Are you a farmer seeking new markets?
Local foods generated $11.7 billion in sales in 2014 and are estimated to climb to $20.2 billion by this year. At the same time, growth of sales of local food at farmers markets, farm stands and through CSA models has lost momentum. Some farmers who previously found success selling products through direct-marketing channels are now seeking new markets.
The Baskets to Pallets project provides educational resources and trainings to prepare farmers to enter ‘intermediated’ channels such as food hubs, groceries, schools and cooperatives. The project was founded in 2014.
2020 Baskets to Pallets Winter Trainings
Date: February 19th, 2020, 9:30am – 4:00pm. Focus Group 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Venue: Hawthorne Valley Farm, Ghent, NY
Title: Baskets to Pallets Marketing Intensive and “Be Well Farming” Focus Group
Instructors: Violet Stone, Baskets to Pallets Project Manager, Rachel and Steffen Schneider, Institute for Mindful Agriculture
Treat yourself to a holistic training that offers strategies and skill-building for successfully entering wholesale markets with special consideration toward participants’ overall comfort and well-being. Join us in a warm, light-filled space for learning, feasting, fellowship, and a walk on the farm. We’ll discuss consumer trends and the demand for local, choosing and evaluating market channels, building relationships with buyers and cooperative and collaborative farming. Those who wish are invited to stay for a 90 minute focus group to explore wellness, balance, fairness, and connection to community while farming. Focus group participants will be treated to a local food appetizer social and compensated with a cash gift. Learn more and register.
Date: February 25th, 2020
Venue: RI Department of Environmental Management. Meeting Room 300, Providence, RI
Instructors: Matt LeRoux, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County
Are you in search of new markets? Have you considered wholesale channels like colleges, hospitals, schools, food hubs, grocery stores, and cooperatives? The demand for local food continues to grow… Is your farm or food business ready for the opportunities? Ensure your success by joining us for ‘Baskets to Pallets’, a comprehensive one-day introduction to selling wholesale. Register here.
Baskets to Pallets Educator Cohort
When it comes to wholesale marketing, farmers need help with distribution, uniformity and consistency, food safety assurances, and much more. Meet this group of 13 service providers from across NY who came together as a Cohort in 2017 to hone their wholesale expertise and help farmers explore new sales channels.
Baskets to Pallets Resources
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Baskets to Pallets Teaching Manual
About the Teaching Manual The Baskets to Pallets Teaching Manual (1st Edition) contains a series of presentations, discussions,…
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Farmers and Buyers Talk
What is a Food Hub and is it a viable market channel for my products? Is a…
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Determining the Market Readiness of Beef Cattle
Need help determining when your beef animal is ready for slaughter? Join Cornell Beef Cattle Extension Specialist…
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Wholesale Resources
Scaling-Up: Perspectives from Growers and Buyers on Barriers and Benefits to Wholesale Marketing of Local Fruits and…
News and Updates
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2016-17 Baskets to Pallets Farmer Trainings
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Farmer Buyer Mixer, Brown’s Brewing, Troy, NY March 6th, 2017. 3:00pm – 6:00pm Farmers that complete either a Baskets to Pallets trainings or a FINYS training will be invited to meet wholesale buyers at a Farmer-Buyer Mixer at Revolution Hall (Brown’s Brewery) in Troy, NY on March 6th from 3:00pm – 6:00pm. The Mixer will provide…
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Now Available: Baskets to Pallets Teaching Manual
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The Cornell Small Farms Program is pleased to announce the new Baskets to Pallets Teaching Manual (1st Edition). The 16 lesson plans in the Manual are intended for an audience of small and mid-scale farmers in New York and the Northeast, who have been primarily direct marketing, but who are seeking to explore wholesale markets — specifically groceries, food…
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Educators: Register Now for 'Baskets to Pallets' Statewide Training
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Are you an agricultural educator or service provider in New York State interested in supporting farmers seeking to enter food hubs, groceries, restaurants or cooperatives? The Cornell Small Farms Program and Northeast SARE are pleased to announce a new statewide professional development opportunity. ‘Baskets to Pallets: Preparing Small and Mid-sized Farmers to Enter Food Hubs,…
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Small Farms, New Markets: Webinar Series Illuminates how Farmers and Buyers Connect
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Webinar Series Illuminates how Farmers and Buyers Connect In recent years, a variety of new wholesale opportunities have opened to small and mid-sized farmers. Whether its a brick and mortar venue such as a food hub, distributor or grocery store, or a virtual venue such as an online marketplace, these new avenues provide countless new…
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2014 Small Farm Summit
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About the 2014 NY Small Farms Summit On March 24th, the Cornell Small Farms Program hosted the 4th NY Small Farms Summit. The full day program, Beyond Direct Marketing: Exploring New Ways to Sell, featured small farmers’ perspectives on the pros and cons of selling wholesale. Morning presentations included vegetable farmer Darren Maum of Salvere Farm,…
About Baskets to Pallets
Over the past 8 years, farmers markets have grown by 38% in the state of New York, giving NY the second highest number of markets in the country. While this growth has provided an abundance of easy-to-access markets for small and beginning farmers, established farmers have started reporting slower sales and customer loss due to increased competition. These farmers complain of ‘burn-out’ from investing significant time and energy in direct-marketing strategies that are yielding diminishing returns.
Meanwhile, distributors such as food hubs, grocery stores, and restaurants are now recruiting product from small to mid-sized farms to meet growing consumer demand for local and sustainably-grown food. Although technically ‘wholesale’ venues, these businesses are often eager to establish attentive relationships with their suppliers, offer attractive prices and terms, and maintain a product’s branding and integrity.
New York’s small farmers expressed strong interest in exploring these ‘new models’ of wholesale in a highly detailed marketing trends survey conducted by the Cornell Small Farms Program in February 2014. Nearly half (39% )of the 445 NY survey takers reported currently selling at farmers markets, farm stands or CSA’s, but 25% indicated plans to explore either a food hub or a restaurant over the next 2 years.
An additional 7% indicated interest in a grocery store or cooperative. However, respondents identified many questions and perceived risk factors in making a transition to wholesale that need to be addressed. The following farmer quote represents a typical question: “I need to increase my sales to people interested in high quality locally grown products, but cannot afford the time to sit at a farmer’s market. Where are the food hubs, and how do I go about providing products?”
To help farmers successfully enter new intermediated channels, the Cornell Small Farms Program and Northeast SARE have developed the Baskets to Pallets project.
About Northeast SARE
The Baskets to Pallets program is funded through Northeast SARE. SARE offers competitive grants to projects that explore and address key issues affecting the sustainability and future economic viability of agriculture. Learn more at nesare.org
About 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.
Read Articles by Violet Stone
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