Marketing
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Organic | Value-Added | Wholesale | Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) | Agri-tourism | Direct Marketing
General
New! Collaborative Marketing for Small Farms: Selling and Working Together for Profitability
As interest in local food sourcing increases at restaurants, institutions, and schools, small farms often have to combine forces to move enough products to satisfy the larger-scale buyer’s expectations The new bulletin, “Collaborative Marketing for Small Farms” provides guidelines for farm owners who are looking to work jointly with other farms to access these new markets.
Collaborative marketing is most beneficial when the farms deal effectively with legal and business considerations from start to finish. This bulletin explains the business structure options and success factors of joint ventures, partnerships, and corporations. It highlights potential obstacles and suggests practical solutions to them. After reading this bulletin, a small farm owner will be much more familiar with the ways a collaborative marketing opportunity can positively or negatively affect their farm’s bottom line. Produce by CCE of Ontario County. Download the Guide here
Cornell Smart Marketing Monthly Newsletter
The Smart Marketing series is a marketing newsletter by the Department of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, and is designed for extension publication in local newsletters and for placement in local media. It reviews elements for successful marketing in the food and agricultural industry. Please cite or acknowledge when using this material. http://hortmgt.dyson.cornell.edu/smart_marketing/.
The NEW FARM
Farmer-to-farmer know-how from The Rodale Institute. Features an organic price index, e-letters to the e-editors, news and research, columnists, gleanings, 1000 stories of regenerative agriculture, talking shop, stories about farm life, certification archives, a pig page, and more. http://www.rodaleinstitute.org/new_farm.
United Nation’s Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability Report
With contributions from more than 70 global agri-food leaders in the business, policy, environment, and social arenas, Food and Agriculture: The future of sustainability lays out concrete steps for sustainable and resilient food and agriculture systems. The report also exposes areas of disagreement and advances a key set of specific “high impact” areas where smart decisions will make the most difference. If you want to learn more about this report’s suggested sustainability practices, visit www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_sd21st/21_pdf/agriculture_and_food_the_future_of_sustainability_web.pdf to view the full report.
Organic
Organic Trade Association
A national association representing the organic industry in Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmer associations, brokers, consultants, distributors, and retailers working to promote organic products in the marketplace and to protect the integrity of organic standards. http://www.ota.com/.
Organic Farming and Marketing: Publications from USDA
USDA offers a wide variety of publications related to organic farming and marketing. Available online and upon request. http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/orgusda.htm.
Value Added
Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship
The NECFE, located at the NY State Ag Experiment Station, provides information and resources on business development, entrepreneurship training, marketing strategies and tools, product process development, technology transfer, regulatory compliance, labeling, education and outreach, and workshops. Their mission is to provide comprehensive assistance to beginning and established food entrepreneurs in order to promote sustainable economic development in rural communities. http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/necfe/.
The Massachusetts Food Processors Resource Manual
A practical guide for specialty food and start-up food processors published by the Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture. http://www.state.ma.us/dfa/markets/specfood/food_processor_resource_manual.htm.
Value-added Agriculture Marketing Resource Center
The Marketing Resource Center is intended to provide independent producers and processors with critical information to build successful value-added agricultural enterprises. The Center’s goals include an electronic, web-based library with powerful search capabilities to make value-added market, economic, and business information and other resources available to producers; and much more. http://www.agmrc.org/.
The American Cheese Society
The American Cheese Society strives to uphold the highest standards of quality in the making of cheese and related fermented milk products; to uphold the traditions and preserve the history of American cheesemaking; to be an educational resource for American cheesemakers and the public through sharing knowledge and experience on cheesemaking as a hobby or as a commercial enterprise with special attention given to Specialty and Farmhouse cheeses made from all types of milk, including cow’s, goat’s, and sheep’s milk; to encourage consumption through better education on the sensory pleasures of cheese and its healthful and nutritional values. http://www.cheesesociety.org/.
Wholesale
Coming soon!
