Time to Make Plans! 2012 NAFDMA Convention in Virginia

North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association announces the schedule for its 27th Annual Convention. The convention will be held at the Williamsburg Marriott in Williamsburg Virginia on February 10-16, 2012.

New Opinions from the Old Dominion is the theme of the 2012 NAFDMA Convention. While taking advantage of the rich heritage of Virginia’s Historic Triangle, new lessons in farm direct marketing and agritourism can be learned. This event will give attendees comprehensive access to networking and education opportunities that are unmatched at any other conference. This is last NAFDMA convention to be held on the east coast for the next several years.

The focus will be on how family dynamics, business management, customer service and technology can be leveraged for a successful farm operation. The convention includes bus tours, workshops, concurrent sessions, round table discussions, networking events and a trade show.

Networking Bus Tour
The convention begins with a three-day School on Wheels. The Networking Bus Tour will be held on February 11-13. This popular tour will have six buses on the road to farms such as Carter Mountain Orchards, Virginia Farm Market, Belvedere Plantation, Great Country Farms and Cox Farms. Each bus will have an individualized focus to give attendees an in depth opportunity to network and share subject matter that is important to them.

Trade Show and Participation Day
The Trade Show will be open February 13-15. This unique trade show gives delegates a chance to taste test many specialty food products, compare corn maze companies and even test drive a pedal kart. As many as 90 trade show booths will promote the latest products and services available for farm retail and on-farm entertainment. Along with the trade show, this day features interactive sessions on some of the best marketing practices by NAFDMA members and round table discussions on a myriad of topics from liability and employee training to the next generation on the farm.

Workshops
Wednesday, February 15 will offer full day workshops and mix and match half day workshops. Three workshops will be held off-site at locations in Busch Gardens, Jamestown Settlement and the Yankee Candle Flagship Store. These workshops will focus on agritourism attractions, school tours and retailing. Workshop presenters at the convention hotel include diversity marketing expert Kelly McDonald, retail guru John Stanley, agricultural financial educator Dr. Alex White, and family business advisor Ann Dugan.

Conference
The Keynote Presentation on Thursday, February 16 will be by Kelly McDonald, of McDonald Marketing on how to “market to people not like you". Her definition of diversity and how to effectively market your business through strategic marketing segmentation is the new opinion many marketers need to build their business. All featured workshop presenters will also return for one hour concurrent sessions. Additional speakers will present sessions on subjects that include market expansion, farm to school programs, on-farm weddings, QR tags and Facebook.

For further information on the 2012 NAFDMA Convention, please visit www.nafdma.com/VA2012

2011 NAFDMA ALR was a success!

The unprecedented early winter storm that hit the Northeast on Halloween weekend did not dampen the spirits of the intrepid NAFDMA members who attended the 2011 Advanced Learning Retreat at Roba Family Farms. Unfortunately, closure of the airport in Scranton, Pennsylvania prevented five registrants from attending. Our hats go off the many registrants who braved the drive to attend the event.

Slight last minute adjustments were made to the program, but otherwise it went off without a hitch. As Sue Roba herself put it, “Hey, we’re farmers, we deal.”

An exclusive pig race show, pumpkin cannons shoots, a friendly game of hoops at Roba’s new “sports center” and s’mores around the fire kept the group warm and engaged. Attendees got to see firsthand the agritourism operation at Roba’s and had the undivided attention of Sue, John and their children Jennifer, Jeff and Jake. Key managers were also on hand for formal presentations and answer the many questions on attendees’ minds.

The “Marketing, Management & Employee Development” session was well received. Nearly everyone expressed that they have many of the same issues. A lively conversation about hiring and motivating quality employees was lead by Patti Borger, Roba’s Director of Fun. Many good ideas on how to get “employees to do what they are supposed to do” were shared.

NAFDMA’s Advanced Learning Retreat is an annual event that strives to help farm direct marketers and agritourism operators take it to the next level. The goals include small group networking where every question gets answered, in-depth access to promote the best education and customized content and peer interaction to minimize innovation.

The 2011 ALR achieved those goals and a good time was had by all. One attendee stated, “The Robas were gracious and hospitable and went beyond the call of duty to share.” We couldn’t agree more.

