Running a farm? KioskBuddy might be your next best hire
Direct-to-consumer opportunity for farms and agritourism business is booming
In 2023, small family farms sold $2.4 billion worth of food directly to consumers, through farmers markets, farm stands, CSAs, and on-farm stores. (1)
In 2022, the Census of Agriculture reported that, in the USA, direct-to-consumer sales totalled $14.2 billion (adjusted for inflation). This is a 33.2% increase from 2017 levels.
The census of agriculture will be releasing a new report this year, but the growth from 2022 until now is anticipated to be monumental especially with the rising consumer demand for local and transparent food products.
That is $14.2 billion dollars in the pockets of the farmers and producers, not in the hands of middlemen.
The problem: your best selling hours are your busiest farm hours
Talk to almost any farmer running a roadside stand or farm store and you'll hear the same thing. They're losing sales. Not because customers don't want their products but because no one is there to complete the transaction.
Hiring a cashier for a low-volume farm stand doesn’t make much financial sense. For a small operation bringing in a few hundred dollars on a typical afternoon, paying even a part-time employee at minimum wage to staff the register can consume the entire margin. And the honor system cash box leaves enormous amounts of revenue on the table in an era when many customers only carry a credit card.
The solution: self-service kiosks are natural fit for farm stands and micro-markets
Self-service kiosk technology has grown rapidly over the past decade. What was once only feasible for big-box retailers has become accessible to small businesses and the consumer appetite for it is stronger than ever.
66% of US consumers prefer self-service kiosks over staffed checkouts (5).
60% of adults aged 18–44 prefer self-service checkout options (6)
Average basket sizes increase by as much as 30% when customers order or shop independently at a kiosk. This is a pattern observed across retail, food service, and convenience environments. When customers can browse without social pressure to wrap up quickly, they tend to add items they might otherwise have skipped. (7)
What KioskBuddy does specifically
KioskBuddy is a self-checkout platform that turns an ordinary tablet into a customer-facing kiosk where shoppers can browse products, add items to a cart, and pay with card, cash, or gift card, all without any staff involvement.
Key Features Relevant to Farms:
Syncs with existing Square catalogue.
Accepts card, cash, and gift cards.
24/7 operation.
No proprietary clunky hardware: a standard tablet (iPad or Android) and Square payment hardware is all that's required.
Integration with barcode scanners and weight scales.
The tax upside
“100% bonus depreciation is now permanently reinstated for qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025. This includes most tangible personal property with a recovery period of 20 years or less, such as land improvements, machinery, computers, and furniture and equipment. Businesses can now fully expense new and used assets in the year they are placed in service, rather than spreading deductions over several years. (10)” OBBBA also increased the cap on small business expense deduction from $1 million to $2.5 million.
(Tax disclaimer: The information above is for educational purposes only and does not constitute tax advice. Tax benefits depend on your specific business structure, income, and situation. Consult a qualified CPA or agricultural tax advisor before making purchasing decisions based on tax provisions.)
Grant funding available right now
The USDA FMPP FY2026
Beyond the tax changes, there is active federal grant funding available specifically for direct-to-consumer market infrastructure and the application window for the most relevant program closes on June 5, 2026.
What is the FMPP?
The USDA Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) is designed specifically to support the development, coordination, and expansion of direct producer-to-consumer markets. It funds projects that improve access to locally and regionally produced agricultural products which is exactly the kind of infrastructure that a self-serve micro market or upgraded farm stand represents. The FY2026 round has approximately $13.84 million available. (13)
⏰ Deadline: June 5, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
FMPP FY2026 At a Glance
Total funding available: Approximately $13.84 million across all awards
How to apply: Via grants.gov — search for USDA-AMS FMPP. Contact FMLFPPGrants@usda.gov with questions.
Who Is Eligible to Apply?
Eligible applicants include agricultural businesses and cooperatives, producer networks and associations, CSA networks and associations, food councils, local governments, nonprofit organizations, economic development corporations, regional farmers market authorities, and tribal governments. Individual farmers who want to access FMPP funding typically need to work through an eligible organization, such as a local farmers market authority, agricultural cooperative, or extension-connected nonprofit.
What Makes a Strong FMPP Application?
A strong application demonstrates community engagement, a clear direct-to-consumer market expansion goal, and a project with measurable outcomes. Self-serve kiosks, particularly when framed around expanding producer access to markets, increasing consumer access to local food, or training farmers in direct-to-consumer tools, fits squarely within FMPP's stated goals.
Getting started with KioskBuddy
If your farm already uses Square, you're most of the way there. KioskBuddy connects directly to your Square account, pulls in your existing product item library or Square menu, and is operational in most cases within 30 minutes of setup.
The kiosk runs KioskBuddy's app, customers interact with your catalogue directly on the screen, and payment by card, cash, or gift card is processed through your existing Square account. Everything flows through the same Square dashboard you may already be using to track sales.
KioskBuddy offers a free trial, making it practical to test it before committing. For farms exploring FMPP or other grant funding, the low subscription cost and widely recognized Square integration makes it straightforward to include in a grant budget.
The direct-to-consumer farm economy is growing. Consumer preference for self-service is strong and still rising. Current federal law makes farm technology investments tax-efficient. And there is active grant funding with a deadline of June 5, 2026, specifically designed for the kind of market infrastructure that a self-serve farm kiosk represents. The window is open.
References:
USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). "National Farmer's Market Week: Small family farms sold over $2.4 billion worth of food products direct to consumers in 2023." August 5, 2025. ers.usda.gov
USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). "2022 Census of Agriculture: Agricultural Census shows strong growth in direct sales from farms and ranches." March 21, 2024. ers.usda.gov
Amra and Elma LLC. "Top 20 Farm Marketing Statistics 2025." September 2025. amraandelma.com
Penn State Extension / Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD). "U.S. Agritourism and Direct-to-Consumer Sales Census Update." September 2024. extension.psu.edu
PYMNTS Intelligence / Discover Global Network. "66% of US Consumers Prefer Self-Service Kiosks Over Staffed Checkouts." September 18, 2024. pymnts.com
NCR Voyix. "Consumer Preferences and Self-Checkout Trends" — cited in Mordor Intelligence Self-Checkout System Market Report, 2026. mordorintelligence.com
LOC Software / Supermarket Perimeter. "New Trends in Retail and Grocery Self-Checkout and Self-Service." December 2025. locsoftware.com
Grand View Research. "U.S. Self-Checkout Systems Market Size & Industry Report, 2030." grandviewresearch.com
Penn State Extension. "Tax Changes in the Big Beautiful Bill: What Farmers Need to Know." January 21, 2026. extension.psu.edu
KLR / Kahn Litwin. "Big Beautiful Bill Restores 100% Bonus Depreciation for 2025." January 2026. kahnlitwin.com
BDO. "One Big Beautiful Bill Act Expands 100% Depreciation Expensing Opportunities." September 30, 2025. bdo.com
Penn State Extension. "Tax Changes in the Big Beautiful Bill: What Farmers Need to Know" — OBBBA farm program funding provisions. January 2026. extension.psu.edu
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). "Farmers Market Promotion Program — FY2026." Notice of Funding Opportunity. ams.usda.gov/services/grants/fmpp
USDA AMS / Farmers Market Coalition. "Farmers Market Promotion Program — Eligible Applicants and Program History." farmersmarketcoalition.org
USDA AMS. "FY2026 FMPP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)." April 2026. "In 2025, AMS funded 16.5% of eligible applications received and awarded a total of $11.1 million." grants.gov (PDF)