tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4697613878485440062023-11-16T06:21:10.522-05:00Agricultural EntrepreneurshipMarketing, management, and industry news for farm and food businesses from the Penn State Extension Ag Business Management teamSarah Cornelissehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12135508639033896486noreply@blogger.comBlogger368125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-55437138382057126702017-08-03T11:00:00.000-04:002017-08-04T09:50:48.400-04:00Promoting equity in local food systems through Extension: Webinar 9/6<div class="prose" itemprop="articleBody">
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<img alt="" class="lazy-image pv-post-entity__image loaded" height="172" src="https://media.licdn.com/media/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAssAAAAJDA3NmE1MGM5LTk2ZmEtNDM1MC05NjUxLWRmYTA5MTM0NjMzZg.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /> </div>
<a href="https://zoom.us/webinar/register/aaca61732cf61b6766858a512be5123a" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">By Heather Manzo, Extension Educator. Please join us for an eXtension CoP Community, Local, and Regional Food System webinar.</a><br />
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When: Wednesday, September 6, 12 - 1 pm Pacific Time/3 - 4 pm Eastern Time<br />
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How can we apply equity and anti-racism principles to our food system
work? In answer to this question, this webinar provides three examples
from the Cooperative Extension System of efforts to promote equity and
undo racism in local food systems. These examples from North Carolina,
Michigan, and Pennsylvania offer a range of experiences and strategies.<br />
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Kaitlin Wojciak, from Michigan State University Extension, will
describe a recent training and learning group dedicated to exploring
issues of power, privilege, and racial equity for the state’s Community
Food Systems team. Shorlette Ammons, from North Carolina’s Center for
Environmental Farming Systems, will discuss the Center’s efforts to
embed an equity lens and practice into all areas of its work. Heather
Manzo, from Penn State Extension, will describe work with an urban food
policy council to engage diverse community members and positively impact
equity issues in the metropolitan food system.<br />
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<a href="https://zoom.us/webinar/register/aaca61732cf61b6766858a512be5123a" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"> Please register here and be sure to include any questions you have for our speakers about their work.</a><br />
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After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-77213618886147425082017-08-02T12:22:00.003-04:002017-08-04T09:50:31.787-04:00Improve Access to Healthy Food and Create a Better Sense of Place with a Well Managed Farmers Market<div class="prose" itemprop="articleBody">
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<a href="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAr8AAAAJDhiMjFiMjA4LTUyNTUtNDk4Mi04NWY4LTRkNWRhZWRiNjhhNw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="article-banner-image" height="179" itemprop="contentUrl" src="https://media.licdn.com/mpr/mpr/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAr8AAAAJDhiMjFiMjA4LTUyNTUtNDk4Mi04NWY4LTRkNWRhZWRiNjhhNw.jpg" width="320" /></a>By Heather Manzo, Extension Educator, Allegheny County. If the proper assets are in
place a farmers market can create activity in building local economies and
leveraging assets for mainstream redevelopment projects, enhancing
relationships between business, increasing access to fresh food, and
making social services more visible to community members.</div>
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Farmers markets have
historically played a role in weaving together the social and economic
fabric of communities. Farmers markets today still play the role of
creating a sense of place and community.<br />
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Penn State Extension partnered with Sustainable Pittsburgh and the
Local Government Academy to deliver this program to help Community /
Economic Development organizations, municipal leaders and staff, and
farmers market managers decide how a well managed market can benefit any
community.<br />
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<a href="http://localgovernmentacademy.org/farmers-market-webinar/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The archived webinar can be found by following this link.</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-83163924174500790652017-03-17T13:41:00.001-04:002017-03-17T13:41:35.708-04:00Farm Business Transition<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">By <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jwb15">John Berry</a>, Penn State Extension Educator, <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/lehigh">Lehigh County</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">Many of the farmers I work for have a tough time with the
process of getting their business into the hands of the next owner/manager. The
reasons for this are many; no time, unwilling to think about mortality, not
aware of what should happen, and uncertainty about losing control are some of
the primary reasons often heard. Because of the intimate relationship between
most farms and the families that work and live there; the unknowns around a
broad family conversation on business transition can be a bit scary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>When is the best time to start the discussion?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">If succession planning has been on your mind remember
there are just six weeks left in 2016 and some holiday celebrations coming up.
This could be a great time for a discussion with family regarding farm
transition and succession planning. It's great that you're thinking about
succession planning, but remember, conversations about farm succession are
conducted from a business standpoint. Do you really want to turn your
Thanksgiving table into a business conference table?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you want to take your time around the
Christmas tree and turn it into a water cooler discussion on strategic
planning? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">While it may be tempting to start these discussions while
family is home and together, make sure you're keeping family time for family
and setting aside a special time for holding a family business meeting. If it
needs to be connected to a holiday to have family present, think about sending
out a formal invitation and agenda to the meeting ahead of the holiday, with a
set time and date for the meeting later in the holiday weekend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><strong>When should I start planning?</strong></span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You may have heard the old Chinese proverb. “The best
time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second bet time is now.” That same
principal can be applied to succession planning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It really is NEVER too early to start
planning for the future, but it can become too late to start!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost everyone knows a family torn apart by
disagreements following the passing of a loved one. This often happens because
they never found the time to put their plans down on paper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";">You can never tell what tomorrow will bring. Starting
your succession plan early in your agriculture career can help you save money
and can make sure your business continues as you see fit in the case of retirement,
death or disability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you create a
plan early in your career, it does not mean you are done. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good succession plan is reviewed and
improved often to make sure it still fits with the wants and needs of everyone
involved in the operation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-72823101169933237202017-02-15T09:00:00.001-05:002017-02-15T09:00:21.160-05:00Cultivating Knowledge; Food, Fruit & Veggies… For thought
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" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="181" /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jpw20">John Wodehouse</a>, Penn State Extension Educator, <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/chester">Chester County</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hundreds of fruit and
vegetable growers and industry exhibitors gathered in Chocolate </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Town for the </span><a href="http://www.mafvc.org/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">2017 Mid
Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Take heed, chocolate, there’s a new sweet in town. For four days
in early February, vegetable and fruit producers met at the </span><a href="http://www.hersheylodge.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Hershey Lodge & Convention Center</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
to learn more about the fruit and vegetable production business. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This is the first of three related articles. I encourage you
to journey through the fruit and vegetable convention experience with me in the
weeks to come. It’s more than just fruits and vegetables; it’s about sharing
knowledge. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Back in mid-November, a fellow educator, </span><a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jwb15"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">John Berry</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, reached out to me
with a question. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">He said, “How’d you like to get involved at the Fruit &
Vegetable Convention in Hershey this year?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He quickly added: “The hot chocolate up there
is the best.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Sure, sounds good,” I responded. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I agreed to help, I was thinking: What a great
opportunity to learn, while building and fostering networks. And who could pass
up the great hot chocolate?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">My charge was to assist </span><a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/tmb124"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Tom Butzler,</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of the Penn
State Extension. This year, he and his team took care of the equipment set-ups for
all the speakers. Tom asked me to load each presenter’s slides and make sure
all the other technologies worked seamlessly. As you’ll see, I got a chance to
do a lot more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The first person I met when I arrived at the registration desk
at 7:25 a.m. on Tuesday was </span><a href="https://www.pvga.org/about-pvga/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Bill
Troxell,</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He happily greeted me and helped me with the
registration process. Complete with a name tag, I was on my way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Over the coming days, topic-specific research discussions, concerning
either vegetables or fruits, in both English and Spanish, were offered each
half-hour from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Presentations were held in various rooms in
the Convention Center. Some were given by the farm owners and growers
themselves, while others were given by scholars and educators from such
entities as Penn State and the Penn State Cooperative Extension, Cornell
Cooperative Extension, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, the University of
Maryland Extension, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, the Virginia Cooperative
Extension, University of Delaware, University of Minnesota and North Carolina
Extension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On Tuesday, more than 56 different session topics were
offered through the day. Much of my time was spent in the Organic Vegetable session
room. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">At 8 a.m. sharp, I helped Tony Ricci load his presentation
titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Organic Herb Production</i>. Tony
owns and operates the organic-certified </span><a href="http://greenheronfarm.net/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Green
Heron Farm</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and CSA in Huntington County, Pa. His discussion centered on adding
herbs to your production mix, to add cash flow back into your business. </span></div>
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<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I loaded his speaking materials into the computer, Tony and
I talked about the beautiful herb pictures included in his slides. We then talked
about the pros of planting herbs in addition to vegetables. The best part of
Tony’s presentation - to the 60-plus growers in attendance during the first organic
session - was that he gave away some of his best-kept secrets. He shared a few
of his proven methods with regards to producing great, not just good, sage, parsley
and Greek oregano. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Plant your herbs in double rows on black (not red) plastic,
and treat them as annuals,” Tony recommended. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This is done to preserve quality, disease
resistance, and yield.”</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next up on in the Organic session room was Dr. Gladis Zinata
of the </span><a href="http://rodaleinstitute.org/about-us/our-staff/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Rodale
Institute</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Her<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>report was titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adding in Rotational No-Till and Insectary Strips
for Organic Cucumber Production. </i>Dr. Zinata described the results of a
cucumber test-plot she and a team planted and documented at Rodale. The
experiment focused on this question: Does increasing species diversity by planting
grass and perennial insectary strips between cucumber rows allow for improved
natural insect and pathogenic resistance? My take after hearing her findings: Definitely
yes. Dr. Zinata’s research supports adding grass strips and incorporating other
vegetative diversity into your fields to offset the pressures of insect and
disease.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Growers next met Jennifer Glenister, a senior staff member at
the organic </span><a href="http://www.newmorningfarm.net/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">New Morning Farm</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in
Hustontown, Pa. She has worked nine seasons at New Morning. She gave a very
well-designed and well-delivered talk entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Organic Snap Bean Production</i>, followed by a lively Q&A session.
</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jennifer shared her tried-and-true organic snap bean
production strategies, along with her sowing and growing schedules. Especially
valuable were her succession planting tips for longer harvests, and remedies
she suggested for dealing with deer.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“We tried many things on the farm, but the one that worked
for deer was the 3D electric fence,” Jennifer said, as a slide showing a three-tiered,
offset, poly-wire fence came up. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While scouting, Jennifer said the minute she sees certain insect
levels, she immediately deploys beneficial insects (a species of parasitic wasp)
as a strategy to manage the yield-robbing pests. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jennifer’s snappy presentation was followed by another inspiring
discussion. This one, from </span><a href="http://plantscience.psu.edu/directory/ess11"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Elsa
Sanchez, Ph.D. and associate professor at Penn State</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, was entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Using Cover Crops</i>. Elsa talked about the
benefits of diversifying cover crops. She encouraged the organic growers to
combine different cover crops into their field rotations. Additionally, Elsa went
into detail about choosing cover crops with alleopathic characteristics, such
as wheat and grain rye. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Wheat and rye cover crops both contain beneficial natural
weed suppressants,” Elsa said.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The term alleopathic refers to cover crops with natural weed
suppression characteristics. During her discussion, Elsa also gave the group
per-acre cover crop seeding rates and biomass tonnage per-acre estimates for
cover crops. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">An informative discussion given by </span><a href="https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/44629"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Abby Seaman</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of the
New York State IPM Program, on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Managing
Late Blight on Organic Farms,</i> followed Elsa’s cover crop discussion. Abby
mentioned the need for producers to scout the field for fall-offs and/or
leftovers. Her recommendation: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>try to eliminate
any volunteer tomato and potato plants before they germinate to reduce the
likelihood of late blight outbreaks in the next season. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Late blight on potatoes and tomatoes needs living tissue to
overwinter, so I recommend removing any leftover product from the field,” Abby said.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">During Abby’s presentation, we also learned about two internet-based
resources designed to help producers report and monitor late blight in
Pennsylvania and New York. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I met </span><a href="http://wcroc.cfans.umn.edu/high-tunnels"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Dr.
