sustainable living

Iowa Evokes Passions

January 23, 2020

Last weekend, while presenting my Marketing Your Uniqueness workshop at the Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) Convention, I posed this question: “Why do you do what you do; what drives you?”

Put another way: What is your passion?

My workshop attendees were business owners, ranging from farmers selling directly to consumers, to agri-tourist operators, to farm service providers. This question was part of the 5Ws and an H exercise we did to identify their uniqueness and build an authentic brand. As important as the whole exercise is, the “why” is perhaps the most compelling. It’s the heart and soul of a business.

*The workshop went great, by the way, as did the whole conference. Kudos to the PFI team who, in the midst of blowing snow and road treacheries, hosted a full house of ag enthusiasts.*

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Given that I asked my workshop attendees to examine their passions, I felt I should reflect on mine as well. It’s my 15th year in business, after all. So why does Adunate help people build their brand and grow their business?

*This awesome collage was in the entry of Cafe Milo in Ames.*

That Right-Brained Gene

The master creator planted in me (and my peoples) an incessant need to create, explore, make, design, research, write, plant, observe, discover, build, grow, appreciate. Admittedly, this is a bit of chaos. But I also like to think of it as creativity. I feel good knowing my myriad of ideas and pursuits helps others succeed with theirs.

God’s Good Earth

Every day I’m blessed to wake up and view God’s magnificent creation. I’m passionate about sustaining what he’s given us for the time we’re here on this earth. I’m adamant that all people be treated with the same grace he’s has shown each of us. I mean, why would we not?

Food, Glorious Food!

I love good food and drinks! I love the growers, the bakers, the artisans, and the makers. I appreciate their hard work and endless days. I want to help them grow their business. I want to help them succeed.

*When it comes to innovation, this exhibit from the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque says it all.*

Amazing Women

When we were first married, my husband and I dairy farmed with his family. This was in the 1980s (whoa, we’ve been married that long?) and the farm economy was in crisis, just as it is today. Many people, including us, quit farming.

Our family has since recovered quite nicely, thank you, and this by no means is a sympathy grab. But I often wish the local food movement was as strong then as it is now. I admire women today who’ve found ways to earn a living from home. I’m in awe of their innovative ideas; CSAs, home-based food businesses, farm-stays, so many ventures we never heard of forty years ago. I’m inspired how they work together for the good of all, not just for themselves.

It’s 2020 and I want to be like these women!

Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God

Actually the passage in its entirety says, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God,” 1 Corithians 10:31.

This puts into perspective just about everything we do, don’t you think?

So What About You? What are Your Passions?

This year are you looking to amplify your brand? Do you know who you are, what you do, and why you do it?

My monthly newsletter can help. Along with the 5Ws and an H worksheet, I’ll send tips to guide you through the branding and marketing process. Emphasis is on the monthly, as in once a month, so don’t worry about me bombarding your email.

Signup here for news you can use!

Bees Motivate Gratitude and Giving

November 4, 2019

I’m into my fourth year of beekeeping and while I still consider myself a newbie, I do feel I’ve come a long way. For one—and an important one at that—I can now find the queen.

Finding the queen—or queenspotting, as they say—is huge in beekeeping. There are books on the subject, like this cool Where’s Waldo-style QueenSpotting, by Hilary Kearney, or #queenspotting challenges on Instagram. These are basically where I learned to spot my queens.

We all know how important the queen is. She’s the heart and soul of a honey bee colony after all, and because she’s the only one who lays fertilized eggs, she’s the prime indicator of its productivity. No queen, no colony.

But did you know the other bees are equally important?

A honey bee colony is a superorganism, meaning its three types of bees—workers, drones, and the queen—are dependent upon one another. Each engages in a specialized division of labor that selflessly supports the survival of the colony. We can liken this to Aristotle’s “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” but in plain, everyday speak, let’s just say honeybees work together for the good of all.

What great role models honey bees are for us humans!

