Name our farm!

February 16, 2009 9:47 PM

Seeking a name for our impending farm. Help!

Things that are relevant:

1) It's small. We'll just be cultivating an acre or two.
2) We will have small animals. A corgi. Dwarf goats. Chickens.
3) It's in Vermont. It's cold here. There are mountains.
4) It needs to fit both the farm itself and work as a brand for things like pies, jams, etc.
5) The farm is Metafilter related in that the land actually belongs to a fellow Mefite. But inside jokes have to be funny to outsiders as well.

Our first idea is Snowpatch Farm, but we think we can do better. Ideas? We want to get going on a blog, so we need a name soon!

posted by youcancallmeal to grab bag (30 comments total)

Dwarf goats? Mountains? Perhaps you might name it after Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain.

I am too dorky by half.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:59 PM on February 16 [1 favorite]

Crystal Creek Farm
posted by anadem at 10:07 PM on February 16

Will the farm have bunnies?
posted by miss lynnster at 10:15 PM on February 16

Ideas:

LittleBerry
Simple Pleasures
Snow Valley
LittleAcre
posted by SquidLips at 10:17 PM on February 16

Also: we prefer clever names to cutesy. We know of a pig farm called Flying Pigs and that's always been a favorite. And yes, there might be bunnies.
posted by youcancallmeal at 10:17 PM on February 16

Little Mountain Farm (because it's in the mountains, and everything about it will be small).
posted by christinetheslp at 10:24 PM on February 16

OK, disregard the cutsey, and consider the clever then:

Acres Away (or Aweigh)
Knottareal Farm (since you don't have cows and stuff)
Goat Ellit on the Mountain (then name one of your goats 'Ellit')
Goa Way (too standoffish for pies?)
posted by SquidLips at 10:34 PM on February 16

How about Pocket Farm? Like, the pocketbook version of a farm. Or: Pocketbook Farm.
posted by ORthey at 10:40 PM on February 16 [2 favorites]

Tiny Elvis Farms (because that used to be my favorite stupid SNL skit)
posted by mathowie at 11:42 PM on February 16

small cold farm
posted by axmikel at 12:10 AM on February 17

Small Time
A Little Chilly
Cold Enough For Ya
Tiny Mountain
Chilly Hilly
Breadbox
Two Cold Acres
Chilly Goat
posted by miles1972 at 12:12 AM on February 17

Little Kid Farm - Logo is a picture of a small goat

Cold Nose Farm - Logo is a picture of a dog's nose (I really just want to see a jar labelled Cold Nose Jam!)
posted by platinum at 1:11 AM on February 17

Beanplate Farms
Two Taters Farm
Pembroke Estate
Lazy A Ranch
Nanny's Knob
posted by Pollomacho at 5:35 AM on February 17 [1 favorite]

"Goodberry Glen" (when we were young we built a tree house/druid camp of the same name... yes we were/are nerds) - might work for the farm/products angle.
posted by MeetCleaverTheatre at 5:36 AM on February 17

mini chilly farm
vermountain farm
look at children's classic fairytales...
also what flowers are native to the area? i'm thinking daffodil ranch or something.
posted by big open mouth at 7:05 AM on February 17

ooh ooh what about "the hive"?
posted by big open mouth at 7:06 AM on February 17

pixie mountain farm
toy box farm
fairy feast farm (or faery)
commonwealth acres/gardens
crossroads farm

note: pixie not only means "small," but they traditionally help farmers with their chores
posted by carmicha at 7:18 AM on February 17

Perhaps you can discover something you like by looking at anagrams for words such as Metafilter.

The best I could see was 'Teelit Farm', which is definitely better than 'Filtrate Me' and some of the other inappropriate suggestions on that page.
posted by Gomez_in_the_South at 7:27 AM on February 17

One of question you might consider is what draws your offering apart from everyone else out there. It's a tough question, but if well considered it will help build an internally consistent promotional strategy.

Given the specifics I thought these facets sounded a bit unique and accessible for a general populace.
1) Small acreage <> 2) Corgi, Chickens, Dwarf Goats <> 3) Vermont <>
But, beyond the unique question, where do you think you’ll make the majority of your sales? Given that you're planning on blogging about the farm, are you aiming for a national scope? Or is this something more regional, say the area around Brattleborough. This also might help you figure out the positioning around your farm.
posted by cheez-it at 7:27 AM on February 17

MetaFarm
posted by LeiaS at 7:34 AM on February 17

I hate to be a party-pooper, but whatever you choose make sure it's something that:

1. You can live with for a long time;
2. It will remain relevant if your product mix changes (i.e., "Little Goat Farm" will be hassle if all the goats get butchered off and you change to Alpaca fur);
2. It's at least somewhat business-like; and,
3. It can be visually portrayed on labels, invoices, and the like.

I'm going through a business naming process right now and have found that it really helps to let specific "final" choices float around a while (weeks) to see if they really do have staying power at least in your head. Of course, all of this is ultimately fluff when it comes to really producing/farming/selling stuff. But it's certainly one of the more fun parts of the process. Good luck!
posted by webhund at 8:02 AM on February 17

To add to webhund's list, check to be sure you can acquire an intuitive domain name.
posted by carmicha at 8:08 AM on February 17

I don't have a name but a motto you could put underneath your sign :

"We may not be big, but we're small."

From author/radio personality Stuart McLean.
posted by Brodiggitty at 8:11 AM on February 17

Kneebiter Farm
posted by Mizu at 8:11 AM on February 17

I know it's an in-joke, but I really like "Beanplate Farms". It has a warm, cozy feel to it that speaks to nourishment and abundance. It also has connotations of tradition (old fashioned Boston Baked Beans) and community (bean dinners). I can envision a nice logo, too -- tendrils of steam rising off a heaping plate of beans. The .com domain appears to be available, too.

See what I did there?
posted by Rock Steady at 8:27 AM on February 17

Wee Farm
Vermont (or town name) Farmlette
Lilliput Farm
Invisible Farm
Barely There Farm
posted by mikepop at 8:34 AM on February 17

There's a farm near the MD/PA border named "Small Ass Farm" so that's already been taken.
How about:

Elf Alp Farm
Tiny Tumble Acre
posted by jaimystery at 11:16 AM on February 17

Oh, and... please do let us know what you ultimately decide!
posted by ORthey at 3:31 PM on February 17

Let's see ...

Littlebig Mountain Farm

Mightysmall Acres

Littleranch Farms

Reallysmall Ranch (or "Ranch Reallysmall" if that scans better)

Featherweight Farm (or Featherwaite Farm to add an air o' the fancy)

Twitch Acres

to add to miles1972's idea: Chilly Goats Gruff Farm

and then riffing off mikepop: Gulliver Acres

and finally:

Farmalot
(with a knights of the round table meets granary goodness design theme ...)
posted by FrotzOzmoo at 12:49 AM on February 18

When we named our farm we went with $NAME Farms instead of the singular. The reason we went with this was that our plan includes renting/leasing land in multiple locations instead of a single farm. It seems less likely to lead to customer confusion to claim multiple farms under a single brand than to try and explain that your farm is in multiple locations.

Also, this is a rare instance in which "brand" is an entirely appropriate word to use.
posted by stet at 7:55 PM on February 18