Julie Grossman</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, professor and originator of </span><a href="http://grossmanlab.cfans.umn.edu/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">The Grossman Lab</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> at the University
of Minnesota while helping her set up in the Organic session room. She
delivered two afternoon presentations. Her first was entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Overcoming Tunnel Vision – Using Cover Crops
in High Tunnels</i>. Her second presentation, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Zone Tillage for Organic Vegetables, </i>wrapped up the organic
sessions on Tuesday. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dr. Grossman shared her research findings and the beneficial
outcomes of her research team for planting cover crops directly inside high
tunnels. She provided cover crop planning strategies growers can employ right
away in their tunnels to not only improve soil health and limit soil
compaction, but also to better manage weeds and help prevent insect damage.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
Of the 56 fruit and vegetable presentations delivered on Tuesday, I had the joy
of attending seven of them. The experience was amazing. So many enthusiastic presenters,
all in one place at the same time. The knowledge attendees gained from
scholars, educators and growers will no doubt be put to work on farms across
the commonwealth. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For future reference, feel free to explore the following informative
and educational resource links:</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://greenheronfarm.net/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Green Heron Farm</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://rodaleinstitute.org/about-us/our-staff/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">The
Rodale Institute</span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.newmorningfarm.net/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">New Morning Farm </span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://plantscience.psu.edu/directory/ess11"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Elsa
Sanchez, Ph.D, Penn State University</span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/44629"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: #0563c1;">Abby
Seaman, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: #0563c1;">Cornell Integrated Pest
Management </span></span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://horticulture.umn.edu/directory/faculty/juliegrossman"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Dr. Julie
Grossman, University of Minnesota </span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://grossmanlab.cfans.umn.edu/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">The Grossman
Lab, University of Minnesota</span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://agsci.psu.edu/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Penn State University
College Of Agricultural Sciences</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.mafvc.org/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Mid Atlantic Fruit &
Vegetable Convention</span></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.hersheylodge.com/"><span style="color: #0563c1; font-family: Calibri;">Hershey Lodge &
Convention Center</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-54997749457723778592017-01-25T16:28:00.001-05:002017-01-25T16:30:56.332-05:00The Impact of Federal Reserve Interest Hikes on Your Farm<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">By <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/mas60">Miguel Saviroff</a>, Penn State Extension Educator, <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/somerset">Somerset County</a></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The Federal Reserve’s decision to increase interest
rates in December has raised questions in the farming sector. The feds have
announced at least two new hikes in interest rates in 2017. Although farm level
interest rates have been too low for a long time, low agricultural prices can’t
cover for any operational expense increases. The clear majority of non-real
estate loans made to farmers carry floating interest rates which means the cost
of credit adjusts upward if rates increase.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ELO7aTZQTO-G2DwwQ38Qz0I1Rkfz-VY4JEPotjXaw-trigHasl3FO_nn_tZue_2D8OWjYkEVM-mEyKXvfVG2ggaYSBj35My9JM366LNm1_xbrF9I3p5rRO_UMBLpTJIWOWFp4ZfDF3Y/s1600/MiguelBlog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5ELO7aTZQTO-G2DwwQ38Qz0I1Rkfz-VY4JEPotjXaw-trigHasl3FO_nn_tZue_2D8OWjYkEVM-mEyKXvfVG2ggaYSBj35My9JM366LNm1_xbrF9I3p5rRO_UMBLpTJIWOWFp4ZfDF3Y/s1600/MiguelBlog.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> A pie chart used to compare interest
expense versus gross profit</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The FRB increases the interest rate when there are
signs of a strengthening economy but often agriculture is countercyclical to
the national economy. One thing for sure is that farmers need to observe
certain signals to maintain financial efficiency. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Farmers need to monitor their interest expense ratio, the
relation between interest expense and gross farm income, which may indicate too
much dependence in borrowed capital or high interest rate on existing debt. The
Penn State “<a href="http://extension.psu.edu/business/farm/courses/farm-en-e-finance-and-production-education-for-pennsylvania-farm-businesses">Farm$en$e</a>” program recommends to maintain this ratio below 5%. An
Interest-Expense ratio higher than 10% indicates that the farm is spending too
much of its gross income paying interest on borrowed money. In this case a
business or farm may want to look at ways to lower this expense, this can be
accomplished in a number of ways including: selling of assets to pay down
overall debt (negative ramification for this may include tax issues),
refinancing some loans, and restructuring of debt. </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Higher interest rates in a country increase the value of
that country’s currency relative to nations offering lower interest rates.
These higher interest rates attract foreign investment and the value of the
dollar increases. A strong dollar makes our agricultural products less
attractive to foreign buyers. One example is the reduction of cheese shipments
to Europe due to the decline of the euro versus the dollar. </span></div>
<br />
If there was one piece of advice to the agriculture industry, it would be to
settle in. While you may want to secure a long-term loan or purchase more
equipment, you will want to limit your borrowing; only do so when necessary.<br />
<br />
Likewise, be sure to have a cash reserve on hand.<br />
<br />
With interest rates expected to further increase, you will want to ensure
you’re properly prepared for the effects no matter how many hikes and in what
magnitude. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-81220763316832870162017-01-06T11:01:00.000-05:002017-01-06T11:01:38.465-05:00Shared Kitchen Incubators - A Great Place to Start Your Business
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">By <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/directory/wwm1">Winifred McGee</a>, Penn State Extension Educator, <a href="https://extension.psu.edu/dauphin">Dauphin County</a></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A new year signals the time to think about new enterprises –
exploring how, and where, to begin profiting from a “family favorite” recipe.
The 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, and subsequent FDA rules, have made it
a bit more challenging (but not impossible) to start a food business, in that even
if state regulations allow a food product to be made in an inspected home
kitchen (in Pennsylvania, referred to as a “limited food establishment”), when
the food goes regional or national, FDA requires that all products be made in a
commercial kitchen.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="border-image: none; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For the start-up food venture, a shared kitchen offers an
affordable, safe, legal place to launch. Instead of investing a large amount of
money in designing and equipping your kitchen, a modest fee allows access an
established commercial kitchen on a timeslot basis.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVzdr7XvZAwGXFVvP5tEvzZRBWZq7UC12QHiPqNhd9U3Fi3Yesbw3025r99W9cQ6GN6E46OTnRGVG7fpqDA6uCb0r2cpIY5ZzANFZPl7d1gOjiErEHzYZwH9OvMXRDKD3Xu7a-6pmHM4/s1600/FieldtoForkIncubator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoVzdr7XvZAwGXFVvP5tEvzZRBWZq7UC12QHiPqNhd9U3Fi3Yesbw3025r99W9cQ6GN6E46OTnRGVG7fpqDA6uCb0r2cpIY5ZzANFZPl7d1gOjiErEHzYZwH9OvMXRDKD3Xu7a-6pmHM4/s320/FieldtoForkIncubator.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Loading the food dehydrator at Field to Fork Ag Incubator<br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by Katie Kinka, Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">As you begin to search, you will
learn that not all shared kitchens are created equally – and knowing the type
of assistance you need makes a world of difference when searching for the
“right place.” For instance, you may just need a shared use kitchen – that is,
a place that provides space and equipment to multiple food business owners for
the commercial preparation and handling of food that will be sold. This type of
kitchen will likely be accessed very affordably, because no other services beside
kitchen access will be offered. In a fast-changing environment like food
business, you will have to keep up on food code and the current acceptable
methods of production, as well as making, marketing and selling your product if
you select a shared use kitchen – but many food businesses have gotten their start
in just such a place.</span><div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><div class="separator" style="border-image: none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The next step up is a shared
kitchen incubator – at which you will not only access commercial equipment and
facilities, but also benefit from “supportive services,” that apply to food
production and business management. There will be an on-site manager who can
help you navigate the complex network of regulation, packaging and distribution
to have the best opportunity for a profitable enterprise. Because of the
increased level of service, the per-hour rate will probably be higher than that
of a shared use kitchen – but depending on the complexity of product and
marketplace, this can be money well-spent. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">You may also determine the need
for small-scale co-packing – allowing trained workers who are already familiar
with commercial equipment and recipe conversions to make valuable contributions
to your venture. One such facility here in Pennsylvania is the </span><a href="http://www.sapdc.org/news?t=sapdc-announces-shared-use-kitchen-ribbon-cutting-ceremony"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: blue;">“Field to Fork Agricultural
Incubator,”</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> which opened
its doors at the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center in Johnstown
Pennsylvania in September 2016. Joining “Field to Fork” not only means
accessing the CTC’s commercial kitchen, but allows you to enlist the knowledge
and skills of culinary arts students who are working towards their ProStart
Certification, and are available to work side by side with kitchen tenants. As
with all shared kitchens, “Field to Fork” is focused on specific targeted
groups – local value-added producers with smaller crop yields and food
entrepreneurs who need a place to start. Products that can be most easily
created in this kitchen are non-organic, jarred fruits and vegetables, dried
foods, and baked goods. During its pilot phase, use of the kitchen will be
available on a first come, first serve basis. Dry storage and cold storage are
also available for a monthly fee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br /><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In short, shared kitchen
incubators do provide the environment necessary for food businesses to start,
grow and succeed – by offering not only the right equipment and environment but
many services that simplify and economically provide just what is needed in
today’s food industry.</span><br />
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-39540593411910090492016-12-13T13:59:00.002-05:002016-12-13T14:05:18.824-05:00Climate Change and Fiscal Sustainability: Conservation and Risk Management Programs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">by <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/hem12">HeatherManzo</a>, Penn State Extension Educator, <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/allegheny">Allegheny County</a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
article is the last in a four-part series for </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Passages <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">discussing how the agricultural community
can better understand and address a changing climate. PASA, in partnership with
Penn State, was awarded a U.S. EPA Environmental Justice grant (#96335501) for
educational programs related to climate change and agriculture. This grant
supports this </i>Passages <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">series</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">several field days and webinars, and
pre-conference tracks at the recent 25<sup>th </sup>Farming for the Future
conference. Join us as we explore Farming in a Changing Climate. </i></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">This last article in the series
highlights the fiscal sustainability of farms by providing an overview of crop
insurance, conservation and risk management programs available through the USDA.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">The Farm Bill is renewed every five years in order to
reflect the changing needs of the agricultural community. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This cycle includes
specialty funding for small, new, low resourced, organic, minority and urban
farms<sub>1</sub>. USDA is comprised of many agencies, which are interested in
reaching these non-traditional types of agricultural operations in addition to
traditional large-scale agriculture and commodity operations. The goal of this
article is provide an overview the agencies and allocations available to
farming operations of all sizes and styles.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-no-proof: yes;">Predicting
weather has always been a part of the delicate dance of farming and the
seasons. It is true that working with nature via </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">sustainable farming practices such
as soil building, contouring and cover crops can help increase the resiliency
of a farm in the face of a changing climate. However, farm income can be lost
by unforeseen natural disasters such as severe storms; prolonged weather events
like drought can reduce yields by destroying crops, land and infrastructure. Farms
are a business and crops are the inventory and that value must be protected in
order to allow for fiscal survival when natural events occur. This is the premise
for crop insurance, which is just one program available to support fiscal
sustainability. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Climate related weather events
are costly, and on the rise, so much so that the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) created a searchable online database known as
‘The Billion Dollar Club’<sub>2</sub>. This resource tracks weather and climate
related events such as super storms, winter storms, floods, and wildfires that
cause US$1 Billion or more in damage, of which there were ten in 2015 alone,
and three of those occurred in Pennsylvania. These ten events caused 155 deaths
and economic devastation in many sectors. Climate change scientists at Columbia
University’s Earth Institute and Tufts University are currently analyzing data
to understand what agriculture looks like in Pennsylvania under various climate
change models, in order to understand what opportunities and interventions
farmers may consider as part of the USDA Agriculture and Food Research
Initiative (AFRI) funded <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Enhancing Food
Security in the Northeast</i> (EFSNE) grant<sub>3</sub>.</span></span></div>
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</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A recent example of crop damage
attributable to weather fluctuations which will likely hit home for many
readers is the damage fruit trees suffered in April 2016. A warm March was followed
by hard frost and freeze in some areas of the state. NOAA classified the
2015-2016 winter as the warmest on record in the lower 48 states with the
average temperature across the US 4.6°F higher than the average temperature
recorded in the last 100 years<sub>4</sub>. It is too early to tell the extent
of the yield and related economic impacts will be from this weather event.
