Enhancing Cooperative Extension capacity to support the advancement of adding value and direct marketing by farmers in the Northeast

Enhancing Cooperative Extension capacity to support the advancement of adding value and direct marketing by farmers in the Northeast

Summary

Local food systems have been recognized, nationally, as a vehicle to help rural farmers and businesses; improve access to healthy local food, particularly among disadvantaged groups with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables; and revitalize rural downtowns, main street districts, and neighborhoods. A strong local food system needs food entrepreneurs whose business is set to fill community needs and grow as consumers’ demands do. One key part of developing the local food system is to provide current, unbiased information to farmers and other entrepreneurs who are considering setting up a food enterprise that will direct market or add value to agricultural products, because food entrepreneurship requires a different set of knowledge and skills than production agriculture.

Since 1992, Penn State Extension has provided information about starting and managing a food business through a one-day workshop, “Food for Profit.” This seven-hour class covers the need for a game plan, registrations and inspections, food safety, proactive risk management, targeting a market, financing and pricing, and packaging/labeling. The end goals are 1) to provide enough information for pre-venture participants to make an informed “go/no go” decision and 2) for established business owners to receive updates in the dynamic, quickly changing world of food business management.

As the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) of 2011 entered its fourth year, there were clear indications that increasingly complex food safety standards and protocols did not “apply only to large business” – announcements from FDA and USDA (as well as their state counterparts) made it clear that food safety plans, Good Agricultural Practices/Good Handling Practices and proactive recall plans will be required, based on the type of product(s) sold, rather than the size of the business selling the food. The expectations have been echoed by restaurant and retail purchasers, who are seeking safe locally grown foods. For this reason, it has become crucial for farmers contemplating direct marketing and adding value to receive the information that “Food for Profit” provides.

Previous annual reports for this NE SARE project have detailed the demand for “Food for Profit” workshops – not only in Pennsylvania, but also in Maryland and West Virginia. As the project entered its second full calendar year, requests from Extension personnel in Tennessee and Oregon also surfaced. This NE SARE project responded to the demand by expanding the teaching team for the workshop from a small group of five Extension educators (2012) to a total of 32 trained instructors (25 in the target states of PA, MD, and WV, 3 in Tennessee, and 4 in Oregon). The professional development teaching methods used were a series of webinars and field trips (to learn first-hand from farmers who have experienced success starting a direct-market or value-added food enterprise). Webinars were recorded to allow additional trainees to join the team after the initial (2013) recruitment and delivery cycle completed. Reflections about what had been learned were collected by way of on-line surveys of the trainees, allowing the project team to assess the success of the initiative, and to determine additional information and education that was needed for the trainees to be fully equipped and confident in delivery of the workshop and individualized consults with farmers.

An on-line evaluation/reflection survey to be completed after participation in one or more of the 15 field trips was also provided to trainees; respondents provided a description of the business visited, why the entrepreneur started the venture, the specific market niche/segment that the enterprise targets, a challenge that the entrepreneur faced in starting or building the business, and the role that Extension had played in the venture. Respondents also had the opportunity to reflect on what they learned that could be applied to their own work, assisting farmers to add value, and to frame the most important idea or concept that they had learned by participating in the field trip. A detailed summary of field trip participants’ responses is attached to this annual project report.

To supplement webinars and field trips, trainees-in-good-standing (i.e., those who had participated in all 7 webinars and who had apprenticed in at least one “Food for Profit”) were provided travel support to attend the joint National Value-Added Agriculture Conference and What Works! Conference in Baltimore in May 2015. Eight trainees and the four project leaders participated in this conference. On the agenda for this conference was a one-hour workshop, “Food for Profit Program,” presented by the four project leaders (McGee, Grunden, Myers, and Sivanandan) and two trainees (Meagher and Dill). This breakout session, drawing 24 participants, served to increase conference attendees’ knowledge of “Food for Profit” methods, content, and impact, as well as make them aware of the NE SARE professional development project.

Among the indicators of success of the professional development project are the following unsolicited comments:

• (from a Maryland trainee after her first workshop) “Thanks so much to you all for your support. Friday’s workshop turned out so well…I feel prepared and am excited to host another Food for Profit workshop in the future!” and
• (from a West Virginia trainee about her participation in the field trips) “In my 17 years of Extension, this is the best thing I’ve ever taken part in!”

