Why New Livestock Farmers Should Avoid Retail Sales—At First
Auction marketing may not be glamorous, but it may give beginning farmers the one resource they need most: time. For years, nearly every Saturday on our farm revolved around the farmers market. Lambs had to be butchered and packaged. Eggs cleaned and packaged. Coolers packed. Chalkboards updated. Popup tent loaded into the truck before daylight. By the time the market ended and we returned home, the entire day was gone. At first, it felt like success. Eventually, I realized it was preventing me from building the farm itself. There’s an idea I’d like to offer to new livestock farmers, especially those just getting started with sheep, goats, hogs, or cattle: don’t rush into retail sales. In fact, I would argue that many beginning livestock farmers are better off avoiding retail altogether during the early years and instead focusing on auction sales and wholesale livestock marketing. That may sound backward in an era where social media constantly promotes farm-to-table branding, farmers m...