According to early estimates of yield impact from the Penn State Fruit Research
and Extension Center in Biglerville, Adams County, fruit growers are expecting </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">85-90 percent of a full crop of apples, 75-80 percent
of a full crop of peaches and 50 percent of a full crop of tart cherries<sub>5</sub>.
Damage was most significant to apricots, plums and pears due to early dormancy
breaks, with peaches and apples fairing slightly better<sub>6</sub>.</span></span></div>
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</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">According to the 2012 PA Ag
Census, agriculture in PA is valued at US$7.4 Billion annually, and $160
Million of that comes from tree products including fruit and nuts<sub>7</sub>. The
economic and social impact of all agricultural efforts shapes the fabric of our
communities and the landscape that Pennsylvanians call home. This is recognized
by the federal government via allocations programs designed to protect the
industry, primarily through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Farms and businesses wanting to apply for federal grants and contracts simply
need to obtain System for Award Management (SAM) and Duns & Bradstreet
(DUNS) numbers, which are free via a short form and take a couple of weeks to
process. Let’s examine some of those programs. </span></span></div>
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</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Overview
of USDA Agencies and Selected Programs</span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive body responsible for developing and
implementing policy and funding programs related to forestry, agriculture, food
and farming. The following departments are under their purview; note this is
not an exhaustive list:</span></span></div>
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</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Natural
Resources Conservation Service</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(NRCS)</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Natural Resources
Conservation Service provides technical and financial assistance to farmers by
working with them on the ground on projects that focus on conservation and the
use of technology to improve farm systems. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">NRCS’s
mission is “helping people help the land.” </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Staff is available to visit farms, get
to know the farm and provide consulting on operations as well as suggest
appropriate programs. NRCS receives its budget through an allocation system
from the federal government to each state. In Pennsylvania, NRCS has regional
offices which cover every county, and staff welcomes new relationships with
farms and a variety of other land holders. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">NRCS programs often operate on
an ‘in kind’ basis, meaning that the farmer matches the award amount with
equipment, labor and other non-monetary contributions to the project. The farm
then receives payments according to an NRCS schedule at agreed upon project
milestones. There are many programs available, and when a match is not found
with NRCS, there are often resources available through the Farm Service Agency
(FSA), and farmers and landholders are encouraged to think of these sister
agencies when developing the support network for their business and to be
proactive about relationship building. Some NCRS programs of note include:</span></span></div>
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</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Agricultural
Management Assistance (AMA) </span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The
goal of this program is to reduce risk in production by v</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">oluntarily
addressing water management, water quality and erosion control by incorporating
conservation into farming operations. Farms can have sales of over $1,000, and
an implementation cost of 75 percent up to $50,000.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Conservation
Stewardship Program (CSP)</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">This program assists land owners
to maintain existing conservation efforts and adopt new conservation efforts
including: water, energy, soil, air and habitat. Payments are performance based;
contracts are five years with a $200k cap. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Conservation
Innovation Grants (CIG)</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the name implies, CIG support
development and adoption of innovative approaches and technology to improve conservation
of agricultural land. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This grant is
flexible in that any project proposal that ties back to that goal of improving
conservation may be considered. EQIP is a funding vehicle under the CIG
umbrella. Funding levels </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;">up to $75k per project with a 50/50 match, therefore a total
project of $150k can be accepted. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Environmental Quality Incentives Program
(</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">EQIP)</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">EQIP is commonly known as the
high tunnel grant’ because it commonly supports high tunnel projects. The
mission of this grant is more expansive that that—its goal is for farms to
adopt technology practices and planning to increase growing efficiency through
improving wate and air quality, reducing erosion and sedimentation,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and improving created habitat. This grant has
ten year contracts, and special incentives for beginning, socially
disadvantaged and limited resource farmers. For these categories of growers, up
to 50 percent advance on project materials/services is possible to get the
project off of the ground.</span></span></div>
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</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Farm
Service Agency (FSA)</span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Often, if a match is not found
with NRCS, the Farm Service Agency is the next stop. FSA programs are designed
to help small farmers to access funds through its microloan and other programs.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Rural
Development (RD)</span></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">The role of USDA Rural
Development is to improve the economy and quality of life in rural communities
through economic development, loans, grants and technical assistance for
community empowerment projects. The Value Added Producer Grant Program (VAPG),
available annually and usually announced in spring, is a funding option for
those looking to add value to farm products, expand marketing, processing and
creating new market opportunities for value-added products are goals.
Beginning, small and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers may receive
priority.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Planning grants are up to
$75,000 and working capital grants are up to $250,000. The deadlines are </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">July 1, 2016 for paper applications; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>June 24, 2016 for electronic applications </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";"> </span></span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">RMA</span></u></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Risk Management Agency
administrates and operates many programs, including all crop insurance programs
through the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC). Crop insurance plans are
sold through private insurance agencies in the private sector. The mission of
RMA is to strengthen the economic stability of agricultural producers and rural
communities through risk management tools.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px; tab-stops: list .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">There are newer crop insurance programs </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for small, organic, diversified
and non-traditional ag production including aquaculture and mushrooms.
Insurance for these types of growers have benefits such as: exemption from
administrative fees, reduced out-of-pocket premium expenses, additional subsidy,
increase in the substitute yield adjustment, and production history from
farming operation they have been involved in previously. An overview of several
program in these categories follows:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Organic
Crop Insurance </span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">This program provides coverage
for certified organic acreage as well as transitional acreage, including any
crop grown using organic farming practices.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Whole-Farm
Revenue Protection</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">This is a comprehensive
insurance program providing a safety net for the entire farm, and was first
available in 2015. The program is crop neutral; anything is covered and is available
in every county in the U.S. The policy covers levels up to 85 percent of
revenue and can be combined with single crop policies.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Noninsured Crop
Disaster Assistance Program (NAP)</span></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Crops considered uninsurable
under other programs are covered under NAP when low yields, loss of inventory,
or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters, excessive heat, insect
infestation and plant disease.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Noninsured
Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for Underserved Farmers</span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Beginning,
socially disadvantaged and limited resource farms, and those farms that are organic
and sell at direct market prices are able to receive higher coverage levels than
under the regular NAP program. The goal is to level the playing field for
organic and direct market farmers who have been farming less than 10 years.
Additionally the $250 service fee is waived, and policy holders enjoy a 50
percent premium reduction. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
business of farming can be just as challenging as difficult weather conditions
or pest problems. It can be worthwhile to occasionally think of the farm in
business terms. Those crops, animals and farm products are the revenue
generator necessary to allow a farm to continue from one season to the next.
Build relationships with staff of the mentioned USDA offices and Extension to
create a network of professionals dedicated to protecting and preserving your
farm.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Sources:</span></span></u></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">1.2014 Farm Bill </span></span><a href="http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=farmbill"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman";">http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=farmbill</span></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">2. NOAA’s Billion Dollar Weather
and Climate Disasters: Table of Events </span></span><a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman";">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events</span></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">3. USDA AFRI EFSNE - </span></span><a href="http://agsci.psu.edu/research/food-security/research-projects/production"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman";">http://agsci.psu.edu/research/food-security/research-projects/production</span></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">4. NOAA Winter 2015-2016 weather
analysis - </span></span><a href="http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/national/201602"><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "times new roman";">http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/summary-info/national/201602</span></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">5. Penn State Fruit Times and
email with FREC staff: http://extension.psu.edu/plants/tree-fruit/news/2016/assessing-fruit-bud-survival-and-crop-potential</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span>
<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">6. Lancaster Farming:
http://extension.psu.edu/plants/tree-fruit/news/2016/assessing-fruit-bud-survival-and-crop-potential</span></span></div>
<span lang="ES-MX" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<div style="line-height: normal; margin: 1em 0px;">
<span lang="ES-MX" style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: ES-MX; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">7. PA Ag Census: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/Online_Resources/Rankings_of_Market_Value/Pennsylvania/</span></span></div>
</span></span><br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-51466057425590582992016-04-22T15:54:00.001-04:002016-04-22T15:56:57.836-04:00Managing Cash Flow for Your FarmCash flow statements are very useful – they may very well be the first place where a farmer will spot a trend in business performance that may benefit or harm the operation in the long run. Cash flow statements show the business’s liquidity, the ability to pay expenses as they come due. <br />
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In accounting, there are both active statements and reflective statements.<br />
<h2>
Active Statements</h2>
The cash flow statement, a record of the dollars that came into and went out of the farm, is considered an “active” statement because it is completed multiple times throughout the year. The cash flow statement should be regularly compared to projected cash flow budgets, estimated cash in-flows and out-flows that will occur in the business in an upcoming period. This helps the farm manager to identify how the cash in-flows and out-flows that were expected differed from or mirrored what actually occurred.<br />
<h2>
Reflective Statements</h2>
In comparison to the cash flow statement, the balance sheet and the income statement are “reflective” statements because they are completed on one particular day of the year in which the farm manager is able to see how the business has progressed. With careful management of cash, the farmer has power over his or her business dealings. Business owners and agricultural producers in particular need to take time to document all sources and uses of cash within a business to keep their “finger on the pulse” of their operation.<br />
<h2>
Updating Cash Flow Statements</h2>
To be effective, farmers should regularly update their cash flow statements. What does “regularly” mean? The answer to this question varies based on whether you have a very seasonal operation (such as selling Christmas trees) or a business that receives cash throughout the year (such as a dairy farm). It is recommended that new financial managers begin with a cash flow statement that has monthly intervals. Although there is a bit of work keeping the statement current, having monthly statements provides an early warning of cash deficits or surpluses. By using the cash flow statement and the cash flow budget the farmer can make well informed management decisions such as when to purchase new equipment, or when to open a line of credit to cover cash deficit periods.<br />
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After keeping track on a monthly basis for a while, you may find that quarterly or six-month cash flow statements and budgets meet your need because the funds don’t change that much month-to-month. On the other hand, if you grow and direct market fresh vegetables for example, you may need to use a weekly cash flow statement through the summer, because of fluctuations in the variety of produce sold and the demand for each item throughout the growing season.<br />