NAFDMA’s Annual Workshops take Farm Direct Marketing and Agritourism to the Next Level

Twelve different workshops will be offered for farm direct marketing and agritourism operators on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland. The workshops will take place on Education Day, as part of the Annual Convention held by North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA). The entire convention runs February 4-10, 2011.

Attendees can choose from one of six full day workshops, or mix and match half day workshops. Workshops can be attended as part of an inclusive registration package, or a one day only attendance. Registration includes breakfast and lunch as well as materials specific to the chosen workshop. Morning and full day workshops begin at 9:00 a.m., and break for lunch at noon. Full-day workshops restart and afternoon workshops begin at 1:30 p.m., all workshops end at 4:30 p.m.

Customers are increasingly knowledgeable about what they want from farm visits. Learning what it takes to be competitive in today’s marketplace and understanding where trends will go in the future is essential for farm direct marketers. Whether the subject matter is new to the farm operation, or builds on what is already being done, the line-up of topics and speakers on NAFDMA’s 2011 Education Day will help take businesses to the next level.

Workshop presentations include food marketing expert, Dr. Richard George who will present a workshop on connecting with today’s customers. John Stanley of Australia, a NAFDMA Convention favorite and expert in retail design, will be returning this year to help farm market owners meet the challenges in the industry. Brad Montgomery’s workshop “Laugh-O-Nomics”, will focus on how levity in the workplace can make a business more effective and productive, thus increasing the bottom line.

Lovoni Walker, host of the popular national Canadian food show ‘Simple, Fresh, Delicious’ will present two half day workshops. In the morning, she will equip attendees with the necessary tools and resources to set up and run a cooking school on the farm. She will conduct a cooking class in the afternoon. See the practical tips and techniques for holding successful cooking classes as Lovoni puts it all into practice as she demonstrates with limited equipment just how easily it can be done.

For those agritourism operators who offer parties on the farm, Frank W. Price, founder of Birthday University will present information on today’s party consumer and what they really want. Those in this workshop will get specific tools to evolve their party concept, become unique and capable of mass customizing. Franks approach is to teach a simplified, low cost party marketing strategy, add simple yet great service and give a little extra at the party table.

The slate of workshops is rounded out by speakers from inside the industry to expose conference goers to new ideas while maintaining relevance to their operations. The additional workshops feature a workshop designed for folks who want to start up an agritourism destination, one to cover the most important topics when considering adding or expanding a bakery or food service and everything one needs to know about adding a small scale apple orchard to diversify an agritourism operation.

Full details on all the workshops and their featured speakers can be found on the NAFDMA convention website at www.nafdma.com/NAFDMA2011.

Annual NAFDMA “School on Wheels” Networking Bus Tour

North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association announces its annual Bus Tour. The Bus Tour is part of the 26th Annual NAFDMA Convention, and will be held on Feb. 5-7, 2011. Known as NAFDMA’s School on Wheels, the annual bus tour is a popular feature of the NAFDMA convention. The tour will begin on Saturday, Feb. 5 in Baltimore, Maryland. It will then spend the next three days traveling to farm direct marketing and agritourism locations in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Overnight accommodations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are included in the bus tour package.

Past attendees of the NAFDMA bus tours know that the networking, sharing of ideas and friendships made on the tour are invaluable to their business. “Often times, it is the conversations that go on between the stops where people get their ideas,” says Kerry Engel, NAFDMA Vice President of Convention Operations. “We learn more from things that are not perfect, we discuss things, and we all learn how we can improve things back home.”

There will be many stops packed into the three day tour. Many of the farms and markets that will be showcased are owned by longtime NAFDMA members. There are two different tour options, Farm Direct Marketing and Agritourism. While both tours will visit some of the same stops, the focus will be different when the bus arrives to visit.

Farm Direct Marketing Tour
The Farm Direct Marketing Tour will focus on the retail side of the businesses on tour. Highlights of this tour include the new retail store at Richardson Farms in Old Marsh, Maryland, the farm market and new build planned at Hollabaugh Brothers Fruit Farm in Biglerville, Pennsylvania and the farm market at Linvilla Orchards in Media, Pennsylvania. Tour goers will learn how the owners of these locations decided that it was time for expansion and how they met the challenges along the way. Additional stops on this tour focus on knowing your customers and how to structure a farm market to meet their needs.

