2019 Baskets to Pallets Farmer Training, Rochester, NY

February 27, 2019/Violet Stone

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

Violet 1brp1x6Violet Stone
Violet launched the Baskets to Pallets Project in 2014 in an effort to prepare direct-marketing farmers to successfully connect with new scale-appropriate markets.  Prior to joining the Cornell Small Farms staff, Violet worked as a farmers market manager, local foods educator and farm direct-marketing consultant.  She is also the  New York NESARE (Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education State Coordinator.

 Robert zxpbqfRobert Hadad
Before joining the Cornell Vegetable Program in 2005, Robert Hadad worked as an Extension Educator both through the North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, developing programs for growers exploring sustainable and organic agricultural production practices. The production and marketing of local foods has always been a passion for Robert through his previous Extension work and as a former owner and operator of a small vegetable and fruit farm in Rhode Island. Today, Robert is the team’s food safety, organic, marketing, and fresh market specialist.

Daniel wncl8lLiz Higgins

As a CCE Business Management Specialist, Liz provides research and extension support to growers in ENY in farm business management, business planning and risk management and agricultural economics. She as experience as the director of the Center for Rural Development at Louisiana Tech University and most recently worked with CCE in both Ulster and Sullivan Counties as a program leader in Nutrition and Consumer Programs.

Omari 20yqmnaCrystal Stewart

Crystal works as an extension vegetable specialist for CCE, focusing on organic horticulture, small and beginning farmers assistance, and basic farm business management. She worked as Regional Extension Educator with the SDSU Cooperative Extension providing horticulture support, and originally joined CCE as the horticulture and agriculture educator in Fulton and Montgomery counties.

Tanya 1oyueybBetsy Hodge

Betsy is Regional Livestock Educator for CCE’s NNY Regional Ag Team and is also a local educator for St. Lawrence County. In this dual role, Betsy leads the NNY Livestock Team, a group of Extension Educators from across Northern New York. Betsy is a member of  Farm Bureau and the Empire Sheep Producers Association as well as a member of several advisory boards.

Laura 1ib11o6Lindsey Pashow

Lindsey is an Agriculture Business Development and Marketing Specialist for CCE’s Harvest NY Team that is affiliated with the Northern NY Regional Agriculture Program. She serves Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties. She has previously worked as a horticulture field technician for CCE, and she owns Adirondack View Vineyard.

 

Violet Stone

Violet's work focuses on creating retreats, workshops and programs for the agricultural community centered on themes of connection, wellness, purpose, integrity and courage. She sees this work as contributing to a more inclusive ‘culture’ of agriculture where all voices are warmly welcomed, honored and celebrated, including the voices of our ‘inner teachers’, sometimes referred to as 'spirit' or 'soul'. Violet serves as the NY SARE Coordinator and can help farmers and educators navigate NESARE grant opportunities.
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