As a result of the education received, the trainees apprenticed with the project team to deliver 29 workshops to 522 farmers and local food entrepreneurs (between October 2013 and November 2014). Trainees did much of the preparation, arranging for facilities, securing guest speakers, and conducting local marketing of the events. During the workshops, trainees used the standardized power points and class activity materials to educate participants about business planning, targeting a market, packaging and labeling, and financing/pricing. Several trainees researched and suggested new resources or instructional pieces to add to the “Food for Profit” curriculum as a result of their experience.

The project team of McGee and Grunden provided on-site apprenticeship for sessions in West Virginia, the first 3 workshops in Tennessee, and the first of 2 workshops in Oregon (those being locations where “Food for Profit” workshops had not taken place prior to the NE SARE professional development project), to ensure that the materials were understood by the trainees and delivered consistently. Because of the positive experience, Maryland, Tennessee, Oregon and Pennsylvania trainees are planning to deliver additional sessions “solo,” without a project team member providing oversight, in 2015. West Virginia trainees will be provided additional support in March 2014, and in fall they are expected to begin delivering food business education with minimal team support, as well.

End-of-workshop surveys were completed by 398 of the 522 participants; an overall analysis of the responses indicated that the session was well-received by most participants, and, when combined with instructor observations, showed significant increases in KASA. All Food for Profit workshops included enhanced coverage of food business risk management issues, as well as basic information related to Good Agricultural Practices/Good Handling Practices, Good Manufacturing Practices, Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points, adequate/appropriate insurance coverage, consumer notification of allergens, and development/testing of a proactive recall plan to ensure that risk management would be addressed by start-up businesses in their initial plans.

A six-to-twelve month post-workshop on-line and telephone survey is being designed and will be available to the farmer/participants from these classes early in 2015 – to determine if the professional development project targets of 1) a minimum of 20 attendees starting a food venture, and2) a minimum of 20 adopting at least one recommended risk management strategies have been met. Because of the significant number of participants over the past 18 months, it is anticipated that the survey will demonstrate that goals were surpassed. Those “graduates” who are currently in business will also be asked to estimate their gross revenues related to the venture. The post-workshop survey will also assess the number of participants who have continued to research (but have delayed starting) a food venture and the number who determined (as a result of attending the workshop) not to start a food venture.

• Field Trip Impact Report

Objectives/Performance Targets

During the second full year of the project, the collaborative tri-state project team built on the foundation of many first year activities:

— Some trainees had dropped out of the program due to organizational priorities, personal life or work changes. Seven replacement trainees were recruited and trained, using the webinar recordings and providing individualized support. This ensured that programming could move ahead in the target states, as well as the Tennessee and Oregon locations, with well-equipped teams.

–A new set of web based training sessions was provided synchronously (trainees attending “live”) and asynchronously (recordings available after the presentation) to the Oregon Extension personnel; a roster was kept of all trainees whose names appeared in the participant pod of the Adobe Connect meeting room. All trainees were provided the web address of the training recording after its broadcast, so that absentees from the “live” session could make up attendance and those who had already attended could return for a second exposure to what they had previously seen and heard.

— In August 2014, the Project Leader addressed concerns the on-line Drop-box (i.e., trainees checking out Power Points and not returning them for others’ use and limitations of “free” space) by purchasing thumb drives, loading them with state-specific sets of program materials, and distributing them to all trainees. Materials included standardized Power Point presentations, as well as sample press releases, workshop agendas, table tents, and completion certificates and handout packet materials. Updates will be distributed electronically, when needed.

— The team leaders supported workshops that were delivered by trainees across the multiple state training area: In addition to 8 classes held in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia in fall 2013 (described in the previous annual report), 21 sessions were held between January and November 2014: ten in Pennsylvania (West Chester, Philadelphia (two sessions), Clarion (two sessions), Stroudsburg, Wilkes-Barre, Meadville, Reading, and Carlisle), as well as one in Maryland (Baltimore City); six in Tennessee (Alcoa, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, Jackson, Clarksville and White Pine); two in West Virginia (Charleston and Belington) ; and two in Oregon (both in Roseburg).

— Team leaders provided appropriate levels of mentoring as trainees began to deliver “Food for Profit” workshops: The project team provided significant support to trainees at most of the workshop locations; however, 5 of the sessions were conducted with only minimal oversight (that is, the team provided updated materials and Power Points for trainee use, and reviewed intended agenda and post-survey responses to ensure consistent content to reach the project goals). This independent educational delivery is the ultimate goal of our project. Trainees at all sessions were responsible for contacting sanitarians and guest speakers, making arrangements for rooms and food service, marketing and maintaining registration for the session, and teaching at least one segment of the program, as indicators of what they had learned, and in preparation for additional “solo” opportunities in 2015.