Agritourism Tour
The Agritourism Tour will focus on activities and events on the farm. The stops on this tour know that customers are looking for family entertainment that offers a good value for their money. These farms are capitalizing on the up surge of this industry. There are innovative new ideas and agritourism standards to learn from on this tour. Three of the numerous stops on this tour are Crumland Farms in Frederick, Maryland, Weber's Cider Mill Farm in Parkville, Maryland and Shady Brook Farm in Yardley, Pennsylvania.

For both options, tour goers will have the chance to see historic sites in the region. The overnight hotel in Philadelphia is across the street from Reading Terminal Market and a short distance from the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Time will be allowed to visit these well-known locations. The tours will also drive through the battlefields of Gettysburg on day one of the tours. A complete list of tour stops for each tour option will be available on the NAFDMA Convention website at www.nafdma.com/NAFDMA2011.

At the Annual NAFDMA Convention,There’s Still a Whole Lot More to Learn!

The 26th Annual Convention held by North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association (NAFDMA) will take place on Feb. 4 – 10, 2011. The convention features a three-day bus tour, a day of intensive workshops, and a conference and tradeshow. The Hyatt Regency Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland will be the home base for the Convention. This hotel on Baltimore’s Inner Harbor will set the stage for the comfortable, intimate setting of fellowship and networking that the NAFDMA Convention is known for.

"This region is a hotbed for customer trends. It forecasts what will be seen across the continent," says Charlie Touchette, NAFDMA's Executive Director. "It's amazing how consumer sensitivity has shifted over the past 5 years. We'll put a spotlight on the wants and needs of customers in today's culture and economy. Convention attendees will come away with a better handle on how to hold the attention of customers back home.''

There is Still a Whole Lot More to Learn is the theme of the 2011 NAFDMA Convention. The bus tour returns to the Mid-Atlantic region where the farm markets and agritourism operations of many long-time NAFDMA members will be showcased. The workshops and sessions will provide the attendees with the tools and information they need to move to the next steps in their businesses. Complete Convention information will be available at www.nafdma.com/NAFDMA2011

Bus Tour
The Networking Bus Tour will be held on Feb. 5-7 and offer two different bus tour options. Option One is the farm direct marketing tour. The buses on this tour will visit several farm market stops. The brand new post and beam style market building at Richardson Farms will be a highlight of this tour. Option Two is the agritourism tour. Linvilla Orchards will be just one of the stops on this tour option. For both options, the tour will begin in Baltimore and overnight for two nights in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tour goers will have the chance to visit the historic sights of the city and learn farm direct marketing ideas from the famous Reading Terminal Market. A complete list of tour stops for each tour option will be available on the web site.

Workshops

Wednesday, Feb. 9 will offer six full day workshops and eight mix and match half day workshops. Education Day is a day full of thought provoking, entertaining and timely workshops. We are happy to announce that food marketing expert, Dr. Richard George will present a workshop on connecting with today’s customers. John Stanley of Australia, a NAFDMA Convention favorite and expert in retail design, will be returning this year to help farm market owners meet the challenges in the industry. Brad Montgomery’s workshop “Laugh-o-Nomics” will focus on how those who enjoy what they are doing are more effective and productive, thus increasing your farm’s bottom line. An off-site workshop highlighting culinary trends on the farm will also be offered.

Conference
The featured workshop presenters will return on Thurs. Feb. 10 along with nearly forty additional presenters for Innovation Day. This year’s conference will feature seven tracks, including U-Pick, Food Service on the Farm, and Family Dynamics. The Technology track will offer sessions on the social media options available for marketing your business in today’s world.Trade ShowAs many as 90 trade show booths will promote the latest products and services available to farm direct marketers and agritourism operators. Exhibitors will also have the opportunity to showcase their products in a 30 minute live demonstration. Vendor applications will be accepted starting on Sept. 15. The complete trade show vendor packet will be on the web site. The Trade Show will be open Feb. 7-9.

