Mystic Springs: Organic Farm Goodness
Marcia Readinger and Giles Wickham, both from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, were planning to start a community shared access (CSA) farm growing organic produce. The farm would offer CSA memberships, sell directly to restaurants and health food stores and farm markets. Being referred by past clients, they came to the Bucknell Small Business Development Center to seek help for their business plan and the development of pro forma financial statements in order to obtain possible financing. Prior to their new vision, Marcia had been operating her own childcare business for 15 years. Giles had been involved in retail management and had also worked in the food industry as a professionally trained chef for many years.
During the first counseling session in August, 2007, Marcia provided a draft of their business plan and indicated the amount of money she anticipated spending to start the farm operation. Originally, they were looking for possible financing sources for the venture. The SBDC consultants provided feedback on the business plan as well as comments on general startup issues. The clients agreed to provide a revised copy of the business plan for the Center’s review. Over the course of the startup process, the client faced difficulty in obtaining sources of financing due to several factors. The SBDC helped the clients develop and understand their cash flow requirements and they decided to invest in the farm’s initial operations using owner’s equity. Another request was made by the client to provide them with logo ideas.
The clients came back to the Center in January, 2008. After finding that the original location for the farm was no longer possible, they had located another property for the farm and had entered into a 10 year lease paying $50 an acre, $350 total for 7 acres. Using the business logo that was developed by a student consultant, Marcia requested some additional revisions. The SBDC consultants worked on the logo improvement utilizing the owner’s suggestions.
With the help provided by the SBDC, the farm began formal operations in spring, 2008. Built on a property formerly used as a horse pasture, with the availability of 7 acres, only half an acre is currently in use, growing 75 different items such as potatoes, carrots, corn, peppers, melons, artichoke, lettuces, strawberries and cabbage to name a few. The farm currently serves 10 families and Marcia expects to expand to serve as many as 40 families within the next two years.
The owners are very pleased with the current operation level and think that the success has been greatly influenced by the resources of the Bucknell SBDC at no cost to them. “The SBDC has been a tremendous source of guidance and information for us as we worked through the business plan making sure that we did not overlook important details and helping with financial projections” says Ms. Readinger.
