All posts in Technology
Deciding On Ecommerce For Your Farm
The Small Farm Tech Hub at CAFF developed a resource to help guide farmers on assessing if ecommerce is a good fit for your business, and at what level. Click […]
Small Farm Tech Expo 2024
On March 1st, 2024, CAFF hosted the much-anticipated Small Farm Tech Expo at Madera Community College. Amidst a steady downpour, our annual Expo still had a great turn out and the day brimmed […]
2024 Tech Hub Webinar Series: Direct-To-Consumer Sales
In the ever-evolving landscape of agriculture, staying up-to-date of the latest marketing strategies is crucial for farmers aiming to thrive in the modern marketplace. The Winter 2024 Webinar Series on […]
Cooperative Farm Equipment Program Proposed by CA Legislator
Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) has introduced AB 2313 which would create a new program to increase equipment access for small and underserved growers as well as offering essential technical assistance […]
Tech innovators lend creativity to small farms
While ag tech might conjure images of robots and satellite-driven tractors plowing vast acreages, some innovators are focusing their ingenuity on the needs of smaller-scale farmers. That’s in part thanks […]
Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant Opportunity
Have you been holding off on buying that new wash station, food processing equipment, cold storage or electric delivery van? The U.S. Department of Agriculture is partnering with the California […]
Future of Family Farms in the San Joaquin Valley
Earlier this year, CAFF kicked off a massive project in the San Joaquin Valley to help support family farms there and strengthen the local food economy, in partnership with UC […]
Open Agricultural Technology & Working In Community
Exploring open-source technologies for the small farm. The Gathering for Open Agricultural Technology (GOAT) has introduced the Small Farm Tech Hub to available open-source agricultural tools and we’d like to help spread […]
It’s time to register your farm for online EBT/SNAP!
Marketlink is now registering farms for the SNAP online payment solution for direct marketing farmers. The press release can be viewed here. For interested farmers, the first step is […]
Cómo crear un Perfil de Negocios de Google para expandir la presencia en línea de su granja
En este video, explicamos qué es el Perfil de Negocios de Google y mostramos paso a paso cómo establecer un Perfil de Negocios de Google para expandir la presencia en […]
Apps útiles para manejar un negocio agrícola
Esta presentación brindará una descripción general sobre Apps (aplicación informática para dispositivos móviles y tabletas) que pueden ser útiles para el manejo de negocio de una granja. La presentación ayudará […]
Digital Marketing & CSA Customer Retention – Shared Legacy Farm shares their success!
Learn more about Shared Legacy Farm’s successful use of social media and email marketing to retain a large percentage of their CSA members, to the point of having a waitlist! […]
Social Media Best Practices – 5 Marys Farm shares her success!
Learn more about Five Marys Farm successful use of social media and how she sells 100% of their products to 30K customers using direct-to-consumer marketing strategies. Mary provides information on […]
2023 Small Farm Innovation Challenge Winners
Proving that innovation thrives on a small-scale, the winners of the 3rd annual Small Farm Innovation Challenge bring appropriate tech solutions to local agriculture. This competition, hosted each year by […]
Civil Eats Op-ed: Want an Agtech Revolution? Center Farmworkers’ Expertise
“Although agtech promises to make farming more efficient, it is often pitched as a replacement for farmworkers, who are usually left out of its development.” Read the full article here: […]
Market Gardener Institute: Educating and Empowering Small Growers
The Market Garden Institute, co-founded by Jean-Martin Fortier and Suleyka Montpetit. It’s mission is to educate and empower growers who change the world through the simple act of growing healthy, […]
Value-Added Product Success, Three Farms Share Their Stories
CAFF’s Tech Hub is hosting a three part webinar series on value-added products and success stories of small producers using Ecommerce. The series highlights farmers who have developed their business […]
Data Training for the Small Farm
CAFF’s Small Farm Tech Hub hosted a data training for the Small Farm which was a three-part webinar series held during November-December 2022. The webinar recordings are provided below along with […]
Online Directories for Farmers
Getting internet visibility is one of the most important things you can do for your small business. An easy way to do this is to take advantage of online farm […]
MailChimp Templates for your Farm Business
CAFF’s Small Farm Tech Hub created basic templates for you to use for your email marketing. Please note that you need a MailChimp account to access these templates and add […]
Updated Ecommerce Report for the Small Farm
CAFF participates in the CSA Innovation Network who recently updated a report that breaks down how popular eCommerce platforms perform in comparison to one another, based on findings from national […]
Marketing for Farmers by Kendall Ballantine
Kendall Ballantine has created some awesome short, easy to understand blogs on marketing best practices for small farms. We highly recommend her blog https://www.onlinemarketingforfarmers.com/blog for topics such as search engine optimization […]