Spotlighting NAFDMA's next generation: John Mills

Spotlight on John Mills - Bowden SunMaze.
John is one of the many younger NAFDMA farmers that came back to their family farms to diversify into farm direct marketing and ag tourism.

The Bowden SunMaze can be found at http://www.sunmaze.ca/

At the Bowden Sunmaze John has tried to develop activities for the whole family to create a unique attraction within the Alberta Ag tourism industry.

The Farm hosts the only Sunflower Maze in Western Canada, along side a traditional corn Maze, U-pick flower farm and New this year - U-pick Vegetable Garden.

During the August Long Weekend they showcase thier u-pick flowers. They have developed a Lily Festival which in 2008 accounted for 1/5th our yearly attendance.

Exciting for the farm in 2009:is the launch of our new campaign the "U-pick Dinner".

"We are kicking off our U-pick Vegetable Garden with focus on Eat Fresh, Eat Local and Eat Seasonal," shares John. "Visitors will be able to choose from a collection of recipes made from ingredients which are available from our U-pick vegetable Fields."

This is the Bowden SunMaze's 4th season in operation and will their 4th year of membership with NAFDMA

"It was through conversations at the 2008 NAFDMA conference which opened my eyes to the potential of Farm Based Events," tells John. "This led to the begining of the Lily Festival and a Fall Pumpkin Festival in 2008 which resulted in a double in farm attendance that year."

John's most unforgettable NAFDMA memory...."I remember as being a 1st time member of NAFDMA I was a little uncertain of how I would be received and of what others would share with me at my first conference. After the first couple days I realized that we "NAFDMA Members" were not in competition with one an other and everyone was welcome to share and help assist in any problems I had encountered the year before."

Thank you John and we will see you in Lancaster!

Meet NAFDMA members Pat & John Sondgeroth

NAFDMA members direct market all types of food. Pat and John Sondgeroth direct market beef.

The Sondgeroth's are fourth generation farmers on a century-old farm where they raise corn, soybeans and piedmontese beef. They direct market approximately 300 head of cattle per year.

This year, Pat and John will be participating in 6 farmers' markets in the Chicago area. This busy couple also sells their beef to restaurants, dinner prep businesses, specialty stores and through their own retail store located in their USDA-inspected processing plant in Mendota, Illinois.


Pat and John have NAFDMA members since 2001. I met John in a Joel Salatin workshop in Arizona.

"We would probably not still be in the direct-marketing portion of our business if it hadn't been for that first conference we attended . It introduced us to marketing at farmers' markets," shares Pat. Farmers' market sales now account for over half of their gross meat sales.

"We very much enjoy seeing other parts of the country, other farmers' markets, and networking. One of the things that most amazed us was the upbeat, positive attitude of the members."

Although they have MANY great NAFDMA memories, probably thier most memorable is the Calgary Farmers' Market. "We are still envious of that beautiful facility and year-round, weather-protected farmers' market with a huge FREE parking area,"says Pat.

Visit Heartland Meats Inc. on thier website: http://www.heartlandmeats.com/

Visit Pat and John at the next NAFDMA conference!

Member spotlight: French Prairie Gardens

Today I'd like to spotlight one of our younger member, Eric Pohlschneider. Eric recenlty joined our board of directors representing NAFDMA growers.

Eric is part of a family business called French Prairie Gardens in St. Paul, Oregon. Their website is http://www.fpgardens.com/

So Eric, how would you describe your business?
You encounter a true country experience at French Prairie Gardens. Our family-owned farm grows fruit, vegetables, grass seed in our fields and bedding plants in our greenhouse. People enjoy the clean, fresh air, the sights and sounds of a working farm, the soft fragrances of beautiful flowers all around them when they visit. When they stop at the Farm Market they discover an array of garden and homemade delights.

In June our strawberries are ripe, just waiting to be picked off the bush. Over Father's Day weekend we host our annual Strawberry Festival featuring hayrides, Pig Barrel train rides, a 20 foot tube slide, animal barn, and delicious fresh food and drink.