Community Supported Agriculture
SARE Handbook on Multi-farm CSAs
The Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program published a handbook on cooperative marketing for community supported agriculture farms (CSAs). The 130-page manual gives concrete details on strategies for forming and maintaining a multiform CSA, including advice on staffing, volunteer boards, distribution, and legal topics. Print copies are available on the SARE website. http://sare.org/publications/csa/csa.pdf.
Guide to Financing the Community Supported Farm
Thinking about alternative financing methods for your farm? This University of Vermont New Farmer Project Guide outlines the legal, accounting, environmental, and social consequences of alternative funding. The guide includes four farmer case studies. To view the guide visit:http://www.uvm.edu/newfarmer/?Page=business/community-supported-farm-guide.html&SM=business/sub-menu.html.
Agritourism
Agritourism Guides
The National Children’s Center resources for agritourism operators. The Policies and Procedures Guide and the Worksite Guide include a 10-page checklist for use by agritourism owners and managers, as well as farm owners who host children and groups. The guides are useful in reviewing health and safety considerations already implemented on agritourism operations, and can assist in identifying deficiencies so that remedial action can be taken. These guides can be downloaded at http://marshfieldclinic.org/agritourism.
Alternative Enterprise and Agritourism Resource Evaluation Guide
An on-line tool developed to help farmers evaluate their resources when considering alternative enterprises or agritourism potential for their farms. It is a database driven application that allows users to collect and store the information for each farmer and rancher’s assessment of their natural, family, and community resources. The guide is based on the NRCS publication Taking the First Step: Farm and Ranch Alternative Enterprise and Agritourism Resource Evaluation Guide dated January 2004 on the NRCS website at ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/Economics/AltEnterprise/FirstSteps.pdf . Data entry forms for each worksheet, an editable database of alternative enterprise and agritourism ideas, and an editable database of links are provided. The tool provides ease of access to related information and tools such as the Web Soil Survey, local contacts, and technical and financial assistance programs. http://resourcesfirstfoundation.org/aea/.
Farmstay Manual
The Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture has produced a manual on Farmstays. Farmstays are well-suited to meet the needs of travelers looking for unique and genuine experiences. They offer people a way to reconnect with their agrarian roots—or to form new roots. While research has not been conducted in Minnesota on travelers’ interest in farmstays, the success of existing farmstays, as well as natural food co-ops, farmers’ markets, and “buy-local” campaigns indicate that the opportunity is there. Many people are hungry to establish a relationship with the land on which their food is grown and with the farmers who grow it. This manual is not meant to be comprehensive, but rather a first stop for those considering a farmstay in Minnesota. http://www.misa.umn.edu/Publications/FarmstayManual/index.htm.
Direct Marketing
Marketing Guide: Where and How to Market Your Products
Whether you’re still deciding where to market your products or you’ve already been selling through various channels, this guide will give you some tools to evaluate the success of these market channels and make sure they’re the best fit and most profitable for your business.
The Guide to Marketing Channel Assessment: How to Sell Through Wholesale and Direct Marketing Channels – Matthew LeRoux, Monika Roth, Molly Shaw, and Todd Schmidt. Cornell Cooperative Extension, 2010. http://nebeginningfarmers.org/publications/marketing-channel-assessment/.
Farmers Markets Today Magazine
Farmers’ Markets Today magazine premiered June 2007 and is published six times a year as a resource for direct market farmers and managers and vendors of farmers markets. Each issue of Farmers’ Markets Today is filled with information to help small farmers and farmers markets to be more successful and profitable in selling their products. Read stories about what growers, artisans and farmers markets are doing to promote their businesses, reach new customers and develop value-added products. www.farmersmarketstoday.com.
Farmers Markets Today Magazine
Farmers’ Markets Today magazine premiered June 2007 and is published six times a year as a resource for direct market farmers and managers and vendors of farmers markets. Each issue of Farmers’ Markets Today is filled with information to help small farmers and farmers markets to be more successful and profitable in selling their products. Read stories about what growers, artisans and farmers markets are doing to promote their businesses, reach new customers and develop value-added products. www.farmersmarketstoday.com.
