UACES Facebook Specialty crop farmers workshop set for March 5
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Specialty crop farmers workshop set for March 5

Fast facts:

    • Workshop set for March 5 at Arkansas Farm Bureau
    • Local produce buyers will discuss how they buy directly from farmers
    • Food safety issues, federal grant processes among discussion topics
    • $10 registration fee includes lunch

(304 words)
LITTLE ROCK – Specialty crop farmers will have a chance to learn how local produce buyers work directly with farmers during a workshop on “Homegrown Profits 2015: Tapping in to Rising Markets.”

The workshop will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 5 at Farm Bureau Headquarters, 10720 Kanis Road in Little Rock. 

The Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Farm Bureau and Arkansas Farmers Market Association are partnering to present the workshop. The session will include buyers of local produce in the central Arkansas area who will discuss buying directly from farmers. Farmers who sell to retail outlets and through online markets and who market value-added products will also share their experiences.

“Steadily increasing demand for local food means new and diverse markets are emerging at an accelerated pace, with processes for both famers and buyers changing,” said Beverly Dunaway,  Extension MarketMaker representative for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “This workshop will provide farmers with practical information that will help them tap into these rising markets more readily,”

The Food Safety Modernization Act and other food safety updates will be provided, along with information about individual farmer Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs. Other discussion topics will include the Arkansas Agriculture Department’s Arkansas Grown and Arkansas Made programs, farm-to-school programs throughout the state, growing in high tunnels and the rollout of training sessions to assist grant applicants when submitting applications for federal Farmers Market Promotion Program and Local Food Promotion Program grants. 

The fee for the workshop is $10 per person with lunch included. To register, go to http://forms.uada.edu/registrations/HP2015.asp. Pre-registration is required to ensure available materials and food. The workshop fee can be paid online or upon arrival at the workshop. Online registration will end at 5 p.m. March 2. For more information or for late registration, call Beverly Dunaway at 501-671-2344.

For more information about Marketmaker, visit http://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/economics-marketing/market-maker/ or contact your county agent.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact your County Extension office (or other appropriate office) as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

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By the U of A System Division of Agriculture

Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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