Balancing Seasonal Cash Flow in Your Farm-to-Consumer Business: 4 Tips

Managing your farm’s finances can feel like riding an intense roller coaster, with soaring highs during your peak sales season and nauseating lows during slow months.

But you don’t just have to be along for the ride.

In this blog, we’ll share four ways to take charge of your seasonal cash flow and smooth out these steep peaks and valleys.

Seasonal Cash Flow Patterns in the Farm-to-Fork Industry

Before we dive into specific tips, let’s cover the basics of seasonal cash flow.

The core problem that many farmers face is that their highest revenue and highest expenses hit at different times of year.

The money is rolling in during the spring and fall months after the hard work of planting and harvesting is over — but the income has slowed down to a trickle in February when it’s time to place seed catalog orders, upgrade equipment, or build a new greenhouse.

Being unprepared for these expenses causes a ripple effect on your year-round sales — making it impossible to escape the negative cash flow cycle.

Fortunately, this doesn’t have to be your reality. Let’s explore how smart financial forecasting, realistic saving, e-commerce, and marketing can help you manage seasonal cash flow like a pro.

1. Map Your Cash Flow Trends

When it comes to seasonal cash flow, knowledge is power — which is why our number-one tip is to create an in-depth, month-by-month breakdown of the money flowing into and out of your business.

Here are three simple steps to create your seasonal projection:

Map your revenue trends: Start with your farm store’s point of sale (POS) data to identify your sales trends. April farmers’ markets and October pumpkin sales might cause the biggest spikes, but November to March are typically stagnant months for farmers.

Map your expenses: Next, plot your spending on the same timeline. Identify when your expenses are highest — such as when you purchase new equipment, place seed orders, or hire extra farm hands during the planting and harvesting seasons.

Crunch the numbers: You’ve estimated your typical revenue and expenses during each month of the year — now it’s time to put it all together and identify your most profitable and most financially fraught months.

An accurate 12-month financial projection will help you make more informed decisions year-round. During your revenue-rich months, you might be tempted to build a new greenhouse or invest in a new tractor — but you should check your financial projections first in case you need the money later.

2. Build Up Your Savings

Let’s face it: farming is an unpredictable job, with bad weather, smaller-than-average harvests, and unexpected bills just around the corner.

That’s why financial experts recommend saving at least three to six months of operating expenses. Along with protecting you from financial emergencies, these savings offer peace of mind during your farm’s slowest sales periods.

Even if you’re short on cash, you can dip into your savings to invest in new equipment and start the planting process on schedule — keeping you out of the negative cash flow loop.

Nurturing a healthy savings account can be a challenge, so treat it like a nonnegotiable business expense during your most profitable months. If you can’t afford to save, you can’t afford to invest in a new tractor or additional livestock.

Pro tip: Don’t forget to build up your stock of frozen meats! Selling steaks, pork chops, and ground meats straight from your freezer can give you a healthy revenue boost during your farm’s slowest sales months.

3. Focus on E-Commerce During the Off-Season

While in-person sales at farmers’ markets and pumpkin patches are your biggest money-makers during the spring and fall, e-commerce can be a game-changer during the off-season.

Unlike produce, you can sell meat straight from your farm’s freezers year-round — and it’s hearty enough to withstand the delivery process.

Getting into the farm-to-fork e-commerce business might sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Let’s look at four steps to get started:

Invest in the right tools: Start with an e-commerce platform specifically designed for online farm sales. This tool should make it a breeze to build a custom website, create in-depth product descriptions, define your delivery zone, and fulfill online orders.

Determine the logistics: Next, decide how you’ll fulfill orders. You might start with a pickup-based buying club, offer local delivery, or work with a nationwide shipping provider.

Create a perishable shipping strategy: Research cost-effective yet reliable packaging and insulation to keep your products safe in transit.

Build your online customer base: Attract customers and boost your average order value by offering bundles of your most popular cuts or launching a meat subscription service.

Launching your online farm store can feel like a leap of faith, but it can transform your seasonal cash flow.

4. Market Your Products Year-Round

Your farm store sales ebb and flow with the seasons — but your marketing efforts shouldn’t.

Building your farm’s online presence and customer relationships will help you generate more cash during the off-season and have a stronger sales performance during peak seasons.

Here are four marketing tips to help you stay top of mind for your customers — regardless of the weather outside:

Start a blog: Educate your community on regenerative farming practices, give them a behind-the-scenes look at your seasonal preparations, and create content that makes readers feel connected to your farm.

Post on social media: Share photos of your farm, fun facts about your livestock, and “sneak peeks” of products available in the upcoming season.

Send email newsletters: Along with engaging content about your farm and your current projects, you can use email newsletters to drive traffic to your online store.

Offer preorders: Planning to offer squash or sausage for the first time? Launch preorders for these products during the off-season! This will build hype and give you a quick boost of cash.

The right farm e-commerce platform should make it quick and easy to implement these marketing strategies. Simply look for one that includes a drag-and-drop website editor to build your blog, email marketing integration, and the option to sell preorders.

Make Seasonal Cash Flow Stress-Free With GrazeCart

Want to harvest healthy sales all year? We can help.

GrazeCart, our all-in-one farm store software, is designed to help you make in-person and online sales, cultivate strong customer relationships, and track your business’ growth over time. It includes a user-friendly website builder, online order management, built-in marketing tools, and in-depth reporting and analytics.

See how GrazeCart fits into your financial plan by exploring our flexible pricing options.