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Boosting Your Business and Marketing Skills: Ag and Food Producers Academy 

Winter is an excellent time to learn new marketing and business skills to streamline your food or farm operation in the coming year. Taking the time now to prioritize goals could lead you to succeed in your marketing aspirations. But what to learn and where to look in a time where there is so much online? At Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, we are putting on the Ag & Food Producers Academy that starts this month on January 15th! It’s available for existing and planning stages entrepreneurs in the 6-county northern New York region. There are 4 course tracks to choose from, and all online sessions meet on weekday evenings.

Reasons to Participate 

  • Hear from industry professionals. All the instructors for these courses work day in and day out with farmers and entrepreneurs. For example, Nicole Tommell is a Farm Management Specialist with 15+ years of experience advising producers on business planning and financing. You can hear her lead participants in the Prepare to Succeed: Business and Financing Options Course. 

     Nicole Ouellette, Jeremy Bloom, Flip Filippi, Nicole Tomell and Lauren Olson

Read more Boosting Your Business and Marketing Skills: Ag and Food Producers Academy 

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Food Producers Talk Social Media: Top Takeaways!

Did you miss our recent webinar Food Producers Talk Social Media? Wondering about some tips to implement in your own social media marketing? Catch a recap of our Producer Panel Conversation, where you can hear from Dan Rivera of Triple Green Jade Farm, Jessica Bouharevich of White Rainbow Farm, and Cori Deans of Small Town Cultures. 

Our featured entrepreneurs had some useful tips, check out our favorites below. If you’d like to see the entire session, find the recording HERE.

Use your authentic voice when talking about your farm or food products. People want to hear from you and your role in the business. Speaking about your farm operation or food items in a real and honest way is the best way to connect with current and potential customers. 

Dan: When starting a food or farm business it’s a nice idea to document what it is that you are doing. Showcase to people what it is that you are spending your time on, be authentic with your business, don’t get caught up in what you should be doing. Focus on WHAT you are actually doing and focus on quality over quantity of posts. 

Triplegreenjadefarm: Insta post text: ‘Filled our raised beds yesterday with compost and topsoil. 1.5 cubic yards shoveled out by hand in about an hour. Go to know for the future! “What’s this got to do with our bread oven, you ask?” Well, most of the herbs (rosemary, cilantro, dill, for example) and veggies that we will include in our hearth-baked bread recipes will be organically grown right here. The rest will be for our own homestead garden use. #raisedbeds #dirt # gettingdirty’

Don’t automatically count out certain platforms just because you think they won’t do well or you don’t want to use them. 
 Read more Food Producers Talk Social Media: Top Takeaways!

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Upcoming Opportunites for Producers

Want to take advantage of some of the upcoming events and webinars that could help you with your food or farming business? This winter at Cooperative Extension in St. Lawrence County an online ag and food producers academy will be offered to farmers and producers to enhance marketing and business skills. Read to learn more and in the meantime check out other upcoming opportunities happening this fall. 

Winter Ag and Food Producers Academy: Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County 

The Ag and Food Producers Academy will be offered during the winter to aid producers in marketing and development strategies to elevate their business. Participants will get to personalize this learning experience by choosing from a menu of topics such as social media management, e-commerce, and improving business viability. Join your fellow entrepreneurs along with Cornell Cooperative Extension, GardenShare, and other Specialists for this interactive online skill-building opportunity. Check online as new information is being added.

Read more HERE

 

New York Small Scale Food Processors Association (NYSSFPA) in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE)

Starting October 5th, a three-part series that provides you with the information you need to take your business ideas into reality. Suitable for farmers, chefs, and food entrepreneurs in learning the building blocks to run a successful food business.

Learn more HERE and Sign-up HERE.

Read more Upcoming Opportunites for Producers