*A queen bee in her own right, this lovely lady walked ahead of me at an In Her Boots/Soil Sisters workshop. I love her message!*

November is Gratitude Month and Giving Month

Inspired by my bees and in thankfulness for all my clients do for me, November is the month I pass it forward. Each year Adunate accepts two pro bono projects for greatly reduced or no cost. These are projects I strongly support and believe will positively impact God’s creation, his people, or his ministry.

My areas of focus include, but aren’t limited to:

Agriculture & Animals
Architecture
Arts
Children
Environment
Faith
History
Humanity
Food & Drink
Sustainability

If your caring organization needs creative support in the coming year, click here for an application. Then, to guarantee your project’s success, be sure to click here!

My deadline for submissions is December 31, 2019. I will let applicants know of my decision in January.

By the way, did you find the queen? Here she is, that royal lady!

5 Reasons Business Cards are Still Relevant

October 24, 2019

I just returned from the W omen in Sustainable Ag Conference (WISA), followed by a glorious vacation. Now that I’m back, I’m cultivating relationships with all the wonderful people I met. The business cards I acquired make this an easy task.

Which leads me to ask, what do you think of business cards? Do you still use them?

In the Be a Better Self-Promoter workshop I presented, I specifically mentioned the importance of business cards. I greeted the attendees at the door with my card and asked them to leave theirs behind after the workshop. Even though some believe business cards are dead, here’s why I see lots of life in these small, printed exchanges of information.

1. Personal Touch

Yes, technology is all around us but there’s something truly personal about giving and receiving business cards. The tactile-ness of a card says you care enough to go the extra mile and give something of yourself. When receiving a business card and you take a moment’s pause to look at it—perhaps even comment on it—it says you care about the person doing the giving.

2. Tangible Expression of Your Business

When designed well and according to your brand, a business card speaks loudly of who you are. I had my cards printed on a heavier grade of linen stock and I love how it feels in my hand. A quality card reflects a quality business.

3. Physical Reminder of Who You Are

One of my attendees approached me afterward with a question on web design. She gave me her card and wrote her question on the back so I could respond later with more information. There’s no way I would have remembered otherwise.

4. Quick Exchange of Information

When attending events, conferences or meetings, there’s no quicker way to exchange information than business cards. Yes, you could get their email and type it into your phone, but that’s certainly not as fast. Plus you have to look away from the person to do so. How rude.

5. Opportunities for Repeated Connection

The more ways we can connect with people, the better relationships we can build with them. The physical act of exchanging business cards is a wonderful debut to digital followups in the future. Those followups then become a permanent way of managing contacts. Unless they’re exceptionally creative (I am a graphic designer, after all), I don’t keep my contact’s business cards. Instead, I make a digital input and have all the information I need right at my fingertips.

Need new business cards? I’d love to help you with a great design and advice on cost-effective printing. Drop me a line!

Practicing An Honorable Harvest

September 13, 2019

Happy Harvest Moon! It’s also Friday the 13th, which, if you’re so inclined, could potentially make for a spooky night. What I think is even more interesting, however, is its relation to the autumnal equinox and its cultural tradition (I absolutely love learning new things).

According to Almanac.com, the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox (September 22-23) is the Harvest Moon. This means a Harvest Moon could occur in either September or October, depending on its lunar timing. During these shortening of days the moon rises just moments after the sun sets and gives us a sense of brighter evenings. In times past, farmers appreciated this extra light for harvesting their crops; thus the name Harvest Moon.

Isn’t the harvest season a most glorious time of year? Besides the beauty of autumn, there is just that—the harvest. All around us is the culmination of summer’s sunshine and rain, the miracle of growth, and, of course, the hard work of our hands.

The Harvest is Truly a Blessing

Author Robin Wall Kimmerer spoke of this blessing in her awesome book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. As a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation, she strives for a life of gratitude. Whether it’s the ramps she foraged from a woods in spring or the tomatoes I pick from my garden this fall, everything we consume, everything that allows us to live, is the gift of another life.

