258. Jacob Towe on Building a Community-Focused Farm

What challenges and opportunities arise when starting a farm and retail venture from scratch? On this episode of the Thriving Farmer Podcast, Michael is joined by Jacob Towe of Jubilee Farms in Pauline, South Carolina. After helping with his family’s Christmas tree farm from an early age, Jacob launched his own regenerative farm as well as a local grocery store focused on real food and farm-to-table connections.   Tune in to hear how Jacob boot-strapped his way into a successful farm life!   In this episode, you’ll hear… How Jacob got started in regenerative farming 0:55 What his biggest takeaways were from his time at Polyface Farm 3:11 What kind of farmland Jubilee Farm has 9:16 More about the farm’s grocery store 10:45 What Jacob would do differently given the opportunity to start over 24:21 About their store’s customers and what they purchase most 31:08 What Jacob’s advice is for newer farmers 32:45   About the Guest: Jacob Towe is the owner of Jubilee Farms and co-owner of Farmfare Grocery in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. He has been involved in agriculture from an early age helping with his grandfather's Christmas tree farm and later getting his own chickens. After a summer at Polyface in 2017 he launched Jubilee Farms as a first generation livestock farmer. Recently he opened his first retail location named Farmfare in partnership with his mother Paula.  Resources: Website - Jubileefarmssc.comFarm’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jubileefarmssc/ Store’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FarmfareLocalGrocery/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jubilee_farms_sc/   The Thriving Farmer Podcast Team would like to thank our amazing sponsor! MyDigitalFarmer.com was created by CSA farmer and marketing specialist Corinna Bench to help farmers learn the marketing fundamentals — so you can stop feeling uncertain, frustrated, guilty, or inadequate when it comes to selling your products. In the My Digital Farmer podcast, you'll be exposed to the fundamentals of marketing theory and practice so you can apply them to your own farm and business. She'll cover marketing funnels, copywriting, website messaging, CSA marketing, lead generation, brand building, social media, customer retention, Facebook ads, sales pages, Facebook groups, YouTube, Instagram, email marketing, and stellar customer service. She also interviews other farmers to find out what’s working (and not working) in farm marketing so you can feel more confident in your ability to convert leads, increase sales, and build a strong brand for your farm. Subscribe to her show at https://www.mydigitalfarmer.com/podcast