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Cash flow statements and budgets can be created for the entire farm operation or for a specific enterprise, or profit center on the farm. For example, a dairy farm might have several enterprises in addition to dairy production, such as custom work, hay sales, and maple syrup production. Analyzing a specific enterprise allows the farm manager to determine whether an enterprise costs more than it generates in revenue. An enterprise budget helps the farm manager determine whether a new enterprise might be feasible.<br />
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Article adapted from Farm $en$e©, Farm Management Tools for Financial Success.</div>
<a class="external-link" href="http://extension.psu.edu/business/farm/courses/farm-en-e-finance-and-production-education-for-pennsylvania-farm-businesses">Farm $en$e© farm financial management courses</a> are offered every fall and winter in multiple locations in Pennsylvania. Contact <a class="external-link" href="mailto:jse15@psu.edu">Juliette Enfield</a> or <a class="external-link" href="mailto:mas60@psu.edu">Miguel Saviroff </a> for more information.<br />
The Farm $en$e© text will be available for purchase through <a class="external-link" href="http://extension.psu.edu/publications">Penn State Agricultural Publications</a> in November 2016.</div>
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Contact Information</h2>
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<img alt="Juliette Enfield" src="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jse15/image_thumb" height="125" title="Juliette Enfield" width="83" /> </div>
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<a class="summary url" href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jse15">Juliette Enfield</a> </div>
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Extension Educator</div>
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Email: <a class="email" href="mailto:jse15@psu.edu" title="Email jse15@psu.edu">jse15@psu.edu</a> </div>
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<a class="summary url" href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/mas60">Miguel Antonio Saviroff, MS</a> </div>
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Extension Educator</div>
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Email: <a class="email" href="mailto:mas60@psu.edu" title="Email mas60@psu.edu">mas60@psu.edu</a> </div>
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Phone: 814-445-8911 x144 </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-19294621127878677352016-04-01T14:04:00.000-04:002016-04-01T14:04:03.298-04:00Developing a Tasting Room Loyalty Program Part 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By Dr Kathy Kelley--Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management and Dana Ollendyke-- Extension Associate</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18pt;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #555555; padding: 0in;">In our <a href="http://bit.ly/1MpEy2S" target="_blank">previous post</a>, we discussed what a loyalty program should do for your business--which, simply put, </span></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 16.8667px;">it should help increase your tasting room’s profits! In this post, we will discuss developing an outline for your loyalty program.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTl90BH0O68ojPJ_pRn6EEEL3IBO9BLy5y6Btbv6sRqJU_gyI-OEmodl0aJRm0dbMVcBOAN7Uhti3fZnQkhzirzTpUGAwy8OFtZ9huZcwJfhOTOmVTsMmKP8BSja454tYGXV4wGIZ1Udm3/s1600/Dollarphotoclub_69823529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTl90BH0O68ojPJ_pRn6EEEL3IBO9BLy5y6Btbv6sRqJU_gyI-OEmodl0aJRm0dbMVcBOAN7Uhti3fZnQkhzirzTpUGAwy8OFtZ9huZcwJfhOTOmVTsMmKP8BSja454tYGXV4wGIZ1Udm3/s400/Dollarphotoclub_69823529.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A loyalty program rewards program (photo credit: iQoncept/Dollar Photo Club).</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #555555; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18pt;">The great thing about
offering a loyalty program is that customers understand their basic function,
as they most likely belong to other programs. Regardless of the type of program
you offer, consider these key questions:</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your overall goal – what do you hope to achieve?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will charge customers to join the program, limit the number of members, or will enrollment be free?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How will customer purchases will be recorded?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What questions will you ask members that will help enhance the program and their experience?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What purchases will “count” towards loyalty program benefits, what can members redeem points on, and would a program co-developed with a complementary business be perceived as being even more attractive?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How you will determine that loyalty has really been established?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #555555; line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How and when might need to end the program (and steps for doing so)?</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 16.8667px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The next post in this series will focus on your overall loyalty program goal.</span></span></div>
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Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-86116577189452900422016-03-25T10:31:00.002-04:002016-04-01T14:04:35.716-04:00Developing a Tasting Room Loyalty Program Part 1<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 18.2px;">By Dr Kathy Kelley--Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management and Dana Ollendyke-- Extension Associate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
you are a winery owner, you most likely have some type of “case club” or
“customer loyalty” program in place, or you have thought about implementing one
at your tasting room. Whatever you call it, the intent is probably the same –
you try to reward customers who purchase large quantities of wine from you in
the form of a discount and/or invitation to special events.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1ixW5qWjUIjzJ1VYM6dPtDYv5YRPVaGy3IHxQcMnDqTWMT8vYUQsi__beHqiDM0sisrXhk5Lp9iJaXRVo3bG2sNBJDv7DZrx1kcxvvpLaX53EJ_oQkIYBG-mnYQSplsTJXhtfm59PH3R/s1600/Dollarphotoclub_66324379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir1ixW5qWjUIjzJ1VYM6dPtDYv5YRPVaGy3IHxQcMnDqTWMT8vYUQsi__beHqiDM0sisrXhk5Lp9iJaXRVo3bG2sNBJDv7DZrx1kcxvvpLaX53EJ_oQkIYBG-mnYQSplsTJXhtfm59PH3R/s400/Dollarphotoclub_66324379.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A customer purchase of multiple bottles of wine (photo credit Efired/ Dollar Photo Club).</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If
crafted and administered correctly, these programs benefit the customer and the
tasting room, but sometimes they do not provide the desired return on
investment. This blog series will help you take a look at your current (or
potential) loyalty program and decide whether your program needs to be tweaked
or radically changed in order to be more successful.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What
should a loyalty program do for your business? Simply put, your loyalty program
should help increase your tasting room’s profits. A research paper written by
<a href="http://bit.ly/1q5NqAI" target="_blank">Sports Loyalty International</a>, a customer loyalty program developer, outlines
some of the general benefits of creating a loyalty program.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By
enrolling in a loyalty program, members: </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">may be less likely to “defect” and
purchase from another winery</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">could increase their spending over time </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;">and could
be more responsive to promotions.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These factors could reduce your marketing costs since
you will have information about their preferences and habits, allowing for a
more targeted promotional effort. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Additionally,
customers may shift spending to “higher margin products”, and members could
refer your program to friends and family based on their positive experience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next post in this series will focus on your business's goals for the loyalty program.</span>Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-90177947250962172532016-01-21T15:03:00.005-05:002016-01-21T15:03:49.329-05:00Annie’s Project for Farm Women to be held in Northwestern PA<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s hard to talk about passing on the farm, but in the long
run it’s better to talk about it and make preparations before something
unexpected happens. Farm women can play
a key role in planning successful farm transitions. <a href="http://www.anniesproject.org/">Annie’s Project</a> is a nationally recognized
educational program dedicated to fostering women’s roles in the modern farm
enterprise. “Managing for Today and Tomorrow” is an Annie’s Project course
geared for farm women of all ages who want to plan now for a successful
transition later. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_h00FEroDiQnx9_ykDe7WIUjXTgHORfzs4A27yKfuPhMjOtIjDmDs2V8bt4G-Mn5aVq8Q_aUfY0iJQvCiO12HfTmtnjp5-QpkqmreWyqSCBM-rR8HSLU_LazjxK_nTDVmy6ABAlUTIQ/s1600/mtt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_h00FEroDiQnx9_ykDe7WIUjXTgHORfzs4A27yKfuPhMjOtIjDmDs2V8bt4G-Mn5aVq8Q_aUfY0iJQvCiO12HfTmtnjp5-QpkqmreWyqSCBM-rR8HSLU_LazjxK_nTDVmy6ABAlUTIQ/s1600/mtt.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://extension.psu.edu/business/farm">Penn State Extension</a> along with <a href="http://www.agchoice.com/home.aspx">AgChoice Farm Credit</a>, <a href="http://www.pafarmlink.org/">PAFarm Link</a>, and <a href="http://agsci.psu.edu/wagn">Pennsylvania Women in Agriculture Network</a> are pleased to offer
<a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/annie-s-project-managing-for-today-tomorrow/event-summary-a2c6a37a7b9b46b28e2397b94c14d340.aspx">“Annie’s Project: Managing for Today and Tomorrow”</a>, a course on farm succession
planning in Corry, Erie County Tuesday evenings March 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29,
2016 from 5 to 9 pm at the Corry Higher Education Council located at 221 North
Center Street, Corry, PA. <br />
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The five-session course includes hands-on activities,
relevant educational materials, and the opportunity to interact with local
professionals in succession planning, estate planning, retirement planning, and
business planning. Participants of all
ages and experience levels will practice tasks to increase confidence in setting
goals, nurturing effective family conversations, and defining the farm
legacy. Annie’s Project courses provide
an opportunity for dialogue and networking with fellow farm women.<br />
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The cost of the program is $125 per person. <a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/annie-s-project-managing-for-today-tomorrow/event-summary-a2c6a37a7b9b46b28e2397b94c14d340.aspx">Pre-registration</a> is required online or by calling 814-563-9388. The registration deadline is Thursday,
February 18. For more information please
contact Juliette Enfield, Penn State Extension – Warren County at 814-563-9388
or <a href="mailto:jse15@psu.edu">jse15@psu.edu</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-87814152323551669432015-12-22T14:28:00.000-05:002015-12-22T14:50:15.678-05:00Choosing the Best Business Model for Today’s Farmers Market<br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By
</span></span><a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jse15"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Juliette Enfield</span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, Penn State
Extension Educator, </span></span><a href="http://www.extension.psu.edu/warren"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Warren Co</span></span></a><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many markets have rules and regulations for internal
operations. While rules and regulations are important for setting guidelines
for vendors at the market, they cannot be used when dealing with external
business partners such as municipalities, businesses, or even customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">According to the </span><a href="https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/academics/research-centers/center-agricultural-and-shale-law"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Penn
State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, more and more farmers markets
are becoming legally incorporated in order to function in today’s business
environment. Markets have had to become incorporated to comply with municipal
ordinances, such as the requirement that all special events provide a
certificate of insurance should someone get injured. Markets have also had to
become incorporated in order to accept Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards
at the market.</span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-tCu7Wrmx6U6_AOdBugphumxBINg21NNgRnxy6oQG96MGUwkFjdhBD7eSiU9xOInBVz-2k2OFnFC4hqcCLkclRQd7ilSskXeRJ_FrFjFlNj7NbstAcwwTgcZKW6qIs43JiQpGFnfKSA/s1600/11888648_1016701768374286_2610617692789348997_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW-tCu7Wrmx6U6_AOdBugphumxBINg21NNgRnxy6oQG96MGUwkFjdhBD7eSiU9xOInBVz-2k2OFnFC4hqcCLkclRQd7ilSskXeRJ_FrFjFlNj7NbstAcwwTgcZKW6qIs43JiQpGFnfKSA/s400/11888648_1016701768374286_2610617692789348997_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">More and more farmers markets are becoming incorporated in order to function in today's business environment.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The days of informal farmers markets are no more. We are
entering into an age, whether we like it or not, where liability protection is
essential. Many farmers markets in Pennsylvania are not recognized as entities
by the Department of State or the IRS, and therefore all liability rests on the
farmers or small business owners themselves. There are two options for farmers
markets seeking liability protection:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Find an organization that is willing to umbrella
the market <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Create a legal entity for the market<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Designing a Business
Model that Works for Your Market<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step 1: Register the organization with the Department of
State<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As with any business, farmers markets can have variety of
different business structures. Some markets are owned by a single individual. In
a sole proprietorship structure, the vendors pay their dues to the market owner
in order to participate in the market. The market owner is responsible for all market
activities and is personally invested in the market’s success. If there is no
sole proprietor for a market, an existing business may be willing to umbrella
the market, which means they assume full ownership and responsibility for the
market. In this case, the market operates under the umbrella business’ name.