In the Fall he hold a Harvest Festival every weekend in October. This annual event hosts the infamous Pigtucky Derby, along with a two-acre pumpkin patch, hayrides, corn maze, hay slide, and Oregon corn on the cob, caramel apples, fresh baked cookies, fresh baked pie and many more treats from their bakery.

What is exciting you about the summer of 2009?
French Prairie Gardens underwent a greenhouse expansion this year, doubling our retail space. I am really looking forward to giving our customers the flowering annuals and perennials they love along with more room to shop and enjoy the farm. We also planted more strawberries this year. There is nothing like seeing that first strawberry of the season turning from green to a bright juicy red with the notion that these farm-fresh berries will soon be enjoyed by many of our customers.

How long have you been a NAFDMA member?
French Prairie Gardens has been a NAFDMA member since 2001. I personally attended my first conference and bus tour when the conference was held in Arizona. I gained so much from my first conference I have been attending since.

Why do you belong to NAFDMA?
Being a NAFDMA member allows our staff to continually be inspired and our business to grow. There has never been a conference that we have not come home with a list full of new ideas and strong business relationships. NAFDMA has also given us the opportunity to make personal connections with its members by joining or guiding on of their annual bus tours. It’s very helpful to meet and spend time with other businesses that are involved in the direct farm marketing industry.

Eric, what is you’re most unforgettable NAFDMA memory?
It was hard to come up with just one memory so I have briefly listed my favorites below…

- My biggest memory regarding NAFDMA was being elected to the board of directors. It has given me the opportunity to spend time and build personal relationships with industry leaders along with allowing me to server our members.

- During the conference in Boston I had the opportunity to connect with Mary and Russ Vollmer on the Agritourism bus tour….I didn’t know so many NAFDMA members could sing Karaoke, well at least they thought they could.

- Who can forget all the rain during the conference in California, but not all was lost, because I was also to spend time with our president Mark Saunders and his wife Angela.

- In Texas, when Rob and Christy Leeds showed us around the wild life safari and John Roba decided it was a good idea to hug a camel.

Thank you Eric. The networks you've built with farm direct marketers from across the world are one of the biggestest benefits in attending a NAFDMA conference. So happy to see that these are your favorite NAFDMA memory. We hope you have a fantastic season!

social marketing stats from Trendwatching.com

So many of our members are wondering, "is this (blogging, twittering etc) worth it?" that I thought I'd share some recent statistics and trends.

My favorite Trend website, Trendwatching has a great briefing this week about social marketing.

"While the notion of consumers establishing and (passionately) tending to their online presences is no longer a source of wonder, the sheer scale and scope of the phenomenon is still astounding. Hundreds of millions of personal pages, feeds, status updates, tweets, profiles, blogs—courtesy of the Facebooks, the mySpaces, the Twitters, the LinkedIns—are building up to an eternally up-to-date encyclopedia of individuals that defies even the most futuristic predictions back in the early days of the web.

These profiles (and billions of other digital crumbs scattered across cyberspace), will live on forever. Not just because the web is a massive caching machine, but more importantly, because younger generations will never want to dispose of their groomed online presence to begin with.

Some (obligatory) figures:
Facebook reached 200 million active users on 8 April 2009. More than 100 million users log on to Facebook every day, while more than 20 million users update their status at least once each day.
MySpace now boasts 130 million members, LinkedIn counts over 40 million members, and Twitter over 30 million members (late May 2009). Oh, and China’s Twitter, TaoTao, now has nearly 50 million users.
Overall, the share of adult US internet users who have a profile on a social networking site has more than quadrupled in the past four years—from 8% in 2005 to 35% now. For adults aged 18-24, it’s 75%, and for tweens, it’s close to 100%. (Source: Pew Internet, January 2009.)
We could go on and on, but it all boils down to future ubiquity for personal online profiles, representing every individual who is online, which in mature consumer societies will mean 99% of the population. " Trendwatching.com June 2009

Check out the whole article at:
www.trendwatching.com/trends/foreverism/

Are you a NAFDMA member with a blog?

Let us know!
Send me a comment and I will add you to our list on the sidebar.

Attention NAFDMA members there is a Friends of NAFDMA group on Facebook. Look for it and sign up.