- A project by OPENAIR-MARKET NET
Farmers' Direct Marketing Conference/Strawberry Growers Conference in Victoria, BC, Canada taking place Feb 26-28, 1998.
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation's Workshop: Public Markets as Economic Development. A two day training session at the Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute, San Francisco, California, November 14-15, 1996.
The Ohio Roadside Marketing Conference will be held Friday through Sunday January 12-14. The event this year is being called "Gamble for a Change." It is sponsored by the Direct Agricultural Marketing Association of Ohio and will feature 40 speakers and 40 trade show booths. It will be held at the Akron West Hilton Inn.
The opening session on Friday will feature Norm Greig of Red Hook, New York. He operates a retail fruit and vegetable operation and will share his experiences. The afternoon session topics will include insurance issues, making fall harvest educational, international markets, bakery issues, starting a new direct market, team building, adding a coffee shop and safety issues. In the evening there will be an informal sharing of ideas and experiences. There will also be demonstrations on scarecrow making, bow making, dried flower arranging and more.
On Saturday there will be an early-bird tour from 6:45 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. The featured stop will be The Mustard Seed, a market that concentrates on the sales and promotion of natural and organic products throughout the store including produce, bakery, coffee, tea and other gourmet products. The education sessions for Saturday will start at 8 a.m. with four concurrent sessions on season outings, advertising, enhancing product displays and marketing with computers.
The annual meeting of the Direct Agricultural Marketing Association of Ohio will start at 10 a.m. Saturday. The keynote address will be given by David Caperton of Humor Consultants. He will show people how they can learn to incorporate humor into businesses and learn to alleviate stress to balance busy lifestyles. The Gene Craven's Outstanding Marketer Award and election of new officers will also take place. The education agenda on Saturday afternoon will offer two concurrent sessions. The first is from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. and will offer four topics including sharing of fall marketing activities, employee issues, utilizing produce auctions and alternative marketing. The 3 p.m. concurrent session will cover four topics including: festival management; marketing plans and strategies; herbs and dried flower marketing and gift basket making. One highlight of the day will be a share area where marketers can bring their photos and share ideas with others.
Registration for the event is $35 per day before December 22 and $40 per day after December 22. The first three market attendees pay the daily rate, while additional attendees pay a $10 conference fee. For more information contact Lois Yarnell at (614) 523-0801.
To make reservations at the Akron West Hilton Inn call (216) 867-5000. Conference attendees must identify themselves as such to receive the special room rate which is $70 plus tax.
Sunday Tours
Sunday will offer two tours. The short tour will run from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and cost $20 per person. There will be five stops including: The Main Street Muffin Company; Medina Farmers Market; Graf Growers, a wholesale and retail greenhouse operation; Donzell's Garden Center; and The Cooperative Market. The long tour will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and cost $35 per person. Stops include: Graf Browers, Crooked River Herb Farm, Heritage Tree Farm, Medina Farmers Market, The Mustard Seed, Boyert's Greenhouse & Garden Center'; Geig's Orchard and Galehouse Tree Farms.
A diversified program has been developed for the two-day farm market show at the Great Lakes Vegetable Growers Convention. The convention will be held Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, January 16-18 at the Grand Center in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan with farm market sessions scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. These sessions will offer a wide range of information for farm marketers, pick-your-own operations and farmers market masters with 13 presentations, participation by 13 speakers, four workshops and over 80 farm market-related exhibitors who will fill the entire West Hall on the lower level of the Grand Center. There will be several out-of-state speakers on the education program including Dave Cooper, owner of Cooper's Mill in Bucyrus, Ohio and Tim and Jan Vala, owners of Vala's Pumpkin Patch in Papillon, Nebraska. Mr. Cooper's operation is a story of change and value added marketing. The operation started from a picnic table and now includes a retail farm market, cider mill, processing plant for preserves, and a greenhouse for production of bedding plants. The jams and jellies are wholesaled in nearby states and marketed at craft shows and special events. The Valas' operation is near Omaha where they grow 45 acres of pumpkins and have over 25 attractions that bring in 110,000 customers in a five-week time span. (See story on the top of this page.)
One unique in-state speaker is Paul Geer, owner of Frozen Creek Floral in Belmont, Michigan. He has a floral shop in a seven-room farm house where he produces freeze-dried flower arrangements and a line of homemade vinaigrette dressings from the flowers and herbs that he grows. He markets his goods at over 50 arts and crafts shows annually. He will give a talk on using freeze-dried floral arrangement in farm markets and oversee a workshop on the subject.
Another marketer on the program will be Steve Klackle, owner of Klackle Orchard in Greenville, Michigan. His talk is entitled "Apple Time Marketing at our Farm." Mr. Klackle raises 300 acres of apples and 20 acres of peaches. The retailing operation consists of re-sale of spring bedding plants, summer vegetable production, fall orchard tour rides, pumpkins and other entertainment farming endeavors. The retail market offers jams, jellies, donuts, caramel apples, cider and other items.
