Here’s a small business using the Internet as a marketing, sales, and customer support medium:

“I have had a Web site for 10 years, http://www.crittercorn.com,” Nyffeler said. “It is not a big moneymaker — most of my bread-and-butter business is from supermarket chains — but it gets my name out there.”

He said some of his larger sales have stemmed from businesses seeing his name on the Web site.

In addition to attracting customers from California to Maine, Nyffeler said, he uses the Internet as an effective communication tool with clients.

— Some farmers counting Internet as farm asset, By ADRIAN SANCHEZ, Columbus Telegram, vi AP, 3 March 2007

No more telephone tag. Nyffeler says now everybody uses e-mail, “and the messages are short and sweet.”

Another farmer uses the Internet to facilitate risk mangement by researching markets and crop growing information:

“You could read in magazines or talk with other farmers. (Now) you can go online without making numerous phone calls or reading numerous publications,” he said. “It has made adapting to change much easier because you can access information so fast.”

Although the telecommunications age may benefit his operation, ultimately the information can only help weather a storm, Jedlicka said.

“You can be prepared before something hits (and) use information to limit risk as far as markets and crop production go,” he said. “(But) we are really subject to Mother Nature.”

You can’t fool Mother Nature, but you can adapt better if you know more about what she’s doing and what other farmers are doing.

That’s using the Internet for business risk management.

-jsq