Details to Consider When Choosing Online Tools
Here is a list of considerations and questions to ask before investing in new tools for your business. Cost Will the costs outweigh the gains/returns? Most sales platforms charge start-up […]
CAFF VAPG Scholarship Opportunity
Interested in applying for the USDA’s Value Added Producer Grant? Do you sell your produce as organic, local, free range, grass fed, etc. OR make a finished product from your […]
Choosing an Accounting Software
The software review guide provides a list of accounting options **Our content is intended to be used and must be used for informational purposes only. Every business has different needs, […]
7 Minute Mailchimp Tutorial for the Small Farmer
https://youtu.be/2vDMd0t7ny8Learn the basics of using Mailchimp for email marketing for your small farm business. Brought to you by the Small Farm Tech Hub at Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF). […]
Canva Video Tutorial for the Small Farmer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlTSlZB4AeA&t=1sLearn more about how both the free and paid version of Canva can support your small farm marketing needs! This tutorial is brought to you by the Small Farm Tech […]
Creating Farm Maps Using GIS Software
https://youtu.be/OLfUzNjILvw CAFF invites you to a free tutorial that will introduce the mapping capabilities of Geographic Information Systems, or GIS. Using georeferenced data and aerial images, we will cover how […]
Exploring Squarespace for Farm Websites & Online Sales
Spanish subtitles are available on Youtube and slides are available in Spanish (Exploración de Squarespace para sitios web de granjas y comercio electrónico) In this peer-to-peer learning webinar, we reviewed […]
Exploring CSA Platforms: CSAware and Farmigo
RECORDING. Pronto proporcionará subtítulos en español. Explorando Los Plataformas de Agricultura Apoyada por la Comunidad – CSAware & Farmigo. In this peer-to-peer learning webinar, we will compare two popular online […]
How to Pick an Email Marketing Platform
Email marketing is perhaps the single most important tool that farmers and local food businesses have for connecting with customers and growing sales. This resource summarizes the pros and cons […]
7 Simple Steps for Creating a Website
There is a saying, “If you don’t have a website you don’t exist!” As of January 2021, it is reported that there are 4.66 billion active internet users worldwide. As […]
Driving Engagement with Instagram & Facebook Shopping
Are you looking to broaden your e-commerce audience beyond visitors to your website? Consider this: In 2021, 130 million Instagram accounts tap on a shopping post to learn more about […]
Instagram Basics in 7 minutes!
A 7 minute video going over the basics of Instagram for your farm business.
New Competition Seeks Innovations for Small Farms
While farm tech may conjure images of GPS-driven tractors, robot harvesters, and biotechnology, a new competition in California is calling on innovators to refocus their attention away from scaling up […]
Software Review Guide – Payroll, POS, DigiPay, Accounting
The Small Farm Tech Hub’s Software Review Guide – a live document kept by the tech hub team that compares different software systems including payroll, point of sales, DigiPay, and […]
Use Email Marketing to Grow
Email is probably the single most important tool in your marketing toolbox. If you’re not using email marketing to promote your business already, here are three reasons why you should […]
Google Pay & Apple Pay For Your Farm Business
If you have done any in-person, or even online retail in the past year a customer has probably asked if your business accepts Google Pay or Apple Pay. Expect to […]
10 Tips for Getting 10K Instagram Followers
There are a multitude of social media platforms to choose from these days! The good news is, you don’t have to use every platform to market your farm. As a […]
Instagram Basics for Your Farm Business
Looking to build your farm business brand online and engage a broader audience? With over 1 billion users, Instagram is one way to connect with current and prospective customers, and […]
E-Commerce for the Small Farm, Shopify Examples
E-Commerce for the small farm features the experiences of two farmers with using Shopify. Learning Objectives: Learn how e-commerce supports with marketing and sales Gain basic understanding of e-commerce platforms […]
Take Your Local Food Online (Webinar)
Take Your Local Food Online provided practical information and tips from farmers using online sales platforms. Platforms covered in this video include: Woo Commerce — Kat Becker, Cattail Farms Graze […]
Farm to Freezer: The Logistics of Online Sales & Shipping Meat
Webinar: Apr 2, 2020 at 9AM. Topics will include: setting up an online store, different web platforms, accepting payments, updating inventory, meat selection, subscriptions versus ala-carte orders, boxes, insulation, dry […]
Online Sales Platforms for Farmers (video)
Watch this webinar to learn more about direct-to-consumer online sales platforms. Hear from representatives from four online food sales platforms: Barn2Door, Harvie, Local Food Marketplace, Food4All, Open Food Network…
CSA & Online Sales during Covid-19
SELLING DIRECT & ONLINE DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, many farmers are being forced to reconsider their sales outlets. While there may be no […]