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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallIn 2020, first-generation farmer Scott Thellman used a fast-built online grocery venture to help replace sales lost when restaurants, schools, and hospitals curtailed orders. His experience near Lawrence, Kansas, shows how a diversified farm developed a specialty produce business—and how a sudden shift to direct sales brought new capacity pressures. It is a historical case study, not a report on the farm’s current size or status.
How Scott Thellman built a niche produce business
Thellman’s operation outside Lawrence, Kansas, included hay, alfalfa, row crops, fruit, and vegetables. He began with a small vegetable plot while pursuing a path that included saving for hay equipment, studying at Iowa State University, and returning to the farm. When he diversified into fruits and vegetables, he bought a refrigerated truck to help reach markets.
The produce enterprise grew from a fraction of an acre into a substantial part of the operation. Thellman described the change this way: “I went from 1/800 of an acre my first year to 40 to 50 acres today.” The profile does not break out revenue by enterprise, so acreage growth should not be mistaken for a measure of profitability. Successful Farming’s December 15, 2020 profile reports that a 49,000-square-foot high tunnel helped him enter the organic heirloom tomato market, but does not provide a return-on-investment calculation.
Finding customers was part of the business model, not an afterthought. “It just took somebody willing to find those markets,” Thellman said. The account presents local-food demand and market development as part of how the niche grew; it does not establish that the same crop or infrastructure would work for every farm.
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Why the pandemic forced a change in sales
A large share of the farm’s produce had been sold to restaurants, school districts, and hospitals. When those customers reduced or stopped deliveries during the pandemic, Thellman’s farm rapidly lost outlets. In mid-March 2020, he and a local meat distributor launched Sunflower Provisions, an online grocery store intended to connect customers with local food.
At the time of the profile, the store had nearly 200 items, at least 120 of them local, and had filled more than 6,000 orders. Those are figures reported in December 2020, not current totals. Thellman said direct-to-consumer sales through the joint venture helped save the vegetable business and the first-generation farm. That is his account of one operation’s experience—not proof that online sales can replace wholesale, institutional, or restaurant revenue for every farm.
His explanation for the value of diversification was straightforward: “This year was that year.” In context, he meant that having multiple farm enterprises gave him alternatives in a year when some might not be profitable. The case illustrates a possible resilience strategy, while leaving the costs, margins, and relative contribution of each enterprise unquantified.
What broader evidence says about direct and online sales
A 2022 study in Agricultural Systems provides a bounded comparison, not a national estimate. Among the study’s California direct-market farmer respondents, 68% felt able to respond during March–December 2020. Of those who answered the marketing-channel question, 86% used at least one direct-to-consumer channel; 46% reported using online marketing channels during that same period. The sample was limited to California direct-market farmers, so these percentages should not be generalized to all U.S. farms. The study’s article describes its population and findings.
Official House hearing testimony also described local producers pivoting when restaurant demand disappeared and consumer demand shifted. Witness Ms. Kennedy said, “we all had to pivot in a moment’s notice.” Her testimony is broader pandemic context from other operations, not a statement about Thellman’s farm. It also addressed the difficulty small producers faced in securing support for rapid changes and finding outlets after pandemic demand receded. The hearing testimony captures those concerns.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Growth created operational bottlenecks
The online channel brought orders, but it also increased demands on storage and fulfillment. The 2020 profile said the farm’s 4,000-square-foot stock house was overcapacity. As of December that year, Thellman was working to develop a processing kitchen so Sunflower Provisions could buy more selected bell peppers and No. 2 vegetables—produce that might otherwise be harder to sell through fresh channels.
He also hoped to build additional greenhouses, enlarge the loading dock, and move the online store into a separate facility the following year. These were plans reported in 2020; the cited profile does not confirm whether they were completed. The progression matters: a new sales channel can relieve dependence on a disrupted customer group while creating its own needs for storage, processing, labor, loading, and space.
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What this case can—and cannot—teach a farm business
- Diversification can create options. Thellman described multiple enterprises as useful when some lines of business faltered, but the profile does not quantify the costs or profits of those enterprises.
- Markets need active development. The farm’s expansion involved seeking customers and adding equipment, including a refrigerated truck, rather than simply growing more produce.
- Direct sales are not an automatic substitute. The online venture helped this operation according to Thellman, but the case does not show that another farm could replace lost wholesale volume or earn comparable margins.
- Sales growth can expose capacity limits. The reported stock-house overcapacity and proposed processing and loading improvements show why fulfillment infrastructure must keep pace with a new channel.
- Time-bound figures need context. The acreage, order count, product mix, and facility plans describe the operation as presented in December 2020, not its present-day status.
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