182 A CSA Farm That’s Always Sold Out – Interview with Karin Velez
October 19, 2022 by Corinna
I love interviewing other CSA farmers and learning their sales secrets. Today I introduce you to Karin Velez from Wolf Creek Family Farm. Karin has been farming for 15 years as a CSA farm, and she somehow manages to keep her members coming back over and over — so much so that she doesn’t even offer open enrollment anymore. You can only get in if you’re on a wait list.
What are her secrets to finding these kinds of loyal clients and making them superfans? Her story is inspiring, and you’ll hear tried-and-true principles that you can use for your own business. What if we’re making our marketing more complicated than it needs to be?
Tune in for her wisdom!
Hit play and let’s get started!
My Guest: Who is Karin Velez?
Karin Velez is the owner of Wolf Creek Family Farm and a U.S. Marine-turned-farmer-turned-educator. Alongside her husband, she built a small farm focused on raising animals on pasture for meat and eggs and growing fruits and vegetables with no chemical inputs. The farm started simply as a way to provide food for their family, but Karin’s love of gardening quickly turned to thoughts of providing a living for the family, too. What started with a 15-member Community Supported Agriculture program on 5 acres has grown to a 75-member CSA with sales at farmer’s markets and a few small restaurants, with the recent addition of home delivery as a pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic. The farm now focuses on raising pork and eggs as protein sources and has expanded the diversity of produce they offer their customers to over 30 varieties, all grown on their expanded 40-acre farm.
Along the way, Karin went back to school to get her horticulture degree from Oregon State University with the intention of providing gardening advice and classes to anyone interested in learning. Karin feels that there is power in self-reliance and knowing how to grow even a small bit of your own food, regardless of how much space you have, is important. In addition to giving out gardening advice at the farmer’s market stand, Karin now hosts a weekly gardening podcast and is preparing to hold gardening classes online and on the farm.
Learn more about Karin’s farm at WolfCreekFamilyFarm.com
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