How to Sell Turnips on a Flatbed Truck

Not all mobile food vendors fry up their meals for hungry construction workers. Mobile food vendors also delight in providing health foods as well. Country singer Billy Currington made the phrase "selling turnips on a flatbed truck" popular in the lyrics of a 2005 single release called "Good Directions" only to make a point, but selling vegetables is actually a viable business opportunity. Sell turnips on a flatbed truck and you can provide healthy eating while making cash.

Instructions

Mobile Vegetable Sales Business

1

Get experience in the farming industry before venturing out on your own. Eldon Everhart and Barbara Lovitt wrote in the Iowa state University Horticulture Guide that "Spending at least two years producing and marketing the specific crops you hope to sell will give you the opportunity to learn how others handle problems caused by the weather or other variables."

2

Lease or buy a flatbed truck that can haul your turnips from delivery to delivery. Flatbed trucks have flat bodies with no side walls or roofs. Compare prices of new and used truck deals at dealerships and private owner sales listings.

3

Get funding for land, machinery and equipment and working capital for growing your own turnips. Apply for Federal Grants. Contact the USDA Rural development department and request a list of available grants and application guidelines. Contact your state agricultural department and request a list of potential grant funding sources for new farms and farmers.

4

Grow your own turnips. Clear an area of land of weeds, rocks and garbage. Cover the ear in garden soil. Plant turnip seeds an inch deep and separate the seeds by about four inches. Water regularly.

5

Make a list of potential customers before your harvest is ready. In the Book, "Living on an Acre: A Practical Guide to the Self-Reliant Life," written for the U.S. Department of Agriculture by Christine Woodside, Woodside writes (p.164), "If your farm is a long way from the consumer, you may choose to sell through a broker-shipper who buys your crop and sells it to a chain. If possible, it's best to sell directly to the consumers. You make more money and it's much easier." Your customers can include independent grocery store chains, holistic food stores or direct to consumer.

6

Create a brochure with pictures of your farm and your budding new crop to announce to your list of prospects that you are the new place in town to get turnips. Create a website. List your methods for planting and gardening. Customers may be concerned about any pesticides you use. Educate your customers on your website.

7

Advertise in the community newsletter. Use your desktop publishing software to create pre-order forms to take down any calls and orders placed in advanced of the maturation of the turnips.

8

Once the turnips are ready to be harvested, deliver the orders to the customer who pre-ordered to give them first pick of the new crop.

9

Use social networks to let people know the latest location of your traveling farmers market when the harvest is ready. Pick a few spots on a map that you can park your truck for a while and allow people to stop and rummage through your crop. Announce every movement to a new location on your Twitter account.

10

Print signs to post in front of your parking area. Hire a signage company to produce professional looking directional signs. Directional signs point to where your truck is parked and allow customers to find you more easily. Design your own with a few sticks of wood and some paint if you want to save money.

11

Keep sales simple and accept cash only. Offer discounts for large bulk purchases. Bring along canisters and newspapers to wraps the purchases in. Thank every customer for their patronage.