Local company Small Farm Central gets
growers their own corner of the web
By Victoria Bradley
Photography by Adam Milliron

It’s a brilliant Friday morning in Arsenal Park. The bright white sun slices across the Lawrenceville lawn, blinding the blinking eyes of Simon Huntley, Shannon Knepper, and Leslie Fleisher. We’ve asked them to come to our photo shoot dressed in “farm or garden wear,” and we compliment their layered plaids and bandanas, like a beautiful collective from a rural Etsy shop. “Honestly, this is what we always wear,” Fleisher says, candidly plucking a long blade of grass and pinching it between her back teeth. “We sort of have a forced casual dress policy at our office.”

Their office is Small Farm Central, a unique hybrid of techies and foodies, a company that has developed software for CSAs and provides Website templates for farmers. The team helps farmers, who are too busy or otherwise lacking the computer savvy, to create a Website that incorporates photos, a calendar, social networking tools, and a mailing list.

The company also provides a “Member Assembler,” a program made for managing a CSA, as well as an ecommerce system for selling products online. It also generates reminders for customers to pick up orders. Through an easy-touse control panel, farmers can be their own web developers. And at a basic new subscription rate of $100, it doesn’t break the farm’s budget either.  The concept is in such demand that more than 500 farmers across the U.S. and Canada are utilizing these Pittsburgh-based services. Locally, Goose Creek Farms, West Liberty Farms, One-Woman Farm, Clarion River Organics, and Cherry Valley Organics are all subscribers.

One of the regions largest CSAs, Penn’s Corner Farm Alliance, also uses the software.  “We needed something affordable and farmcentric, and Small Farm Central understood what we were looking for,” says Neil Stauffer, general manager of Penn’s Corner. “[Simon] realizes this missing link between farmers and technology that needs to be filled, and he’s totally the link. He just gets it.” He says that’s what makes Small Farm Central special, “besides Simon’s wonderfulness and charm.”

Knepper, who works in customer support, believes farmers are “just relieved that it’s easy and that they can get a Website up pretty simply.  That’s definitely a feel-good perk of our job.”

While there are other companies that offer Website templates, “they’re not specifically farm-focused,” says Fleisher, who handles the business development of the enterprise. “A lot of farmers want Websites, and they don’t have the money to invest all the upfront cost of building something,” says Fleisher. “So, we offer a pretty good solution, we give them support, [and] people feel very taken care of.”

The idea for Small Farm Central came from Huntley’s passion for farming and former experience with mixing farming and online technology. “I developed this service after helping to start and manage a CSA vegetable operation in western Colorado,” says Huntley.  “My wife and I were [coming to] Pittsburgh, and at that point, I just really saw a need out there for what Small Farm Central does. I put together the pieces on web marketing for farms and went about trying to create it.”

And, business is booming.

“We get a lot of customer referrals,” says Fleisher, remembering a fond moment at a farming conference. “We set up a booth and talk to people about what we do. Someone will walk by and say, ‘I don’t mean to interrupt, but they’re awesome. You have to go with Small Farm Central. I can tell you how great they are.’ So, we are very lucky. I don’t think there are a lot of companies that get to enjoy that kind of intimate interaction with their customers.”

Huntley and his team are a close bunch.  “We have a weekly staff meeting, and Simon will bring in some kefir [yogurt] that he made,” says Knepper. “It’s really sweet and so much better than donuts. We definitely have lunches together and happy hours. We have a lot of fun together.”

They credit their relationships for the success of the business. “I think it’s sort of unique that we can do so much with a small staff,” says Huntley. “I try to be the employer that I’d like to have, and I think if we keep the staff small, we can keep our sort of family.” Coupled in the company’s initiative to give farmers new tools is the mission to raise awareness. “I got involved in using a CSA box, and it is so cool,” says Knepper. “Everyone would be doing it if they knew about it. It’s super easy, and [customers] get to have a connection with the farmer. You get stuff in your box, and you’re like ‘What the heck is this?’ You learn about cooking new things, and you learn about what’s in season. I feel like I’m doing a tiny little part of getting the word out to help the local farmers, not to be all corny.”

Huntley also expressed his firm belief in supporting local farms. “I feel that farmers connect people with their food,” says Huntley.  “That’s one of the things that attracted me to agriculture. My wife and I are always thinking of what we can do to try to keep our hands in the soil. I do a big planting of garlic — it’s one of my favorite crops to grow.”

Fleisher agrees.

“There’s something really kind of tender and intimate about the role that food plays in our lives,” she says. “Literally, it feeds us emotionally as well as physically.”

For more information, visit www.smallfarmcentral.com

Additional reporting contributed by Aleisha Jones.