Strengthening Farmers' Markets Through Advanced Business Training and Mentoring

Strengthening Farmers' Markets Through Advanced Business Training and Mentoring

Summary

Farmers markets are key organizations for expanding local market opportunity for farmers, yet weakness in their business structure can undermine their ability to fulfill their economic and community promise. This project provides training for resource providers from Cooperative Extension, NRCS and State Departments of Agriculture and from Main Street programs, Chambers of Commerce and other economic development organizations to support their efforts to strengthen the business fundamentals of this unique type of group-based agricultural enterprise.

Training has been conducted for resource providers, market managers, board and vendors from each the six New England States; training modules have been distributed nationwide by a New York Cooperative Extension Educator. Training programs and mentoring have covered farmers market board, staff and member roles and responsibilities; member retention and recruitment; equity and fund raising; legal, governance and management structures; operational audits; conflict resolution; market and business planning; community alliances and the role of a state or regional farmers market association.

Resource providers have participated with farmers market board, vendors and/ or staff person in training and mentoring programs and development of actionable plans to start or strengthen a market. The project mentoring is assisting resource providers in planning and conducting local farmers market training programs and development of state associations. Input from farmers market participants have helped plan, publicize and conduct the trainings. Resource providers have developed competency in farmers market technical assistance including the delivery of model educational programs. Training materials will be added to the Cooperative Development Institute’s “Group-Based Business Sustaining Agriculture in the Northeast” web page at www.cdi.coop

Objectives/Performance Targets

Of the 42 agricultural educators participating in Farmers Market Business Training Programs held around the region, 12 Cooperative Extension, NRCS and other rural, community and economic development resource providers will provide technical assistance that results in the strengthening of a local farmers market or a state farmers market association.

We are 75% of the way to completing to our target.

Accomplishments/Milestones

Progress made towards milestones
Milestone 1: 300 Cooperative Extension and other rural, community and economic development resource providers and 400 farmers markets in New England received information about the Farmers Market Business Development training program.

This milestone was achieved through program releases distributed by e-mail to farmers markets, farmers market organizations, public agencies such as Cooperative Extension, RD, NRCS and RC&D, Main Street programs, non-profit agricultural/small farm organizations and to the agricultural media. We have followed up with telephone conversations and site visits. We continue to reach out to this database as new trainings are offered.

Milestone 2: 42 resource providers attend the farmers market business training courses held in each New England state.

2005: Region-wide farmers market training led to the involvement of 2 resource providers in a planning discussion with state farmers market representatives from MA, CT and NH about the feasibility of establishing a New England-wide farmers market association and eventually in 2007 to development a Farmers Market Training track within the New England Direct marketing Conference and in 2008 to the development of a region-wide list serv for farmers market boards, vendors, staff and resource providers.

2006: Targeted the three northern New England States: VT, NH and ME. Two farmers market business planning training sessions were conducted at NOFA VT’s Direct Marketing Conference, one on board effectiveness and one on market funding and we facilitated a panel discussion on manager roles, responsibilities and challenges. Twenty farmers market vendors/board members attended each of the training sessions, in addition to five service providers. As a result of the sessions, the project agreed to mentor a staff person from NOFA-VT in her efforts to develop a state-wide farmers market association, with support from staff from the Agency of Agriculture and Resource Conservation and Development. A December workshop brought 4 resource providers together to assist 5 farmers market representatives in a planning session for the organization.

A training session held at the February 2006 Farm & Forest Expo in Manchester NH focused on “Business Planning for Farmers' Markets" and included "Toolkit for Doing Your Own Farmers' Market Research" and "Financing For Farmer's Markets." The material was well-received by the audience of farmers’ market vendors/board members (10) and agricultural staff (5).

2007: Established contacts in MA, CT, RI and NY. Worked with a team of resource providers from ME, NH, CT and MA to organize a four workshop series on Farmers market topics for the New England Regional Direct Market Conference. Over 600 people attended the two day gathering. Each Farmers Market workshop was attended by 40 to 100 people. Through these workshops we reached an additional 33 resource providers, bringing the project total to 49. Worked with project resource providers to develop training programs and support development of statewide organizations.

We have involved resource providers in all farmers’ market trainings and in so doing have identified a core of two to four organizations in each of five states, MA, ME, NH, VT, and CT and one in RI that puts Farmers Markets high on their work agendas.

Milestone 3: 15 resource providers use mentoring assistance to develop and deliver business training programs for farmers markets.

To date we have mentored 9 resource providers (2 from VT, 1 from NH, 1 from Maine, 2 from MA, 2 from CT and 1 from NY) on farmers’ market technical assistance efforts. Several project resource providers took leadership in designing a Farmers Market track for a 2007 regional direct marketing conference. Besides general consultation of a myriad of farmers market issues, projects that have emerged include: Development of statewide associations (VT and ME) and training programs (MA, CT, NY VT).

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

This year we added to modules created in 2005 and 2006, bringing the number to eight: Market Planning, Business Planning, Financing/Fundraising, Board Effectiveness, Resolving Market Conflicts, Legal Structures, Building Alliances and Evaluating Market Operations exceeding our targets. Four of the modules were included on a Farmers Market Training DVD developed by a Cooperative Extension Educator in NY and will be distributed nationally. All of the modules will be available on the CDI web site in 2008.

We continued to build on partnerships for communicating with farmers markets and resource providers in all six New England states and are in the planning stages to launch the Farmers Market list serv in 2008. This is seen as a key resource for market board, staff and vendors and resource providers alike.

We have brought business development needs to the forefront of Farmers Market training and technical assistance. We worked with a regional team of farmers and resource providers to develop farmers market programming for a regional direct marketing conference and recruited presenters for the sessions. And we have worked with our project resource providers in VT, CT, MA to plan Farmers Market Training Programs in 2008 and in ME to facilitate discussion by markets about the formation of a statewide organization. We anticipate the launch in January 2008 of the Vermont