Honorable Harvest

Kimmerer wrote of the Honorable Harvest, a canon of ancient principles that govern our taking from the earth. As she lists its guidelines, I’m thinking they could well apply to sustainable living.

Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
Take only what you need.
Take only that which is given.
Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
Share.
Give thanks for what you have been given.
Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.

Obviously, the Honorable Harvest isn’t a guideline just for our own taking. It’s also for our giving. In biblical times God instructed his people to leave corners of the field unharvested for the poor to glean, a practice my Latino friends say is common in their home countries still today. Here in the U.S, CSA farms add creative ways of gleaning to their calendars and community farms are dedicated to providing to food pantries. Goodness, simply sharing our garden produce with family and friends is an honorable harvest!

The Honorable Harvest is something we can apply to all areas of our lives. Wouldn’t it be cool if it was as much an autumn celebration as, say, commercial holiday-ism in our stores?

Earth Day and Double Duty Composting

April 22, 2019

Today, on Earth Day 2019, I’m thinking back to the roundtable discussion I was honored to lead at the MOSES Organic Conference. It was on marketing and it overflowed with interesting conversation. Today though, two particular points come to mind: composting and responsibility.

As we discussed innovative ideas to promote our farms, a woman whose name I missed (someone help me, please, I’d love to contact her) mentioned the composting campaign they’re doing for their CSA farm. They give buckets to their members and encourage them to bring food scrap compost to the farm each week where it will help to create fertile ground for next years’ crops. And I, whose marketing brain spins 24/7, suggested she be sure to put her farm name and website on the buckets.

Seriously though, isn’t a composting campaign a great idea in so many ways?

Full Circle of Sustainability

This year’s Earth Day theme is Protect Our Species and from bees to trees, good soil is vital for sustaining all of God’s creation. Composting is a small way to make a big impact on the enrichment of our soil. When we return scraps of food to the very soil from which it was taken, we complete a full circle of sustainability.

How cool is that for CSA members to participate in this full circle!

Responsibility + Ownership = Good Marketing

Marketing gurus tell us that allowing customers a sense of “ownership” is proven for building customer loyalty. We discussed this in our roundtable and how responsibility enables that sense of ownership.

The CSA farm’s composting campaign allows members to share in the responsibility of improving its soil for more nutrient-based produce. The result? These members become proud owners of the vegetables they helped to grow and they talk about them with their friends. Word of mouth marketing at its best!

What About You?

I’ve been composting for years and, gee, it’s such an easy way to put food waste to good use. Now, after touring the facilities of my newest customer, The Farmory, I’m inspired even further—maybe composting with worms?

What about you? Are you a business looking to heat up your environmental stewardship? Or a gardener wanting healthier soil? Earth Day is a great time to start composting—actually Earth Day celebrations last all week so you have time to find yourself a bucket.

So let’s get going and may the joyous rotting begin!

Want to learn more?
Soil health is a big conversation these days. Two recent and interesting articles are Compost, like the Earth Depends On It, from the Willy Street Co-op Reader and the Dirt Issue (Spring 2019) of Yes!

It Takes Grandparents and a Full Flock

August 16, 2018

The Instagram rule of poultry is if you’re going to raise layers, you must produce a rainbow of egg colors. Given that—and because I have grandchildren who, in my mind, rate much higher than Instagram—I choose breeds specifically for their color of eggs. My chick order this spring consisted of Ameraucanas for their pastels, Marans for their chocolate (I usually forget and say chocolate covered instead of colored, haha, wouldn’t that be nice), and the gentle, very pretty Lavender Orpingtons for their brown.

Add these to my white-egger Leghorns from last year and you get a full spectrum in every dozen. All for the grandchildren.

Recently my husband was perusing the Abendroth catalog and noticed Lavender Orpingtons were $9.95 each. Oops, I guess I never checked prices. And…Lavender Orpingtons only come as a straight run, meaning they could be male or female. Oops, I didn’t check that either. They’re for the grandchildren, after all.

