Selling all their lamb through a CSA
By Heather Thorstensen
hthorstensen@agrinews.com
Date Modified: 01/26/2012 9:17 AM
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STEWARTVILLE, Minn.— Since Chuck and Anna Maenner moved to a Wisconsin farm and began raising sheep, they have developed a unique marketing strategy that is selling all their lamb.
At the Southeast Minnesota Sheep Producer's Association annual meeting held Jan. 7 in Stewartville, Anna discussed their meat CSA. She knows of only one other meat CSA in Wisconsin.
Customers, called shareholders, purchase a "share" of the farm and receive a portion of what that farm produces.
The Maenner's Country Haven Farm contributes lamb and poultry, including eggs, to the CSA while another farm provides beef and pork. Shareholders receive a box with all four types of meat monthly during a six-month period.
They have approximately 65 shareholders in their winter share, which runs from November to April and more than 80 shareholders in the summer from May to October. The CSA has been in operation for three summers.
It was sparked by trial and error. The Maenners tried direct marketing lamb by cut, but only received requests for legs and chops. They tried selling half a lamb at a time, but couldn't fulfill requests for customized orders. The amount of money they brought in through farmer's markets wasn't worth their time and effort.
The CSA has provided the best return on investment. It also fits into their busy lifestyle: Anna manages a slew of non-profit associations, from the apple growers association to the winery association, and she is the marketing coordinator for the state's largest agricultural show, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days.
Off-farm employment is their bread and butter; their 110 Scottish Blackface breeding ewes are raised for their enjoyment.
Anna devotes one total day a month to the CSA as she makes deliveries to drop off locations in the Milwaukee area. Her partner farm handles delivers to their Madison market. The flock stays low-maintenance by staying on pasture in spring, summer and fall.
The CSA model helps with the farms' cash flows because shareholders make an upfront payment of one-third of the share price. A small share, for a single person or a couple, costs $480. A medium share is $600 while a large share is $780.
One of the Maenner's marketing strategies is to tell people they will receive all cuts of lamb, plus two of their sausage varieties. Anna provides cooking advice through e-newsletters, from grilling in the summer to cooking a lamb shoulder until it falls off the bone in winter.
"A lot of these people that came on our shares have never had lamb," she said.
Shareholders come on board because they want a personal connection to their farmer. They want to look a farmer in the eye and ask questions about how their animals are raised. That is why personal, open and honest relationships with customers is paramount to making their CSA a success, Anna said.
People who pick up shares at the farm leave with kittens and arranged for others they knew to visit. One shareholder became pregnant and the farm was the first place she called to share the news.
"We tell them we're glad our family can provide wholesome food for their family," she said.
Shareholders are invited to visit when lambing season is nearly finished and for a summer pasture walk. New this fall was an invitation to come for a work day, to repair fences and clean out the chicken coop.
Common questions are if animals will be raised on pasture, if they are fed corn and if they receive antibiotics.
"I promise to provide my customers with what they want — if they don't want antibiotics, they don't get it," said Anna.
Shareholders are guaranteed to get a meat value that equals how much they paid for their share. Prices per cut are posted on the farm's website, with lamb chops selling for $15.99 per pound and ground beef going for $6 per pound.
"I control how much I'm going to get for my lamb," she said.