This is a successful model if the existing business’ mission is in line with
the farmers’ market mission, such as promoting healthy eating or supporting
local farmers. If there is no sole proprietor, and no organization that would
like to own the market, incorporation is the only other option. If a market
chooses to incorporate, they must choose a board of directors (a minimum of
three people) to manage the market. Incorporation also requires bylaws and
articles of incorporation to be filed with the Department of State. A lawyer
should be consulted for this process. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Step 2: Decide your tax status with the IRS<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Depending on the structure that the farmers market chooses,
a market may be a for-profit business or a non-profit business. Non-profit
businesses have the option to file for tax exempt status with the IRS, which
means that state and federal tax will not have to be paid on income or
expenses. There are two types of tax exempt codes most commonly used by incorporated
farmers’ markets- 501c3 and 501c4. A 501c3 organization must provide a benefit
to the community such as providing education or benefiting a charitable cause. A
501c4 is an organization that is created for “social welfare”, meaning that the
organization has come together for the benefit of its members. If a farmers
market exists solely for the benefit of the individual vendors, and is not
providing any education to the community or supporting a charitable cause,
their activities reflect the activities of a 501c4. While both 501c3 and
501c4’s can accept donations to the organization, only the 501c3’s donations
are tax deductible to the donor. Once the tax status has been obtained, the organization
must file a 990 form-“Return of Organization Exempt from Tax” every year to
declare their earnings, and they must keep meeting minutes on file. Since tax
exempt organizations’ records are in view of the public, operations should be well
recorded and transparent. The cost to file as a 501c3 or 501c4 is $400 if the
gross receipts do not exceed $10,000 per year during the first four years of
operations. If the market is a non-profit and is not generating much income (only
generates a small amount of revenue from vendor dues), requesting 501c3 or
501c4 status may not be necessary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: currentColor; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: 1pt solid windowtext; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">501c3<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: windowtext windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: solid solid solid none; border-width: 1pt 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">501c4<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does not pay tax<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does not pay tax<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cannot lobby<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Can lobby<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Donations are tax deductible<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Donations are not tax deductible<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Must engage in charitable or educational activities<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does not have to engage in charitable or educational activities<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext; border-style: none solid solid; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cost to obtain is $400 (if gross receipts do not exceed $10,000)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background-color: transparent; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) windowtext windowtext rgb(0, 0, 0); border-style: none solid solid none; border-width: 0px 1pt 1pt 0px; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt; width: 239.4pt;" valign="top" width="319"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Cost to obtain is $400 (if gross receipts do not exceed $10,000)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><br />
<o:p></o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Advantages of
Structuring the Market<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Structuring the market is becoming an obligation; however,
it is not without its advantages. If the market becomes a non-profit, they are
able to apply for a wide variety of grants. If the market is able to process
EBT transactions, sales will increase, as will accessibility of the market
goods to a larger percentage of the population. Forming a board or having a
market owner could reinvigorate a market, bring in new ideas, and expand
business connections in the community, all of which should lead to greater
profitability for the market.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLolUYqMATJC70ZanBGaKQps5kOz5NJ11iUvegCGaVVG0iXTwfJcElqIohI5DF7TkTvUEsOFtdsxed3reKD8_IXErO93WRp80M4RsJ102-fZFEPTOZ8sHC1I7zrhKtKGvrr36gTWmNvfM/s1600/RobAndersen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLolUYqMATJC70ZanBGaKQps5kOz5NJ11iUvegCGaVVG0iXTwfJcElqIohI5DF7TkTvUEsOFtdsxed3reKD8_IXErO93WRp80M4RsJ102-fZFEPTOZ8sHC1I7zrhKtKGvrr36gTWmNvfM/s400/RobAndersen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The new board of directors for the Warren County Farmers Market, Inc. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Photo courtesy Rob Andersen, Warren Times Observer</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is no one size fits all structure for Farmers Markets.
The circumstances affecting each market in each community are varied. For
further assistance or expertise when creating your legal structure, contact the
</span><a href="https://pennstatelaw.psu.edu/academics/research-centers/center-agricultural-and-shale-law"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Penn
State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. It is the lawyer’s job to
think of all the potential problems that might arise in your new business
structure, which will relieve the legal burden from you and allow you to focus
on sales. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">For more general information on non-profits, see my previous
blog post </span><a href="http://farmbusiness.blogspot.com/2015/01/an-agricultural-nonprofit-still-has-to.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">An
Agricultural Nonprofit Still Has to Make a Profit</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-14404217184985879642015-11-24T15:00:00.000-05:002015-11-24T15:00:00.834-05:00Should You Consider Producing Flavored Milk?By <a href="http://aese.psu.edu/directory/sar243" target="_blank">Sarah Cornelisse</a>, Sr. Extension Associate, <a href="http://aese.psu.edu/" target="_blank">Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education</a>, <a href="http://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank">Penn State University</a><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_tvnacVKjJQXCEaj9t-Cc9QXccS0_wxYAXJazxLx7iM4-R2WVOIKJS01SYrmXLUMxTDraifuUye6JTPKc3A3Vpv1ISNN8TKrNtsb9lOSZtZg84IKzZk3_TBs4NkoC9Za6WeZNFkQyiVI/s1600/Trumoo-chocolate-peppermint31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_tvnacVKjJQXCEaj9t-Cc9QXccS0_wxYAXJazxLx7iM4-R2WVOIKJS01SYrmXLUMxTDraifuUye6JTPKc3A3Vpv1ISNN8TKrNtsb9lOSZtZg84IKzZk3_TBs4NkoC9Za6WeZNFkQyiVI/s200/Trumoo-chocolate-peppermint31.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: http://www.hugheslink.com/blog/?m=201412</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As we move into the holiday season, we traditionally see an increase in the purchases of dairy products - cheese, milk, etc. Eggnog tends to be the popular beverage at this time of year. However, non-eggnog drinkers may be wishing for a festive alternative. This is where developing flavored milks may be an alternative for dairy processes to consider.<br />
<br />
For lovers of baseball, you may have seen Missouri's Shatto Dairy capializing on the successful playoff run by the Kansas City Royals. Shatto Dairy produced a special edition french vanilla flavored, blue-colored milk (turned just blue-colored by the time the team made it to the World Series).<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_Bd1iRLKyldmWOEAv2npNEsu5bFfu1gm8h-vHmngl1j9Q3puDY37voBwoA9oMDcOqoqazdj4caCyLn9MwxGEIpOzo2trpt0Y-Y0WjFJfexsYJ51rf7BuU5RWoK3JmttWVbzOvNnzAdEk/s1600/109435537_scaled_244x221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_Bd1iRLKyldmWOEAv2npNEsu5bFfu1gm8h-vHmngl1j9Q3puDY37voBwoA9oMDcOqoqazdj4caCyLn9MwxGEIpOzo2trpt0Y-Y0WjFJfexsYJ51rf7BuU5RWoK3JmttWVbzOvNnzAdEk/s1600/109435537_scaled_244x221.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: http://www.berryondairy.com/Milk.html</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Shatto Dairy isn't alone in producing flavored milk. As consumers turn away from soft drinks and sports drinks, many are returning to milk for its nutritious properties while expressing a desire for more varied flavors beyond the normal flavor and traditional flavors of chocolate and strawberry. We now see flavors from grape to cotton candy to black cherry to banana and blueberry.<br />
<br />
A 2014 <a href="http://www.mintel.com/" target="_blank">Mintel</a> survey showed that 61% of respondents agreed with the statement "Flavored dairy milk is a healthy alternative to soda." Additionally, 39% of respondents indicated that they were interested in "sophisticated" flavors for milk such as hazelnut, dark chocolate, etc.. This interest was most pronounced with the Millennial generation, with 50% indicating such interest. As consumer age increases, the interest in flavored milk decreased, with only 12% of those aged 69 and above interested in flavored milk.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRxeYKYQm4YGHmmualZbBxrZXgcuXUr9jlgKsLle2GWDaeKAKdVxoDxGdGw0GStzO5f9U26LUvZLhRW9Zau4jek-mx69NvVGXUfq066Fahkc4ue0EC2USeB1W3N59hivjw4FU7bAYxkyq/s1600/flavored_milks_close.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSRxeYKYQm4YGHmmualZbBxrZXgcuXUr9jlgKsLle2GWDaeKAKdVxoDxGdGw0GStzO5f9U26LUvZLhRW9Zau4jek-mx69NvVGXUfq066Fahkc4ue0EC2USeB1W3N59hivjw4FU7bAYxkyq/s320/flavored_milks_close.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source: http://www.smilinghill.com/Dairy_Store_milk.html</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
For dairies that already bottle milk, flavored milk is something that they may want to consider as a way of drawing in younger consumers interested in a healthy, but flavorful, drink.</div>
Sarah Cornelissehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12135508639033896486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-55281042568561864372015-11-06T12:32:00.001-05:002015-11-06T12:32:11.787-05:00Farm Financial Management Course kicks off in Slippery RockBy: <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/mec190">Michelle Kowalewski</a>, Penn State Extension Educator, <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/susquehanna">Susquehanna County</a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This week <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/">Penn State Extension</a> Educators kicked off their
first session of <b><a href="http://extension.psu.edu/business/farm/courses/farm-en-e-finance-and-production-education-for-pennsylvania-farm-businesses">Farm$en$e</a></b> in
Slippery Rock, Butler County for the 2015-16 program year. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Farm$en$e</b> is a four session workshop that
teaches farmers how to understand financial statements such as the cash flow
statement, the balance sheet, and the income statement. Course participants will learn how to use
financial records to make informed financial and production decisions. These skills will strengthen the farm
business partners. All agricultural
businesses including: Livestock, Dairy, Crops, Horticulture Operations including
Orchards, Greenhouses, and Vegetable Operations can benefit from
Farm$en$e. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Farm$ense</b> will be
offered across Pennsylvania in five locations during 2015-16. Locations and dates for the program are as
follows:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>Butler County <i>(Registration Closed - Program In-Progress) </i></b></div>
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<b><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighgCstNki0onYP7LkKNTib6YEKJo7_7ei5tTsh8vJ4XRpbRwGAztv19jdKN0VALtkaYCnRTlpEZAftXyAZ33tckAOnGhTTak6rN03zMcy9GLrjhO8T8rx2S0Fy8ahRGOPGWU8qMuS5w/s1600/FarmSense+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEighgCstNki0onYP7LkKNTib6YEKJo7_7ei5tTsh8vJ4XRpbRwGAztv19jdKN0VALtkaYCnRTlpEZAftXyAZ33tckAOnGhTTak6rN03zMcy9GLrjhO8T8rx2S0Fy8ahRGOPGWU8qMuS5w/s320/FarmSense+Cover.jpg" width="247" /></a></i></b></div>
<b>Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator<br />
</b>165 Elm Street, Slippery Rock<br />
Tuesdays – November 3, 10, 17, 24<br />
10 am – 3 pm<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b><a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/farm-en-e/event-summary-5fcaa2219b4d42dd9cae65c1f4283338.aspx">Adams County</a><br />
Penn State Extension - Adams County<br />
</b>670 Old Harrisburg Road, Gettysburg <br />
Fridays – January 9, 15, 22, 29<br />
10 am – 3 pm<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/farm-en-e/event-summary-c050c1fa8bdd4655b616f5ec8b713dd4.aspx">Mifflin County </a><br />
Penn State Lewistown<br />
</b>152 E. Market Street, Lewistown<br />
Thursdays – January 14, 21, 28, February 4<br />
10 am – 3 pm<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/farm-en-e/event-summary-072eb452981c48ad88cce3f8bac98920.aspx">Lancaster County </a><br />
Shady Maple Smorgasbord <br />
</b>Vintage 2 Meeting Room<br />
129 Toddy Drive, East Earl<br />
Thursdays – February 11, 18, 25, March 3<br />
10 am – 3 pm<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.cvent.com/events/farm-en-e/event-summary-072050edd0f148e6892bbcfad7031bf0.aspx">Bradford County</a><br />
Stoll Natural Resources Center<br />
</b>200 Lake Road, Towanda <br />
Thursdays – March 24, 31, April 7, 14<br />
10 am – 3 pm<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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Pre-registration for the program is required online by clicking on the links above or by calling 877-489-1398. The cost of the program is $225 per farm
