Each morning at Ninja Cow Farm in North Carolina, farmer Dan Moore moves his cows from temporary paddocks into the farm’s pasture. He then sits in the pasture with the cows before it’s time for him to go to work. It’s a pretty normal scene for a morning on a farm, except for one thing – he’s actually blogging.
Moore uses his mobile device and a number of other tech tools to promote his farm and its products. This means that each day between his normal farming tasks, he also blogs and stays constantly connected to his customers using technology.
He didn’t originally set out to use these types of tools to run his small farming business, or even to have a small farming business for that matter. But when he found himself suddenly in charge of his family’s farm several years ago, things changed.
He had helped his father run the farm for many years, but was never the primary decision maker. So after his father passed away, he needed some help. He took some local farming classes, where he learned the importance of keeping a journal or log of farming activities. He said:
“I had this picture in my head of keeping notebooks in a huge file. So I really wanted to come up with a different solution. Then it hit me – the one thing I never leave my house without is my cell phone, so I thought ‘maybe I’ll try one of these blog things.’”
Moore asked his intern to set up a WordPress site and he began posting there regularly. It worked out perfectly for his needs because he was able to add photos and each post was automatically stamped with a time and date. And the blog turned out to have some added promotional benefits. He explained:
“Since it was public, instead of just creating a dry activity log I decided to add some humor to make our farm more personal. People can buy from brands to make do but at the end of the day people buy from people. And having a blog is a great way to add a face to your business.”
In addition to his blog, Moore also utilizes other tech tools including an email newsletter, GoDaddy and Office 365. He said that these tools allow him to stay connected to his customers and potential customers at all times.
Moore said that people looking to buy beef or other products from a farm often contact several farms at once. So his ability to stay connected and get back to customers right away has made a huge impact on his business.
In fact, the use of these tools has been so successful that Ninja Cow Farm can’t even keep up with demand. He encourages customers to subscribe to his blog or email newsletter so they can get notifications when new beef or other products are available. But Ninja Cow Farm always sells out of product quickly.
The farm continues to grow while Moore keeps marketing it to customers online.
Images: Ninja Cow Farm
