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Up Close and Profitable

by Diane Baedeker Petit

Is face-to-face networking still alive?

Dave Dumaresq, left, leads a tour of his Dracut, Mass., farm for a group of farmers, conservation district members and government officials. PHOTO BY DIANE BAEDEKER PETIT

Donna Galipeau drove more than 80 miles from her Bellingham, Mass., farm to attend a soap-making workshop sponsored by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), an organization that serves western Massachusetts farmers.

“It was a long drive for me to attend this meeting, but I believe it was worth it,” says Galipeau.” I learned the basics of soap making and was able to ask questions to feel confident enough to try this on my own; after some practice, I am hoping to offer a demonstration here on the farm.”

Galipeau and her husband Bob run Trolley Crossing Farm, a 17-acre farm that they describe as small and sustainable. They grow 3 acres of vegetables and raise all-natural lamb. In addition to soap making, Galipeau would also like to offer customers classes on garlic braiding and fermenting vegetables, if she can first find classes on the topics to attend herself.

Why would Galipeau travel such a long distance when she could have just Googled “soap making” to find instructions?

“The soap-making class was offered on a small homestead, and instruction was given to the whole group then split into smaller groups,” explains Galipeau.” Everyone asked lots of questions and shared, so much was learned. I would say this worked well, and everyone at all different levels seemed happy with the experience.”

In the age of the Internet, online social networking and high gas prices, one might expect farmers to give up attending traditional informational forums involving travel and the time and expense that go with it. In agriculture, at least, these venues seem to be as important as ever.

“At conferences, trade shows and similar types of events, I’m checking to see what new trends are coming, checking for equipment that would help a small farm, and talking with other farmers to see if what I experienced in the last growing season was similar to them and finding out how I can manage the farm better for the up and coming season.

“Twilight meetings and farm tours are wonderful because you can see or get hands-on experience with management and setup. It is a lot easier to figure out if something would work here on the farm by seeing what someone else has done,” says Galipeau. “Many farmers share openly what they would do differently or how they would improve what they have for an operation.”

Galipeau doesn’t rule out using technology to connect with other farmers, however. “I would like to find a mixed group of farmers online with experience growing in the Northeast to share how the season is going and what different ways the farmers are handling the growing conditions for the season,” she says, but worries that even if she found such a group, members would find it difficult to participate because farmers get so busy during the growing season.

Dave Dumaresq, owner of Farmer Dave’s Farm, in Dracut, Mass., has gone to even greater lengths to engage with other farmers face to face. He recently traveled across the country to attend an advanced learning retreat sponsored by the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association in California.

Comparing it to a three-day twilight meeting, Dumaresq was able to see first-hand a West Coast farm operation that is much like his own. “They had two farmstands, sell at several farmers’ markets and are thinking about getting into agritourism. I’m doing all of that, too,” he explains.

“It opens up your mind to go to another part of the country,” says Dumaresq. “There were 60 farmers from all over the country and Canada. Now I’m corresponding with some of them. I think it was money well spent.” Dumaresq says that whenever he travels in the U.S. and abroad, he tries to visit area farms.

Dumaresq grew up working on the Brox Farm in Dracut. After graduating from college, he served in the Peace Corps in Ecuador, where he taught organic agriculture and worked with farmers to improve their soil health, crop yields, irrigation systems, crop storage, animal health and marketing methods. Since returning in 1997, he has been leasing the Brox Farm, growing fruits, vegetables and flowers. In 2003, Dumaresq began leasing a farm in Tewksbury, and in 2006 he finally purchased his own farm in Dracut, which became known as Farmer Dave’s.

“How do you learn how to farm well? Theoretically, you can read articles and books, but there are so many little things that you can’t find in books,” says Dumaresq. “When you talk to other farmers, you can get tips and ideas on things like planting and marketing.”

Dumaresq points out that at ag conferences, the presentations by university educators, extension agents and government employees, while informative, often include information that’s readily available on the Internet. He much prefers talking with other farmers and vendors in the trade shows that are usually held in conjunction with the conference.

