Farmer Spotlight: Unconventional Acres
When you think of a cow pasture, a forest filled with hickories, oaks, and wild brush is not what typically comes to mind. However, for Ben and Mel at Unconventional Acres, their wooded pastures in the hills of Southern Wisconsin serve as the living place for their livestock.
Ben and Mel started as homesteaders in Colorado, but as goats led to pigs and pigs led to cattle, they quickly outgrew their Colorado home. Moving to Arena, Wisconsin, in 2016 has allowed Ben and Mel to grow their Farm business to what it is today.
As two of the newest members of the Barn2Door Farmer Advisor Network, we recently sat down with Ben and Mel on the Direct Farm Podcast to learn about their Farm’s mission and how they’ve built a massive social media following who love the unconventional nature of their Farm.
Farming the Unconventional Way
Mel comes from a background in dietetics. Therefore, high-quality foods produced with sustainable methods are at the foundation of Unconventional Acres. “We outgrew our homestead in Colorado in less than a year and a half, so we either had to slow down or move. We decided to move back to Wisconsin, and we've been growing and moving forward here ever since.”
Ben continues to work his full-time job in addition to expanding the Farm. “In the beginning, I'd leave for work, and when I'd return after a few weeks, there would be five more goats or 20 more chickens. One time I came home to a garage filled with turkeys!”
Along with adding more animals to their Farm, Ben mentioned that some of the most significant improvements have been to the land itself. “Our Farm is half forest and half pasture. To not use the forest and take advantage of that land would be sort of silly. We use what we have available and make the most of it by mimicking nature as much as possible. It’s great because it doesn't require anyone to sit in a tractor or burn diesel, where the cattle and pigs do the work for us.”
Mel added that the transformation of their land and the investments they’ve made to creating healthy soil inspires them to do more. “Once we see a bit of progress, you just want more of it. It's amazing to see what this kind of farming can do for the landscape, soil, and trees.”
The practices that Ben and Mel are implementing aren’t the easiest or the fastest, but the quality of the product it produces makes it worthwhile. “Raising livestock and providing the quality of products we do takes time to develop. When you look at fine wines or whiskey, they're typically pretty old, where it takes time to develop those flavors. It's the same with beef and pork. It takes us longer to grow our animals compared to most commercial operations. But at the end of the day, when you get that steak or pork chop, you can taste the difference.”
Focusing on Growing a Direct Farm Business
When Ben and Mel finally got their land to where they wanted it to be, their attention shifted to focusing on the business side of owning a Farm. “First, we needed to upgrade our website. For the business to grow, that was something we needed. The other problem we faced was that we couldn't accept credit cards. As credit cards were becoming more of the norm, we knew something had to change. We've always run on a direct-to-consumer business model, so when we were looking to upgrade the website and to add credit card capabilities, that’s when we stumbled upon Barn2Door.”
Read: Four (4) Reasons NOT to Pay Credit Card Fees
Between the ongoing support, web Store setup, and streamlined capabilities, Ben noted that it was essential to find a solution that wouldn’t take hours in front of a computer to set up. “We were looking at how we would incorporate a store to our website. Knowing what we needed was very overwhelming because neither of us had time to sit in front of a computer all day. So, when we found Barn2Door to help get the store setup, streamline our payment process, and track our inventory, it made it super easy for us to focus on what we needed to do, which is farming.”
Read: Billboard To Nowhere: Why Farmers Should Have a Webstore Before a Website
Connecting with their Community through Social Media
If you search for Unconventional Acres on the web, it won’t be long until you stumble across their primary form of engagement - Instagram. With a massive following of 60,000 strong, Mel captivates her audience by showcasing their unique farming methods and giving an inside look into their lives as Farmers. “Instagram has been amazing for us. We've met many of our customers, people in the community, local businesses, and other Farmers on the platform. It's been a great way to connect, grow, and show people what we do and how we do it.”
Mel admitted that using Instagram to share their Farm’s story isn’t always easy, especially when Instagram constantly updates its algorithms (how they prioritize which posts followers see and when). “What worked yesterday isn't working today. Like everything else on the Farm, you just have to roll with it. However, I think people like authenticity. People want to see your story. Being authentic about what you share and how you share it is how we’ve found success. One of the most popular posts I share is the things that don't work out well and the challenges that I learn from and overcome. People can relate to that kind of content. We keep that within reason, of course, but it shows us as real people and makes us relatable.”
Ben added, “people are more than just a happy story. Realistically, life isn't perfect, and everyone faces different struggles. We’ve noticed that people get behind us when they can see the ups and downs, successes and failures of our Farm. That’s helped build our following and allowed us to connect with more people on a deeper level.”
Read: 5 Steps to Grow your Customer Base on Instagram
Updating Products & Inventory to Meet Customer Demand
Telling their authentic story through social media has been a critical growth point for the Unconventional Acres brand. However, the high-quality products that are sold are at the core of their loyal customer base.
Ben and Mel have recently been tweaking their product offering to customers’ preferences. With constant observation on what’s selling and what’s left on the shelves, Mel is always looking for ways to make their products more appealing to customers and their needs. “We've worked with how products are cut and adjusted our offerings based on what's more popular. For example, round roasts weren't popular, so we made them into round steaks. Since we made that change, they’ve been selling more. Hams weren't flying off the shelves, so we now sell sliced deli meat. I'm always playing around to figure out which cuts people enjoy to move more products as a whole.”
Mel and Ben have also incorporated more Bundle Boxes in their store as they realized that most customers don’t typically buy whole, half, or quarter portions. “The old mindset of buying a half or a whole hog has shifted because most people don’t have a big freezer. So, putting together little Bundles that people can throw in a regular freezer and consume during the week has been a game-changer.”
Read: Earn More with Bundle Box Subscriptions (12-mins)
What’s Next for Unconventional Acres
As Ben and Mel continue to grow their Farm business, their mission remains the same. They hope to cultivate their land and restore it to a beautiful wooded pasture for their animals. Next spring, Ben hopes to move more trees into their pastures, further expanding the forest land.
On the business side, Mel and Ben discussed their plans to expand their product offering by providing more people with access to their pasture-raised beef and pork products. They also plan to implement more Bundle Box and Subscription options that will help them plan for the future, locking in processing dates, and cater to more buyers’ needs.
If you’re looking for more information on how Ben and Mel use social media to grow their business, register to attend the Direct: Brand Conference on November 2nd.
Register: Direct: Brand Conference
We’re honored and humbled to work with Farmers like Ben and Mel - who are committed to creating a lasting impact on the land using regenerative and sustainable farming methods. If you’re curious why the most successful Farms run on Barn2Door, watch this 5-minute video.