4 Farms That Locked In Revenue Before the Season Even Started

There's a moment in every growing season when the real anxiety hits: will people actually buy at the prices you need? Will you move the volume?

One approach is to wait until harvest and hope a flash sale or two does the trick.

But some farms take a different approach. They ask first.

They open pre-orders weeks before the product is ready — cherry presales in April for a May harvest, plant starts in March for late spring arrival. They collect payment upfront. And by the time the product is ready to move, the revenue's in the bank, the demand is confirmed, and there's zero guesswork about whether it'll sell.

That shift changes everything. You're not guessing demand — you're confirming it. Cash flow flips when you get paid before you harvest, not after. And your best inventory goes to your best customers — the ones who show up year after year — not whoever wanders up to the farmstand first. Pre-orders turn loyalty into early access.

Here's what that looks like in action. 👇

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Frog Hollow Farm (Brentwood, CA) opens first-of-the-season cherry pre-orders weeks before harvest. Members browsing the shop for their usual add-ons see the presale banner front and center — and can order alongside their weekly extras. By the time fruit hits the stand, half the inventory is already committed.

→ Browse their shop and presale

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Panther Branch Farms (Raleigh, NC) is running a local food collaboration to pre-sell limited runs of apple butter, scuppernong grape jelly, and fresh raw milk by the half gallon. Small batch. Limited supply. The kind of thing that sells out before you can post about it — unless you give members a way to claim it first.

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→ See the pre-order sale

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Stillman's Farm (New Braintree, MA) gives their CSA members first dibs on the annual plant sale — the most anticipated drop of the season. They send an email announcing the window, link straight to the sale, and cross-post it on their website and social media. By the time casual browsers show up, loyal members already have their tomato starts claimed.

→ See the sale · Read the email they sent · View website integration

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Taylor Family Farm (Vancouver, WA) runs a spring plant sale with 60+ varieties– tomatoes, peppers, herbs, dahlias, even honeybees. Their shop page is visual, organized by category, and has a banner driving straight to the pre-order. Members know exactly what's available, and get order alerts when it's time to pick up.

→ Browse their shop and presale

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Three Things That Make Pre-Orders Work

1. Give members a clear deadline. "Pre-order cherries by May 10th." The specificity creates urgency. Use your pre-order sale dates to anchor the ask.
2. Email it separate from your regular order reminder. Don't bury the pre-order inside your weekly "place your order" email. It deserves its own moment. Tell the story of why you're doing it ("We need to know how much to harvest") and what members get in return ("You lock in the price, we lock in the harvest").
3. Reward your best customers first. Your most in-demand products shouldn't go to whoever shows up earliest at the farmstand. Pre-orders let you reserve premium inventory — first-of-season cherries, heirloom plant starts, limited-run honey — for the members who are with you year after year and spend the most. That's early access as a thank-you for loyalty.

The farms that build momentum early don't wait for the season to tell them what to do. They ask their members first. Pre-orders let you lead instead of react.

If you're already using Farmhand and ready to set up a pre-order sale, just text us. We'll build it, send it, and help you track the results.

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🎥 See How to Collect Pre-orders in 30 Seconds on Farmhand

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