Stumbos, J. :

I - d . - - , * * at - - 8 a ? direct marketing:berries , tree fruits and nuts , freshflowers , specialtyvegetables , Sonoma County farmers carve pumpkins and Christmastrees.Many of these products , marketed seasonallyas out new market niche freshproduce , can also be sold year - round as value - addedproducts:jams and jellies , dried fruit , apple pies , wreathes and pot - pourri . tation for quality and , perhaps most ne day , when Cindy Kozlowskiwas im - Severalyears ago , Vossen encouraged growingup on her family's Sonoma portantly , they've learned how to effec - 0 growers to join in marketing their prod - Countyfarm , shepainted the word " rasp - tively market their productsdirectlyto ucts beyond the county line . " Gourmets berries " on a sign and hung it out near the consumers . " nationwide have experiencedour road . spe - In close proximityto the SanFrancisco Her billboard enticed a few motorists Bay Area , SonomaCounty has cultivated cialtyproduce , wines , seafood , meats and off the old GravensteinHighway near thriving small farms like the Kozlowskis ' processed products , " he says . ' Yet many Forestvillebut not nearly enough to that sell agriculturalproductssuited for localfarmers were unaware of the special use up all the berries the familywas attention they were getting . " growing - 400 to 500 flatsa day . Most producers were too small to develop their own mar - They also had to drive to San - Francisco everyday and to Los ketingprograms or to be repre - Angelesthree times a week to sell sentedby major commodity at produce markets.Everything groups , grower associationsand changedwhen Cindy's mother , marketing orders . In 1987 , Carmen , began makingjam in the Vossen and other Cooperative Extensionadvisorsinvited inno - family kitchen . vative farmers , processors and Since that beginning , marketers to explorecoordinat - KozlowskiFarms has evolved ing their marketing efforts . " The into a nationallyknown producer I responsewas outstanding , " of gourmetjams , jellies , con - Vossen says . serves , mustards , vinegars , syr - The County Board of Super - ups , saucesand salsas.Their visorsappointed a 21 - member roadside store , just past the farm - house , has attractivedisplays and specialtask force.The result T1 was the SonomaCounty Agri - freshlybaked pies , a picnicarea Above , Sonoma County Farm Advisor Paul Vossen designed a packlng label for apple culturalMarketingProgram and a soothingview of the 2 @ acrefarm . growers - just one effort to help small ( SCAMP ) . Vossen wrote in the Journal of " They're the epitomeof a successful growers develop a marketing niche for their Extension : " Bonds of trust replacedany familyfarm , " says Pad Vossen , a Sonoma diverse agricultural products , ranging from initialresistance or mistrust.We brought County farm advisor . " The Kozlowskis have been successfulfor severalreasons : Gravenstein apples and goat cheese to or - together 21 people representingdiverse They've diversifiedbeyond the area's tra - ganic and wines - agriculturalcommoditiesto promote our common link . And it worked . " a repu - ' itional apples , they've established CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE , VOLUME 47 , NUMBER 2 16 Far left , Sebastopol apple grower Darrel Hurst owns and operates one of the few remaining packing houses in Sonoma County . He and other growers who survived L A hard times in the industry learned to market their products directly to the consumer . Hurstâ??s farm is one stop on a â?? Farm Trails â?쳌 map of the region . Left , Carmen Kozlowski ( center ) with daughters Cindy ( / eft ) and Carol . Starting in 1951 with a 20 - acre orchard of Graven - stein apples , the family diversified their business . Today they market A relative newcomer to California , Antonio Kozlowski Farms jams â?? Nino â?쳌 LaScala cultivates Little Hill Farm in and jellies to vlsltors and Sonoma County . â?? California is the place to mail - order customers na - grow vegetables , â?쳌 he says . â?? All you need tionwide . is water ! â?쳌 Right , Farm Advisor UC program ( continued from p . 15 ) Vossen holds tray of dryilng , processingand marketing them in raspberriesfrom the Kozlowskifarm . an eye - catchingway . â?? CooperativeExtensionresearch and public serviceeffortsbenefit smallfarmers throughoutthe state.A glanceat a recent SmallFarm Program annual report describes : * StanislausCounty Farm Advisor JesusValenciaâ??s â?쳌 supersweet corn â?쳌 vari - SCAMPmembershiphas grown from Survivinggrowers formed the Sebasto - ety field day . 18to 270 - plusgrower - processorand as - pol Apple PromotionCommitteeto boost * ContraCosta CountyFarm Advisor sociatemembers , whose efforts have sales and stabilizetheir industry , but they Janet Caprileâ??s â?? creativecover crops â?쳌 produced : lacked a comprehensivemarketing plan workshop . * The â?? Sonoma Select â?쳌 logo to help con - and were wasting money on ineffective * ExtensionAgriculturalEngineerJim sumersidentifylocallygrown items . promotions . Then a local supermarketad - Thompsonâ??sdevelopment of guidelines Seminarsto help farmersevaluate vertisement for applesfrom â?쳌 AppleHill â?? â?? in for low - cost , cold storageunits . their products , identdy consumerde - El Dorado County spurred them to action . County FarmAdvisor Gene * Yolo mand , expand distribution , and learn â?? Theygot angry and said if they can do Myaoâ??s work on solarizationfor weed communicationsskills . this , we cando it , too , â?쳌 Vossen says . control . * Boothsat local fairs , farmersmarkets , He helped growers focus on two objec - * ExtensionSpecialistMarita Cantwellâ??s in - storefood tastingsand other promo - tives : getting local applesinto local stores heat treatment to controlpostharvest tional events . and getting them labeled as to Sonoma pathogens of produce . Research into consumer - attitudes A newly hired marketing County origin . * Placer County Farm AdvisorGarth consultantand Vossen met with the five aboutSonomaCounty products . Veercampâ??sChristmastree irrigation major supermarketchainsin * Amarketing newsletterpublished for the area , and study . the agricultural community . retail advertisementsand point - of - pur - Point - of - salematerialscreatedfor use chase materials , such as recipe tear - offs , The Small Farm Center in grocery stores . were established.The farm advisor also While county - basedadvisorstailor re - * Employmentof a merchandising helped design a 7 - by 11 - inchplacard fea - searchand Extensionprogramsto meet lo - salespersonto act as liaisonbetween turingtwo childrenadmiringSonoma cal needs , the programâ??s nucleus is the SCAMPmembers and markets . County â?? farm - fresh â?쳌 apples . UC Davis.Estab - SmallFarm Centerat Vossenâ??s emphasis on marketingis un - * Promotionalads developed for radio , lished in 1980with federalRuralDevelop - television , print media and billboards . usual ; most farm advisors focus on pro - ment Act funds , the center : Historically , Sonoma County , espe - duction - relatedissues , but his involve - . Serves as a clearinghousefor ques - cially Sebastopol , has alwaysbeen known ment has reaped dividendsfor local apple tions from farmers , marketers , farm advi - for its apples.Failure of the local cannery , growersand other small - scaleSonoma sors , trade associations , government agen - competitionfromWashingtonstate , esca - County growers.Producebuyers used to ciesand the academiccommunity . play one grower off another to get the latingland values and urban encroach - * Maintainsa library of books , scientific ment have taken a toll on apple produc - lowest price , but for the last 5years grow - and popular journals , reports , directories tion . Oncethere were ers have seen fresh apple sales increase 25 packinghouses and periodicalscoveringproductionand and nrirer stnhiliw - T Stirmhnr near Sehartnnol.nnw there Are fniir . marketing . CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE , MARCH - APRIL 1993 17