The 'Porktober' Playbook: Build a Month-Long Harvest Campaign
In 2022, Scotland's pig farmers were in trouble. Andy McGowan, managing director of Scottish Pig Producers, said many were at "breaking point."
During the Covid crisis, Gordon King, executive manager of Scottish Craft Butchers, had asked one simple question: what could help struggling pig producers?
His answer was a month. King took the idea of a pork campaign to McGowan, and Porktober launched in October 2022. A student designed the promotional art, "pumpkin pork heads" that became bunting. About 400 independent butchers took part, displaying the material and, in many cases, running special offers all month.
Year one was low-key. In year two, National Craft Butchers and Quality Meat Scotland joined in. Pig World later reported a 26.4% rise in pork sales during the 2024 campaign, and the campaign won Marketing Initiative of the Year at the 2024 National Pig Awards.
They called it Porktober. It is a harvest marketing campaign: one named month, one hashtag and a steady drumbeat of posts that all point to one place to buy. You can build one for your own harvest, and this article shows you how.
Short answer: A harvest marketing campaign is one name, one month and one hashtag. Each week you post a photo, a recipe and a story from your farm, and every post points to one place where people can buy or book. Pick the month your shelves are fullest, recruit two or three allies, and compare your sign-ups, enquiries and sales with the month before. |
Why Your Harvest Needs a Campaign, Not Just a Post
Most farm marketing happens in a panic. The fruit is ripe, the crates are full, and you post one photo on Friday and hope.
Hope is not a plan, and the harvest will not wait for you.
The money is there. In the 2022 US Census of Agriculture, 116,617 farms sold food directly to consumers, worth $3.3 billion, up 16% from 2017. Farms with direct sales earned an average of $27,981. Farms with agritourism and recreational services earned an average of $44,004.
Those are averages across all farms, so your result will vary. A plan for the weeks that matter is something you can build this month. For more on where visitor money comes from, see our agritourism statistics breakdown.
Farm industries have run month-long campaigns for generations.
Dairy did it in 1937. Chain-store grocers launched National Milk Month to lift milk sales when production peaked, and the National Dairy Council supplied promotional materials to the 6,300 stores that took part in the first two years. By 1939 it had become June Dairy Month.
Pork did it in 1972, when producers themselves dedicated October to promoting pork. October was when hogs were traditionally marketed.
Then social media gave the idea a hashtag. The Ohio Pork Council prompted the #Porktober hashtag, and national ag media, state and national pork associations and a major restaurant chain picked it up.
Campaign | Who started it | Why that month |
|---|---|---|
June Dairy Month | Chain-store grocers, 1937 | Milk production peaked, so demand needed a push |
National Pork Month | Pork producers, 1972 | October was when hogs traditionally went to market |
Porktober (the hashtag) | Ohio Pork Council, then picked up by associations, media and a restaurant chain | Gave October one shared word to rally around |
Porktober (Scotland) | Scottish Craft Butchers and Scottish Pig Producers, 2022 | Timed with Fiver Fest, when independent businesses offer £5 deals |
The pattern is the same every time. Pick the month when you have the most to sell, give it a name and let many people repeat it.
What Porktober Really Does (and Why It Works)
Strip away the pork and three things remain.
A name that explains itself. Pork plus October. Nobody needs a briefing.
Many voices. The Ohio Pork Council started the hashtag, but it spread because others used it. In Scotland, about 400 independent butchers each promoted pork in their own shops.
Content people actually want. Look at what the Iowa Pork Producers Association put behind its 2019 hashtag: recipe videos, a video featuring three Iowa pig farmers, and guidance on preparing and serving pork. That is a recipe, a story and a how-to, all in one campaign.
Shoppers used the hashtag to find out where their pork comes from and how pigs are raised, according to RFD-TV. Jeanette Merritt, communications director for Indiana Pork, said the month is all about consumer trust.
Trust is what fills a gate. People visit farms they feel they already know, which is why word of mouth is so powerful. Our word-of-mouth marketing study shows how strong it is.
Why a whole month? One post is a flash. A month is a rhythm. Your customers get time to notice your name, tell a friend and make plans to visit, and you get four weekly chances to be useful instead of one loud shout.
The Porktober Playbook: 7 Steps for Your Own Harvest
Step 1. Pick Your Month
Choose the 30 days when your shelves are fullest and your gate is quietest. Not the month you feel ready.
