during a time when the wholesale apple
business has been difficult. They ve
added pick-your-own and they rebuilt an
1830 s log house and converted it into a
store that they have stocked with a focus
on value adding, including a bakery, preserves
and, more recently, local honey
and maple syrup.
Right from the beginning, the Waddells
made it their goal to increase the
percentage of retail apples their orchard
produced. By changing harvesting techniques,
they ve flipped the ratio of windfalls
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five years. Our verbal goal to each other
is to reach an 80:20 ratio, says Charlie.
The Waddells stated their goal, developed
a plan and worked hard to make it
happen. This is how they approach their
business with planning sessions at least
twice a year. After the fall, they review
profitability and talk about new projects.
During the winter they prioritize reinvestments,
depending on profits for the
year and research logistics. Then, they
roll up their sleeves and get at it.
We re natural planners says Marita.
Charlie and I are always talking about
what we re going to do.
Planning sessions twice a year
A couple of government programs
helped the Waddells do some formal
of the federal Farm Business Assessment
grants and hired a chartered accountant
to help them with some goal setting, a
business review and setting action plans.
It was an interactive process, says
Marita. We spent probably half a day
gathering information and then we had
homework. Some things were eye opening.
For example, the accountant made
them understand the basic cost of their
lifestyle and showed how having an off-farm
income was helping them.
If you start adding up all your household
expenses, Marita now says, it s
astounding, especially if you have children
in competitive sports, college or university.
For most people, the lifestyle ratio is
from $40,000 to $70,000 per adult family
including housing, utilities, groceries,
job, she says, is to plan what their farm
contributes to those expenses.
Marita separates net revenues between
enterprises so she and Charlie can compare
and make good business decisions.
