A farmers group in Audubon County is entering its fourth year of direct-marketing farm products to customers in central Iowa. The six members of “Audubon County Family Farms” joined together in 1997 to try and find a way to add value to their operations. Spokesperson Cindy Madsen says the project has moved ahead slowly.She says one of the advantages of direct marketing is they get to know the people who’re buying their products. And she says the people who buy like to come and visit the farms to find out where the meat and other products are grown.Madsen says it makes the farm operation she runs with her husband near Audubon a little more interesting.Madsen says direct marketing farm products can help improve a farmer’s bottom line. But, she says it doesn’t guarantee better profits, and does take more time.She says members of the group began by selling their goods at the Farmer’s Market in Des Moines.