— Pennsylvania team leaders worked throughout the year with Penn State Extension Faculty to update the “Food for Profit Fact Sheets” that are distributed in the workshop packet. Changes in keeping with the Food Safety Modernization Act required that four of the original sheets have extensive updates; as of December 2014, these new versions are being submitted to Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences’ Publications Department for on-line and paper publication. This serves as a foundation for the creation (in 2015) of state-specific versions of thee out of 10 fact sheets.

As we enter 2015, the team will:

— Offer additional webinars to update trainees about new developments in food safety, and risk/business management. These sessions will also allow trainees to network about their individual discoveries and successes as they begin to do presentations independently.

— Arrange for additional educational field trips for trainees in West Virginia, to increase awareness of the food business development process.

— Continue to provide updated Power Point presentations, and new handouts to the trainees for them to add to, or replace, thumb drive materials, with the goal of empowering all trainees to do their own reproduction of handouts, table tents and certificates in future sessions.

— Serve as guest presenters as the trainees move from apprenticeship to “solo” activities, planning and delivering initial sessions of the FFP workshops in their own communities; backstop the trainees by providing telephone, e-mail or in-person educational support for one-to-one sessions with farmers. In the case of West Virginia trainees, mentor their workshops in March 2015 to increase their confidence to deliver independently after the project is complete.

— Research and develop state-specific versions of “Working with your State Department of Agriculture,” “Home Food Processing,” and “Registering Your Business;” ensure that they are published and available for use in Maryland, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Oregon.

— Offer on-going assistance to the trainees through an Internet site, on which will be posted actual documents and links to emerging reference and support materials (keeping them on the cutting edge of a quickly evolving marketplace).

– Begin six-to-twelve month post-survey work, using Survey Monkey and telephone surveys to assess agricultural producer/entrepreneur impact as a result of the workshops that trainees have played a part in conducting.

— Monitor the end-of-workshop surveys from all “Food for Profit” sessions. Gather impact data related to:
•trainees’ activities (educational programs conducted and individual consultations with farmers and food entrepreneurs) and
•impact of the trainees’ activities (numbers of value-added businesses started and risk management strategies adopted; intent to start a business in the future and decisions NOT to start a business as a result of the educational assistance provided).

Accomplishments/Milestones

Thirty-two Extension personnel from five states have received training to deliver education related to food business start-up and business/risk management; when some trainees left the project because of being promoted to faculty, resigning from Extension, or having conflicting Extension programmatic priorities, seven “new” trainees were recruited to replace those who left, resulting in 24 individuals who continue to actively support the program, having completed the 7 webinars, and apprenticing with seasoned educators in delivery of “Food for Profit” workshops.

Twenty-four trained Extension educators collaborated with the project team members, facilitating and instructing in one or more of the 29 workshops held between October 1, 2013 and November 20, 2014, reaching 522 farmers and food entrepreneurs. Five of the 29 workshops were conducted by the trainees with only minimal oversight, while assuring consistent, targeted information.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

In 2014, 21 “Food for Profit” workshops were provided to a total of 371 farmers and food entrepreneurs (ten in Pennsylvania, one in Maryland, two in West Virginia, six in Tennessee and 2 in Oregon) were planned, marketed and facilitated by trainees. Five of these were taught with minimal project team oversight, and in the other 16, trainees delivered at least one segment during the day, gaining practice at presenting material and answering questions.

When added to the 8 workshops (151 participants) that trainees apprenticed to teach in fall 2013, there have been a total of 29 workshops, and 522 participants who have been educated; end of session surveys showed KASA (knowledge, attitude, skill and aspiration) increased; a majority of the participants reported a desire to learn more about, or adopt, at least one of the six risk management strategies that were discussed in the session.

End-of-workshop surveys were completed by 398 of the 522 participants; 24% (n = 96) indicated that they intended to write a business plan – a strong indicator of their aspiration to move forward with a current or future food venture. Seventy-five (19%) participants stated that they intended to take at least one action step to proactively manage risk – the most often cited actions being to notify customers of food allergens and adoption of Good Agricultural Practices/Good Handling Practices on their farm. A complete summary of end-of-workshop evaluation responses is attached to this annual project report.

• Participant Impact Report

Collaborators: