Page B—Grower and Marketer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 11, 1999
Direct Marketing Association Conference Jan. 31-Feb.2
E. SYRACUSE, N.Y.
“Marketing in the New Millen
nium” is the theme for the 2000
New York State Farmers’
Direct Marketing Conference
scheduled at the Sheraton Four
Points Hotel in Rochester, N.Y.
Jan. 31-Feb. 2.
The conference encompas
ses many facets of agriculture
in its efforts to assist agricultur
al producers to be more effec
tive direct marketers. Sessions
will be held for livestock mark
eting, pick-your-own opera
tions, bedding plant sales,
maple producers, Christmas
tree growers, and any other
agricltural producers interested
in learning more about direct
marketing their products,
whether it be a collective far
mers’ market or an on-farm
market.
Direct marketing of farm
products of all types and variet
ies will become the mainstay of
the small family farm in the
new millennium. This means
everything from fruits and veg
etables to livestock and dairy
products to small grains and
bedding plants. Marketing agri
cultural products directly to the
consumer, rather than whole
sale or through a broker, allows
the producer a wider margin
and increased profits.
To assist agricultural pro
ducers in their marketing
efforts, the NYS Farmers’
Direct Marketing Association
invites all to participate in the
2000 Direct Marketing
Conference.
The annual Bus Tour has
stops planned for every facet of
farm marketing. A tour through
Geneva’s Food Venture Center
will be of interest to anyone
interested in small food pro
cessing. The guided tour will
help provide answers to your
“how-to” questions.
A tour of Red Jacket
Orchard’s farm market will be
especially interesting to fruit
growers. Their “cooler” sales
room is an excellent way to pre
serve the quality of apples
while they are on display.
Pine Hill Orchard will host
(he group for a luncheon and
pictorial “tour” of the orchard
and farm market.
The final stop for the day will
be Casa Larga Wineries, the
only winery in Monroe County.
There will be a tour of the win
ery along with wine tasting.
Other stops are still in the plan
ning stages, but will no doubt
be of great interest to tour
participants.
Two-hour workshops are
being conducted on a variety of
subjects, all based on the pre
mise of adding income by keep
ing up with marketing trends
for the new millennium.
Adding income through fresh
cut flowers will be explored, as
well as herbal crafts and
products.
On-farm bakeries will be
presented from start up to fin
ished product. Learn the ropes
of starting a bakery, what pro
ducts sell well and why, where
to find your products and sup
plies, and how to market your
finished baked goods. If you’re
just starting a bakery or just
looking for different products
or supplies, this workshop is for
you.
“Designing a Display Gar
den How and Why?” will be
presented by Jim Ireland of
Country Herbs and Flowers.
His farm features many diffe
rent types of display gardens.
He’ll tell why at this workshop.
Another way to attract custom
ers to your market and increase
sales is through cooking
demonstrations and product
sampling. Judy Price will hold a
workshop on this topic and
show the most effective way to
conduct cooking
demonstrations.
Have you put off Worker
Protection Standards (WPS)
training or need a refresher
course? Dave Reville of Cor
nell Cooperative Extension of
Wayne County will be conduct
ing a WPS training class at the
conference of Jan. 31. Be sure
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to bring your employees with
you for this training sessions.
Pesticide credits will be given
for this session.
The conference seminars on
Feb. 1-2 offer several tracts.
One tract is geared people new
to farm marketing. Sessions
will carry the participant from
the nuts and bolts of getting a
farm stand started to advertis
ing, setting prices, to employee
training and issues, as well as '
the best fresh market varieties
to offer. This two-day tract of
seminars is a “must attend” for
anyone just starting in farm
direct marketing.
Another tract is geared tow
ard those who have been in
farm direct marketing for a
while and are now ready to
branch out and expand their
business. A sample of topics
covered include entertainment
farming, bedding plant sales,
pick-your-own marketing, and
small food businesses in your
market: cafes, ice cream, etc.
Business decision-making is
another tract offered at the 2000
conference. This tract will
delve into the many business
decisions we make that can
impact our business. For exam
ple, one session will dig into the
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many insurance issues facing a
farm market. This session will
look at what are our risks and
what we can do to minimize
them. It will also explain what
kinds of insurance we need to
cany and why.
Another session will cover
the many audits a farm market
can face and how to survive
them. This session will cover
IRS, Sales Tax, Labor, and
DEC audits what to expect
and how to be prepared. Trans
ferring your business to the
next generation will be
reviewed. This topic will cover
not only the legal issues, but the
emotional ones as well. Finan
cial recordkeeping and what it
can tell us about business if it’s
done right will also be covered.
Steve Childs from Coopera
tive Extension of Wyoming
County will put together a
three-hour session for maple
producers on Wednesday, Feb.
2. Steve will present a group of
speakers that will dig into
maple syrup production and
marketing.
The afternoon of Feb. 2 the
New York State Christmas
Tree Growers will host a three
hour session on marketing
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(Turn to Page 9)
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