Farmer Spotlight: Agricola Family Farm 1 Year Later
Located in Cleveland, Texas, Agricola Family Farms grows and sells organic produce. Originally from the Republic of Congo, Daphne and her family sought refuge in the United States in May 2010. Last year, Daphne Bicaise became a Barn2Door Farm Advisor, sharing how she incorporates her family’s story to build their local Brand and drive demand for their products.
We recently sat down with Daphne to get the scoop on the tactics she uses to delight Customers with convenience and grow her Farm business.
Staying Connected and Building Authenticity within the Local Community
As Agricola Family Farm has grown, Daphne and her family have needed to find different ways to connect with their Buyers. “We connect with our community by regularly posting on social media and attending our local farmer’s markets. It’s a good way to engage with current customers and know who your customers can be.”
Leveraging email marketing, in-person Farm visits, and farmer’s markets to interact with Customers, Daphne emphasized the importance of communicating their values and the honest farming practices they use. “We love to grow vegetables, and we want to conveniently offer fresh food to our customers, so they can skip the grocery store. I encourage people to try new things with our CSA, providing recipes, and offering ideas at the farmer’s market. I ask people to post their order on social media, and tag me, so they spread the word to their family and friends.” When Buyers post about Agricola Family Farms, it’s a good way to improve our brand awareness and reach more local customers.
Using Subscriptions to Reach a Wider Audience
Daphne implemented a CSA program to encourage Customers to try new produce while securing consistent, recurring orders. Agricola’s CSA reaches Buyers interested in ongoing access to their Farm products. With two different sized boxes and bi-weekly and weekly Subscription options, Daphne is passionate about giving Customers a convenient purchasing experience from the Farm.
“My goal is to be as convenient as possible. We offer small and large boxes either weekly - for people who want to eat more vegetables or like having eggs for breakfast or bi-weekly for those that don’t wish to have a weekly commitment.” As most of Daphne’s Customers are families (3+ people), offering a small Subscription box enables Agricola Family Farm to cater to other smaller households (including the 33% of Americans who live alone).
Understanding that Buyers get overwhelmed when offered too many options, Daphne tracks the popularity of their Subscription boxes and sizes. Originally offering three different-sized Bundles, Daphne recently discontinued their medium-sized box. Since simplifying her inventory, demand has risen.
Saving Time with Barn2Door’s Integrations
Daphne uses many of Barn2Door’s integrations, including Mailchimp and QuickBooks Online. With access to the Barn2Door Learn Center and with the help from her Account Manager, Daphne mentioned the ease with which she uses these integrations to save hours of manual tracking every week.
With Mailchimp, Daphne stays connected with her customers by sharing information about new products and driving visits to the online Farm store. “I send our email newsletter every month and use my Customer list in Barn2Door to send targeted emails in Mailchimp. With these targeted emails, I ask my CSA Customers if they’re interested in delivery or re-engage Customers that haven’t purchased from the store in a while.”
Previously, Daphne would organize her finances using spreadsheets, which would take hours to manually manage every week. With the Barn2Door + QuickBooks Online integration, Daphne has visibility into her income, expenses, and available cash flow - saving her hours with automatic data syncs.
“QuickBooks helps us see exactly where our sales are and where the gaps are where we can improve. It’s so easy to take a picture of a receipt and automatically see all of my expenses uploaded to QuickBooks. Receipts can be sorted into categories like food, gas, or equipment, which saves so much time. This lets me put more effort into my crops and my family.”
Connecting with Farmers Across the Country
Over the past year, Daphne has been a Farm Advisor for Barn2Door. As an Advisor, she’s been able to foster connections with other Farmers and share the practices that have proven to be successful with other Farmers across the country. “It’s great to learn what other Farmers are doing to create their success. You get to see how they do things differently, and you pick up some tips that you can use in your own Farm.”
With Barn2Door’s new Connect program, Farmers can attend virtual Office Hours every week to chat with Farm Advisors like Daphne, Barn2Door team members, and others from across the country. Dedicating time to learn what’s worked and what hasn’t for others is critical to growing Agricola’s business operations. To learn when Daphne will be available to Connect, check out the Office Hour schedule here:
Connect: Barn2Door Office Hours
What’s Next for Agricola Family Farms
Daphne is hoping to expand the Farm within the coming years. “I have so many projects. I want to do microgreens and improve our CSA program to continue to be a convenient option for our Buyers. We’re also working on expanding our land and increasing operations, adding in more products our customers will enjoy!”
We’re honored to work with Farmers like Daphne, who are committed to supporting their communities, offering Buyers a convenient purchasing experience, and are investing in honest, sustainable practices to produce the best products.
Barn2Door is the all-in-one solution to grow and manage your Farm business. If you’re curious to learn why successful Farms run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.