The New Business of Agribusiness, Part I: Skylight Farm on Connecting Crops with Culture

Brittany Price, one of our newest team members, has worked extensively with Atlanta-area biodiverse vegetable farm, Skylight Farm, offering communications, marketing and business development support. This young, up-and-coming local business is owned and operated by 27-year-old Justin Aiello of Douglasville, Ga. Skylight Farm is the result of Aiello’s landscaping background paired with his desire to care for the environment; it may also have something to do with the fact that Aiello just loves good food.

Through a farm apprenticeship, the young farmer learned the ins-and-outs of organic production. When Aiello was provided land on which to start his own farm, he knew the biodiverse and organic model was the path he would take, as he explains, “Stewarding the land organically allows me to give back just as much as I take, maintain healthy, nutrient rich soil and have a farm that will be sustainable for many years to come.” Aiello is one of a growing number of Georgia farmers who are revolutionizing the face of organic farming in two key ways: with a fresh perspective in agribusiness marketing and with innovative and specialized growing methods.

[Photo Credit – Justen Clay Photography]

Often, representatives from organic farms will simply show up for a farmers market, hoping their goods will speak for themselves. However, Aiello believes the highest level of marketing is necessary for a farm’s success. This means that everything is executed with the consumer in mind, including the basic layout of his booth at the market, the farm’s customer outreach, and especially its branding. From the farm’s extensive utilization of social media marketing to the award-winning design created for Skylight Farm by Atlanta-based designer, Russell Shaw (to view Skylight Farm’s branding, click here), a great deal of the young farm’s success is due to a comprehensive approach to marketing. Aiello has also built relationships in the food service industry creating a partnership with BoccaLupo, an Atlanta-based modern, Italian restaurant that was recently featured on the cover of Atlanta Magazine as one of the city’s best new restaurants.

[Photo Credit – Justen Clay Photography]

From its novel, natural growing methods, to Aiello’s exceptional marketing and branding standards, Skylight Farm creates a new norm for the agricultural industry. No matter the size of a farm, the Eberly & Collard team believes that Justin Aiello of Skylight Farm, along with a growing community of like-minded businesses, will have a profound effect on the way growers and producers connect with consumers. Our team is excited to be a part of building these connections.

Stay tuned for Part II of our Agribusiness Series featuring Skylight Farm, in which we’ll share more about what it takes to operate an organic farm: the farm’s growing practices and as Aiello emphasizes, “all the good old-fashioned hard work,” that goes into making Skylight Farm a success.

For more information on Skylight Farm, click the link to visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/skylightfarmGA

You can also visit with Justin and the rest of the Skylight Farm team or pick up some veggies at the Piedmont Park Green Market every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Click the link for more information: http://ow.ly/oHSDM

[Photo Credit – ECPR]