Business and Marketing

Workshop Session I: 9:15-10:30 a.m.

Farmers Working Together: Collaborations in Marketing, Purchasing, and Equipment to Improve Your Farm’s Bottom Line

Melissa Whitt, OSU

Collaborative approaches to marketing, purchasing, and equipment sharing may be opportunities for farmers to save time, enter new markets, lower costs, and more. Gain an understanding of collaborative models in food and farm marketing and distribution, as well as supply and equipment access, the problems these approaches may help farmers solve, and important considerations for farmers and service providers using cooperative approaches.

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Workshop Session II: 10:45 a.m.-Noon

Insider Tips: How to do Your Books in Five Minutes a Day and Get Good Results

Shelly Oswald, Old Time Farm

Whether you DIY or outsource your bookkeeping needs, best practice workflows save time and are necessary to get “good” numbers. Learn how to get your books done in less time and with reliable numbers, understanding the basic bookkeeper’s workflow, the tools to help you know what goes where, and how to spot common errors on your finances.

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Workshop Session III: 1:30-2:45 p.m. 

A Farmer’s Story That Hits Different

Sherifat Alabi and Joy Rumble, OSU

Storytelling promotes social learning and can be a powerful tool in bringing awareness and connection to agriculture. Not only will you learn to understand the importance of storytelling here, but also get the chance to draft your own story and brainstorm how it could be used to promote your business or organization.

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Workshop Session IV: 3-4:15 p.m

Unconventional and Innovative Farm Design

Jonathan Greer, Eden’s Blessing Family Farm

Unconventional farm design is about viewing an agriculture business through the lens of community development, specifically aiming to meet a community’s needs. Learn how to take your vision and make incremental steps towards empowering and equipping your community to become more self-sustainable. Understand how to create a strategic plan for your organization and carve the first steps towards developing a community readiness assessment.

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Workshop Session V: 10:45-Noon

Grants, Loans, and Technical Support for Urban Farmers from the USDA

Mike Hogan, OSU

Understand the new and expanded financial and technical support for urban farm businesses available from the USDA.  Representatives from USDA agencies will outline how existing and aspiring urban farmers can access support for their business, and urban farmers will discuss how their farm operations have benefitted from utilizing these resources.

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Workshop Session VI: 1:30-2:45 p.m.

Where am I Going to Sell My Produce?

Walt Bonham, The Food Lab

There are many approaches to selling your produce when it is time to harvest. If you want to sell directly to your community, restaurants, schools, food hubs, and more, there is a lot to consider. Get tips on planning and identifying your market, with an emphasis on finding buyers, aggregation opportunities, and selling produce as a cooperative. 

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Workshop Session VII: 3-4:15 p.m.

On-Farm Realistic Expectation Setting with Scrum Project Management

Andrea Heim, Encouragemint LLC

If you feel overwhelmed and lacking boundaries when it comes to farm work, on-farm scrum is a method of using empirical data to provide realistic limits to what you and your crew are truly capable of in a day, week, or season. You can start today by collecting data and walking through a sprint planning session. Learn how to say no to the farm and get a life outside of the field!

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