Argus Farm Stop, The Farm Stop Model, and Why We're Excited To Be A Part Of It

If you’ve been following us on social media you may have seen that you can get your jerky at Argus Farm Stop in Ann Arbor and Agricole in Chelsea. Their business model is one we want to shout from the rooftops because it’s one that we identify with closely.

The part we identify with that I’m referring to is local community and pushing back against big business and the corporate machine.

Keep in mind while I’m an opinionated guy (I know doth thou protest but it’s true hehe…and I’m not 100% sure I used that phrase correctly but I digress…) I can see both sides of many equations. Overall I had a crappy experience in Corporate America and I’m not a huge fan. It wasn’t ALL bad but I’m certainly partial to small biz. I like to say Ally rescued me from corporate misery when she made me join her in her photography business and open Frameable Faces in West Bloomfield in 2008. And here I am sitting in OUR studio blogging away while jamming to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard because I feel like it and I have zero corporate bosses/hacks that I have to answer to. Large corporations have their place in the American economy and some industries have big barriers to entry for an entrepreneur for good reason. You still don’t want cars on the road built by a dude in his backyard.

What bums me out though is when big box retailers and chains take down the mom & pop shops or in this case when industrialized farming squeezes out local growers. The latter scenario I’ll admit I wasn’t as familiar with – at least not the details. I’m aware of it when it comes to sustainability at a world level and I’ve done my part by choosing a plant-based diet (about 95%) for about 7 years or so. Obviously we are doing our part on that front by owning a vegan jerky company and evangelizing a plant-based diet.

Argus Farm Stop

So I was just Googling and looking for some stores that would sell Detroit Jerky when I came across Argus Farm Stop in Ann Arbor, located on Packard in a building that was a pet store when I attended U of M from ’88-’92. I had no idea what I was in for and I didn’t know what a farm stop was. I dropped off some samples and a couple weeks later I received an email saying we had been accepted as a producer!

You can feel the vibe right when you walk in and I felt it the moment I arrived to drop off the first order of jerky. They offered me a drink and I think I had a French Toast cold brew coffee of some sort that was delicious while several team members came over to my table for introductions and to chat. It felt like community – I was welcomed like family and they had a fantastic selection of local artisan prepared foods with plenty of vegan options. They even have frequent pop-ups, local beer and wine, and events like trivia on Tuesdays and the occasional live music. I love it! Funny enough as it turns out our daughter Lacey was an Argus Farm Stop fan while she was a student at Michigan – we didn’t even know it. They have 3 locations in Ann Arbor and you can get Detroit Jerky at the moment at the two on Packard – one is a cafe and one is a market – just a couple doors down from each other. Here are some photos from the cafe:

The Farm Stop Model

What’s also different about this place is the farm stop model – simply put, as stated on the “Our Mission” page at their website, they provide a place where local farms can sell locally-grown produce and other goods conveniently to consumers, year-round. It’s an everyday farmer’s market!

The farmers and producers (like us) who sell their goods at Argus receive 70% of the purchase price for their goods. Farmers on average receive only 15 cents on the retail sales dollar when selling through traditional channels. Middlemen and distributors take the remaining 85 cents. Small local farms cannot survive on this type of margin. These factoids are all on the Argus website which is where we pulled them from – you should really give it a read.

But Argus isn’t stopping at Argus. They are training other folks on how to replicate the model for their own local communities and that’s what brought us to Agricole – another farm stop that Argus helped set up in Chelsea! Jamie at Argus referred us over there and now you can get your jerky at Agricole as well! I hope a farm stop appears in the city of Detroit or in the Detroit suburbs someday… Here are some photos from my visit to Agricole:

So we’re excited and honored to be on the shelves at these farm stops, and we encourage you to do your research – shop local where you can, visit these farm stops if you’re in southeastern Michigan, and try to promote the idea of this model in your town! Reach out to the folks at Argus if you want to learn how to do it!