(limited to two individuals per farm, each additional person is $90/each). Lunch is provided at all classes.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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For participants of all four sessions who have drafted a set
of financial statements for your farm this program satisfies the requirements
for Pennsylvania borrowers of the USDA Farm Service Agency Borrower Training
requirements for both production and financial modules. Additionally, this program qualifies for
four SmartStart credits from <a href="http://www.agchoice.com/home.aspx">AgChoice Farm Credit</a>. <span style="line-height: 150%; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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For more information about Farm$en$e please contact Penn
State Extension Educator <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jse15">Juliette Enfield</a> at 814-563-9388 or jse15@psu.edu.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-5790335810433906582015-11-05T15:36:00.001-05:002015-11-05T15:48:18.378-05:00"Mandatory" social media platforms for agricultural businesses<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Dr Kathy Kelley, Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, and Dana Ollendyke, Extension Associate</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Through an internet survey conducted by researchers at Penn State, Rutgers, Cornell, and New York University in 2013, 1,183 participants answered
questions concerning their wine purchasing and consumption attitudes and
behaviors and their demographic and socioeconomic status. Panelists were
screened for being at least 21 years old, residing in one of the targeted mid-Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania), and for having purchased and
drank wine at least once within the previous year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This survey may be focused on wineries, but the data collected can be of use to many agricultural business types. </span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0in;">Marketing is an</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"> integral part of doing business</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0in;">.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0in; vertical-align: baseline;"> U</span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-indent: 0in;">sing social media to inform consumers
about your products and events is an excellent way to build relationships.</span><br />
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<br />
John Gillespie, founder and CEO of Wine Opinions, a wine research company, stated in the article <a href="http://bit.ly/1XTg17K" target="_blank">"Who’s Drinking Wine? A Look at the Wine Market Council’s Latest Survey"</a> that 66% of core wine drinkers (those w<span style="font-family: inherit;">ho drink wine at least once a week) and
40% of marginal wine drinkers (those who drink wine less frequently than once a week) use the internet to get information about</span> wine. The article also said that more than half of all wine drinkers are on Facebook.</div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Consumers who participated in our internet survey were asked to select from a provided list of social media platforms they felt were mandatory for a winery to offer. As you can see by Figure 1, Facebook is the significant front-runner. Over 40% of participants believed that this social media tool is "mandatory" for a winery to implement. Other platforms like Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube were significantly less important to respondents.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Figure 1. Social media platforms that survey respondents believed were "mandatory" for a winery to implement.</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLsNFVRsNw2GnxvsD39AiudpCWyvWEw1AIYHUovVcw9mY9ZnVoWEtqr1L2rtBO5p00kWfwS9LYt5PVcsAPabgHzBxoFPKWCjFb6MyYxeOonWjptPy0WRYxtPCA0K1kDx01vkWnC_73mKs/s1600/blog+11-5-15.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqLsNFVRsNw2GnxvsD39AiudpCWyvWEw1AIYHUovVcw9mY9ZnVoWEtqr1L2rtBO5p00kWfwS9LYt5PVcsAPabgHzBxoFPKWCjFb6MyYxeOonWjptPy0WRYxtPCA0K1kDx01vkWnC_73mKs/s400/blog+11-5-15.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More information about the survey results can be viewed in the video series <a href="http://bit.ly/1iGbmq7" target="_blank">"Consumer Attitudes and Behaviors Towards Wine Purchases"</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To learn more about social media marketing and the survey data, please see <a href="http://bit.ly/1NfVVNB" target="_blank">video 5</a> in the series.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">As an agricultural business owner, what social media platforms do you use? Which one(s) seems to drive the most interaction with your customers?</span></div>
Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-30908401354743566352015-10-01T10:21:00.002-04:002015-12-22T14:42:51.820-05:00What Is Your Business's Customer Service Philosophy?<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jse15">Juliette Enfield</a>, Penn State Extension
Educator, <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/warren">Warren County</a></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Although we
give and receive customer service almost every day, we rarely take time to stop
and think about what customer service means. Customer service does not come
easily or naturally for most people. Providing good customer service is a skill
that involves product knowledge, concern or empathy for the customer, readiness
to help the customer, and knowing where to go to find answers. <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jwb15">John Berry</a>,
Extension Educator in Lehigh County reinforces these ideas with a four step
process for providing excellent customer service:<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNPGHdGOhwx58jeC48SJjhvLA3SFtSLydHZ-HtAUGjqduE8hncpCHkToWzbn7W5snKT5vY7fXsHXKDgMMqOLW7_PkBWGvFIxLSxEYw_9l0QNp7kBSTpxRY6NoQqmXdLqr701dYBSIGg4/s1600/detail_tip_produceSale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNPGHdGOhwx58jeC48SJjhvLA3SFtSLydHZ-HtAUGjqduE8hncpCHkToWzbn7W5snKT5vY7fXsHXKDgMMqOLW7_PkBWGvFIxLSxEYw_9l0QNp7kBSTpxRY6NoQqmXdLqr701dYBSIGg4/s320/detail_tip_produceSale.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be sure your employees know about the product they are selling.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; tab-stops: list 1.0in; text-indent: -0.25in; vertical-align: baseline;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">–<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Know the Product</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">–<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Reach Out</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<h4>
</h4>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">–<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Be Alert</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">–<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Get Help</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Customer service affects a business’s
bottom line when there are many competitors. The fewer competitors, the less
customer service matters, such as in the telephone and internet service
provider industry. <strong>The more competitors, the more customer service matters, which
is the case in the food industry</strong>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another benefit to providing good
customer service is the cost savings associated with customer retention. Losing
one customer can have a domino effect on a business. The business from this
customer is lost, but so is the business they could have brought to you, as
well as the opportunity to change something that was not working well in your
business. Remember these two rules of thumb: attracting new customers costs 5
times more than keeping existing customers, and 80% of your sales come from 20%
of your customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZazqdIkB0pijC-8BmTDyIKzPtbvODjP8WJbp0y_4QbOWs-NuS_2XCKJXj-LBXutz6TEpGjXPj8fEmnrKix75ta3zqqFkSGcemJbuhtDJZcfrYXDMt0-43jn6TPcGUOcszrDmGKqMH5Pc/s1600/TaylorMarketCSPhilosophy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZazqdIkB0pijC-8BmTDyIKzPtbvODjP8WJbp0y_4QbOWs-NuS_2XCKJXj-LBXutz6TEpGjXPj8fEmnrKix75ta3zqqFkSGcemJbuhtDJZcfrYXDMt0-43jn6TPcGUOcszrDmGKqMH5Pc/s400/TaylorMarketCSPhilosophy.jpg" width="355" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.taylorfarmsmarket.com/">Taylor's Farm Market</a> (which I recently visited on our Are You Crazy Retail Farm Market Bus Tour) in Inwood, West Virginia shares their customer service philosophy. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You may have protocols in place for
handling returns, or complaints, but it’s the customer service philosophy that
is portrayed in these actions. Consider what script(s) you want your employees
to follow when providing good customer service. For example, Sue Miller of
<a href="http://birchrunhillsfarm.com/">Birchrun Hills Farm</a> in Chester County, PA told me that for her, marketing is
about having good relationships and providing good customer service.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She says she enjoys trying to guess what the
customer wants. She believes that people don’t want to take advantage of you. She
believes in treating people the way she would want to be treated. Sue says that if a customer is ever dissatisfied with her products, she is happy to exchange the product for a new one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Below are some questions that can help start the customer
service conversation at your business. I filled in some of my own reflections to get you started. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; line-height: 115%;">1. What is your business’s
customer service philosophy?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We want people to feel that we care about them and their health by shopping with us. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong></strong><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: black;">
</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">2. What makes implementing
this philosophy challenging? <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"></span><br /></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Lack of sleep, not being able to relate to the customer-who
may not have much awareness about agriculture, who may be from another culture,
may make more money than I do, etc....<br />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">3. What works?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Not taking criticisms personally, offering services such as
carrying heavy items, being honest... <br />
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">4. What doesn’t work?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri;">Apologizing when I don’t mean it...</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">5. What kind of customer
service do you enjoy when shopping?<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Calibri;">I like when the sales person is knowledgeable about the
product, I also like when the sales person is not overly aggressive about making
sales... </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: black;">6. Does your business have
a customer service training plan in place? Circle one.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></b></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: black;"></span><br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Yes<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">No</span></b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Useful Books &
Videos:<br />
</b><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Carlaw, P. and Deming, V.
The Big Book of Customer Service Training Games. McGraw-Hill. New York, NY.
1999.<span style="color: black;"> </span><strong><em><span style="color: black;">(This book is cheap to buy and has fun and educational training games that you could play with your employees)</span> </em></strong></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Wicks, Judy.
Good Morning, Beautiful Business. Chelsea Green Publishing. White River
Junction, VT. 2013.<span style="color: black;"> <em><strong>(This book was featured at the <a href="http://agsci.psu.edu/wagn">Pennsylvania Women in Ag Network's</a> Annual Symposium in 2013. Judy Wicks spoke about her inspiring business and customer service philosophy.)</strong></em></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">Telephone Doctor® CUSTOMER SERVICE TRAINING,
30 Hollenberg Ct. St. Louis, MO 63044,(314) 291-1012, Fax: (314) 291-3710, E-mail:
</span></span><a href="mailto:nancy@telephonedoctor.com"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">nancy@telephonedoctor.com</span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.telephonedoctor.com/"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">www.telephonedoctor.com</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <em><strong><span style="color: black;">(Purchasing these tools is not cheap but there are some sample materials on YouTube which are entertaining and educational)</span></strong></em></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">The Learning Service, Ltd., 2800 Market
Avenue North Canton, Ohio 44714, Phone: (330) 456-2422, Fax:(330) 456-8944,
E-mail: </span></span><a href="mailto:learningservice@aol.com"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">learningservice@aol.com</span></span></a><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">, </span></span><a href="http://www.thelearningservice.com/"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Times;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">www.thelearningservice.com</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <em><strong><span style="color: black;">(This company has published several books on customer service which are listed on their website)</span></strong></em></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sources for this blog:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Berry, John.