Offering tips on lighting at farm markets will be Deborah Heathcote from Northern Lights Design in St. Joseph, Michigan. Her talk is entitled, "Lighting Techniques That Put Sparkle in Your Displays." Farmers markets will be covered by John Rasmussen, a consultant for farmers markets and urban planner based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He will give a talk entitled, "Exciting Opportunities for Farmers Markets," and will cover responding to new trends in consumer demand for fresh produce, bringing in repeat customers and building customer loyalty to the farm market and produce grower.
Several Michigan State University experts are also scheduled to make presentations during the farm market sessions. Dr. Will Carlson, of the Horticulture Department, will give a talk entitled, "Care and Merchandising of Plants From Purchase to Sale - Techniques for Higher Profits." Dr. Carlson is a recognized authority on the bedding plant industry and was instrumental in founding the Professional Plant Growers Association.
Dr. Ed Mahoney, is a tourism Extension specialist at MSU and will talk about opportunities to find and attract new markets in Michigan. He specializes in marketing, customer service and small rural businesses.
Besides the speakers, there will also be four concurrent workshops on Thursday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.. MSU Extension agent Ron Goldy will moderate a session on seasonal markets. It will feature several presentations by operators and opportunities to exchange ideas.
Bob Tritten and Jim Lincoln, MSU horticulture and marketing Extension agents, will moderate the special events and festivals workshop. This session will feature several farm marketers who will share ideas on how to run special events.
Mr. Rasmussen will present a workshop for farm market managers and it will be moderated by MSU Extension agent Tom Dudek of Grand Haven. The session will allow the group to share ideas and help participants make connections with others in the business.
The workshop on using material from roads and fields in dried flower arrangements will be presented by Mr. Geer and moderated by MSU Extension agent Hannah Stevens of Mt. Clemens.
For more information contact Byron Carpenter at 616-842-8211
The conference theme is INNOVATIVE MARKETING: NEW PLACES, NEW FACES, NEW IDEAS. In addition to the general and concurrent educational sessions, there will be a pre-conference workshop on Wednesday and a tour on Saturday.
Hotel Reservations need to be received by January 18, 1996. Any request after that date will be on a space available basis. Conference registration deadline for a 20% preregistration discount is also January 18, 1996. If you would like to receive a copy of the brochure, please contact me or Dr. Charlie Coale at (540) 231-5562. Ramu
DR. RAMU GOVINDASAMY, RUTGERS COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SPECIALIST AND ASSISTANT PROFESSOR . PH: (908) 932-9171 Extension 25 DEPT. OF AGRL. ECONOMICS AND MARKETING FAX: (908) 932-8887 COOK COLLEGE, P.O. BOX 231, NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ 08903-0231 . EMAIL: GOVINDASAMY@AESOP.RUTGERS.EDU
Tremendous strides this century in agricultural science and technology have not made traditional, small, family farms obsolete. In fact, 60,000 small farms in California produce crops valued at roughly $1 billion using sophisticated production and marketing systems. These innovations are the hallmark of the annual California Farm Conference, which this year brings farmers, farmers' market managers, ag consultants and other members of the ag industry from all over the state to the Radisson Hotel and Convention Center in Visalia. Three days of workshops, tours, speakers and special events at the conference all focus on sustaining farm profitability.
"Operating a successful farm requires many special skills and abilities," said conference coordinator David Visher, program representative for the University of California's Small Farm Program. "These talents -- including an intimate understanding of land and crops, market intuition and familiarity with new ag technology -- are nowhere more important than on small, family farms."
The conference begins Sunday, Feb. 18, with optional tours and short courses, and formally opens that evening with a reception featuring California wine, food grown by local farmers and dishes prepared by local restaurant chefs. "The reception offers participants the chance to taste some of the best food in the Valley, and perhaps more importantly, it helps connect the produce harvested on farms with the food on consumers' tables," Visher said. The agenda Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 19 and 20, features nationally known keynote speakers and nearly 40 workshops. The workshops focus on four themes: marketing, production, sustainability and farm management. "The workshops offer a wide variety of information, everything from improving soil fertility and using cover crop systems to selling produce to restaurants and wholesale distributors," Visher said. "Participants can tailor the conference to their needs by selecting the workshops of their choice."
Keynote speakers include Mas Masumoto, a Dinuba farmer and the celebrated author of "Epitaph for a Peach," and Marty Strange, program director and co-founder of the Center for Rural Affairs in Walthill, Nebraska. The Center is devoted to the economic, social and environmental well being of rural America.
Basic conference registration is $95. For more information, call the California Federation of Certified Farmers' Markets at (818) 449-0179 to request a registration packet.
The 11th annual North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Conference will be hosted by New York and the seven New England States in Saratoga Springs, New York on February 22-24. The conference will have 30 concurrent sessions with over 54 hours of education available and offer two tours of New England farm markets. The trade show, which runs concurrent with the educational program, will include 80 to 100 exhibitors displaying supplies and services for farm direct marketers. Just before the educational programs start, there will be a three-day pre-conference tour on February 20-22 to innovative farm markets in New England.
On Thursday, February 22 there will be a special seminar for farmers' market managers and the New York State Berry Growers meeting. The two day educational program for direct markets begins with an opening session on Thursday evening highlighted by New England story teller Judson D. Hale Sr., editor-in-chief of the Yankee Magazine and The Old Farmer's Almanac.
