PROJECT ON-FARM

TITLE OF THE CASE STUDY

Multifunctional farm

MAIN DATA OF THE COMPANY

Name of the Company

MOLARE’S

Country

Type of the Company

Farming Activity

Direct selling way

SELF – INTRODUCTION OF THE FARMER

Molare’s is a “birrificio agricolo” (“agricultural brewery”), located in Cremolino (AL), in the Alto Monferrato region of Piemonte (Italy) and owned by the 28-year-old Caterina Ferrario. Molare’s has around 90 hectares, including barley fields from which 5 different typologies of beers are produced and 3 hectares of native vineyards (Dolcetto and Cortese) for the wine production. Moreover, the farm has 30 beehives and a tap room, where they directly sell wines and beers and make tastings with food pairings. Periodically, Caterina organizes gastronomic events, with local producers and artists. Molare’s is defined as “birrificio agricolo” as they produce minimum of 70% of the barley used for the beers. Apart from the hops, the entire supply chain of the beer is internal and they plant on average 1 hectare of barley per year. Caterina studied at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, she holds a Master’s in wine marketing and she is wine sommelier. Molare’s has 9 employees: Caterina, one manager of the vineyards and 7 employees for the agri-touristic part (chefs and waiters). Moreover, Caterina’s parents occasionally help at the farm. At Molare’s, the entire production chain is internal, as well as the selling of the products, sold for almost the totality directly on the farm or in local markets. Beer is the most sold product, mainly in the tap room. Caterina benefits from being one of the few beer producer of the area, historically devoted to wine-production. They produce according to the organic philosophy, but they don’t have an organic certification. They don’t sell through online channels.

CHANGES / INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS ADOPTED

Molare’s was initially created by Caterina’s dad, who used to work in the industrial sector. When Caterina was studying at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, her dad became passionate about agriculture and together they started some rural hobbies (beekeeping and beer production). Without any expectation, Molare’s soon became a professional farm. When Caterina took over in 2019, she decided to buy a farmstead and renovate the farm. Thanks to the financial help from the family, some regional funds as a female young entrepreneur and some bank loans, Caterina managed to introduce some innovations: she enlarged the tap room, invested in new machineries (tractor) and installed solar panels. When Caterina bought the farmstead, she inherited from the neighbors three hectares of local vineyards: she decided to take care of them and started producing wine.

WHY AND HOW YOU DECIDED TO INTRODUCE  STRATEGY CHANGES / INNOVATIONS

According to Caterina, many of the innovations that she introduced came naturally. For example, in the initial plan, she didn’t consider to include an agri-touristic part. However, as Alto Monferrato saw an increase in tourists after the Covid-19 pandemics, the demand to visit Molare’s and directly taste the products increased and Caterina decided to introduce the tap room. Caterina decided to base the selling strategy directly on farm, to have more independence from third parties and increase the revenues.

WHAT OBSTACLES DID YOU MEET

Initially, the majority of challenges came from the financial situation: according to Caterina, the financial support from the parents and the loans from the bank were essential to install her activity, especially considering that obtaining European funds is very bureaucratic and time-consuming and often not successful. Extreme weather events posed also serious challenges. In 2019, she had to face the consequences of a heavy flooding. The road that leads to the farm was condemned and they had to close for some months. Similarly, the pandemic of Covid-19 impacted the production and decrease the revenues. According to Caterina, managing a farm requires a good problem-solving attitude, especially when it comes to managing the staff or the relations with clients. Moreover, while working with the parents, natural tensions can arise.

EVALUATION OF THE RESULTS

Caterina is very satisfied with her activity. In her opinion, working as a rural entrepreneur in direct selling requires many competences, including good relational skills to work directly with the public and the capacity to use social media effectively. Moreover, knowing many languages is an important asset.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENT AND WHAT ARE THE PERSPECTIVES IN YOUR MIND

Caterina is very satisfied of the choices made in the past. In the future, she would like to expand the farm and introduce new changes: for example, she would like to create some rooms for overnight stays.

FINAL SENTENCES

General Evaluation

Molare’s is an inspiring example of a multifunctional farm based on on-farm processing and direct selling. Molare’s concept – based on farming, beekeeping, transforming and selling products on-farm and agritourism - highlights the importance of diversifying revenues for an economically viable farming activity. Caterina is a model of the young farmer from our era: well-educated, with good relational and social media skills, aware of the potential of agriculture to valorize the territory, create social dynamism and preserve the environment. Molare’s, a successful example of a farm entirely based on direct selling, shows the importance of creating on-farm experiences for the public (e.g. tastings, events). Gastronomy has a role to play in this direction.

Suggestions for other farmers

When asked to provide a piece of advice to a young farmer interesting in short food supply chains, Caterina stressed the importance of having passion for the rural work and a positive attitude to step up to challenges and overcome difficulties. Moreover, it’s important to be aware that working as a farmer can be hard as there are no rest day or holidays. However, passion and commitment are the key ingredients.