2013-07-23-CFC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

2012 deficit — more initial costs, started weekly farmstand, purchased hoophouse, increased learning about farming. Costs were self - financed, deficit was small. Furthermore, we got some tax rebates that made the 2013 — purchased more equipment, tripled acreage, increased market, hired more staff. YTD actual vs. projections cannot be measured accurately in a financial sense, since we are not a huge operation having achieved critical mass, with well established revenue curves. In our case, we have almost exactly 3X the number of members, and 3X the number of sales as compared to last year 16. Would you plan on marketing Lexington grown vegetables outside of Lexington, e.g., in Westford? Given the potential market size and demand, we expect to more often be supplementing the Lexington location by bringing in produce from Westford and other local farms. However if there is a surplus at the Lexington location that can be sold elsewhere, we will do so. This is comparable to our current situation in Westford, where our first priorities are to our FarmBucks members and our Farmstand customers, and then we occasionally sell wholesale produce to restaurants and other farms NEW QUESTIONS: 8. What are your plans for neighborhood interaction? How do you currently work with surrounding neighborhoods when making decisions? Do you have a plan in place detailing how you will handle any neighborhood controversies that may arise? - In our current operation, we have a very positive relationship with our neighbors, most of whom are our customers as well - We have a number of volunteers who spend time on the farm, some in exchange for product, but others who come to appreciate the time spent in community - Our neighbors understand that we are a farm and we work very respectfully with the local community. We make efforts to mitigate the effect of noise and smells to the extent possible. - Frequent communication (emails twice a week) to keep the community informed on how things are going at the farm - Our question for the committees is how the local nonprofit that has organized to preserve the farm will welcome an outside group. Any advice on navigating this relationship would be appreciated. 9. Do you plan on operating any services that may attract large audiences at once? What are your plans to control the overflow of visitors during those times? How much parking do you anticipate will be required for your proposed operations? How do you plan to provide that parking? 8