We were lucky to catch up with Julie Olberding recently and have shared our conversation below.
Julie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.
We started farming and our small business to teach our kids the values of independence, hard work, self reliance, perseverance and creative thinking.
We consider ourselves to be first generation farmers as neither one of us were raised on farms. Our children were 8 and 10 when we bought our farmland. They are also first generation farmers. We are all learning at the same time as we work together to raise specialty crops.
From the very beginning, we have included our children in business discussions and decisions. They are learning valuable lessons about the costs (both monetary and time) associated with each crop that produce.
Our children are now in their early teens and they are running their own pumpkin patch with only a little help from their parents in the form of labor. We only attend a handful of markets and they skillfully assist customers in selecting the items that will work best for them. Ask them about the differences in the 12 types of hardneck garlic we sell, they will have the answers you are looking for.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I work full time as an occupational therapist at our local hospital and my husband also has a full time off-the-farm job. Health and wellness are very important to me. When we started farming, we were intentional about the crops we chose to raise and the processes we use to raise them. We use regenerative, sustainable and natural practices to produce high quality nutrient dense products while ensuring the land is well cared for and left in better condition than when we bought it.
In addition to produce like premium hardneck garlic bulbs, asparagus, log-grown mushrooms and pumpkins, we also make pure maple syrup, garlic powders and seasoning blends.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Staying true to our mission, which is to balance sustainable natural resources with a blend of innovative techniques and traditional methods to produce the highest quality products for our customers, has helped us navigate through the early years as a small business with honesty and integrity.
Premium hardneck garlic is the product our farm business is most known for. We have been blessed with some great mentors, done a lot of reading and researching, and learned from mistakes along the way. Two years ago, we set a lofty goal to be selected as a featured grower at the Minnesota Garlic Festival and were selected on our first try. That recognition of our hard work was tremendous. Recognition by peers and mentors has helped with building our reputation.
We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.
I built our own website using the Eat From Farmers platform. I was beyond intimated and even tried to hire this task out. I selected our platform as they were used to working with small farmers and business owners like myself. And they have the most amazing customer service. I chose them over the bigger platforms because they are also a small business and family run.
By having our own website and not going through an Am*zon or E*sy, I feel like have more control of the online part of our business.
Contact Info:
- Website: rusticrootsfarmmn.com
- Instagram: rusticrootsfarmmn
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rusticrootsfarmmn
- Other: https://linktr.ee/rusticrootsfarmmn
Image Credits
Chrissy Haugen (headshot)