Over 89% of Ohio County businesses are classified as microenterprise businesses. In 2015, there were 44% more new startups in Ohio County, an increase from 186 new startups in 2014. Farmer’s markets can be a starting point for retail businesses by offering an opportunity to test, market, and improve products to meet customer preferences, build a customer base, practice sales skills, with the goal of becoming a sustainable business. 

Extension plays an active role in providing Beaver Dam Community Farmer’s Market vendors with expertise and focus for improving their enterprise and marketing efforts to grow the business. 

Toni and Robin Johnson, owners of Sweetie Dumplin’s Farm, visited the market as customers in 2016. After meeting with Extension, Robin’s hobby of canning and baking sparked the idea of creating a business. Extension provided Toni and Robin with guidance in developing their ideas into a business. Extension assisted with: 1. Market visibility direction to build a customer base, 2. Homebased Microprocessor Certification, 3. Provided networking contacts to meet Kentucky Department of Agriculture regulatory requirements, 4. Robin’s salsa was featured at the 2017 Second Annual Farmer’s Feast, organized by Ohio County Extension. 

In 2017, Sweetie Dumplin’s Farm became a vendor of the market and sold ten varieties of jams and jellies along with an assortment of bread. Since completing the Homebased Microprocessor program offered by Ohio County Extension, they expanded their products to include salsas, cakes, and candies. In the two weeks before Christmas they sold over 900 dollars’ worth of products. Product sales for the 2017 farmer’s market season and other festivals total over $5,000 dollars. In February 2018, the Johnsons leased a storefront space in downtown Hartford. 

A majority of the ingredients used are grown on their farm, which creates a value-added business partnership with Robin doing the canning and Toni growing the ingredients. Their highlighted product is “Reaper Pepper Jelly”, a recipe that includes the world’s hottest pepper, according to the Guinness World Records.

Currently they are working toward becoming commercially licensed, and renovating the storefront, which will be completed by fall 2018 (1 year after their homebased microprocessor certification). In addition to selling value-added products, two goals for their new space are to provide rental space for small parties of 50 or less people, and to open their kitchen to feed the hungry twice a month.

One of the unique things about Sweetie Dumplin’s Farm is not necessarily the products or the growth of their business, but it’s the heart and love behind the company. The condensed version is…

“Growing their business because they “Can”