Have you ever considered or wondered about wholesale marketing? The PlacerGROWN Farm Conference will feature a comprehensive workshop to help you understand the opportunities and challenges with wholesale marketing. The theme of the 2013 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference is Survive and Thrive. This conference will be held Saturday, January 26^th at Lincoln High School from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM. The conference is co-sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension and PlacerGROWN. Additional support is provided by USDA Risk Management Agency and California Specialty Crops grants.

Wholesale marketing presents many opportunities for producers in the Placer and Nevada County foothill region.  The majority of farms in Placer and Nevada County engage extensively in forms of direct-marketing as a way to reduce risk and secure high retail prices; yet many are also becoming aware of the value of wholesale outlets as a way to increase overall sales and profitability.  The benefits of wholesale marketing include being able to simplify the operation, reducing labor costs, engaging in a more predictable market, potentially increasing profitability, and developing outlets for excess produce. 

In this workshop, we will discuss the various opportunities, characteristics and risks associated with wholesale sales to restaurants, grocery stores, and wholesale distributors.  We will also explore the necessity of knowing costs of production for a given crop, and how to use this knowledge when engaging with wholesale markets.  We will also have two farmers discuss their experiences with wholesale marketing to various outlets.  They will share their reasons for selling wholesale, how they determine which crops to sell this way, and the risks and rewards of engaging in wholesale marketing.

The cost of the conference is $40 if you pre-register by January 18^th and $50 after that date. Your registration fee includes: Continental breakfast, Proceedings, Trade Show, Keynote Panel, Workshops, and Lunch. Details for admission and registration are available at the PlacerGROWN website at www.placergrown.org. More conference information is available at ucanr.org/sites/PGFFC/

Scholarships are now available to apply for attending the 2013 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference. You can find the application form online at: http://ucanr.edu/sites/PGFFC/. If you have trouble finding the application, please contact Roger Ingram at 530-889-7385 or email at rsingram@ucanr.edu. The application is due by January 18^th.

Placer and Nevada Counties in California have a vibrant local food movement. With grant funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, the University of California Cooperative Extension is connecting consumers with local specialty crop farmers. This project will raise awareness of the health and community benefits of eating local produce and increase sales for local specialty crop farmers.  Upcoming events will include tastings of local produce, cooking demonstrations, and community dinners featuring local farmers and local produce!

A workshop on the grant and what will be happening will be featured at the PlacerGROWN Farm Conference.  The theme of the 2013 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference is Survive and Thrive. The conference will be held Saturday, January 26^th at Lincoln High School from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM. The conference is co-sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension and PlacerGROWN. Additional support is provided by USDA Risk Management Agency. 

This will be part of 10 workshops to be held on January 26th at Lincoln High School, located in Lincoln,CA. For more information, including registration, visit either http://placergrown.org/wp/ or http://ucanr.org/sites/PGFFC, or call PlacerGROWN at (530) 889-7398 or UC Cooperative Extension at (530) 889-7385.

To keep up date with all that is happening, like us on Facebook!  www.facebook.com/EatLocalPlacerAndNevada.

The PlacerGROWN Farm Conference will feature two workshops on niche meat marketing for farmers and ranchers. The theme of the 2013 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference is Survive and Thrive. This conference will be held Saturday, January 26^th at Lincoln High School from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM. The conference is co-sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension and PlacerGROWN. Additional support is provided by USDA Risk Management Agency and CDFA Specialty Crops Block Grant. The workshops will cover the following information:

Are you in the Livestock Business or the Meat Business?

Do you want to raise and market meat products?  Or would you rather raise animals and market them at a premium without having to market meat?  This workshop will walk through the production, processing and marketing considerations for ranchers who are considering marketing meat directly to customers.

The Cost of Adding Value – Does Marketing Meat Make Economic Sense?

Can you actually make more profit by selling meat rather than selling live animals?  Three experienced producers will walk us through economic analyses of selling meat at farmers’ markets, directly to restaurants and through specialty retail outlets.

These workshops will be part of 10 workshops to be held on January 26th at Lincoln High School, located in Lincoln,CA. For more information, including registration, visit either http://placergrown.org/wp/ or http://ucanr.org/sites/PGFFC, or call PlacerGROWN at (530) 889-7398 or UC Cooperative Extension at (530) 889-7385.

Scholarship information is available at: http://ucanr.edu/sites/PGFFC/

Scholarships Available for the 2013 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference

Scholarships are now available to apply for attending the 2013 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference. You can find the application form online at: http://ucanr.edu/sites/PGFFC/. If you have trouble finding the application, please contact Roger Ingram at 530-889-7385 or email at rsingram@ucanr.edu. The application is due by January 18^th.

The theme of the 2013 PlacerGROWN Farm Conference is Survive and Thrive. This conference will be held Saturday, January 26^th at Lincoln High School from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM. The conference is co-sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension and PlacerGROWN. The keynote part of the conference will feature a panel that will discuss trends over the next 5-10 years on the following topics: Land Use, Water, Regulations, Local Farms, Demographics, and Marketing of Local Food 

Participants will be provided an opportunity to respond to each panel member’s presentation. There will be discussion on implications and potential responses with the audience with the audience.

After the keynote will be two workshops sessions, one before and one after lunch. Workshops will run for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Workshops have a theme of selling strategies, consumer education, and improving profitability Workshops include:

• Consumer Outreach to Enhance awareness and Marketing of Specialty Crops in the Placer and Nevada Counties 
• Display Ideas and Interactions with Customers That Can Improve Your Sales
• Things to Consider in Becoming Effective at Direct Marketing
• Understanding Selling Wholesale and its Potential in Expanding Your Sales
• How to Project Profit and Cash Flow Before the Beginning of Your Production Year
• Production Planning Based on Economic and Cash Flow Projections
• Learning How Social Media Can Improve Sales
• Developing Your Niche Meat Business
• Determining Your Niche Meat Marketing Costs

The cost of the conference is $40 if you pre-register by January 18^th and $50 after that date. Your registration fee includes: Continental breakfast, Proceedings, Trade Show, Keynote Panel, Workshops, and Lunch. Details for admission and registration are available at the PlacerGROWN website at www.placergrown.org. More conference information is available at ucanr.org/sites/PGFFC/