Isn’t it funny what we do as grandparents?

Last week I wrapped up work on the Fermentation Fest event guide and sent the final draft to press (put the paper to bed, to be jargonly correct). Because this year’s guide is to be a reversible (half of it printed upside down), I went to the print agency to verify it was laid out correctly. Look at this, not only was I provided with individual proof pages and a full size mockup, I also got a cute, mini mockup. I feel like a beloved grandchild.

I’m thinking my favorite businesses are like grandparents; they give more than their all without a second thought. And just as it takes a full flock to produce that colorful dozen of eggs, so it takes a multitude of grandparently businesses to produce a successful event guide. Donna Neuwirth, founder of Fermentation Fest, is a brilliant visionary. Cricket Design Works illustrated the gorgeous front covers—both of them! Badger Group is the dedicated agency doing our professional printing. I can’t put into words how honored I am to work with each of them.

Lastly, Fermentation Fest is made possible by a long list (can we say full flock?) of sponsors, funders and partners. Be sure to check them out in this year’s event guide, which will soon be out in various locations. Watch for it!

And now…drumroll…here’s a Lavender Orpington update. One, and only one, is a rooster. He’s developing his comb, learning to crow and is violaceously beautiful (men have all the luck). If he’s gentle enough, maybe we’ll keep him and hold back a few eggs for hatching.

You know, for the grandchildren.

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Women’s Farm Groups, Then and Now

June 26, 2018

One of the great things of old house living are the gifts that come with it. Ours bequeathed to us an extraordinary collection of scrapbooks compiled by the lovely woman from whom we bought our farm. For nearly five decades, starting in 1941, she devotedly clipped, pasted and immortalized whatever and whoever captured her interest. Just imagine the local history we have treasured away in our walk-up attic.

Fireside Homemakers Club 1955 — Fireside Homemakers Club, Lake Mills, WI, 1955

I was recently browsing the scrapbooks and came across this photo—a women’s homemaker club, circa 1955. Homemaker clubs began in the 1920s as a way of bringing the latest home economic research to rural areas. In the early days of my marriage I joined my mother-in-law’s club (no, not the group in this photo and not in 1955…just saying:-). I was a naive 19-year-old back then but I still recognized the importance of these ladies getting together. They were hard-working farm women and their once-a-month sisterhood was as much an emotional necessity as it was social.

Brandi Harris and Emily Harris, Wylymar Farms, Monroe, WI — Wylymar Farm owners Brandi and Emily Harris talked tools and machinery. Emily previously studied mechanics while serving in the Navy and now maintains all their machinery.

Last week I was honored to be part of a rural women’s group of a slightly different nature—an In Her Boots workshop on Wylymar Farms. In Her Boots and it’s counterpart Soil Sisters provide support for the growing number of women in farming and food-based businesses. Yes, they cover home economics—the renewed interest in domesticity is huge, after all—but the greater focus is on farming.

Last week’s gathering was a far cry from those I attended decades ago. For starters, In Her Boots met under a tent in the hayfield, which, because of a steady rain, we quickly obliterated. Wind, rain and all, we covered topics ranging from organic dairying, to tractor mechanics, to selling cookies, to marketing. And lunch, don’t let me forget that delicious lunch!

Mud-slogging brought new meaning to the name In Her Boots.

Women’s farm groups are not the only things that have changed. According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, the number of farms owned and operated by women is on the rise (interestingly, the census didn’t fully count women as farmers until 2002, when it finally allowed entry for more than one family farm operator). This means women are taking on more leadership roles, whether on the farm or on ag-related boards. They’re insisting seed salesman and implement dealers talk to them. They’re in the media everywhere. Yes, farm women have gone from invisible to invincible, as Lisa Kivirist says in “Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers.”

The unveiling of a cottage-food-safe frosting, in celebration of Betty Anderson’s birthday.

