Missouri Life September 2023

THE BOYS FROM CHAMOIS Known by their motto, “Small Town. Big Farm. Bigger Plans,” The Boys from Chamois is a vegetable farm in northern Osage County in the Missouri River bottoms. “The Boys” refers to Ben, Alex, and Eli Paulsmeyer. “The family has been farming this ground since the late 1800s,” says Ben, the marketing-minded brother of the trio. He added, “We began by selling watermelons on the roadside stand and expanded from there.” The roadside stand they call The Wagon is run by the honor system with a lock box for payments. The Paulsmeyers specialize in sweet corn, watermelons, cantaloupes, and pumpkins. “We have an assortment of other seasonal veggies including tomatoes, zucchini, yel low squash, cucumbers, peppers, and ornamental gourds for the fall—all grown on our farm by us,” Ben says. “We have been selling produce on the roadside stand for more than 20 years. We also sell wholesale produce to eight to 10 local grocery stores.” Ben, Alex, and Eli each work on the vegetable farm. Ben and Alex are also full-time farmers on the family’s row crop operation, and Eli is currently enrolled at Mizzou. It takes a big team to harvest the vegetables, so several local high school boys help during the busiest seasons. The wagon is at the intersection of Rainy Days Trail and Highway 100, four miles east of Chamois, which is pronounced like it’s spelled—without any French inflection and rhyming with “boys.” The reason the Paulsmeyers opted for this form of commerce is simple: “It’s very cost effective,” Ben says. “We don’t have to spend our time sitting in one spot. We can use our time for harvest or for other farm duties.” In addition to their roadside stand, the brothers parti- cipate in the Cole County Farmers’ Market and Columbia Farmers’ Market. Ben says those markets accept credit and debit cards via a Square reader. “At the unmanned roadside stand, it is just cash or check. And the occa sional ‘I owe U’ on a piece of scrap paper from a regular THE BOYS FROM CHAMOIS, MEGAN RUDOFF RUDY LANE FLOWER FARM The farm stand was always the goal of Rudy Lane Flower Farm. As both Layne and Megan Rudoff have off-farm jobs, the Linn couple needed a way to offer their flowers that wouldn’t take them away from other responsibilities. Rudy Lane Flower Farm officially started business in 2020, after the Rudoffs planted more than 250 peony roots in the autumn of 2019. Since then, they have expanded to over 600 peonies, 700 dahlias, and dozens and dozens of annual plants. Rudy Lane flowers are avail able via the farm stand, and the business also offers a monthly bouquet subscription program. Rudy Lane hosts flower-related workshops throughout the year, too. The farm stand operates by the honor system; cus tomers pay with cash, check, or Venmo. Rudy Lane keeps

customer without the right change.” But the old-fashioned business model doesn’t mean the boys ignore modern marketing strategies. “Social media has been a big boost to our business,” Ben says. “As soon as I put it on Facebook that the first sweet corn or melons are on the wagon, there will be a line of cars stopping by within the hour.” Recognizable by their signature green shirts and green tent at the local farmers’ markets, The Boys from Chamois appreciate repeat customers who keep coming back and bringing their friends. “Lots of time, one per son will come but will be picking up for several people,” Ben says. “We put a lot of effort into only selling the best quality stuff and try very hard not to sell anything that doesn’t meet our standards, even if it means letting some produce go to waste. You can’t put a bad taste in a cus tomer’s mouth and expect them to keep coming back. I think people enjoy doing business at the farm and like knowing where the fruits and vegetables come from.”

The Boys from Chamois operates from a self-service vegetable wagon so the Paulsmeyer brothers—Ben, Alex, and Eli—are freed up to work on their vegetable farm and, in Eli’s case, also attend college at Mizzou. Megan Rudoff of Rudy Lane Flower Farm has built a multifaceted business around including a farm stand, bouquet subscription program, and seasonal workshops. the flowers she grows,

Rainy Days Trail & Highway 100, Chamois, BoysFromChamois.com

pricing simple by including sales tax in the purchase price. The business offers online sales for some prod ucts; customers can opt for local delivery or farm stand pickup. As the farm stand does not offer shipping, Rudy

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