ClO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 23, 1993
Farmers Can Gather Retail Advice At Conference
LANCASTER (Lancaster Co.)
If supermarket managers gather
once at year at the Supermarket
Industry Convention, gourmet
store managers flock to the Fancy
Foods Show, and natural foods
store managers brush up at the
Natural Products Expo, then
what’s the central event for farm
market managers?
Answer: The Mid-Atlantic
Direct Marketing Conference and
Trade Show.
Purpose: To help farmers make
more money selling directly to
consumers
Result: More farm families
who’ll survive the 1990 s and more
consumers who know the meaning
of “farm fresh.”
This year’s Mid-Atlantic Direct
Marketing Conference and Trade
Show takes place bn Thursday and
Friday, February 18 and 19, at the
Lancaster Host Resort just east of
Lancaster on Route 30.
Tours of Lancaster area farm
markets occur on Saturday, Febru
ary 20. A preconference idea
exchange lakes place on Wednes
day evening, January 17.
Why do farmers who sell to con
sumers attend the Mid-Allantic
Direct Marketing Conference and
Trade Show?
Ask Fred Funk, Manager of
Funk’s Farm Market near Millcrs
villc in Lancaster County.
“There’s no way farmers can
survive on wholesale prices
which haven’t improved much
over the 30 years I’ve been raising
crops. But when we start to retail
our fruits, vegetables, plants,
meats, dairy products, we take on
some new headaches and gigantic
competitors. We need all the
knowledge, lips, and inspiration
we can gel.”
Funk is on the conference plan
ning committee, which saw to it
that the conference program
addressed the issues that matter to
farmers.
For instance, the two-day con
ference program features:
• Thirteen hours of
presentations.
• 34 speakers, half of whom are
farm marketers sharing ideas that
worked for them.
• Five periods of concurrent
sessions on hot topics.
• A trade show of suppliers open
to attenders.
This annual event is organized
by Cooperative Extension staff
from Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland and New Jersey, along
with farmers involved in direct
marketing and state department of
agriculture staff. The event rotates
among the four states, and moves
to Maryland in 1994.
The program is geared to those
farmers who sell their products
directly to consumers primarily
fruit and vegetable growers who
run retail roadside stands or far
mers’ market stalls. But other
operations with direct sales can
benefit from the conference,
including milk juggers, livestock
and poultry farms, farm-based
bakeries, wineries, and
greenhouses.
AH of these producers wrestle
with the issue, “What’s the best
direction for my retail outfit?” The
conference theme, “Paths to Suc
cess,” addresses that perennial
issue.
Each farm family has their own
situation and goals and, through
the conference, they’ll sec how
they can achieve them. Attenders
will come away with a clearer view
of the marketing choices they have
and their probable outcomes.
The conference opens with a
keynote address on the need to be
committed to customer satisfac
tion. Retailers tend to brush this
point off with a “sure, we aim to
please!” - However, the presenter,
Dr. John Stanton, will explore the
eaSSSBD. BINS AND AUGERS
implications for direct marketers
of this commitment. This address,
‘Customer Satisfaction Where
All Paths Begin,” lakes the audi
ence on a thinking-cap tour of con
sumers’ food shopping decisions
and how that relates to what’s done
in the back room of the typical
market.
Stanton, a food marketing con
sultant, has just returned from a
six-month consultation with the
world’s largest food retailer, Ten
glemans of Germany (parent of
A&P and Shop Rite). He has also
consulted with Campbell Soup
Company and several other nation
al and regional food firms. Stanton
is a professor of food marketing at
St. Joseph’s University in Phi
ladelphia. In 1991, he co-authored
the book, “Making Niche Market
ing Work.”
Stanton’s address will be fol
lowed by a “reactor panel” of three
farm market managers. They are
Stanley Nchrbas of Sabrhen Farm,
David Conover of Blossom Hill
Farm, and Ronald Rohrbach of
Rohrbach Farm Market. They will
add their perspectives to Stanton’s
address.
The trade show opens after this
keynote session, and conference
goers have full access to the show
through Friday afternoon. Exhibi
tors include a selection of these
suppliers:
• Specialty food and beverage
products
• Retail packaging, labeling,
and sales promotion materials
• Services such as consultants
and produce auctions.
A new station at the trade show
will feature the latest resources
that farm marketers should be
aware of, such as Quaker Oat’s
low-cost “Self-Study Program in
Retail Food Store Operations” or
the latest reports from the Food
Marketing Institute.
Thursday afternoon features
two periods of concurrent ses
sions. Topics to be covered by out-
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side speakers and farm marketers
include customer service, new
advertising methods, business
plans for farm markets, post
harvest handling, and new
approaches to direct marketing.
Most sessions have three speak
ers. The sessions break at 5 p.m.
for supper.
Joseph Anthony of USDA at
Bcltsvillc, Md., is one of the
speakers at the postharvest hand
ling session. He will describe how
a farmer can build a new batch
cooling unit with off-the-shelf
materials for under $l,OOO. The
concept was recently unveiled for
the first time in December at an ag
engineers convention. This event
marks one of the early presenta
tions to mid-Atlantic farmers.
The evening offers farmer-to
farmer roundtables on topics as
diverse as personal selling, recy
cling requirements, dried flowers
and ribbons, retaining the farm
market image, keeping kids in the
business, and services that add val
ue. The evening concludes with an
ice cream social.
Friday morning has two more
sets of concurrent sessions. The
first set offers presentations on
offering entertainment in the
market, understanding baby
boomers, and setting up an estate
plan. The second session covers
major festivals for farms, how to
leant what customers want, and
part two of estate planning.
The afternoon program for Fri
day features an in-depth look at
uniquely successful farm markets
in Maryland, New Jersey, and Pen
nsylvania. Each farm family pre
sents slides and an insider’s review
of their market progress.
Pennsylvania is represented by
the Mcrwarth farm family near
Easton and their Upstream Harm
Market Their story describes’ the
decision to re-open a dairy store
closed six years ago, when they
were dairying. One family mem
ber conducted an extensive feasi-
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bility study, which included
surveys to consumers. Their new
store takes the unusual approach of
a gourmet foods store, deli, bakery
and cafe. After the session, there
will be a discussion of issues and
problems that affect Pennsylvania
farm markets. Friday concludes
with a banquet, entertainment, and
pool party.
The Saturday tour program
begins with an address by Dr.
Charles Coalc, ag marketing spe
cialist at Virginia Tech, entitled
“How to Grow a Farm Market.”
Coale will share insights on how
the farm market managers can plan
their success for next season’s
cropping.
The tour buses then depart for
A.L. Kauffman and Son’s Farm
Market, the Bird-in-Hand Farmers
Market, Oregon Dairy Farm Mark
et, Kitchen Kettle Village, Shady
Maple Farm Market, and a quick
review of the Leola Produce
Auction.
For Saturday evening, confer
ence and tour goers have the option
to enjoy supper and “Nunsense” at
the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre.
The conference fee is $4O for the
first attender from a farm market
and $2O for additional attenders.
The Friday banquet costs $3O and
the Saturday breakfast buffet, talk,
and tours cost $25. There is a 20
percent discount if reservations arc
made by February 1.
The Lancaster Host Resort is on
Route 30, just east of Lancaster,
and is in the heart of the region’s
shopping district. For those plan
ning to stay at the hotel, special
room rates are available—s4s for
a single room and $49 for a double
room. Attenders need to specify
they arc with the Mid-Atlantic
Direct Marketing Conference.
For more information and the
program and registration brochure,
contact your county cooperative
extension office or call the Penn
State Short Course Office at (814)
865-8301.
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