell of fresh baked pie.

Newsletter #319

tional customer service will be appreciated by your guests. You already have
great staff make sure they are trained
and prepared to provide guests with an
outstanding experience. It is easier to
keep an existing customer than it is to
attract a new one make sure your
customers know you value their business. Customer reviews online show
what an impact customer service can
make great customer service results
in reviews such as Everyone is so
friendly and helpful! Lovely produce. (a
review of a farm on trip advisor). Notice
how the experience is mentioned before the product this reviewer remembers how the visit made them feel so
much that it inspired her to share her
experience with others.

Cut-your-own Christmas trees:

Customers who are looking to buy real
Christmas trees are most likely also
interested in an authentic experience of
cutting their own. Why not let them pick
their own?
Education: One of our stops on the
study tour had an interesting story
initially calling themselves a garden
centre, this market soon found out
there was already a garden centre with
the same name. So they renamed their
market as a farm market. Customers

Page 7

then came to their market looking for

farm animals and a farm experience.
So they bought 30 chickens to allow
customers to interact with them. They
now have 1,000 chickens, their market
includes everything from fresh meat,
produce, and ready-to-eat food, and
they are open to the public as an educational farm. From listening to their
customers and providing them with the
experience they were looking for, they
now host more than 50,000 guests a
year.
The Municipal Agriculture Economic
Development Forum was held in Caledon this year. The Forum featured a
number of local food entrepreneurs
who shared advice with the crowd of
municipal and rural planners. Their advice? Dont underestimate how bored
people are in the citiesif you build it,
they will come.
What do you have to offer that others
do not? You dont have to turn your
farm into a full agri-tainment venue, but
by tweaking some of the unique marketing features you already have a
bakery, a beautiful farm setting or
friendly staff, you can ensure that your
guests will remember how their visit
made them feel.

Ferme Guyon added attractions based on their

customer feedback.

Page 8

Fresh Facts

Upcoming Events
Jan. 19

F2FCreating a Recipe for Your Signature Product, OAFVC, Colborne

Jan. 26

OFFMA WebinarCustomer Newsletters via email options and how to

set up, contact OFFMA office for deatils

Ontario Farm Fresh

Jan. 26-29

Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director

2002 Vandorf Rd. Aurora, ON L4G 7B9
Phone: 905-841-9278
E-mail: info@ontariofarmfresh.com
www.ontariofarmfresh.com

Guelph Organic Conference & Trade Show, Guelph University Centre,

ON, Go to GuelphOrganicConf.ca for further info.

Feb. 21

Pre-convention WorkshopFresh, Fun Fabulousfull day Farminar with

Pete Luckett. Additional info included with this newsletter.

Feb. 21

OFFMA s Awards of Excellence Banquet in Niagara Falls

Feb. 2223

Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention Niagara Falls, go to OFVC.ca for

details. Book your hotel ASAP!

2016-17 OFFMA Board of Directors

Leslie Forsythe, President
Forsythe Family Farms
Steve Martin, Vice President
Martins Family Fruit Farm
Brian Hugli, Past President
Huglis Blueberry Ranch
Kristin Ego MacPhail, Ego Nurseries Ltd.
Hollis English, Murphys Farm Market &
Bakery
Cara Epp, Associate Member
Edana Integrated Marketing
Nicole Judge, Spirit Tree Estate Cidery
Dana Thatcher, Thatcher Farms
Karen Whitty, Whitty Farms
Erica Pate, OMAFRA Advisor

continued from page 1

the meeting on time for some is an adrenaline rush. It rarely means that you
are as effective as you could be and can also cause stress not just for you but
the rest of your team.
Mistake #8: Multitasking
Professionals don't multitask. Why? You can't do more than one thing at a
time to the best for your ability. Multitasking can result in sloppy work and
work not being completed resulting in crisis management.
Commit to working on one mistake each week and by the end of February,
your time management skills will be ready for the busy summer season.
-This outline was developed by A. Sherwood & Associates

R.I.P. Rod, you may be gone but you wont be forgotten

Rod McKay was born in Ottawa, Ontario in 1950. He grew up in Pickering and attended the University of Guelph, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
Agriculture. While attending university, his dream was realized when Willowtree
Farm was purchased in Utica. He started up the farm upon graduation.
Rods passions included - farming, family, and his rural community. These passions were shared by his wife and partner, Marlene. Success in dairy culminated
in a Master Breeder shield from Holstein Canada, and was followed by a transition
to strawberry farming that quickly grew into production of a wide range of fruits
and vegetables.
Today, Willowtree Farm is recognized at numerous farmers markets and at their newly renovated onfarm store. Rod oversaw this business, along with sons Jordan and Alex, and their wives Alyson and
Kelty, respectively. Rod's commitment to the farm business was reflective of a deep commitment to
his family. It gave him great pleasure to know the farm is continuing in the family with those that
share his passions. As an added bonus, grandson Ian (Alex and Kelty) loves the farm too.
Despite long days farming, Rod maintained a broad social network and actively supported his local
community. Rod lived life fully but was taken all too soon. Thankfully, his last day, December 21, was
a normal and active one on the farm.
Deepest sympathies are extended to his entire family.