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Suz Wolsey Deacon and her husband, Trent, moved to their 50-acre farm in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in 2018. Their goal was simple: produce their own food. What started as a small egg operation quickly grew into a thriving pastured livestock business offering pasture-raised eggs, chicken, pork, and grass-fed lamb.
“We’re halfway between the capital city and the coast,” Suz says. “It’s a unique climate, perfect for raising animals on pasture.”
Running the farm while raising two young boys and balancing Trent’s off-farm job meant Suz needed systems that worked hard for her, especially as demand grew.
Before Local Line, Suz built her own WooCommerce site, selling “whole birds or cuts by the bag.” But as the farm scaled, the limitations became clear.
“It was really clunky,” she recalls. “I couldn’t sell by the kilo, and none of the other platforms worked for Australian farmers. They were expensive, and most didn’t even allow for Australian dollars.”
Then she heard about Local Line on My Digital Farmer Podcast and decided to reach out.
“I emailed to see if Local Line could work in Australia, and all the answers were yes,” she says. “From that moment, onboarding was smooth and incredibly supportive.”
Despite being on the other side of the world, Suz says she’s always felt fully supported. “The time difference has never been an issue. Every question gets answered quickly, often within 24 hours. The energy behind Local Line’s customer service makes me feel like they genuinely want me to succeed.”
As processing and feed costs rose, Suz realized she needed a more predictable, sustainable model. “We started with à la carte orders, but it was exhausting, up until 2 or 3 a.m. in the cool room trying to match products to customers,” she says. She knew it was time to switch models, leveraging Local Line’s subscription feature to run a meat CSA.
Using Local Line, customers can subscribe to Suz’s meat CSA, place pre-orders, or buy à la carte at the farmers market, all connected through one platform.
“Our CSA runs through Local Line, and most of our sales go through there,” Suz says. “It’s streamlined everything.”
Her order cycle is efficient and tightly managed. Each month, Suz uploads her fresh inventory, opens a private price list for CSA members, and then allows the public to pre-order what’s left. Within days, she’s sold out for the month.
“We sell majority fresh,” she explains. “I take the animals to the abattoir, everything comes back for packing and labeling, and I upload inventory in one go. Local Line makes it all manageable.”
Instead of staying up through the night, weighing and sorting individual cuts for one-off orders, she now pre-packs orders based on customer preference. With consistent share sizes and repeat customers, her workflow is faster and more predictable.
“It’s so much quicker,” she says. “I just pack by household size and preference. Local Line makes it easy to adjust subscriptions, move customers between four-week and eight-week cycles, and manage it all in one place. I can plan ahead, stay organized, and I actually enjoy the process now.”
“The subscription feature is my favorite, but I also love the multiple price lists and the reporting tools,” she says. “With Local Line’s reports, I can view sales by month, customer, or product without touching my accounting software. It’s all there in my dashboard.”
She also appreciates how Local Line continuously evolves based on farmer feedback. “Every few months, there’s a new feature that saves me time,” Suz says. “The email tools, custom exports, website builder, it’s all built for how farmers actually work.”
The built-in website builder has been an unexpected bonus. “I’ve built sites before, but Local Line’s website tool is simple, clean, and everything’s in one place. I’m not juggling multiple platforms anymore.”
Suz’s customers, ranging from young families to retirees, love how easy it is to order through Local Line. “I’ve got customers in their 70s and 80s using it with no problem,” she says. “The new grid view has made browsing so much easier. I can feature products, highlight what’s on sale, and it just looks better.”
Flexibility in payment methods has also improved the experience. “Some customers pay by card, others by bank transfer or on the day,” Suz says. “Local Line handles it all seamlessly.”
Since switching from WooCommerce to Local Line, Suz estimates she’s cut her admin time dramatically.
“From customer management to inventory updates, the whole system saves hours every week,” she says. “I can update inventory in bulk, create custom orders, and export everything in minutes. Even my husband, who doesn’t do the packing, can easily see who’s paid or what’s due.”
Before Local Line, Suz often spent long evenings catching up on spreadsheets, sorting payments, and manually adjusting customer orders. Now, everything she needs is in one place: customer lists, payments, orders, inventory, and reports. Everything is automatically synced and easy to access. “It’s all organized and easy to manage,” she says. “Now I spend my evenings with my family instead of my laptop.”
Those streamlined systems have given her time back and boosted productivity. With her order cycle and reports automated, Suz can plan ahead rather than react week by week.
“I’m doing double the orders in half the time,” she says. “That’s the difference Local Line makes.”
Despite the distance, Suz says working with Local Line feels personal. “You’d never know they’re on the other side of the world,” she says. “They understand farming, they listen, and they make it work for us.”
For other Australian farmers who may be hesitant, Suz’s advice is simple: “Don’t let geography stop you. The system just works, and the support is exceptional.”
As Branch & Burrow’s CSA continues to grow, Suz is excited to explore even more features on the platform.
“I’m always learning something new through the Facebook group or newsletter,” she says. “Local Line keeps adding tools that help us do more with less.” For her, it's that partnership and responsiveness that truly set Local Line apart.
“Local Line isn’t just software, it’s a team that listens,” Suz says. “It’s made my business smoother, more efficient, and more enjoyable. I trust them completely.”
👉 Ready to streamline your farm business like Suz?
Book a demo with Local Line to see how our tools can help you save time, grow your CSA, and connect with customers, no matter where you farm.
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