The best idea in local farming you’ve never heard of: the “farm stop” with Kathy Sample & Bill Brinkerhoff of Argus Farm Stop

One perennial problem for market farmers is how to make local food and flowers available to customers every day, without having to spend seven days a week standing behind a table or giving up most of the value to a wholesaler. The farm stop is the most innovative answer to this problem we’ve heard of in years, and Kathy Sample & Bill Brinkerhoff of Argus Farm Stop are on the pod this week to tell us about it.Billed as a “year-round, everyday farmers market,” it isn’t a replacement for farmers markets, but a complement to them. In fact, many farmers make deliveries to the farm stop on and between market days. The Argus Farm Stop is a local food grocery store, stocked with products from over 200 farms and producers, where farmers own the produce, set the prices, and keep 70% of the sale, and customers know who grew the food and flowers. Hear how the model works, where they got the idea, how they minimize waste, how they work with farmers, and more on this week’s Growing for Market Podcast. Connect With Guest:website: www.argusfarmstop.comInstagram: @argusfarmstopFacebook: Argus Farm Stop Podcast Sponsors:Huge thanks to our podcast sponsors as they make this podcast FREE to everyone with their generous support: Local Line is the all-in-one sales platform for direct-market farms and food hubs of all sizes. Increase your sales and streamline your processes with features including e-commerce, inventory management, subscriptions, online payments, and more! Get 15% off marketing services and one premium feature for a year with the code Growing4market at site.localline.ca/claim-your-offer-growing-for-market Bootstrap Farmer offers a complete range of growing supplies including heat mats, ground cover, frost blankets, silage tarps, irrigation, and trellising. They also make all-metal, all-inclusive greenhouse kits, constructed of steel made in the USA and fabricated in Texas. Their heavy-duty, Midwest-made propagation and microgreens trays will last for years and are available in a full spectrum of colors. For all that plus experienced support for everything they sell, check out Bootstrap Farmer at bootstrapfarmer.com. Vermont Compost Company - Each fall, Vermont Compost offers a prebuy program to incentivize ordering your spring soil before the snow flies. With Vermont Compost’s prebuy program, you can receive 15% off on orders placed, paid for, and shipped by December 21st. Listeners of the Growing for Market podcast will receive an additional 5%, bringing the total discount to 20%. Visit vermontcompost.com/gfm for more details, or mention this podcast when you place your order. Subscribe To Our Magazine - FREE 28-Day Trial:Our Website: www.GrowingForMarket.com