Twilight meetings are the epitome of face-to-face networking, according to Dumaresq, because he can see how another farmer runs his or her operation or implements a particular farming practice. Sometimes he’ll visit another nearby farm on his own to see how the farmer is doing something.

Dumaresq has picked up ideas from other farmers on how to make selling at a farmers’ market easier, including a better safe to secure cash and a cheaper, easier-to-transport table for displaying produce.

Dumaresq says that he prefers the human interaction over online social networking.” The next best thing, however, is watching a YouTube video on how to do something,” he says.

Jennifer Hashley, project director for the Tuft’s University New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (NESFP) sees a huge need for farmers to get together for that human interaction. “People want to sit in a room with other farmers and know that they’re not alone,” says Hashley.

“People in the Midwest drive for hours in order to learn from others. The social piece breaks the isolation factor. There’s always an element of learning, but camaraderie is important,” says Hashley.

The NESFP helps new farmers connect with experienced farmers. “When new farmers learn from other farmers, it’s an organic process,” says Hashley.

The organization also holds workshops for new immigrant farmers, which presents both challenges and benefits. “Some attendees bring their own translators, but hands-on demonstrations get around language issues,” says Hashley, adding that bringing diverse people together forms a unique micro-community.

While the NESFP program serves a lot of young people—college students and recent graduates—Hashley is seeing a demographic shift. “We have some career-changers and large hobby folks now,” she explains.

The kind of group that Galipeau is looking for does exist. In 1994, western Massachusetts farmers got together and formed the Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training (CRAFT). The CRAFT program has since been adopted in many other regions throughout the U.S. and Canada and has both online and real-world face-to-face components.

The eastern Massachusetts CRAFT has an active listserv that, among other things, is used to organize the groups’ frequent on-farm demonstrations and social get-togethers. Communication on the listserv and their events have a friendly informal tone, such that when NESFP took over coordination of the eastern Massachusetts CRAFT, some people didn’t like it.

“People like it ‘loosey-goosey,’” says Hashley. “Whoever has the energy does the organizing. There’s no fee, but a hat is passed to support Web development. Since there’s no funding, there’s no formal reporting required.”

“We need a good mix of people: experienced and inexperienced farmers,” says Hashley. “The challenges are you never know who’s going to show up, and it’s difficult to figure out the best time to get people there. Weekdays work well for apprentices who get the weekends off, but weekends aren’t good for farmers who run farmstands. Sunday afternoons seem to work well for a lot of people for some reason.”

The eastern Massachusetts CRAFT includes more than 200 farmers in Middlesex and Essex counties, as well as some in southern New Hampshire. There are CRAFT groups in western Massachusetts and other parts of the commonwealth, and all over the country.

The idea of using the Internet to get people with common interests together for face-to-face interaction isn’t unique to agriculture and the CRAFT movement.

Meetup.com bills itself as the world’s largest network of local groups. Through its Web site, Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. According to the Web site, more than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.

Some of the groups listed on the home page on one given day ranged from Special Needs Teens, Bay Area Russian-speaking Kids and Parents, and Dallas & Plano Doggie Social/Events to Rhode Island Tennis Players and Pocono Witches & Pagans.

There are a smattering of meetings related to farming, urban agriculture, locavores, gardening, cooking and related topics. If you don’t find a group that meets your needs, you can start one.

So, although it’s easier than ever to get technical information by visiting extension, university and government Web sites, and despite the fact that gasoline prices probably won’t be coming down any time soon, it appears that good old-fashioned face-to-face networking is not dead.

“Sometimes a lightbulb goes on in your head when you hear something from another farmer and you think ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’” says Dumaresq. “It’s a lot of little things, but the little things add up.”

The author, a freelance writer, is public affairs specialist for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Amherst, Mass., and was previously director of communications at the Mass. Dept. of Food & Agriculture.