I Seem to Have Lost a Customer Some Place! April 8, 2014. Agricultural
Entrepreneurship Blog. <</span><a href="http://farmbusiness.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-seem-to-have-lost-customer-someplace.html"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://farmbusiness.blogspot.com/2014/04/i-seem-to-have-lost-customer-someplace.html</span></a><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="color: blue;">> </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Accessed Sept 9, 2015. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></u></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><u><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Lawrence,
Alex. Five Customer Retention Tips for Entrepreneurs. Nov 1, 2012. <br />
<</span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span></u><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexlawrence/2012/11/01/five-customer-retention-tips-for-entrepreneurs/%3e%20Accessed"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexlawrence/2012/11/01/five-customer-retention-tips-for-entrepreneurs/<span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">> </span></span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Accessed</span></a><u><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Sept 8, 2015.</span></span><o:p></o:p></u></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Makovsky,
Ken. Where Customer Service Doesn’t Matter. Jan 23, 2014. <</span><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenmakovsky/2014/01/23/where-customer-service-doesnt-matter/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenmakovsky/2014/01/23/where-customer-service-doesnt-matter/</span></a><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">>Accessed Sept 8, 2015.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-11055341168506321072015-09-25T09:41:00.000-04:002015-09-25T09:42:16.648-04:00What Activities and Events Might Drive Customers to Your Tasting Room? Part 2<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=469761387848544006" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=469761387848544006" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 18.2px;">By Dr Kathy Kelley--Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, Abigail Miller--Master's student in the Penn State Plant Sciences Department, and Dana Ollendyke--Extension Associate</span><br />
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<br />
In part 1 of this series, we discussed survey results as to what activities and events respondents had the most interest. There are also other opportunities to make connections with local restaurants, cheese mongers, bakeries, chocolatiers, etc. For example, might one (or more) of these businesses create a small tasting plate that could be included in your “premier tasting option?” Or, could it be purchased separately for visitors to enjoy along with a glass of wine they purchase and consume at your tasting room? It is likely that some of your visitors would appreciate the opportunity to try a regional cheese with your wine.<br />
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Or, you could substitute the palate-cleansing crackers you provide to each taster with a few slices of bread from a local bakery. This is another great way to cross promote with other local businesses. While in Paris this last May, I participated in two separate tasting events at O-Chateau Wine Tasting & Wine Bar (o-chateau.com). Along with a breakdown of what my tasting fee would include (five still French wines and one Champagne, a two-hour session with an English speaking sommelier, and a private tasting room for no more than 12 participants), the description also alerted me that not only would bread be included, but that I would be tasting baguettes from the bakery that supplies items for the president of France. Though some participants might not consider this as being a benefit or anything special, others might find it appealing.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=469761387848544006"></a>With 70.2% of our participants responding that they would be interested in visiting a winery that offered “holiday events,” consider occasions that might be a good fit with your wine. Commonly celebrated holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, New Years, and religious holidays might come to mind quite easily, but don’t forget local holidays or events that may appeal to your tasting room visitors. For example, the neighborhood of Bloomfield (in Pittsburgh, PA) holds an annual Italian heritage festival called “Little Italy Days” (<a href="http://littleitalydays.com/">http://littleitalydays.com</a>). A winery tasting room could partner with a local Italian bakery to pair wines with Italian pastries. <br />
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While a “painting party/class” and “book clubs” were of less interest to our participants, it is possible that such events and activities might still be of great interest to your visitors. As with any new marketing idea or change you make, it is essential to make sure that “it” is a good fit for your business, then trial “it,” and finally evaluate “it.” <br />
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Just a few things to think about as you plan your future winery tasting room activities and events. You may want to even consider planning an event to celebrate Wine Tourism Day on November 7th (<a href="http://www.winetourismday.org/">http://www.winetourismday.org</a>). In its third year, the day is planned to encourage wine tourism businesses, including hotels and restaurants, to offer events as a way “to celebrate the importance (and fun) of wine tourism.” Another opportunity to raise your glass and celebrate!<br />
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<i>Additional Research & Thesis Advisory Team Members:<br /><br />• Jeffrey Hyde, Professor, Agricultural Economics, The Pennsylvania State University<br /><br />• Denise Gardener, Extension Enologist, Department of Food Science, The Pennsylvania State University<br /><br />• Brad Rickard, Assistant Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University<br /><br />• Ramu Govindasamy, Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Rutgers University<br /><br />• Karl Storchmann, Clinical Professor, Economics Department, New York University; Managing Editor, Journal of Wine Economics<br /><br />• Rob Crassweller, Professor, Professor of Tree Fruit, The Pennsylvania State <br /><br />University<br /> <br /><br /> The project “Developing Wine Marketing Strategies for the Mid-Atlantic Region” (GRANT 11091317) is being funded by a USDA Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program grant, whose goal is “to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.” For more information about the program, visit <a href="http://www.ams.usda.gov/">http://www.ams.usda.gov</a>.</i></div>
Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-34493664510907896352015-09-11T12:26:00.000-04:002015-09-11T14:10:22.572-04:00What Activities and Events Might Drive Customers to Your Tasting Room? Part 1<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; line-height: 18.2px;">By Dr Kathy Kelley--Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, Abigail Miller-- Master's student in the Penn State Plant Sciences Department, and Dana Ollendyke-- Extension Associate</span><br />
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In 2014, researchers at Penn State, Rutgers, Cornell, and New York University collaborated on a wine marketing study funded by the USDA. Data were collected through a 15-minute Internet survey (22-24 October 2014). Participants residing in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania were screened for not being a member of the wine industry, being at least 21 years old, and for having purchased and drank wine at least once within the previous year. A total of 977 participants qualified and completed the survey. <br />
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With approximately “81% of [Pennsylvania wine] sold directly from wineries” (<a href="http://bit.ly/1LygxFl">http://bit.ly/1LygxFl</a>), one of the issues we investigated in last year’s survey was what a winery could offer to encourage winery tasting room visits and increase the frequency of these visits. While, in some cases, we investigated broad categories and factors, we have plans to delve deeper in an upcoming survey to see what could motivate consumers to visit a winery tasting room and barriers survey participants feel prevents them from visiting. <br />
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<b>Interest in winery activities and events</b><br />
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Today’s visitors do much more than just taste the wine at a tasting room; rather, there are opportunities to tour the vineyard and the wine-making facility, participate in classes, attend festivals, and much more (<a href="http://bit.ly/1JtOEHK">http://bit.ly/1JtOEHK</a>). <br />
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<i>But should a winery go through the process of planning, implementing, and evaluating an event or activity? </i><br />
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Data from a study conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University and Sam Houston University showed that, for Texas wineries, there was “a positive correlation between wineries that offer services such as tasting rooms and tours and gross sales… [thus] the more tourism services a winery offers, the higher their potential for gross sales” (<a href="http://bit.ly/1NSBgRx">http://bit.ly/1NSBgRx</a>), <br />
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<i>OK, so, with all that could be offered – what activities and/or events might garner the greatest consumer interest? </i><br />
<br />
Though not an exhaustive list, we focused on activities and events that were more commonly found when we investigated wineries online and also based on popular press articles. As an example, an event that has been offered at some wineries and restaurants is a “Paint Nite,” during which attendees paint a certain picture by following an instructor while enjoying wine or other alcoholic beverages (for example, <a href="https://www.paintnite.com/">https://www.paintnite.com/</a>). We were interested in learning if this activity appealed to our participants, and, if so, how much. Below is a table with data pertaining to the level of interest our participants expressed based on the seven activities/events that we tested. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtwq6x0Y04Gneu0GnZUdF8f8y6xQfSn8B1HYvCIZATlJGotNWKqkqOqVqoYW-lQajw3QrMhOlIoT3Xs9MStLBxCLZTevLB-_0S1gGm2-UZ0n4tMuzk6cJnIQcy_w14q2PBpgGtODfMlYQ/s1600/Table+1.tiff"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtwq6x0Y04Gneu0GnZUdF8f8y6xQfSn8B1HYvCIZATlJGotNWKqkqOqVqoYW-lQajw3QrMhOlIoT3Xs9MStLBxCLZTevLB-_0S1gGm2-UZ0n4tMuzk6cJnIQcy_w14q2PBpgGtODfMlYQ/s400/Table+1.tiff" /></a><br />
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As you can see, “tasting events,” “tour of the winery and vineyard,” and “food vendors from local restaurants,” were the three activities that had the highest level of interest (86.3%, 83.0%, and 78.9%, respectively), and are often interdependent of each other. <br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=469761387848544006"></a>It makes sense that if someone is going to visit a winery tasting room that they would be interested in tasting the wine, but there are opportunities to offer “tasting events” that go a beyond the norm – perhaps they could be based on a theme, focus on your new release, be an exclusive tasting with limited seating, or your winery tasting room could be one of the stops on a local food tour. <br />
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And, although separate categories in our survey, winery tastings and tours are a natural pairing. Most likely you already offer a tour and subsequent tasting, but can you take your standard tour and split it up into several? The goal of this strategy would be to encourage even more frequent visits.<br />
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Château Élan Winery & Resort located in Atlanta, GA offers six different tour options, five are private and one is offered on a regular basis. While all six tours end in a tasting, each is unique with a different focus (<a href="http://www.chateauelan.com/">http://www.chateauelan.com</a>). The private tours focuses on each of the following: 1) the vat room, 2) the wine making process, 3) the vineyard, 4) an experience with the wine maker, and 5) a session on other Georgia food products. <br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=469761387848544006"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2WjUfN5m9z1OmF2Vuxzwh8h2x4ismcV4URUB_kkX_kvvM2VReZzl_eRni90-clUm8DbM4FG6OiHKonVen3obZa9ZL2cXyax-N2hyX15bpTENxRudtHMnvgJTaK_ApLszk_U-v0mJ4SXD/s1600/image+1.tiff"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2WjUfN5m9z1OmF2Vuxzwh8h2x4ismcV4URUB_kkX_kvvM2VReZzl_eRni90-clUm8DbM4FG6OiHKonVen3obZa9ZL2cXyax-N2hyX15bpTENxRudtHMnvgJTaK_ApLszk_U-v0mJ4SXD/s640/image+1.tiff" /></a><br />
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More data on winery activities and events will be discussed in part 2 of this series.<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<i>Additional Research and Thesis Advisory Team Members:<br /><br /><br />• Jeffrey Hyde, Professor, Agricultural Economics, The Pennsylvania State University<br /><br /><br />• Denise Gardener, Extension Enologist, Department of Food Science, The Pennsylvania State University<br /><br /><br />• Brad Rickard, Assistant Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University<br /><br /><br />• Ramu Govindasamy, Professor, Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Rutgers University<br /><br /><br />• Karl Storchmann, Clinical Professor, Economics Department, New York University; Managing Editor, Journal of Wine Economics<br /><br /><br />• Rob Crassweller, Professor, Professor of Tree Fruit, The Pennsylvania State <br /><br /><br />University<br /><br /><br /><br /> The project “Developing Wine Marketing Strategies for the Mid-Atlantic Region” (GRANT 11091317) is being funded by a USDA Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program grant, whose goal is “to assist in exploring new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products and to encourage research and innovation aimed at improving the efficiency and performance of the marketing system.” For more information about the program, visit <a href="http://www.ams.usda.gov/">http://www.ams.usda.gov</a>.</i>Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-64406557888004842042015-08-28T14:47:00.003-04:002015-08-28T14:47:52.223-04:00Looking at Yogurt Trends: Emerging Flavors and Styles<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">by <a href="http://aese.psu.edu/directory/sar243" target="_blank">Sarah Cornelisse</a>, Sr. Extension Associate, <a href="http://aese.psu.edu/" target="_blank">Dept. of Agricultural Economics</a>, <a href="http://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank">Penn State University</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Yogurt continues to enjoy strong consumer interest and demand. Retail sales are expected to continue to grow, though at a slower pace than years past; with sales from 2013 to 2014 showing an increase of 3.3% compared to an 11.3% increase from 2010 to 2011. Spoonable yogurt continues to dominate yogurt sales, at 93% market share, with consumers saying they are turned off from drinkable yogurts by the thick texture. However, yogurt drinks are still expected to see an 8% sales growth in 2015 (<a href="http://www.mintel.com/" target="_blank">Mintel</a>). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Flavors</u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While sweet fruit flavored yogurts will likely to remain dominant, savory, herbal, and floral flavors are emerging in the marketplace. <a href="http://bluehillyogurt.com/" target="_blank">Blue Hill</a> produces a line of savory flavored yogurt that includes carrot, parsnip, and butternut squash. Other new flavors on the market include green tea, rose petal, cucumber mint, and savory shallots.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: bluehillyogurt.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Styles</u></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: http://siggisdairy.com/products/</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the past few years, Greek style yogurt has been in a growth stage. Having now reached near maturity, new styles are entering the marketplace, enticing customers to try something new and different, yet the same. French, Bulgarian, Australian, and Icelandic are some of these "new" styles. As reported by research firm Mintel, one Icelandic yogurt brand experienced a 110% growth in sales from May 2014 to May 2015.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is an exciting time in the yogurt industry, both for consumers and producers. Farmstead and small processors have a great opportunity to carve out a niche and generate a consumer following by exploring these emerging trends.</span>
