Direct Market Success Training Planning Document

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Direct Market Success Training Planning Document"

Sherman Strickland
5 years ago
Views:

1 Direct Market Success Training Planning Document This document has been prepared to help you plan your training agenda and promotion, and organize to meet the audience and trainer s needs. Audience Demographics And Psychographics For our phone meeting, be prepared to provide information about the audience you expect will attend the training. Consider: Farming experience level Scale of operations Present markets served Percent that have on farm refrigeration Level of food safety knowledge and experience Challenges specific to the region Planning - Venue Please consider air quality when choosing venue. All day in an over heated, stuffy hotel conference room with no window or air quality control creates lethargic learners. Ideally the front room lighting is dimmable for viewing photos The best seating arrangement is tables/chairs in a u-shape so audience members can see each other and the screen. If that doesn t work, 2 nd best is to angle tables slightly so people can see each other. Please remove extra chairs in back to help support audience dialogue. Planning - Agenda Example agendas are provided later in this document Class time can be shortened from the examples given Workshops provide value opportunities for networking and building community. Local events can be incorporated such as Meet The Buyer or Farm Tours or Culinary Cookoff or an evening social. Training Preparation - Host Provides: To help ensure your trainer arrives safely and on time please send: - A cell phone contact number for the day of training - The address and name of facility where training will be held - Google map the training location address and if it doesn t show up accurately or the area doesn t have good cell reception, please a map and/or general directions A quality powerpoint projector (Presenter brings Dell laptop and adapter) Easel and big pad of paper or a white board, markers Extra paper, pens, colored pencils on hand for those who forget Print handouts (These will be sent a week or two before the training) 1

2 SAMPLE DESCRIPTIONS The following workshop descriptions are provided as examples to help you plan and promote your training. to demonstrate that you have a solid, workable plan. 1. Growing Success for Direct Market Farmers 3-4 hours Marketing is not a passive process. Market research starts long before the seed is in the ground. Meeting the needs and values of your customers is fundamental to creating a healthy long-term relationship. How to actively seek buyers is just the start. Who is your customer and why do they buy? Maintaining the relationship requires attention to details from varieties, quality, pricing, communication, sequential planting, quality control, merchandising, trends, and more. Learn to serve a variety of direct market venues ranging from farm stands, CSA, and farmers markets to direct sales with restaurants, grocers, caterers, schools and other institutions. 2. Creating and Using a Business Plan Full day preferably as a 2 nd day following a direct or wholesale marketing workshop Having a written business plan that starts with a vision of what you want your farm to be and then breaks it down into the steps needed to get there is a powerful tool in your farm s success. During the creation of your plan, you will take an intentional look at factors like how this plan will affect your family and other relationships, how you will finance each step, what happens when the weather causes crop or cattle losses, who is responsible to make each step of the plan work, scheduling time to regularly assess where you are financially and emotionally, and how to adapt the plan as your farm or your markets change. You will create cost and sales projections, budgets, record-keeping spreadsheets, balance sheets and profit and loss statements, and learn to use them to assess strengths and weaknesses in your farming operation. Presenting your plan to a potential lender can be intimidating, but you will learn how 3. Using Season Extension Methods to Increase Your Sales 1 hour Offering fresh greens all winter, having the first heirloom tomatoes at market, or still offering justpicked cucumbers after the regular season is done, can make the difference between a marginal year and a profitable one. Learn to use techniques that maximize profit while minimizing expense. Explore the possibilities of frost blankets, row covers, bed warmers, hoop houses and deep-winter greenhouses. 4. How to be a Great Farmers Market Vendor 2-3 hours Farmers markets have become a highly competitive business, far removed from the days of throwing extra vegetables on a card table and scribbling prices on used cardboard. Learn all the ins and outs of the business: connecting with the right market, growing and presenting your product, building relationships with customers and vendors, using your image to enhance your marketing, pricing your product, creating an eye-catching display, utilizing your space, managing your staff, and assessing the economic viability of your venture. 5. Farm Identified Marketing: Tell Your Farm s Story hours One of the most powerful ways you can create stability in your market is through name brand marketing. It isn t just produce your customers want and need. The opportunity to have a relationship with your farm has a value with a shelf life much longer than fresh food. It also creates goodwill and a committed customer who will support you when disasters hits. To build a 2

