Screenshot of www.localharvest.com local food listings website
As any farmer who has embarked on the journey of selling local food will tell you, marketing directly to consumers is about more than producing a healthy, tasty and desirable food product. It is also about making connections with those who are interested in eating such a product. There are many methods of building a network of customers. A few you might consider.
- Build your own website (www.wordpress.com is a free website building tool that you might check out)
- Attend conferences, events and workshops where you will interact with potential customers. Or better yet – give talks at them
- Knock on doors
- Put up posters (more…)
Clint Cavers and his youngest daughter Autumn near Pilot Mound, Manitoba
On May 23rd 2003, the discovery of BSE in the National herd shocked the cattle industry and forced Canadian cattle farmers to re-evaluate their livelihood strategies. When farm incomes dropped in the wake of BSE, the availability of off-farm employment contributed to the resiliency of many farm households.
For some farmers, off-farm employment represented an exodus from agriculture into a more secure wage-earning position. One farmer explains, “I think I will quit this loosing business and get a paying job so I can raise my family with dignity.” Yet, part-time off-farm employment is not necessarily the prelude to complete farm exiting. It has rather become a crucial condition (more…)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8uv5eSince our first meeting in October 2006, we have been working closely with the farmers and supporting partners of the Harvest Moon Society Local Food Initiative to develop a collective marketing group to bring locally produced food to the homes of Manitobans. It has been an intense, challenging and highly rewarding two and half years and we have accomplished a great deal. We began moving food from farm to fork in late 2008 and are tweaking and re-ordering our distribution, communication and transportation systems to meet both the needs of the farmers and eaters involved in this initiative. The launch of a website provides an important tool for communicating with the participants in this small scale food network. You can check it out at www.harvestmoonfood.ca. This summer should be an exciting one
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Word Cloud - PrioNet Poster 2009
Last week, I attended a conference in Edmonton hosted by PrioNet Canada. PrioNet was established in response to the socio-economic fallout and the potential human health implications of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or Mad Cow crisis in 2003. The organization has evolved substantially since then. Attendees at the conference included academics, politicians, bureaucrats, students, and one farmer (as far as I could tell). The majority of the delegates were Scientists working to uncover the mystery of the Prion or the protein that is believed to be the cause of BSE and other related diseases including Chronic Wasting Disease, Scrapie and the human variant of BSE: Creutzfelt Jacob Disease. (more…)
Treherne Times news article - Think local presentation in Swan Lake, MB
In February, I participated in a number of conferences and sessions. The first, on February 2nd in Swan Lake, was hostd by Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives and focused on the Harvest Moon Local Food Initiative and the process of starting a related project in your own locale (Poster). The next was in Winnipeg at the Growing Local, Getting Vocal conference on grassroots solutions to the global food crisis. I also participated as a facilitator in a workshop on Community-University research partnerships. I also had the pleasure of participating and presenting as the last speaker at the Direct Farm Markeing Conference in Brandon. Finally, I participated in the PrioNet conference in Edmonton, Alberta to discuss the need for research that contributes to a better of how farm families adapt to BSE. This research can generate knowledge, while at the same time facilitate real-world adaptation. (more…)
