Sauk City Farmer’s Co-Op opens opportunities for local farmer’s products to reach their community

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Ranch & Root Farmer’s Co-Op in Sauk City is helping farmers reach their community. Friends and fellow farmers, Courtney Feigl and Becca Litscher started the co-op as an opportunity to get their farm’s products to their community.

Feigl raises Texas Longhorns and Litscher grows produce at their respective family farms. They were lacking places to sell their products in their area.

“I was repetitively hearing we need a co-op in our community,” explained Becca Litscher, Co-founder of Ranch & Root Farmer’s Co-Op.

Both have other businesses but decided to give it a try together, not expecting much to come out of it.

“I can’t believe it when we first started out in that tiny space I thought we were just going to do it for the summer,” explained Courtney Feigl, Co-founder of Ranch & Root Farmer’s Co-Op.

They started by sub-leasing a small shop in mid-June, selling their own products. They soon added more vendors and had frequent shoppers. They quickly realized they needed a bigger shop. They moved into their location at 707 Water St. Sauk City in mid-October. Now they have over 45 vendors using their space.

The co-op sells farm goods on consignment at a 30% rate. Vendors can also work the shop and decrease the consignment rate depending on the hours put in. The owners do not profit from the sales as the collected consignment goes into rent and other maintenance costs for the business.

The shop is continuing to expand and grow in vendors and opportunities in the storefront. They are now working on setting up a seating area for coffee service and are in the planning stages to open a space meant for classes and workshops

“Yes, we actually are just waiting on a space to kind of be cleared out here in our building And then we will Be making that into the class space,” said Litscher.

They hope vendors can hold classes on how they use their products, and how to start small farms.

“There we would like to have a space where all of our vendors can teach their crafts and teach canning or growing or cooking lessons or process preservation, drawing your herbs, or fabric dying. Yeah, the possibilities are endless,” said the co-owners.

Ranch & Root also says it’s important to support small shops rather than shopping big. This helps keep prices down and helps boost the local economy.

“You’re keeping your money more local. You’re helping your friends, your neighbor, not only financially with what they’re doing as a job and bringing that money in, but those are the same people in your small communities that are donating and sponsoring a lot of different sports events and really keeping that money local,” said Litscher.

Now, they hope others can be inspired by their business model and start their own Farmer’s co-ops in their communities.

“We would love it if others copied our unique business model and started their own farmer’s co-op in their community, I think that would be really neat,” said Feigl, “I think every town should have one.”

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