**** C O N F E R E N C E A N N O U N C E M E N T ****
For more information, CONTACT:
Lisa Bauer, NCR SARE Communications Specialist, 402-472-0265, lbauer2@unl.edu,
or see http://www.unl.edu/conted/acpp/sare
North Central Region SARE
--0__=v4oa9npkkAvtKqB7mMxLxc6zE8xiqQELnwvRiFhGMdjRm4wf6S1q6RJ6
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
?s Marketing Conference:
Developing Alternative Agricultural Marketing Skills for the New Millen=
nium
Lincoln, NE -- As corporate concentration, global economics, and falter=
ing
markets have presented producers with a pessimistic vision for the futu=
re of
family farms, the North Central Region (NCR) Sustainable Agriculture Re=
search
and Education (SARE) program is offering hope through a hands-on, alter=
native
marketing conference, to be held on November 19-20, 1999, in Lincoln, N=
ebraska.
The conference will help farmers and ranchers develop skills and suppor=
tive
relationships that will allow them to create and sustain successful new=
marketing ventures.
Producers, educators, nonprofit groups, retail and wholesale food
representatives, food processors, restauranteurs, and general consumers=
will
share information on making more direct connections between farm gates =
and
dinner plates to support healthier people, farms and communities.
"The North Central SARE program has made concerted efforts to promote c=
ommunity
connections necessary for integrated local food systems," said Jim Good=
man,
farmer, NCR SARE administrative council member and conference planner. =
"This
conference is not only a culmination of NCR SARE?s efforts to this poin=
t, but
also an event that we hope will catalyze community food initiatives reg=
ion
wide."
On Friday, Nov. 19, participants are invited to listen to and ask quest=
ions of
NCR SARE marketing project coordinators in a panel discussion. After a =
"locally
grown" dinner and entertainment from folk singer Ann Zimmerman, partici=
pants can
visit poster sessions and displays and talk one-on-one with project
coordinators.
Saturday, Nov. 20, will feature two keynote speakers: Kansas rancher Di=
ana
Endicott, who direct markets her cooperatively produced "natural beef" =
to Kansas
City grocery stores; and Wisconsin farmer Richard DeWilde, who sells
horticultural products through community-supported agriculture, farmers=
'
markets, and other high-value, innovative marketing avenues.
The conference's second day will also showcase innovative alternative m=
arketing
strategies through workshops and poster and display sessions. Farmers,
researchers, representatives of the retail food sector, and other "expe=
rts" will
direct workshops on topics such as business planning for successful mar=
keting,
market research, working cooperatively with other farmers, educating co=
nsumers
about agriculture, selling directly to retail food markets, on-farm pro=
cessing,
value-added agriculture, marketing meat products, and legal issues in d=
irect
marketing, among others.
Conference participants will receive a soon-to-be-published and much-an=
ticipated
legal guide for direct farm marketing and a marketing resource notebook=
with
registration. The author of the legal guide, Neil Hamilton, will also c=
onduct a
workshop on legal issues in direct marketing.
"We want farmers and ranchers to learn and share marketing skills at th=
is
conference," Goodman said. "But we also want to build bridges between t=
hose
producing products in sustainable agricultural systems and those people=
and
businesses interested in using the products. This results in higher pro=
fits for
farmers and a healthier food system."
A call for exhibitors will be issued in late June, with registration ma=
terials
available in late summer. NCR SARE is offering co-sponsorship opportuni=
ties for
organizations or businesses. A limited number of travel scholarships wi=
ll be
available for farmers.
Contact Lisa Bauer at 402-472-0265 or lbauer2@unl.edu to inquire about
co-sponsorship, to put your name on a mailing list to receive registrat=
ion
information, or to offer suggestions on building this educational exper=
ience.
Updated conference information, including registration forms, will be a=
vailable
at http://www.unl.edu/conted/acpp/sare.
The conference planning committee includes: John Allen, University of N=
ebraska;
Molly Bartlett, Ohio farmer; Jim Goodman, Wisconsin farmer; Mary Hanks,=
Minnesota Department of Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture Program; Je=
rry Jost,
Kansas Rural Center; Ron Macher, Small Farm Today editor and farmer; Fr=
ed
Madison, Wisconsin Natural History Survey/University of Wisconsin; and =
Lisa
Bauer, NCR SARE.
SARE, which works to increase knowledge about -- and help farmers and r=
anchers
adopt -- sustainable farming practices and systems, oversees a competit=
ive
grants program that has funded 1,400 projects nationwide since 1988. Th=
e
national SARE program in Washington, D.C., is co-sponsor of the marketi=
ng
conference.
North Central Region SARE -- including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,=
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dako=
ta and
Wisconsin -- has funded more than $13 million-worth of projects, includ=
ing more
than 40 projects focusing on marketing issues. In 1995, NCR SARE began =
a quest
to learn more about and help farmers? overcome obstacles to successful
alternative marketing. A NCR SARE Marketing Committee met with producer=
s and
developed a special call for marketing projects. This committee also ca=
talyzed
funding of a national marketing curriculum, which will be featured at t=
he
marketing conference.
###
Lisa Bauer
Communications Specialist
North Central Region SARE
University of Nebraska
13A Activities Bldg.
Lincoln, NE 68583-0840
402-472-0265
402-472-0280 (fax)
lbauer2@unl.edu
www.sare.org/ncrsare
=
--0__=v4oa9npkkAvtKqB7mMxLxc6zE8xiqQELnwvRiFhGMdjRm4wf6S1q6RJ6--
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
http://www.sare.org/htdocs/hypermail