Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Robert and Joseph sell heritage fowl, so they try to know absolutely everything
about the cooking and preparation of their breeds. “Our goal,” they say, “is that no
one leaves our table without a sound idea of how to cook our products properly.”
Product consistency is crucial. Pleased customers must remain pleased when re-
peating the experience. “Choose one breed per product and steward it well,” they ad-
vise. “Brahma meat is not the same as Dorking meat, Faverolles meat, or La Fleche
meat. All have qualities to recommend them. If your customer walks away with a
Dorking and is pleased with the product, they want another Dorking. They do not
want a Wyandotte, and the same is true in reverse. Eventually, your repeat customers
will develop a cookery based around your consistent product. Just as breeding one
breed for a desired end leads to mastery, so does cooking one breed.”
The presentation is also key: well-dressed birds and clean eggs. Consistent, at-
tractive packaging reveals pride in the product. “We have developed our own labels,”
the partners say, “which we use consistently. We use new egg cartons that are clean
and labeled correctly in accordance with local and state regulations.”
Yellow House Farm regularly develops handouts and flyers to promote its
products. Many would-be customers shy away from “in your face” marketing tech-
niques. When Robert or Joseph notices a reticent onlooker, he simply offers a flyer
describing the products. “Sometimes they step back and read it, sometimes they take
it home; very often they return for the product.”
The Internet is effective for connecting with the customer base. Robert and Joseph
work with the community and the organizations and farmers' markets that collect-
ively promote local food, efforts they call a lifeline.
The partners work diligently to make their farm worth noticing. It is clean and
orderly. Sound husbandry practices reign in all aspects of production. Robert and
Joseph make their farm beautiful, using extensive and lush landscaping.
“People are drawn to beauty; somewhere, on a visceral level, we all hope for beau-
tiful things,” they say. “Heritage fowl bred to the
Standard of Perfection
are truly
beautiful, and meant to be beautiful. Indeed, standard-bred heritage fowl aim for the
perfect combination of beauty and utility. When people really think about their food,
they want it to come from a beautiful place. Much of that which has angered con-
sumers concerning industrial food is that it is deeply unbeautiful. Our hope is to be
the beautiful farm that our customers want to see. It is a happy goal.”
At Yellow House Farm, Robert and Joseph try to know exactly why they make
the farming decisions they do. “We have our niche,” they say, “which allows us to
live the kind of life we enjoy. By not trying to be everything to everybody, we can be
