2018 Baskets to Pallets Farmer Trainings
Baskets to Pallets at the 2018 NOFA-NY Winter Conference – Saratoga Springs, NY
January 21, 2018, 8:00-9:15am
Looking to diversify sales? Food hubs, groceries, restaurants and cooperatives are seeking your products, but these ‘intermediated’ channels require different marketing strategies. This workshop will include discussion and activities to prepare direct-marketing farmers to start building successful sales relationships with wholesale buyers.
This year’s conference theme —Healthy People, Healthy Planet — recognizes the intersection of health and agriculture. It will celebrate the production of nutritious food in an organic system that maintains and encourages the well-being of the earth and all inhabitants.
See the conference brochure for a full listing of workshops and events. To register for the conference, click here.
Baskets to Pallets Two Day Training
Tug Hill Vineyards, Lowville, NY
January 29 & January 30, 10:00am – 4:00pm
The ‘Baskets to Pallets’ course is designed for farmers of all enterprises and will cover building relationships with buyers, customer management and record keeping, pricing, grading and packaging, uniformity and consistency, and food safety, among many other topics! This fun course includes plenty of hands-on activities and opportunities for peer learning and small group discussion. The course includes one break-out session for livestock and produce farmers. Additionally, the training includes an end-of-day session to start crop-planning for selling to the NNY Food Hub, based out of Jefferson county CCE, during the 2018 growing season.
The training cost is $35.00, which enables 2 people per farm to attend and includes breakfast refreshments and a delicious locally sourced lunch each day. Space is limited to 40 participants and early registration is encouraged. Lodging is available at Ridge View Lodge at a discounted rate of $80-90 per night. Reserve by January 15th!
The ‘Baskets to Pallets’ course is co-hosted by the Cornell Small Farms Program, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Lewis County and funded via Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).
REGISTRATION OPEN: CLICK HERE
Training Agenda
DAY 1: Monday, January 29th
9:00am – 10:00am | Arrival. Enjoy breakfast refreshments | |
10:00am – 10:15am | Overview of the Training | Introductions | Violet Stone, Cathy Moore and Melissa Spence |
10:15am – 10:30am | Consumer Trends and the Demand for Local | Violet Stone |
10:30am – 11:00am | Market Channel Assessment | Lindsey Pashow |
11:00am – 11:30am | Building Relationships with Buyers | Violet Stone |
11:30am – 12:00pm | Perfecting the Pitch and Cold Calling | Violet Stone |
Noon – 1:00pm | Lunch & Socializing | |
1:00pm – 1:30pm | Inform Your Buyers, Build Your Brand | Lindsey Pashow |
1:30pm – 2:30pm | Buyer Q&A | Buyer Panel TBA |
2:30pm – 3:30pm | The Ingredients of Good Marketing | Sell Sheets | Violet Stone |
3:30pm – 4:00pm | Crop Planning for the Food Hub Meeting: for farmers interested in selling to the Food Hub |
Cathy Moore |
DAY 2: Tuesday, January 30th
9:00am – 10:00am | Arrival. Enjoy breakfast refreshments | |
10:00am – 10:15am | Reflecting on Day 1 and Overview of Day 2 | Violet Stone |
10: 15am – 10:45am | Grading | Liz Higgins |
10:45am – Noon | Uniformity, Consistency and Scheduling BREAK OUT SESSION for Produce and Livestock |
Crystal Stewart and Betsy Hodge |
Noon – 1:00pm | Lunch & Socializing | |
1:00 – 2:00pm | Farmer Stories | Farmer Panel TBA |
2:00pm – 2:30pm | Labeling | Liz Higgins |
2:30pm – 3:00pm | Packaging | Liz Higgins |
3:00pm – 3:15pm | Hands On Pallet Stacking | Violet Stone |
3:15pm – 3:45pm | Keeping Production Records & Food Safety Basics | Crystal Stewart |
3:45pm – 4:00pm | Evaluation | Violet Stone |
Training Instructors