Your harvest calendar decides. Pork chose October because that was market time. For strawberries, it is the weeks the field turns red. If you have two short seasons, you may need two campaigns.
Field-Tested Play: Open your calendar and circle the weeks you will have the most to sell. Start your campaign one week earlier, so people are warmed up when the harvest lands. |
Step 2. Name It
Porktober works because the name does the explaining. Make yours the same. Pair your crop with a month, a place or a mood: Tomato Takeover, Pumpkin Parade, Durian December.
Say the name out loud. Spell it without help. Keep the hashtag short. Search it on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook first, so you are not sharing it with something unrelated.
Step 3. Use the Three-Post Rule
Every post in your campaign is one of three kinds.
Photo. One honest picture of the work. Hands, crates, a child holding the biggest one. Real beats pretty.
Recipe. Something people can cook tonight, with a short method. A recipe gives people a reason to save your post and come back to it.
Story. Who grew it, what went wrong this year, why you still do it. Our guide to farm storytelling and premium prices shows how a story lifts what people will pay.
Need help with the platforms? See what works on Instagram for agritourism and how to use Facebook events to promote farm activities.
Step 4. Plan All Four Weeks Before Day One
Three posts a week: a photo on Monday, a recipe on Wednesday and a story on Saturday. That is 12 core posts. Write them all before you launch, so a busy harvest week cannot kill the campaign.
Week | Theme | Photo post | Recipe post | Story post |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Meet the harvest | A walk through your field or orchard | The simplest way to eat it fresh | Why you grow it |
2 | Cook it | Your harvest on a kitchen table | A family recipe | Who taught you to cook it |
3 | Meet the people | Your crew at work | A recipe from a customer or neighbour | A helper's or customer's story |
4 | Come and get it | Your gate or stall and its opening hours | A last-week bundle recipe | A thank-you and what is next |
Field-Tested Play: Batch your content in one afternoon. Walk the farm with your phone and take 30 photos. Write the 12 captions in one sitting and schedule them. When harvest gets busy, your campaign keeps running without you. |
Step 5. Recruit Allies
Porktober never belonged to one farm. The Ohio Pork Council started it, and others carried it. In Illinois, the state pork association pointed shoppers to offers at all 18 Hy-Vee stores in the state, plus a healthy-eating campaign at 42 County Market stores.
You do not need a supermarket. You need three allies: a café, a neighbouring farm, a local chef, a school, a florist or a hotel.
Give each ally a ready-to-use pack: three photos, one recipe card and a caption with your hashtag. Make it easy to say yes. Our guide to partnering with hotels, resorts and tour companies shows how to ask.
Step 6. Give Everyone One Place to Go
Every post ends with one ask and one door. A booking page, a pre-order form, your farm gate or one WhatsApp number. One, not five. Tell people exactly what to do: "Message us on WhatsApp to reserve a box" beats "Visit us soon."
If you have no list yet, let the campaign build one. Invite readers to join your WhatsApp group or email list in every post. Our guide to email marketing for agritourism covers the basics.
Add a game. South Dakota pork producers ran pork bingo, and every card went into a drawing for half a hog on October 31. A bingo card gives people a reason to watch your posts all month. Check the prize rules first (see the questions below).
Step 7. Measure Before, During and After
Write down three numbers the week before you start: list size, enquiries and sales. Write them down again each Sunday and the day after the campaign ends.
Scottish Craft Butchers said reports from producers suggested the first drive did increase sales. You can do better than reports. You can count.
Reality Check: Copy the engine, not the product. The 26.4% figure Pig World reported for 2024 does not say what it was measured against. Treat it as a sign the idea works, not a promise for your farm. Your own before-and-after numbers are the only ones that count. |
What This Looks Like on a Farm With a Short Season
I am the founder of Bloopy Durians in Bentong, Malaysia. Our durian seasons are short, about four to five months a year, from December to February and June to August. The next window opens in December.
When the season is short, every quiet week is expensive. That is why a plan beats a mood.
Two things we already do mirror the playbook. We have a WhatsApp list of loyal customers who buy durians whenever they are available, and it is a reliable source of income. That is one door.
And we run durian farm tours. Guests plant a durian tree, ride the four-wheel drive, see the bigger trees, then eat durians at the farmhouse and open one themselves. Visitors have come from all over the world, and many companies send their staff and management. Every tour hands us a photo, a story and a reason to post.
