03/03/2014 CEDAR CIRCLE FARM, EAST THETFORD, VT IN PRODUCTION FEBRUARY- DECEMBER OUR MARKETS TOOLS TO INCREASE FOOD SAFETY

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1 CEDAR CIRCLE FARM, EAST THETFORD, VT Cultivate 40 acres of certified organic small fruit and vegetables on 3 properties along the Connecticut River in the center of Vermont. 13 covered growing spaces, onsite farm stand 4 farmers markets 250 member CSA. IN PRODUCTION FEBRUARY- DECEMBER OUR MARKETS Open our retail bedding plant house in mid- February Farm stand opens May 1 st Summer CSA starts end of May Farm stand closes around Christmas 50 staff in July 10 in December 4 farmer s markets Wednesday Saturday CSA drop offs Wednesday Friday CSA pick ups Wednesday- Friday Farm stand open 7 days a week Kitchen in production 7 days a week SIMPLIFYING FOR INCREASED EFFICIENCY $$ TOOLS TO INCREASE FOOD SAFETY Increased efficiency = Less production waste Better management Easier systems More money in the bank Better tracking tools Better management Better systems development For certification guidelines For Food Safety Program guidelines 1

2 TOOL THAT MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER OUR FIRST RECORD KEEPING SYSTEMS Data collection Monitoring Paper trail Planning You ve got to start somewhere See the process as evolution, nothing is set in stone Created for our own purposes THE EVOLUTION OF THE PICKSHEET TIME FOR AN UPGRADE The pick sheet is used both as an ordering tool & as a recording tool Used by multiple staff members Needed for organic certification process Various paper forms and sizes Keep as a record source Paper copy got dirty, wet, pages tore out Page size wasn t big enough to include the info we needed Data collection was tedious Having only 1 copy was a problem Paper copy needed pencils, calculators, other documents to function PURCHASING DECISIONS THE PICK SHEET TODAY Why Apple? Why tablets? Purchased Ipad for Processing Area Purchased Ipad mini for farmers markets Purchased 1 new, one used Crop & units Total Order & Harvest Order & Harvest by Market Location & Notes 2

3 MARKET RETURN SHEET COMMUNICATION BOARD/COMMAND CENTER Filled out on Ipad or on laptop Does all the math for you! Helps market manager see $ Accessed on Ipad mini Pulled up on accountant s computer for totals Works with credit card processor Replaces a large whiteboard in our barn We still have a large whiteboard in our staff area with some of this info Can be updated/accessed by any manager online Used as a planning tool Used as a marketing/communication tool Replaces actually talking to people CROPS NO LONGER AVAILABLE CROPS TO EXPECT CSA LIST & NUMBERS WOW, DATA! Collect all harvest data from the year By crop By crop unit 3

4 TABLETS VS. PHONES VS. LAPTOPS WORKING WITH WHAT WE HAD GOING Affordable Portable Wireless Can be 4g Otterbox case Microsoft Office Suite, Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Outlook Mostly Mac powered office and personal computers Excel drives our production planning Powerpoint creates masterpieces like this Easy to use, expensive to upgrade, upgrades essential OUR EXCEL CHARTS FOR PRODUCTION GOOGLE DOCS/GOOGLE DRIVE Seeding charts for vegetable & bedding plant production Direct seeding charts Transplanting charts Our business accounts are Google accounts Free , free software WELCOME TO DRIVE S DASHBOARD DRIVE SPREADSHEET Opens from your gmail account page Organize like you would your desktop files Drop down to 5 different types of document Shows you recent history on the right Great search tool Essentially a version of Excel Create lists Create formulated cells Can be exported Can import as well 4

5 GREAT TEMPLATES DRIVE FORMS Select from a large list of forms and templates Can be edited or reformatted for your needs Use this calendar form to reach all crew members at home Shared viewers privileges can be changed Can be shared outside of business account Can be shared outside of Google s Create and share any sort of form Live form looks like a web page Surveys Orders FORM RESPONSES SENT TO SPREADSHEET VICTORY! OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT Easy to sort Can be viewed as a list as well Can be exported Can be printed Simplified systems Allowed us to grow markets Allowed us to create more complicated systems Allowed me to step back, gain insight Has had a real impact on staff YOU CAN DO THIS TOO! OR DO IT BETTER The sky is the limit Start with what you ve got Look at where you want to go Don t do anything that makes you uncomfortable OTHER FARM TECHNOLOGIES - Temperature & humidity monitoring systems that connect to our accounts or phones. Installed in 4 greenhouses, 5 storage spaces and in our fruiting strawberry fields - Digital swipe card system for payroll, streams into Quickbooks, each employee issues a plastic card - Square type credit card processer for farmers markets and other off site sales Think about costs & look at current technology systems Think about how much use & wear the device will get Think about what the process will give to you 5

6 LISTS & CALENDARS FARM APPS & OTHER PROGRAMS 1. Commodity Prices. Track corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, lean hogs, live cattle, feeder cattle and more. The app has a clean interface and is simple to operate. As one Android Market reviewer commented, it is "dead-on right all day, every day. 2. Cash Grain Bids. Simply input your ZIP code to find out cash bids and base levels in your area. Get bids from the five elevators closest to you. 3. Weather Underground. There are many weather apps, and this one holds up as well as any of them. Lots of information is available, including temperature, visibility and humidity. View hourly and seven-day forecasts, too. 4. USDA News Reader. Create your own news feeds, learn about recovery plans and programs, and easily navigate the massive USDA website in a mobile-friendly environment. 5. VirtualFarmManager Virtual Farm Manager. This subscription-based service helps you store, view and log information about your fields. There are many other management apps; this one is notable because it was developed by farmers Jacob Fannik of Max, N.D., and Ryan Raguse of Wheaton, Minn. 6. SoilWeb. USDA National Resources Conservation Service soil survey information at the touch of a button. The app works with your phone s GPS receiver to identify soil properties anywhere in the lower 48 states where there is cell phone coverage. 7. MyTraps. This subscription-based service allows farmers and consultants to place insect traps wherever they want and then track the movement of insect pests across their fields throughout the season. This provides data that helps users to more accurately target their insecticide applications to areas where there are concentrated populations. Making the system do the work for you Keep all your lists in the same place Take your lists with you Share your lists 8. Livestock Manager. A lot of mobile apps are targeted to livestock producers. This particular one allows users to track various information about their animals, including parentage, transport information, medicine administration and more. WHAT IS THIS ALL WORTH? 1 YEAR OF CONNECTIONS Does this remove us from our work or does is help us connect? Does this improve our systems or complicated our lives? Do we work for the system or does it work for us? It is great to have everything in one, searchable place. It is great to have multiple people viewing the same document at home. It has made me feel like we ve stepped forward. It has renewed our commitment to what we do, to be innovating and improving our farm. MEGAN@CEDARCIRCLEFARM.ORG 6