by For a farmer, there are few things more exciting than a larger-than-expected harvest.
But while healthy harvests often come with hefty profits, they also bring unexpected challenges.
That’s why you need to understand the ins and outs of farm inventory in agriculture, including what it is, the best practices for tracking it, and how to make the most of it.
Let’s explore everything you need to know about farm inventory in agriculture.
What Is Farm Inventory in Agriculture?
Let’s start with the basics: Farm inventory is what’s available for sale in your farm store.
Depending on what your agricultural specialty is, your farm inventory can include perishable and nonperishable goods like:
- Fresh or frozen meats
- Fresh, frozen, or canned produce
- Eggs
- Dairy products like milk, butter, and cream
- Honey
- Processed products like sausage, stock, or jerky
As consumer demand for sustainably sourced groceries continues to skyrocket, farm-fresh products like these are in high demand. But to take advantage of this trend and turn your harvests into a profit, you have to master the art of farm inventory management.
How To Manage Farm Inventory in Agriculture
Inventory management is one of the most important ingredients for farm retail success.
Understanding how much of each type of meat, produce, or dairy product you have on hand should inform almost every aspect of your operations, helping you decide where to sell your products, what types of promotions to run, and how to market your farm.
Let’s explore the four key steps to manage farm inventory in the agriculture retail industry.
1. Invest in Farm Inventory Management Software
As a farmer, your to-do list is miles long. Between caring for your animals, educating your customers about regenerative farming, and managing the endless cycle of planting and harvesting, finding the time to keep flawless inventory records can be tough.
Fortunately, the right farm inventory management software can take this time-consuming task off your plate.
This tool tracks your stock levels in real time, giving you an accurate overview of how many pounds of ground beef, packages of steak, and cartons of eggs you have on hand — and taking the guesswork out of managing your farm inventory.
With this data at your fingertips, you can make informed decisions to minimize waste and maximize your sales. For example, if your software reveals that you have more pork chops on hand than are expected to sell, you can launch a last-minute promotion to encourage customers to purchase them before they go to waste.
2. Thoroughly Label Your Products
Another important step in farm inventory management is to leverage labels.
Labeling your products is crucial for keeping your farm’s refrigerators and freezers organized, reducing spoilage, and making your customers’ shopping experience more convenient.
When you prepare and package a pound of ground breakfast sausage for sale, you should immediately label it with its exact weight, price, and expiration date. It’s also a good idea to invest in a label printer that generates barcodes — which can make the farm store checkout and online order fulfillment processes a breeze.
The simplest farm inventory labeling solution is to invest in a deli scale with two key features. First, it should integrate directly with your farm point of sale (POS) and inventory management software to ensure accurate stock and sales records.
Second, your scale should have a built-in label printer, which lets you print a label with the weight, price, and barcode immediately after weighing and packaging a product for sale.
Related Read: Selling Food by Weight: 5 Things You Need To Know
3. Track Your Farm Store’s Sales
Understanding your sales trends is another critical step in managing your farm inventory. After all, you can’t turn your harvests into a profit if you aren’t making sales.
Your POS system’s sales reports should reveal whether or not you’re making the most of your farm inventory, letting you see your overall sales and giving you insights into which of your products are performing the best and worst.
If you notice a change in your farm’s sales performance, you can adopt new marketing and selling strategies to give it a boost.
For example, if visits to your farm store or farmers’ market booth have dropped, you can experiment with farm e-commerce and expand your customer base by selling your goods online. You could also launch a customer loyalty program or a subscription service, both of which can generate a steady stream of sales for your farm.
4. Make a Long-Term Farm Inventory Management Plan
Perhaps the biggest benefit of understanding farm inventory is that it allows you to make long-term plans to expand your operations and grow your profits.
By investing in a powerful farm software solution and digging into your sales reports, you can discover your customers’ preferences and shopping habits — and use these insights to meet their needs.
Let’s walk through an example and imagine that you sell pork, beef, and chicken in your farm store. After reviewing your sales and inventory reports, you realize that your beef products are wildly popular, but your pork products have a much slower turnover rate.
When it’s time to make a plan for the future and determine which types of livestock to invest in, you’ll know that your customers prefer ground beef and steak over sausage and pork chops, and you’ll be able to make an informed decision to meet your customers’ needs and maximize your investment.
Streamline Farm Inventory Management and Sales With GrazeCart
Your first step toward flawless inventory management is to invest in a powerful farm software solution like GrazeCart.
Our system lets you track your stock, make in-person and online sales, grow your customer base through e-commerce and subscriptions, and streamline your operations with features like order management and advanced reporting.
See how GrazeCart can transform your farm by launching your free, two-week trial today.