For Tim and Carla Shultz, BSE was a game changer, just as it was on so many other farms. Overnight in May, 2003, the Shultzes had to rethink every hope they d had and every move they d made, and they had to wrestle again and again with the question: Could they survive?
As it turns out, the technology that would help to save them hadn t even been invented yet.
Earlier that year the Shultzes had started farming at Osage, Sask., feeding 80 head of cattle on the farm an hour southeast of Regina. Young and determined, the couple had known all along that they would have to do things differently to stay viable. They just didn t know it would have to be quite so different.
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But they aren t looking back. After starting on a shoestring in their 20s, the Shultzes have grown their farm into a successful custom-grazing operation, now running over 400 head. They ve also diversified, getting into market gardening and producing everything from beef to chickens, lamb, eggs and even their own local organic flours.
They ve also gotten into direct selling, targeting restaurants and foodie consumers. And they ve done all that even though Regina s restaurants and suburbs are all an hour away.
At the heart of their success is a tool that more and more people use daily, but which few tap for its full business potential.
It s the Internet, and Tim is frank about its importance to their farm. It has made all the difference, Tim says. The decision to take our store and farm online took us from just another farm to a real business.
Consumers can shop online at www.thegreenranch.ca, placing orders that Tim delivers to Regina each Friday. But that s just the start of the relationship.
The Shultzes then keep in touch with all their customers via Twitter and a weekly e-newsletter. Having the website means we can watch the hits to our site grow. Our mailing list grows every week, Tim says.
The Shultzes are also involved in CSA Community Supported Agriculture a type of crop share that splits the risks
