OFI 1203: Creating A Direct Marketing Business So The Kids Can Come Back To The Farm | Marie Canon | Canon Creamery

Off-Farm Income

Marie Canon and her husband, Mark, have been married and operating their dairy in Western Pennsylvania for 31 years. However, the legacy of this farm goes back much further than that, all the way to the Revolutionary War. Over time there have been different business models on the farm, and it has been some time since any direct marketing was done, such as the milk route that Mark's grandfather once had with the milk produced on the dairy.

About two years ago, Marie and Mark's daughter, Josie, told them that she wanted to come home and work on the farm, but she did not want to be involved in the day to day of milking and raising crops. The dairy was already supporting Mark's parents, Mark and Marie, and their son, Trent's, family. There simply was not enough pie left to cut out another slice. So, what do we do?

It was decided that they would begin direct marketing and selling products directly from their farm. They would also start creating value-added products to have something to sell. Some capital was put aside to make all of this happen, and "Canon Creamery" was born. There were a lot of unknowns going into this, such as how to market, would customers come to their farm, and when to be open. However, those fears were overcome and the business was started. This was not without difficulties, however. Covid definitely slowed down the development and delayed the ability to start recapturing some of the capital that had been outlaid. However, a spontaneous grand opening that was caused by the perishability of milk proved the concept, and now they are off and running!