Chamber of Agriculture Lower-Saxony (CALS) and the support community “Einkaufen auf dem Bauernhof (EADB)”
Chamber of Agriculture Lower-Saxony (CALS) and the support community “Einkaufen auf dem Bauernhof (EADB)”
The Chamber of Agriculture Lower-Saxony (CALS) is a self-governed non-profit organization, which also acts as a public body. Activities include consulting, support and professional education in “green professions”, including field testing. Members and customers are private forest holders, horticulture businesses, farming businesses and businesses in the sector of aquaculture.
“Einkaufen auf dem Bauernhof (EADB)” (Shopping at the Farm) is a support community for directly marketed agricultural products. The community is organized via several farmer associations and the agricultural chambers of the federal states. It is the largest union for agricultural direct marketing in Germany.
Concept & Philosophy
"Shopping at the farm" means that uniformly looking and tasting standard products, should not exist.
At times when small businesses are increasingly being driven out of the market by large corporations, the ability of self-marketing becomes a key skill to ensure competitiveness and maintenance of operations. The support community "Einkaufen auf dem Bauernhof" supports directly marketing agricultural businesses by creating a striking unique profile through advertising and public relations.
Individuality, through special products, freshness, recipes, customer service, etc. are decisive factors to differentiate and to satisfy and bind customers. As a common feature, members of the development community use the self-developed, nationwide sign "Shopping at the Farm", which guarantees that products come exclusively from their own farm and any additionally purchased goods are acquired only from personally known farms (not from trade or the food industry). Advantages of the support community are manifold:
- Supporting regional businesses and promoting seasonality and product diversity
- Creation of experience- and education- spaces through farm visits
- Direct consultation and direct contact between customer and producer
- Transparency along the value chain (cultivation, harvest and processing)
- Representing and strengthening interests of direct marketers vis-à-vis the public
- Use of counseling services within the support community