Maize Valley Farm Market and Winery

April 2005
 

Bill Baken, Maize Valley Farm Market LTD

Hartville, Ohio

Maize Valley is a diversified direct farm market enterprise in Hartville, Ohio. Bill Baken and his wife, Michelle, joined the family farm business following college in 1985. The farm market includes a bakery, deli, and the sale of fresh produce. They sell gift baskets in their market and also on their Web site (www.maizevalley.com). In addition, the enterprise has a greenhouse business.  Maize Valley has a remote site located four miles away from the home farm at an upscale Flea Market.

During seasonal times of the year, Maize Valley operates an agri-tourism business which includes, but is not limited to,  an 11-acre corn maze, wagon rides, petting pasture, concessions, kids play area, and more.  New for 2005 was the addition of a winery to complement the farm market.  The farm consists of approximately 700 acres. A variety of vegetable and fruit crops make up the crop mix. About half of the acres, approximately 350 acres, is comprised of row crops (corn, soybeans, wheat, oats) and hay.
 

Business Motivation

The shift from a custom crop production farm to a diverse, value-added business in 2001 was motivated by a desire to preserve the family farm, according to Baken.

“The commodity agriculture industry is pretty much toast in our area,” he says.  Hartville is located 20 minutes north of Canton and 20 minutes southeast of Akron, Ohio. There is a population of more than one million people to draw from, depending on the activity. By 2001, land in their area was going into development, selling for $15,000 to $20,000 an acre.

Developing the Business

The farm business has been flexible and transitioned over the years to meet the needs of the family. “Over the years, the family has operated a 150-head registered Holstein dairy, 500,000 bu. capacity grain elevator, custom ag supply business, as well as farmed up to 6,000 acres,” says Baken. “Most recent changes have been in the direction of direct marketing due mostly to competitive advantage issues and other market factors.”

In 2001, the farm remodeled a 140-year-old barn and expanded to a full-service farm market. The greenhouse, which sells perennials, bedding plants, hanging baskets, and custom planters, was added in 2002.

The farm’s management team of Maize Valley Farm Market LTD is comprised of two generations. Bill and Michelle are joined by Michelle’s parents, Kay and Donna Vaughan who established the farm in the 1960s. Michelle’s brother, Todd Vaughan, manages the greenhouse operations and winery.  Michelle manages the farm market. Bill works with his in-laws on the farm and oversees the corn maze, tours and education components and most marketing aspects. The family hires 15 to 18 employees to help during the year.

The addition of the winery required a highly detailed business plan which helped the family with its implementation. The winery uses their homegrown strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and grapes to produce the wine. (www.maizevalleywinery.com) The winery offers the business an opportunity to generate greater value out of their fruit products, draws visitors and buyers to the farm market, and allows Maize Valley to promote wine/farm tours and wine tasting events.   

“Basically we are able to vertically integrate more of our business.  Now in April 2005 we are selling last year’s strawberries in a bottle.  We extended our season and spread out income versus fresh berries alone.  With wine it has a market segment that is very loyal and motivated and will travel to try different wines and experiences versus say just jams or jellies that have more alternatives.  With the wine there is a romance and texture that can only be found in the winery experience.  This compliments our current agri-tourism efforts and allows us to extend them to a different market segment and demographic.  The two worlds are merging.  The wine crowd is a demographic that rewards personal service and experience based venues.  This plays well with our offerings and allows us to make better use of existing infrastructure.

Developing and maintaining a market share is accomplished by constantly being on the move in regards to creative thinking and planning.  Baken says it is also accomplished by taking advantage of areas where they had a competitive advantage or could define a niche.

An example of competitive advantage Baken uses is soybean production in Brazil. “One example that steered us in this direction (is something) farmers know all too well.  In Brazil they can produce soybeans for around $3.60 per bushel.  That is their cost of production.  We cannot compete with that nor with most of the other commodities.  We needed to find the competitive advantage we had not only over foreign competitors but other local business.” 

Some of that can be found in producing local produce, providing a fresh slice deli, or creating experienced-based activities that consumers find value in.  “You might say a business like Cracker Barrel did this with providing an atmosphere and the ‘comfort food’ concept while combining it with economics of scale and marketing skills that a large chain can sometimes provide.  But we are no Cracker Barrel. It’s not to say you cannot learn by taking pieces of others and adapting them to your particular situation.  Let the big dogs do the marketing research, you don’t need to be splitting atoms or building rockets to see what is successful and emulate it.”

Another example of competitive advantage was Maize Valley’s partnership with NAPA in 2004. Maize Valley created a race car design for their corn maze. Michael Waltrip, the NASCAR driver for NAPA Auto Parts, made a guest appearance along with an NBC news crew. The partnership garnered nationwide attention. The aerial photo of the corn-carved race car was used by NAPA for print ads the following year in farm publications.

Key Steps Along the Way

While developing the business, Baken says, the willingness to try new things and take risk when faced with challenges related to their business was advantageous. “Most recently with the addition of our winery, hiring an architect whom created a detailed business plan for us really made our decision-making process easier and clear,” Baken says.

Another business plus includes “always being on the lookout for new ideas and networking with those who have tried things before.” The Bakens are members of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association. Bill also serves on the local township’s zoning commission. He is active in the local community by serving on a variety of local tourism and community committees.

Barriers to Success

The biggest challenges for Maize Valley to address include location, marketing and promotion.  “When you encounter a problem or barrier, you just need to turn it ‘till an opportunity presents itself,” Baken says.

Unexpected problems along the way have included cost overruns on projects.  “Before we developed a detailed business plan, we had overruns on almost any project we undertook,” Baken says.  Defining their customers’ wants and needs is an ongoing and ever changing process, too.

“So far we are still putting food on the table,” Baken says.  We have been asked to speak, and have done so, on building a ‘successful’ farm market.  I really don’t consider us there yet.  It is flattering all the recognition we have gotten but while I am outspoken, inside I am very humble and thankful.  Anymore I define success as taking your God-given talents and exceeding your capabilities, and maybe others expectations.”

New Demographic = New Market Share

“Right now the winery project has opened up a whole new demographic,” says Baken. “We hope this helps other companion products in our market.” Sales of meat and cheese products such as cheese plates, wrapped cheese, and other food related products are up.  Plus, Maize Valley can take excess inventory and turn it into value-added items. “Our sales of upscale gift items are up, jarred items, and just about everything compared to a year ago,” he says.  It is a function of more traffic as well as different demographic coming to the farm. The winery gives Baken a reason to send out press releases and promote other events that “just make noise and keep our profile up.” It has also provided an opportunity for wholesale distribution.

The changing market also means that Maize Valley has to compete on the retail side with “big box” retail outlets.  To address the competition, Baken says, “We need to offer experience and service-based goods and services to define a niche for our family.”

Reflecting on the accomplishments and learning experiences, Baken says planning is essential. “We did not plan enough at the start.  If you are not good at planning, hire someone who is.  It will pay you back ten-fold.”
 

By Malinda Miller, Specialist, AgMRC, Iowa State University
malindag@iastate.edu