Corinne and Matt Hansch of Lovin’ Mama Farm
Ginger, soy and sesame come together seasoning the tender stems of baby bok choy on my plate. Tracing my (mouth-watering!) meal from table to farm, I find myself in one of Lovin’ Mama’s nine greenhouses, seven of which were newly erected this year.
My bok choy’s journey from farm to plate seems straightforward at first glance –– owners Corinne and Matt Hansch planted it, picked it, and sold it directly to me –– however the limitations of social distancing have rendered even this hyper-local supply chain far from simple.
Practical Challenges
Only a month and a half ago, Lovin’ Mama earned 90% of their revenue through direct sales at farmer’s markets. Then COVID-19 hit (an all too familiar phrase these days). “We’re always right on the edge of poverty, so that’s nothing new,” Corinne laughs. “But I was so scared at the beginning. Look at all the work we started in January. Just this spring we went from having two greenhouses to having nine. We’re in a growth stage and the profit margin is already so slim in farming.”
Spring is also a particularly precarious season. It’s the time of first harvests. Planting and prepping hundreds of veggie, herb, and flower varietals. Farms, including Lovin’ Mama, take on debt to fuel their investment in the summer and fall harvests to come.
This is the time when all hands need to be on deck, making it particularly hard when Corinne and Matt lost two team members to social distancing. “One of our employees has roommates, and the house collectively decided that everyone needed to quarantine. We lost another employee over interpersonal conflicts. He wasn’t taking coronavirus seriously, and we need to be able to farm safely.”
Seeing 90% of your market evaporate overnight and your team whittled down just when you need them might seem insurmountable. Corinne and Matt, however, proved themselves agile, resourceful, brave, and ultimately resilient in facing the challenges of social distancing.
What’s Working
Pivoting on a dime, Corinne and Matt got a new online shop up in three days, connected with local co-ops and grocers to sell wholesale, and organized small pop-ups at Schenectady Trading Co. and Superior Merchandise Co. where shoppers could pre-order and safely pick up their products. While these new sales channels are paying off, they didn’t happen without (very) hard work, a few headaches, and financial compromises.
“The hardest part of all this is just the pivot. These are all new sales outlets for us. It’s like learning a whole new business.” Getting the online shop up, getting the word out about their new sales channels, and keeping up with inventory and delivery takes enormous amounts of time on top of already long days of farming.
Lovin’ Mama Farm’s overhead also increased as Corinne and Matt purchased packaging for all their products. When asked what tool has been most valuable since the outbreak has been, Matt jokingly responded, “paper bags and staplers.” Bags and staplers have allowed Lovin’ Mama to package pre-orders, sell to grocers, and limit customer contact with their products.
Selling wholesale might be a saving grace, but it means taking a cut on their profit margin, which is already slim. That said, Corinne explained that the local co-ops have “really stepped up. They started purchasing our produce for 70% of the retail price. All of a sudden that’s a huge new market that is worthwhile for us. Plus, a few stores like Mohawk Harvest in Gloversville are selling our stuff on consignment, where we get 80% of the sale price. That’s huge!”
“When you have 100 row feet of baby bok choy in the ground and you find farmers markets cancelled, you’re like I got to find a way to move this.” And through a slew of new sales channels –– their online store, pop-ups, wholesale, and consignment –– they did! “Even though our market fell out from under us, we were able to continue selling our products and you know, hopefully our farm is going to make it!”
What’s Next?
In the immediate future, Corinne and Matt with the support of their team and kids are working around the clock to keep up with farm work, service their new sales channels, and smooth out kinks in the process. Longer term, the plan to continue building their online store, which is something they were planning to do even before COVID hit.
At the same time, questions remain. “Even if farmers markets reopen, is it still going to be the same? You know a lot of our sales are selling sunflowers or flower bouquets and that’s part of the scene at the market. If that scene isn’t there, how are our sales going to change?
We’re selling through all our produce and can hardly keep up with demand, but we only have a small amount of production right now. My big fear is that the online and wholesale sales won’t keep up with our farm’s production once the summer season really hits.
That’s the big unknown that’s really scary right now, as we’re investing every single penny that we make into this season. Hopefully, the market can take it all.”
If you’re reading this and wondering how to make the most meaningful impact, “definitely become a CSA member. Then the produce is already paid for and we can invest those dollars in our future.”
Lovin’ Mama Farm, which took root in Amsterdam, NY four seasons ago, is both emblematic of the challenges many farms face and also uniquely forward thinking in their approach to the challenges of COVID-19.
At a time when our national food supply chain is struggling, it is particularly important to support local producers like Corinne and Matt. Moreover, spending with local farmers means sowing your dollar right at your feet so that you and your local community can reap its rewards.
Rapid Fire Five
One thing that makes you smile every day:
Little plants. I just love plant shining in the sun, all happy to grow.
One thing that makes you want to pull your hair out:
Keeping the inventory right on the website. Every week we probably mess up at least one order. I’m always so glad when people tell us about it because then we can make good on it the next week. Most people are really understanding, but it’s a worst nightmare for a small business owner. It’s like, I’m sleep deprived. I’m sorry. I messed up your order.
Your drink of choice for Zoom happy hours:
[laughs] We definitely do not do Zoom happy hours.
Favorite way to get outside:
To go on a walk as a family and not be going out to work.
Name another local business you're particularly eager to support:
Superior Merchandise Co.
Lovin' Mama Farm | @lovinmamafarm
Schenectady Trading Co. | @schdytradingco
Superior Merchandise Co. | @superior_merch
Mohawk Harvest | @mohawkharvest_coop
