It’s got to the point where I really do need to name my farm. I’ve put it off for a few years, but I’m finally about to join the local growers association where I will be listed in their annual printed farm guide (oops, too late for this year’s edition) and website. I’ve got the form in front of me and they need a name.
I honestly don’t think a name is particularly critical and yet it still seems like a big decision. I don’t have any problem buying, for example, my strawberries from Smiarowski Farm even if his name is hard to pronounce. And I don’t see myself getting into any large retail venture where marketing is particularly important. But still, I’ve got to do it. Maybe just “David Kulp”. That’s what I’ve done so far. Here are some more thoughts on a name.
The name has got to be simple and unpretentious. There will be no “Happy Turtle Farm”, “Vajrayana Lotus Farm” or whatever. (I just made those up.) My neighbors simply call their farm “Sidehill”, which it is, and that seems to have worked quite well for them. For a while I’ve had “Sweet William’s” on my short list. I sell flowers and fruit, so it seemed sort of apropos and I liked the sounds of it. But there’s no William here, I haven’t successfully grown Sweet William, yet, and there’s a Sweet William Farm in eastern Massachusetts. So scratch that!
There’s a brook that runs through my property that joins Bear Creek, but there’s already a Bear Creek Farm. Other characteristics? Mine is a tiny place on a sloping hill, surrounded by woods, in the higher elevations of western Mass. It’s on Phillips Road. In fact, I have old sap buckets from the previous owner that say PRF. (But I don’t like putting “road” in the name. Maybe just Phillips Farm.) Besides lots of tress, there’s a small orchard, small vineyard, small pastures, and small field of annuals. I grow blueberries, raspberries, grapes, apples, and flowers that are sold retail and wholesale at a farmers market, local groceries, local florists, and a CSA.
Today I was looking around for more of Laura’s things to scan and post; I came across a letter to Laura from a friend (hi, Jen Courtney), that said “Elsie” on the envelope, and I thought of “Elsie’s Farm”. In college some of us called Laura “Elsie” (or “LC”) — I don’t know who started it — and I used it as a pet name since then. I don’t know if it would get old quickly or has staying power. Would you proudly tell someone you bought a pint of raspberries from Elsie’s? Maybe I should have a different name for the flower business than the fruit. A woman’s name probably sounds more appealing when buying flowers. “Elsie’s Garden — fresh cut, seasonal flowers …”
So give me your best ideas. If I choose yours then I promise that you’ll get something delightful from the farm — like some raspberry-applesauce or a big bouquet! Leave a reply to this post or send me an email (dkulp@dizz.org).
Farm naming contest
Thu, May 13th, 2010 12:28am by dkulp
Tags: Uncategorized
6 responses so far ↓
1 Rommy & Kevin // May 13, 2010 at 10:46 am
Hey David it’s Kevin. I really like Elsie’s. It sounds good and has some personal meaning. There is a story behind it, so it won’t be like you had to put a name on a form one day and you picked “Tiny Farm On A Sloping Hill”. I think the name is important. You put your heart, soul, and hard work into something and your name is what will represent that. What it will be known by. It will be your brand no matter how much market share you have. You can always separate things as well. A sub domain or whatever like Elsie’s Garden as a part of Elsie’s Farm. I also think it would be cool if at different times you opened your farm to the public for kids and family activities. We want to start our own garden to teach the boys how things grow and such, but we literally have nowhere to put it. So we’re looking for places to take them that have activities like that here in Maryland. Other than that, my Dad has decided to go all out this year and plant a ton of veggies. But when we go over there all they want to do is play and could care less about how our food is made. Anyways, good luck! That’s my two cents. _kev
2 Suzette Sager // May 13, 2010 at 11:15 am
How about Elsie Brook Farm! Nice to use something from the land in the name and I really like Elsie especially if it was a nickname for Laura.
3 tom hollandsworth // May 13, 2010 at 6:52 pm
ooh, i was hoping that you could combine the girls’ names into a clever and cryptic farm name that had a third hidden meaning, but liliomi farm and naolily orchards don’t quite cut it. Elsie’s or Elsie Brook both sound great, and conjure up a pastoral scene with a nice gentle cow (named Elsie of course) munching grass by a babbling brook. you may need to get one as a mascot. i’ll ask the kids for some ideas too.
4 Mark Arbeen // May 13, 2010 at 7:41 pm
David,
For very personal reasons, Elsie’s Farm is my choice. Elsie was my Great-Grandmother and the last of my grandparents to pass on. She lived long enough to go to my Navy Boot Camp Graduation and see me get my first promotion. I would love to have you name your wonderful farm Elsie’s Farm.
BTW, I love your explanation for Elsie (LC). I think it would be most appropriate to name it for Laura.
5 danielle // May 17, 2010 at 4:45 pm
hi david~
i love the name Elsie’s… however…. there is the Elsie’s Creamery associated with Randall’s Farm in Ludlow… I am not sure if that would conflict/ cause confusion for your business… could you just call your farm LC… or like you said, Elsie’s Garden for the flower part of the business… What about April’s (birth month of Laura and the girls, no?) Coleman’s?
i’ll keep thinking on it…. i am sure it will be great!
6 Sara Bothwell Allen // May 17, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Hi David–only met you the once, but Michael forwarded me your blog just now b/c he knows I love small farms so much, and I am familiar with the names of many little organic ones around here in the Monterey Bay area…hope you don’t mind my chiming in 🙂
First off, I LOVE the idea of using Elsie in the name. I wouldn’t go with LC, despite it being the origin of Elsie b/c it is harder for people to relate to (what is LC vs Elsie is for sure a woman). Elsie’s Brook Farm is a nice variation on that if you feel like it’s too similar to the Ludlow-based creamery, plus then you’ve just named your brook after Laura, how sweet! I’d love if a brook were named after me some day.
At the same time, I’m into Phillips Road Farm as well. People like to know where their food is coming from, more and more these days (thankfully!). One farm out here is named Meder Street Produce, and it sure lets everyone know where those awesome tomatoes are grown and think of the place with which they are associated. I can understand your not wanting to use “road” in the name, though if it functions just the same as naming it after a particular hill, creek, etc. to ground people in your geography, maybe it would bother you less? I like the idea of tying your current farm into the prior tapping farm that existed there before. Your farm fits into a time in an agricultural continuum. Given how many family farms have been lost and how much our land is being changed, this is a really special thing and to me worth recognizing.
There are plenty of farms out here named after the guy himself who runs it. Phil Foster’s farm is called “Phil Foster” but he sells his veggies under the label Pinnacle, which I guess is a marketing thing, and he’s got pretty big production for it being run by him. He’s a great guy, so I always smile when I see Pinnacle onions at the store. On the other hand, Jeff Young’s farm, another pillar of the local organic veggie farming community out here, I still can’t figure out what has happened to his land since he passed away a couple years ago. Probably someone else is growing there and renamed it, but it would have been nice to be able to keep a name, which is hard to do if the place is named after you.
Bit of a ramble. Sorry. Your home and farm are beautiful and I’m sure you’ll come to a name that suits you all well. I’m hoping Michael and I can make a trip to see my family in Boston this winter, and maybe we can take a trip to see you all and your named farm.