3 committed relationship with your customers learn to tell a compelling story about yourself, your farm, and your products. including when to plant, which cultivars, and how to adjust plantings based on weather and markets. 6. Value-Added Products: Add a New Income Stream 1-2 hours If your markets are flooded with strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and apples, but the customer is looking for strawberry jam, salsa, pickles and apple pie, it might be time to look at value-added products. Value-added products range from the very simple like cuts of beef and pork, to the more complex like artisan cheeses, homemade pastas, and organic juices. Processing requirements and facilities, regulations, insurance, labor, storage and other issues will be part of determining whether value-added is a good option for your farm. Learn to analyze all the factors including a comprehensive cost/benefit assessment, so you can implement your plan with confidence. and your buyer. 7. Intentional Crop Planning To Meet Market Needs And Maximize Profits 1 hour A key component of produce marketing success is timing production to mature for when your market needs it. Successful planning requires skill with sequential planting, crop maturation, and good recordkeeping. Other benefits include maximizing space and fertility, extended harvest windows, maximizing space and farm profits, continuous supply, and optimize quality and yield. Learn how to design a sequential planting/harvest plan, 8. Postharvest Handling hours Success for produce farmers requires good postharvest practices to preserve quality and shelf life, and an understanding of postharvest food safety practices to minimize risks. We will discuss maintaining the cold chain, respiration, harvest, cleaning, cooling, storage, transportation, and sanitation for maximum shelf life. Food Safety will be included from a risk-prevention perspective, integrated into post harvest, and be FDA Produce Rule relevant. This workshop will include examples and discussion of cost-effective and scale appropriate postharvest systems and short videos from working farms for group discussion. 9. Designing Your Packing Shed 1.5 hours A well-designed packing shed is a crucial component of an efficient farming operation. The value of high-quality produce can be lost quickly if it isn't cleaned, cooled and moved into cold storage in a quick, safe, and efficient manner. And good postharvest facilities can dramatically improve speed, efficiency, health, safety, and employee morale. In this session we will discuss packingshed designs and product flow, and work on designing or redesigning participant s sheds. 3

4 Sample Agenda Workshop Example 1 One day, with farmer panel and social Direct Market Workshop Success for small and mid-sized fresh produce farmers requires good marketing and business systems and post harvest handling practices to preserve quality and shelf life. This full-day training will include identifying your target customers and meeting their key needs and values. We ll discuss how to differentiate your farm in the market, cost of production and pricing, and value-added product. The training will wrap-up with a panel of local farmers sharing their experience. 8:30 9 Registration 9-10:30 Marketing: Demographics And Psychographics Meet Your Customers Needs And Values 10:45-12:15 Marketing: Continued, Risk Management and Insurance Options 1:15 2:30 Value-Added Products: Add a New Income Stream 2:45-3:45 Using Season Extension to Increase Sales 3:45-6:00 Farmer Panel Followed By Social, Snacks and Beverages Workshop Example 2 One day, multiple topic workshop Direct Market Workshop Marketing is not a passive process. Market research starts long before the seed is in the ground. Find the right market outlet to match your skills and personality, land, crop mix, and customer s needs. In this class we ll discuss trends in the food market and the pros and cons of various marketing models, from roadside stands to farmers markets, csa, agri-tourism, restaurants, pick-your-on, on-line sales, and wholesale to retail and brokers. We will work in class on designing a mix of markets and crops that work for your farm and market based on customers needs and your strengths. 8:30 9 Registration 9:00-10:45 A Look At Market Options Based On Customers Needs and Values And Your Strengths 11:00-12:15 Farm Identified Marketing, Displays, and Promotion 1:15 2:15 Intentional Crop Planning To Meet Market Needs And Maximize Profits 2:30 3:15 Using Season Extension to Increase Sales 3:15 4:15 Value-Added Products: Add a New Income Stream 4:15 4:30 Wrap-up 4

5 Workshop Example 3, Two day workshop with hands on business plan writing Growing Success For Direct Market Farmers Successful direct market farming begins before the first seed is planted. This workshop is all about planning so your farming dreams can become reality. On Day 1, we will cover the elements necessary to match your products, interests, resources and skills to the best markets in your region. On Day 2, we will create an outline of a business plan for your farm that will cover everything from interpersonal relationships, setting attainable short-term and long-term goals, and creating task tables to financial projections, budgets, and profit/loss analysis. We will wrap up with how to present your plan to existing or potential lenders. Day 1 8:30 9:00 Registration 9:00 10:45 A Look At Market Options Based On Customers Needs and Values And Your Strengths 11:00 12:15 Farm Identified Marketing, Displays, and Promotion Lunch 1:15 2:30 Intentional Crop Planning To Meet Market Needs And Maximize Profits 2:45 4:15 Value-Added Products: Add a New Income Stream 4:15 4:30 Wrap-up Day 2 8:30 9 Morning social with beverages and food 9:00 10:15 Creating and Using a Business Plan: Overview of the Components 10:30 12:15 Creating and Using a Business Plan: Personal and Relational Factors Lunch 1:15 3:00 Creating and Using Projections, Task timetables, Budgets, Profit/Loss, Balance sheets 3:15 4:00 Presenting your plan to lenders 4:00 4:30 Wrap-up: Questions, Takeaways, Next Steps 5

Viability of Farmers Markets for Direct Marketing Farmers

Viability of Farmers Markets for Direct Marketing Farmers Farmers all across the country find that farmers markets are a profitable outlet for their farm products. Markets provide farmers retail level