Picture a Durian December. Week one is durians hanging on the tree. Week two is how to open one. Week three is a visitor's first taste. Week four is an invitation to book a tour or message us on WhatsApp.
A short season brings a second problem: the harvest can arrive faster than you can sell it. Bloopy Durians is the Janny MT representative. In our preliminary tests on local durians, the module kept them fresh 5 to 10 days longer. That is early data from our own tests, not a published study. Read more in our guide to Janny MT controlled atmosphere storage modules.
Questions to Ask Before You Launch
This is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Ask your local authority, insurer or lawyer before you launch.
If I run a giveaway, raffle or bingo-style draw, what do local rules say about prize draws, entry fees and disclosure?
Do I have permission to post photos of guests, especially children?
Am I making health, "organic" or "natural" claims in a recipe post, and do food-labelling or advertising rules cover them?
Does my liability insurance cover tastings or events the campaign brings to my farm? Our guide to what you need before your first paying visitor is a good start.
Does my campaign name or hashtag clash with someone else's trademark?
What are each platform's rules for promotions and contests?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a harvest marketing campaign?
It is a planned stretch of marketing, usually a month, built around the time your crop is at its peak. It has a name, a hashtag, a posting schedule and one place to buy or book.
How long should a harvest campaign run?
A month is the sweet spot Porktober proved. It is long enough for people to see you several times and short enough to keep up the pace. If your harvest window is shorter, run a shorter campaign, but keep the three-post rule.
Do I need a big social media following?
No. You need a few people who will repeat your name. Allies such as a café, a neighbour or a local chef carry your hashtag to their own followers. Start by inviting them.
Which platform should I use?
Use the one or two platforms where your customers already spend time, plus one list you own, such as WhatsApp or email. Our 10 channels ranked by what really brings visitors can help you choose.
How many posts do I need?
Twelve core posts: three a week for four weeks. Add stories and replies as time allows. Write them before you launch.
How do I know the campaign worked?
Compare three numbers with the month before: list size, enquiries and sales. If they rise, repeat the campaign next season and start earlier.
Your Campaign Brings Them. Reviews Keep Them Coming.
A campaign fills your gate for a month. What fills it next season is what those guests say about you online.
From Invisible to Fully Booked is a 167-page guide to turning happy guests into honest Google reviews. Inside you get a review system for your first 50 reviews, word-for-word scripts for the tasting table, the gate, groups and WhatsApp follow-ups, and reply templates for 5-, 4- and 3-star reviews. It is $27 as an instant PDF download.
Not sure where to start? Take the free Farm Readiness Quiz to see where your farm stands and which area to fix first.
Want more ideas for earning from your farm? The free ebook 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm shows you 150 ways to earn more from the land and equipment you already own, so you stop relying only on an unpredictable harvest.
P.S. A student designed some "pumpkin pork heads," butchers hung them up, and a whole month was born. You do not need a bigger budget. You need a name for your harvest and the nerve to say it every day for 30 days.
Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is general information, not legal, insurance or financial advice. Check local rules and ask your own advisers before you launch.
Sources
Pig World, "Porktober," January 8, 2025: pig-world.co.uk
Meat Management, "SCB launches pork initiative to support local producers": meatmanagement.com
Meat Management, "British pork promotional campaigns return for October 2023": meatmanagement.com
The Scottish Farmer, "Local butchers' Porktober drive": thescottishfarmer.co.uk
Scottish Craft Butchers, Members Update, 6 October 2023: craftbutchers.co.uk
University of Wisconsin Extension, Leonard Polzin, "The origins of June Dairy Month": farms.extension.wisc.edu
Hartington News, "Why October sizzles": hartington.net
Sidney Daily News, Dan Wilson column on #Porktober and the Ohio Pork Council: sidneydailynews.com
National Hog Farmer, "Iowa Pork Producers Association kicks off #Porktober19," October 1, 2019: nationalhogfarmer.com
RFD-TV, "Porktober": rfdtv.com
Hoosier Ag Today, "Porktober full of opportunities," October 25, 2022: hoosieragtoday.com
National Hog Farmer, "It's time to get your Porktober" (Illinois Pork Producers Association): nationalhogfarmer.com
South Dakota Soybean Leader, Fall 2021, "Porktober": issuu.com
Pro Farmer, "USDA releases 2022 Census of Agriculture data": profarmer.com
USDA, 2022 Census of Agriculture agritourism and direct sales update (AgEcon Search): ageconsearch.umn.edu
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