Working as a buyer with hundreds of farmers, I have learned a lot about how a farm starts from the ground up, and what the best in the business. In this article, we address 5 tips and tricks to prepare for the 2018 harvest, and to get the best price for your 2018 harvest.
Create your story:
When preparing for the 2018 harvest, your goal is to make an impression on buyers before harvest, when a glut of hemp hits the market. There are a few ways you can prepare for this, and our strategy focuses on building your story and sharing it with buyers. We recommend taking photos of your crop and team during the growing cycle. By creating this story, a buyer will be able to connect with you on a human level, recognizing you are a team and not just a crop. Your crop is also important. Seeing the quality of your operation, including health of plants, and the care you provide the the fields which produce your hemp can leave a great impression on a buyer.
Improve your brand visibility:
Now that we have the story of your business developed, share your story on the marketplace! Here is an example of a farmer who has listed their 2018
harvest months in advance. This farm is reaching hundreds of buyers – with no monetary investment and only a cell phone for photos. Leveraging resources like Kushmarketplace.com is a great way to share your story with the hemp marketplace. You can also contact our team of brokers (877-587-5874) who work with hundreds of businesses in the hemp industry, leverage our team of experts so we can ensure your crop sells at the right time, for the right price.
Pre-sell future contracts:
If you are lucky and able, some buyers are interested in creating a contract for the future purchase of your crop. This will guarantee you a sale at a price point, and will avoid volatility in pricing. There is a caveat, even if you have a signed contract, you have to be willing to bring in a legal team to enforce the contract. If a buyer finds a better deal, there is little to stop them from taking it, leaving you and your contract high and dry. Contracts can be used as a trick by brokers to capture market share of biomass without having any buyers, or funds to purchase.
Digital presence:
Creating a website and facebook page for your business are the two easiest ways to improve your brand credibility. As a buyer, I often see what digital resources a business has because it is a sign of business sophistication. Do you use nice photos? Do you tell a story? Is your story credible? When we are talking about 100k purchases, these factors play a part in confidence that the deal will happen.
Develop a SOP:
Standard Operating Procedure. Create a business process for how deals are expected to occur provides transparency in how you do business. This elimin
ates confusion that can break up a deal due to a dragging timeline and loss of confidence due to poor communication. Develop a process for the documentation you send, policy regarding farm visits, payment terms, insurance policy, shipping and test lots.
Thank you for reading,
Michael Gordon
CEO