Crop Mobs Begin To Grow

Have you ever heard of crop mobs?

Until recently I was not aware of this phenomenon that is popping up all over the country.  But an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, opened my eyes to this recent trend.  Basically a crop mob is a group of people pulling together to help accomplish tasks on small farms.  Typically this happens at the beginning of the season and some of the chores include pulling weeds, patching up fences and planting crops.

Crop Mobs started in North Carolina over a year ago and have been expanding across the country.  So who participates is in a crop mob experience?

Crop mob volunteers consist of a wide variety of people who want to help small farmers and learn farm chores.  A lot of these people are city dwellers who are looking for a different experience.  Many consumers are making very proactive choices in eating locally grown food and this experience lets them get their hands dirty and see firsthand the hard work involved in growing this food.   Some of the volunteers are people who are looking to start their own farms and desire a real hands-on experience to see just how much work it does require to be a farmer.  The best part for the small farmer is crop mobbers work for free and for many small farms that can mean the difference of losing or making money with the crop.  

The word about crop mobs is growing so quickly because of the Internet.   Crop mobbers are using a variety of techniques to get the word out about what farms they will be helping and how others can sign up to volunteer.  Right now, crop mobs use social media and e-mailing as their main method of communication. 

So does your small farm need an extra hand?  You might be surprised at the people willing to help you perform your ordinary farm chores.  The crop mob experience could be a great marketing technique to expand the customer base!  By offering this experience for your customers to learn how the farm works could spike an interest.  People like trying new things and this could offer a great learning experience that would also increase your farms productivity and bottom line.

Thursday, June 3rd, 2010, by Jane and is filed under "Agritourism Marketing, agritourism, crop mob, crop mobbers, crop mobs, family farms, Jane Eckert, small family farm, St. Louis Post Dispatch ".

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