My name is Marilyn Batzel Ison, and I am The Farm-to-Table Lady™, I am an Agriculture Marketing Strategist and I teach people just like you how to turn your backyards, acreages, or small farms into part-time or full-time income, as market farmers or market gardeners.

I share my knowledge and recommendations for those interested in learning from my many years of farming experience and sales. I turned our five-acre farm into six streams of income, and I share what I did along with teaching how you can do that too.

I have been gardening and helped with farming on my grandparents’ farm since I was very young, even though I was raised in the city. My parents put out a huge garden every year and every summer I spent summers on the family farms where I learned how to milk cows by hand, and by milking machines, care for chickens, and all things done on a farm. Then 50-years ago I married a farmer. We farmed over 1,000 acres of soybeans, corn, milo, and wheat. We raised about 300 head of beef cattle and farrowed 20 head of sows three times per year. Our family partnership farmed with a neighbor and we had a custom silo filling operation and custom hay operation. Farming was in my blood and I loved it!

It costs a lot of money to farm that big, and we struggled for thirteen years with low pay for the grain, cattle, and hogs, high bank interest rates, and weather. We didn’t see a good way for us to keep throwing money in with little return, so we sold our part of the large farm operation and moved to the city where I was raised. After a few years of working jobs, we found a sweet little five-acre place and decided to see if it would pay the mortgage payment by market gardening. Even though we had a terrible drought the first year we tried it, we made our investment money back plus more by selling at two local Farmers’ Markets. It made a firm believer out of me that I could really make market farming work. And it did when I was downsized from my job in town, so I dove right in. I diversified each venue of the farm and ended up making a very good income. It wasn’t easy, but I learned how to make it work. I want to help simplify your desire to make money from your garden, acreage or small farm.

I dearly love farming and selling the products I raised. However, I chose my selling path in the wholesale business end. I have always been good at sales, and even though I enjoyed my retail customers, I very much enjoyed the wholesale part.

I am an author, and public speaker and I would like to invite you to come on this new journey with me here on my blog and follow me on social media, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
My Motto: “If you want it badly enough, you WILL get it through PERSERVERENCE”.

MISSION STATEMENT: Help others with what I learned from other growers, and farmers, and self-education, through research and plain hard work so they may enjoy the fruits of their labors and make money.

Past and Present Professional Affiliations: Past Vice President of the Missouri State Organic Association (MOA), past President of the Southwest Chapter of the Missouri Organic Association (MOA), developed a volunteer group of 30 members of the “HHS 69er’s,” recycling plastic shopping bags into sleeping mats and pillows for the homeless population, including homeless veterans.

The Farm-to-Table Lady™ donates 5% of total sales (before sales taxes, charge card fees, shipping and handling charges are added to any sales, and excludes Membership fees) to FIVE charities that serve the homeless people in the Springfield, Missouri area. They are: The Gathering Tree, The Gathering Place, Veterans Coming Home, Grace United Methodist Church Free Store for the Homeless, and Connecting Grounds.