In all of this, there’s something special that hasn’t changed. That neighborliness of 1955 is still with us today in more ways than we realize. Women, by nature, recognize the need for camaraderie. They still come to together for sharing and encouragement. They still learn best from one another.

As a woman, and one with her hands in the soil, and a marketing professional, I am so proud to be part of women’s farm groups, both then and now. So very, very proud!

February Randomness

February 1, 2018

Happy February! So what do you think my honeybees are up to these days? From what I’ve read, they’re not hibernating. Even in cold Midwestern temps—and we’ve had plenty of that this year—those little sweethearts are busy in their hives clustering together, fluttering their wings and energizing themselves with honey, all in the name of protecting the queen. Amazingly, bees keep the inside of their cluster a toasty 80-90°F.

Of course, I can’t open the hive because cold air would immediately zap them all. Instead, I go out each day, brush away the occasional dead bee that’s been kicked out and wait until spring to know if my community has survived. For me, only a second-year beekeeper, this is the quiet season.

My Clients

I work with many people who are also in the quiet season. Seemingly so, anyway, because they too are busy behind the scenes. My farmer clients are hunkered down with seed catalogs and educational conferences, like the MOSES Organic Farming Conference, for which I was again proud to design. It definitely isn’t the quiet season for the MOSES team—not with their big event coming in just three short weeks. They put on the largest conference of its kind in the U.S., so if you’re into organic and sustainable agriculture, be sure to attend. It’s over the moon (an apt but pun-ish descriptor in light of last night’s Super Blue Blood Moon).

My Wormfarm Institute clients, Donna and Jay, are currently in Mexico, researching exciting food and art for this fall’s Fermentation Fest (last year’s mezcal class and dinner were huge successes). Both these non-profits could not exist without continuous outreach for funding and exposure. It’s hard, skillful work and Donna is a master. Her efforts were recently rewarded with recognition in an upcoming publication by Americans for the Arts.

Adunate

It’s the quiet season for Adunate too. Quiet, but, again, busy behind the scenes. I’ve been marketing, marketing, marketing—a fact of life for every business. One of my goals for 2018 is to target the female ag industry. In her book Soil Sisters, author Lisa Kivirist describes the growing number of women farmers and how they’re changing the face of American agriculture.

“New women farmers are primarily starting small-scale, diversified, locally focused and family-run operations, bucking the corporate agriculture trend of fewer small family farms and more consolidation,” says Kivirist.

For the most part, those USDA-subsidized corporate farms are producing just corn and soybeans for animal feed or fuel. Contrast that with women farmers who raise a diversity of crops going directly from their farm to a family’s table. Or a school cafeteria. Or a senior health community. They’re sustaining their land and giving back to the soil. Can you see the nurturing going on here? These are the caring people with whom I want to work.

Speaking of books…

Here’s what I’m reading these days (and yes, I’m dabbling in all four—it’s the quiet season, after all). Some of them are great reads about food, land and business. Others will help me to help you market your products. Give me a call!

Braiding Sweetgrass: This one drew my attention because it it melds the spiritual and scientific aspects of nature. I’ve long been a proponent of both, like say, gardening by the moon (there’s that moon again!). God created an awesome earth and, of course, every part of it is connected.
Articulating Design Decisions: Many times the customer doesn’t understand the designer’s reason for a design. Often designers, ahem, me, have trouble articulating their reasons. This book is well-written, easy to read, and in many ways is applicable to anyone who talks about their product. I wish I’d read this twenty years ago!
An Unlikely Vineyard: I want to take a road trip to Vermont! This is both a life story and how-to for restoring the land and building an eight-acre vineyard. She beautifully speaks of terroir, essence of place, and the meditation of cultivation.
Gastrophysics: Did you know there’s a science to enjoying your food? Things like what color plate it’s served on or what sounds are playing in the background? This covers our five senses and how they affect our perception of food. One reviewer named it a manual for restaurants. I think it’s great for anyone who markets food.

So there you have it, some happenings in this seemingly quiet season. Stay warm, be healthy and keep busy!