On the double days of the year, we check in on how the farm is progressing towards our goals. Today, we hit our first check-in. As a recap, here are our 2021 goals.
- Lease Blueberries for 2021
- Begin Marketing and Building Future Direct to Consumer Sales Channels
- Post Blog Content Weekly
- Post at least 20 YouTube videos
- Maintain Daily Posting schedules for Instagram,
- Track & Regularly post to Facebook & Reddit
- Explore additional Crop Options
- Layout an Orchard
- Create a nursery for permaculture crops and perennials
- Plant a 30 x 50 combined flower and vegetable garden
- Scale-up Poultry
- Experiment with raising tropical fish
- Enhance and Enrich existing property
- Begin addressing safety issues with existing buildings
- Build out Poultry Yard
- Aggressively manage invasive species on the savannah
- Clear Scrub
So how are we doing.
On Item 1, we’re making good progress. We’ve found someone to manage the berries this year and he’ll be taking care of the winter prune and all other points. We still have some issues to negotiate in terms of the lease agreement, but we think we’re covered there.
Item 2 needs work. I’m starting to blog this month, but we need to double down on Instagram, Facebook, and youtube content. We aren’t growing an audience and networking nearly as aggressively as we should be. This will be critical as we build out our operations. We also need to take the opportunity to learn and fail with our storytelling this year.
Item 3 is where most of the energy is focused right now. I’ve started starting seeds in the basement. we’ve got the brooder up and running with a few failed attempts but a large batch of chicks arriving today. This weekend, we begin site prep for the new garden by placing a large silage tarp over the site. We’ve identified the site of the orchard; we just need to get it planned and planted. Lastly, the tropical fish experiment has been designed and the early work on sourcing materials has started.
Lastly, the long-term investments in the farm haven’t really begun. We’ll begin addressing them as the weather improves and we can prioritize the tasks.