Local Food Guides for Northern New York Counties
Local food guides for all six Northern New York counties have been assembled by the North Country’s Cornell Cooperative Extension associations in collaboration with GardenShare, based in St. Lawrence County; and Adirondack Harvest, the community-based local foods organization serving 13 northern counties. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program invites people to discover farm stands, u-pick, farmers’ markets, community supported agriculture, organic growers and stores selling local foods across Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties. For a paper copy, contact your local Small Farms Cooperative Extension agent. http://www.nnyagdev.org/index.php/local-foods/.
Online Plant Exchange Links Greenhouse Sellers with Buyers
An online plant exchange brings together flower and nursery growers to facilitate sales. New York Farm Viability Institute helps to fund the site. Growers can specify conditions of sale, such as minimum order size and delivery area. Exchange listings include annual flowers, ground covers, plugs, perennials, vegetables, herbs, and aphid banker plants for integrated pest management. Those posting listings must join the New York State Flower Industries Association which Adams, a board member, says is a great value for the $75 membership fee. http://www.nysfimarketplace.com/.
20 Ways Farmers Can Improve their Marketing Chops
http://marketingpwt.dyson.cornell.edu/SmartMarketing/pdfs/Smrt%20Mktg-Dec%202009.pdf
Farmers are business people, alchemists, scientists, economists, and stewards of the land. But sometimes they need help with that most basic and necessary of skills: marketing. This article from Cornell’s Smart Marketing series offers a partial list of ways for farmers to craft a story around their products, personalities, and people more effectively, especially at farmers markets. PDFs of the Smart Marketing articles may be found on the Marketing PWT website at: http://hortmgt.dyson.cornell.edu/smart_marketing/.
New Program Helps Farmers with Media Relations
http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/nsac-announces-the-farm-and-agriculture-resources-for-the-media-farm-project/?utm_source=roundup&utm_medium=email
The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has launched FARM (Farm & Agriculture Resources for Media). This project champions the voice of sustainable agriculture by providing media training and tools for farmers. FARM includes a new three-part NSAC toolkit that helps farmers share their personal and authentic story and strengthen their media connections. The toolkit includes: Media & Public Relations Tool Kit for Farmers; Media Training for Farmers Webinar; and listing on the NSAC FARM Database.
National Farmers Market Directory
http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
The USDA National Farmers’ Market Directory. Farmers’ markets can be searched by state, county, zip code and participation in federal nutrition assistance programs.
Food Safety Curriculum for Farmers and Food Marketers
www.nyfarmersmarket.com
The Farmers Market Federation of NY and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County developed a curriculum to help farmers and food marketers implement the food safety guidelines they created under a grant from the USDA. The Farmers Market Federation and CCE Jefferson County will also be hosting workshops to introduce CCE educators and farm service providers to the curriculum. The curriculum and more information are available online.
Farmers Market Coalition Website
http://farmersmarketcoalition.org/
A newly upgraded Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) website is now available, strengthening the Coalition’s power to serve as a national hub for the exchange of farmers’ market best practices. Of particular note, the new design of the Farmers Market Resource Library includes a robust assortment of features: users can rate and comment on entries, customize their searches, and submit their own documents, links, and videos to share with fellow market practitioners. FMC invites market managers, state associations, service providers, and producers to take advantage of these usability improvements by submitting resources to share with their peers, inspiring innovation and excellence within the farmers market community.
Regional Food Hub Resource Guide
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELPRDC5097957
The USDA recently published the first Regional Food Hub Resource Guide. The guide is part of the USDA’s initiative to expand market opportunities for local and regional food systems – the guide aims to connect and support small to medium sized producers nationwide.
FarmersWeb: Online Marketplace for Local Farms and Buyers
https://www.farmersweb.com/
FarmersWeb allows farmers to publish availability, take orders and maintain records in the same place. The site also makes buying wholesale easier, by allowing buyers to make orders from different farms at the same time and keep track of purchases by category or farm.
Direct Marketing of Specialty Food Products Online Course
The Direct Marketing of Specialty Food Products online curriculum will help farmers learn strategies to direct market food and sell online, evaluate the role of technology in their businesses in regards to direct online marketing, examine strategies necessary to deal with technology and weigh some cost/benefit measures, and more! Access this online course athttp://eship.unl.edu/directmarketingfood.
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