Great Ideas You Can Use From The Great Lakes Expo Farm Market Tour

By Carol Miller|January 8, 2016

In early December, the Great Lakes Expo organized a day of tours for farm marketers. The Great Lakes Expo had a diverse line up for us to visit this year, from typical farm markets to hard cider houses to a bean farm.

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Carousel at Klackle Orchards

Klackle Orchards is a farm market at the top of its game. Over the years it has been able to reinvest into the company until it reaches it current state, complete with a country-fair-like area, including this gorgeous carousel.
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Window into the kitchen at Klackle Orchards

Klackle Orchards has found a great way to educate its customers about what they do. They allow them to see into the back rooms, including the kitchen, the donut machine room and the cider press.
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Apple sorting machine on display at Klackle

Continuing with the educational theme, Klackle Orchards has an apple sorting machine in the a room off of the main market. They've added signs to explain how each part of the machine functions.
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Cider bar at Klackle Orchard

Cider tastings are held at a bar, located in the heart of the farm market. Color choices and signage give this bar a warmth that's perfect for welcoming customers.
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Soccer Pavillion at Klackle Orchards

The large white building in the background is an indoor arena where sports leagues can play. Currently, the Pavillion is being used for soccer leagues and provides a nice supplementary income for Klackle in the off season.
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Outdoor eating area at Klackle Orchards

Families like having a picnic at farm markets. Klackle gives them the space to eat comfortably and sells enough treats to round out their menus.
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Apple gift box instructions at H&W Farms

H&W Farms, which has a robust online business, goes low tech for its apple gift boxes. A hand-written sign inside the gift box spells out how the program works. Prices vary according to whether the box is shipped or not and if they are being shipped a long distance.
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Select lumber sold at H&W

H&W stocked several non-traditional items, all locally produced. This wall of lumber included hard-to-find and high quality planks. A white oak board with its bark still attached went for $50.
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Petting zoo area at Krupp Farms

Even during the off season, Krupp Farms keeps its ancillary divisions like the petting zoo in great shape. The features are attractive even when animals are not in residence.
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Diner booths at Krupp Farms

Krupp Farms has a small stand-alone ice cream shop next to its main store. While there isn't enough room in the ice cream shop for seating, the Krupps added this vintage diner booths just past the doors so customers can enjoy their treats in style.
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Gray buildings at Carlson-Arbogast bean farm

Carlson-Arbogast Farms has found a way to make a working farm gorgeous. It simply paints all of its exterior buildings, from the historic stone barn to the truck dock to the processing building, the same color gray.
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Vander Mill bar

Hard cider maker Vander Mill's not-yet-open production and tap-room has many beautiful design features. Here's one any apple marketer can imitate: the high-end back wall is actually made entirely from apple crates.
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View of cider tanks at Vander Mill

Vander Mill has a production floor behind and below the tap room, and installed large windows so patrons can see where the cider they're drinking was made.