Why Small Farms?

Not to be too drastic here at the very start, but, small farms are the crux of culture. I really believe that. If more people understood this, our world (our country, our state, our town) would be a better place to live.

I grew up gardening with my father in our suburban backyard. Seeds were sown then that sometime in early adulthood began to germinate. First, I developed an intellectual interest in farming and a recognition that so many societal ills come from undervaluing farms and farmers. I wanted more people to recognize farmers and return to that necessary, but often ignored, work of farming. I didn’t yet know that I wanted to be a farmer myself.

Eventually this thought project was put into action in my real life when my husband and I lived for a few months with a man and his wife who had been growing food and fuel on their own land for 50 years. The lifestyle rhythm of growing, preparing, and preserving struck a chord within me. Their deep knowledge of biological processes, bug and plant species, planting, harvesting, and much much more made me thirsty to learn these things myself.

When our time at their homestead was over, we knew we wanted to move somewhere where we could have a future living a rural and agricultural life for ourselves. I gained a full time position as farm crew at an organic vegetable CSA farm to expand my knowledge. Through this hard work, I grew in passion. Farming was no longer an interest but a philosophy and a way of life.

We now have a couple acres of our own, and I work from home, growing food, raising children, and writing. I know how hard the work of farming is, and I know that those of you working full time as small farmers are busy with your hands in the dirt, hauling produce to markets, and keeping your farm in shape. The administrative side of the business can easily become a slog in the nighttime hours when what you really want to do is relax.

That’s why I’m here, and that’s why I choose to serve small farm businesses like yours. I happen to love writing! If I can use my writing to bring more happy folks to your farm business and encourage awareness about local farms, I am there!

Small farms are the crux of our culture, in a true, deep sense. Hardworking farmers give us healthier food, healthier people, and a healthier earth.

That is why I choose to work with small farms.

Why Small businesses?

We stop to buy lemonade from the little kids on the side of the road with a pitcher and a piggy bank for the same reason we support the small businesses in our community: we respect the business owners’ entrepreneurship and we know that our dollar will really make a difference there. (Okay, little kids being pretty cute might also be a reason we buy their lemonade.)

As a whole, I believe this is true: most people prefer to shop small when they can. However, small businesses are small, hence the name ;), and it can be hard to compete with big corporations. It’s easy for a small business to go unnoticed even by people who drive past everyday, because they don’t have the same brand awareness and multimillion dollar marketing programs.

Loving our neighbor first is the only real way to cultivate love in the world as a whole, so goes that shopping small betters our local economy and therefore the world’s. I’m not here to get too philosophical, nor to give an economy lesson, but it’s the truth! And this truth is exactly why I want my copywriting to serve small businesses.

I sang out the praises of small farms in an earlier post, but small business of all kinds are the unsung heroes of a community. Small businesses are windows into local culture. They showcase the skills of community members, they employ local workers, they are often run by local families, they are aware of local sufferings and celebrations, they can connect with their audience in a much more authentic and relatable way than any large corporation could do, no matter the marketing budget.

Good copywriting harnesses that small biz advantage.

Effective copywriting gives your small biz the leg up it needs when competing on Google with chains and big box stores. Cultivated website copy and blog posts incorporating SEO, engaging newsletters, relatable product descriptions, are all examples of copywriting that your business can use to drive more community members to your business.

Small businesses are the heartbeat of a community. That’s my why.