This will be followed on Friday and Saturday with multiple sessions on topics pertaining to farmers markets, roadside markets, pick-your-own operations, agricultural tourism, value-added marketing and agricultural economic development.
The opening session will start at 9 a.m. on Friday with New York Governor George Pataki and his wife Libby as the keynote speakers. They will be followed by a panel discussion entitled "Direct Marketing, a Turning Point for Farming in New York and New England." There will be concurrent educational sessions the rest of the day with session topics including: strengthening community linkages; readjusting pick your own to today's realities; physical layout; attracting motorcoaches; consumer connections; using technology to track business performance; purchasing products for the farm market; special events; benefits of selling at a farmers market; and making mail order work.
On Friday evening from 4:30 to 6:30 there will be a tasting event in the trade show area featuring New England specialty foods. Exhibitors and local businesses will be serving specialty items for people to sample. Special activities at the conference will include a tasting of specialty foods made by producers from New York and New England, >from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. there will be an auction and free ice cream social. The proceeds of the auction go to the New York State Farmers Market Association.
On Saturday morning several meetings will take place. From 7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m. the New York State Direct Marketing Association Annual Meeting will be held. The NAFDMA annual meeting will be held from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and will feature the election of board members. A full day of concurrent education sessions will follow with topics including: making the most of media contacts; strategies for business expansion, designing displays to communicate a market's image; agri-tourism, the do's and don'ts of salesmanship; developing processing food products; integrating education into the shopping experience; understanding a young employee; creating quality newsletters; farm markets of New Zealand and Australia; customer service; pricing; and cashing in on Halloween.
The annual banquet will be held Saturday starting at 6 p.m. and will feature a New England country buffet dinner and the musical comedy act of Burns & Kaufman. There will also be dancing starting at 9:30 p.m. A one-day post-conference tour will be held on Sunday, February 25, farm markets in New York's Hudson Valley will be featured.
The conference is being co-sponsored by direct farm marketing associations, agriculture departments, and the Extension services in New York, Massachusetts, and the other northeastern states, as well as the North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association.
The registration packet for the 1996 North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Conference is now available. If you wish to receive a copy, please send Monika Roth your mailing address via email. The registration packet includes information about the pre- and post-conference tours, the educational sessions and other conference highlights. We are pleased to have so many excellent speakers, tours, and trade show exhibitors participating. Registration deadline is Feb. 2 for discount.
Headquarters for the conference are the Saratoga Springs Sheraton and City Center located in the resort community of Saratoga Springs, New York, 25 miles north of Albany off Route 87, the Northway. Major airlines are served by the Albany airport and shuttle services will be arranged. Hotel reservations can be booked by calling the Sheraton at (518) 584-4000. The conference rate is $75.00 plus tax, single, double, or triple. Other information about the area can be gotten from the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau by calling (518) 584-1531.
If you want to communicate by phone, a complete program of the conference can be obtained from Coordinator Charlie Touchette at (413) 527-6572. Inquiries regarding trade show exhibit space should be directed to trade show coordinators Toby and Jane Cargin (607) 692-4642. x
You may register for the tours, special seminars, and conference separately. Details provided in registration packet.
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Monika Roth, Cornell Cooperative Extension, 615 Willow Avenue, Ithaca, New York 14850
(Phone: 607-272-2292; FAX: 607-272-7088; Email: monika_roth@cce.cornell.edu)
The three-day event will include education sessions on festivals, labeling, farmer's markets, using farm animals as attractions, targeting markets, dried flowers, advertising, on-farm processing and more. There will also be a trade show with exhibitors displaying small equipment, packaging products, processed products, promotional products, and more.
A pre-conference tour will be held on February 28 and 29. Stops include touring several farms in the Roseburg and Eugene areas including Henry's Estates, an acclaimed Oregon winery, a tour of Rear's Manufacturing, an innovative equipment plant and a stop at a steam-operated antique sawmill.
For more information contact the Pacific Northwest Farm Direct Marketing Association office in Oregon at (503) 373-9650.
Kansas City, Missouri -- April 27 - May 1, 1996. Click here for details.
International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements unites 500 organisations from more than 100 countries to promote organic agriculture as an ecologically sound and socially just, sustainable method of food production. The conference in Copenhagen is the 11th IFOAM scientific conference. It was placed in Denmark in recognition of the advanced stage of organic agriculture in Denmark. The conference and the pre-conference tours will provide ample opportunity to learn about organic agriculture and ecologically sound living in Denmark and in the Scandinavian countries. ifoam'96 is hosted by The Danish Association of Organic agriculture.
For more information contact: ifoam'96, Blegdamsvej 4, DK-2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark
Tel: +45 3537 2096; Fax: +45 3537 4096; e-mail: ifoam96@login.dknet.dk
The Public Market Collaborative, Project for Public Spaces, are working with the Commodity Growers Cooperative and the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative and the Appalachian Regional Commission and putting on a one day market conference in Lexington, Ky on September 20, 1996 For more info, folks can call 606 233 7845.