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Sarah Cornelissehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12135508639033896486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-79187003597707209262015-08-14T08:48:00.000-04:002015-08-14T08:54:05.722-04:00What is Cause Marketing? Part 3<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">This post will continue to outline some of the important topics to consider</span></span><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"> in deciding if a cause marketing plan is right for your business. (<a href="http://bit.ly/1IqQkkM" target="_blank">Post 1</a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/1Mf5HEd" target="_blank">Post 2</a> in this series have been published in previous weeks.)</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Promote that you are also accepting donations</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In addition to selling a product or two where the proceeds go directly to support the cause, let custom</span>ers know that they can also donate funds to the cause. You, as the business owner, may assume that consumers would automatically understand that there is more than one way to support a cause; however, it may not occur to consumers that they can make a donation in place of making a purchase.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Two separate strategies can be used to involve consumers in selecting the cause:</span></div>
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<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">ask consumers to nominate a cause and then vote on the one that will receive all the donations.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">This second technique is what <a href="http://bit.ly/1h7Sz6O" target="_blank">ONEHOPE Wine</a> has embraced. The brand donates half of all profits to a list of causes including: Cure Alzheimer’s Disease, Support Our Veterans, Save Our Planet, and several others. Each wine is associated with a specific cause. In Image 1, you can see that half of the profits for the 2009 Santa Barbara Reserve Chardonnay helps fund research to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Image 1.</b> Bottle of OneHope wine that benefits research to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Finally, employees should be asked to do more than just collect donations or indicate what purchases support the cause. Involve them in the process of selecting the cause and associated administration needed to support events or activities. The more employees support the effort, the more likely they are to alert customers that your business is involved in collecting donations to help those in difficult situations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">As with any new marketing program, it is very important to DO YOUR RESEARCH to determine if this is the right path for your business. </span></div>
Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-74555571704077705532015-08-07T10:57:00.000-04:002015-08-07T10:57:02.269-04:00What is Cause Marketing? Part 2<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #555555; font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Dr Kathy Kelley, Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, and Dana Ollendyke, Extension Associate</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The first installment in this series can be found <a href="http://bit.ly/1IqQkkM" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With so many local, national, and international causes already being supported by your customers’ g</span>enerosity, how can you compete with them and the businesses that sponsor them? Consider the following, which could help bolster your cause marketing program.</span><br />
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Make sure that the donation process is transparent </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For each dollar that you collect, you need to show how and where these funds were distributed. Consumers who do not see any progress associated with the money they donated may very well choose not to donate anymore. Be sure to indicate on your website, in your promotional activities, and in-store that money collected helps to do great things.</span><br />
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<span style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>Consider a cause that has a natural connection with your business </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Perhaps a member of your business has suffered from a disease that could benefit from a donation. If this is the case, ask him or her to be the “face” of the effort. In the Wharton Business School article <a href="http://whr.tn/1U7tcA8" target="_blank">"To Increase Charitable Appeal to the Heart-- Not the Head"</a>, it describes how consumers are more likely to donate to a cause if “presented with a personal case of an identifiable victim” through pictures and stories, “something that purely engages the emotional system”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">For example, we can all probably think of at least one product that dons a pink ribbon in honor of breast cancer research. One of the businesses that does so is J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines. The winery actually began partnering with cause organizers due to a family member’s breast cancer fight. Founder Jerry Lohr lost his wife, Carol, in 2008 and through sales of both J. Lohr Carol’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, the company had a <a href="http://bit.ly/1I9mLoK" target="_blank">2014 goal</a> of “providing over 4,000 mammograms to women who would otherwise be unable to afford them”. Certainly, the cause is worthy enough, but by associating a name, story, and image of Carol Lohr, we begin to associate the brand with a real family – not just a business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Image 1. </b>Screenshot of the J. Lohr Vineyards website that details their mission to provide mammograms to women in need.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://psuwineandgrapes.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/blog-photo-3.jpg" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2d4567; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><img alt="blog photo 3" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-372" src="https://psuwineandgrapes.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/blog-photo-3.jpg?w=479" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 5px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Or perhaps there is an environmental issue that greatly impacts your city/state/region. Sales from Crimson Pinot Noir, produced by Ata Rangi Vineyard (Martinborough, New Zealand) supports Project Crimson, “to protect and renew our spectacular red-flowering rata and pohutukawa – New Zealand’s iconic native ‘Christmas trees’.” Not only can consumers support the cause by purchasing this wine (Image 2), they can also purchase Northern Rata trees and plant them on their own property (Image 3).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b>Image 2. </b>Label showcasing the partnership with Project Crimson.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><a href="https://psuwineandgrapes.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/blog-photo-1.jpg" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2d4567; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="blog photo 1" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-373" src="https://psuwineandgrapes.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/blog-photo-1.jpg?w=479" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 5px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a><b>Image 3. </b>Sign advertising the sale of the rare Rata trees.<a href="https://psuwineandgrapes.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/blog-photo-2.jpg" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2d4567; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="blog photo 2" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-374" src="https://psuwineandgrapes.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/blog-photo-2.jpg?w=479&h=280" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; margin: 0px auto 5px; max-width: 100%; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline;" /></a></span><br />
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More considerations on creating a cause marketing program to follow in part 3 of this series!</div>
Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-16557355360730616722015-07-29T15:16:00.002-04:002015-07-29T15:19:48.557-04:00What is Cause Marketing? Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Dr Kathy Kelley, Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, and Dana Ollendyke, Extension Associate</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you seen advertisements like the one below (Image 1) where a portion of the profits benefits a charity or cause? The official definition of cause marketing from BusinessDictionary.com is "joint funding and promotional strategy in which a firm's sales are linked (and a percentage of the sales revenue is donated) to a charity or other public cause. However, unlike philanthropy, money spent in cause-related marketing is considered an expense is expected to show a return."</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Image 1. With every purchase of this tea, Teavana will donate $1 to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation.</span></b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img src="http://starbucksmelody.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2-1-IMAG2713-oprah-chai.jpg" height="327" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #555555; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Although profits should not be the primary reason for building a cause marketing program into your promotional plan, it is suggested that consumers “feel go</span><span style="background-color: white;">od” about spending their money on goods that support a cause. In 2013, Cone Communications (<span style="color: #333333; line-height: 16.7999992370605px;">a public relations and marketing agency) released their </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1gn4fTh">Social Impact Study</a>. Some interesting take-aways from that study include:</span></span></div>
</div>
<ul style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #555555; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; text-align: start; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white;">Over half (54%) of U.S. consumers “bought a pr</span><span style="background-color: transparent;">oduct associated with a cause” during a 12-month period ending in fall 2013, which was a 170% increase from 1993.</span></span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">A majority of consumers (91%) want “even more of the products and services they use to support [a] cause, and 88% want “to hear how companies are supporting social and environmental issues”.</span></li>
<li style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-source: initial; border-image-width: initial; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">If you are looking to better connect with Millennial consumers via social media, they are more likely to “use social media to engage with companies around [causes]” than the general population, 64% vs. 51%, respectively.</span></li>
</ul>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">This data is just the beginning of your research into determining if cause marketing is right for your business. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Our next post will focus on cause marketing program development. </span></div>
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Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-31504872539666566142015-07-14T08:28:00.004-04:002016-01-10T04:01:50.954-05:00Crowdfunding: An Exciting New Way to Fund a Project<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/directory/jse15">Juliette Enfield</a>,
Penn State Extension Educator, <a href="http://extension.psu.edu/warren">Warren Co.<o:p></o:p></a></span></b></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aJWT9QoVUF5wS2S7ob6vXc9NZTMdSCq_dighfqrHzJRQlYNLucqPHkNYHdT2jMLPIVhuGBhQybfays2HaR2_9PtWbu_zBsQbwCxyHUUUCv06c1Y_9CxJZBiyzvyPdEYeHbdXrlJYL6o/s1600/231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aJWT9QoVUF5wS2S7ob6vXc9NZTMdSCq_dighfqrHzJRQlYNLucqPHkNYHdT2jMLPIVhuGBhQybfays2HaR2_9PtWbu_zBsQbwCxyHUUUCv06c1Y_9CxJZBiyzvyPdEYeHbdXrlJYL6o/s320/231.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The success of any business depends on the crowd that supports it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Crowdfunding captures the essence of the entrepreneurial
spirit-that anything is possible. The size and scope of the projects on
crowdfunding sites are awe inspiring. In 2012, the JOBS –Jumpstart Our Business
Startups Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by the Obama
Administration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This Act eliminated
certain restrictions on how new startup businesses could be funded. Since 2012,
crowdfunding has become a term that many people are familiar with, but may not
have direct experience with. Have you ever considered crowdfunding for your
business? Perhaps you are uncomfortable with the high interest rates that may
be incurred with a loan, or maybe your credit isn’t the best and you are unable
to access a loan in the first place. Crowdfunding can work in a few different
ways. Investors can support a new business by buying a share in the business
(equity crowdfunding), making donations (donation crowdfunding), or lending
money (debt crowdfunding). According to </span><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancaldbeck/2013/06/23/crowdfunding-trends-which-crowdfunding-sites-will-survive/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Forbes.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
there are over 500 crowdfunding platforms online, so even if you understand the
basic fundamentals of how crowdfunding works, you will need to do some research
to find a site that will work well for you. Some sites have stronger
reputations than others, and some have easier access to customer service. Also,
many crowdfunding sites specialize in a certain type of project or industry.
For example, </span><a href="http://www.quirky.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Quirky</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> specializes in funding inventions
of new everyday tools, </span><a href="http://www.crowdrise.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Crowdrise</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> specializes
in charitable projects, and </span><a href="http://www.giveforward.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">GiveForward</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
specializes in funding medical expenses for people will illness. Another
difference among crowdfunding sites is how and when payments are received for a
project. For example, </span><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Kickstarter</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> only
accepts payments from investors if the project has been funded, and </span><a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Indiegogo</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> accepts payments from investors
regardless of whether or not a certain goal has been reached. Crowdfunding
sites charge a fee ranging from 7-12% of the total project cost, so this may
also influence your decision of which platform to use.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Crowdfunding for Farm
and Food Businesses<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://birchrunhillsfarm.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Birchrun Hills Farm</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">,
a dairy farm and cheese business in Chester County, PA successfully funded a
project to build a new cheese cave on </span><a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Kickstarter</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.
Kickstarter is a popular donation based crowdfunding website. Kickstarter projects
include film, music, art, design, technology, and food. I spoke with Sue
Miller, Birchrun Hills Farm business owner, about her experience with
Kickstarter. She chose Kickstarter because of the recognition of the site, she
liked the all or nothing philosophy of the site, and the fees were reasonable.
She also knew of other farm businesses that had success with the site,
including </span><a href="http://www.northmountainpastures.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">North Mountain
Pastures</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in Newport, PA, a meat CSA farm with a charcuterie business. Sue
ran a 30 day campaign in December 2014. For different donation levels, Sue
offered a variety of different prizes ranging from a hat with the farm logo on
it to private cheese and beverage pairing parties. She said the most popular
prize she offered was the chance to name a newborn calf on the farm. Sue
estimated that less than 5% of the people that were reached about the campaign
actually donated. Therefore, the campaign period is an intense marketing time,
and having a marketing strategy and a budget in place is essential. Sue said she
was delighted to see how the community supported her project, and now that the
campaign is over and she is building her new cheese cave, crowdfunding has helped
her expand her business network in the region and across the nation. For those
thinking about embarking on a crowdfunding endeavor, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sue recommend that they work for a year or so
prior to the campaign period to expand their social media network, since this
is the primary way crowdfunding campaigns are advertised. She also said that
next time she might consider hiring someone to run the campaign for her, so
that she would not have to run the farm and the campaign at the same time. You
can still view </span><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/993112740/birchrun-hills-farm-raise-a-cheese-cave/description"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Sue’s
campaign</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> on Kickstarter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tOEkko0c83EnvoMha2xdzAZbSSuezhwzCdTQD6X7NojmU63we6-e_jWA_edYZgywRN2ZanjNkOGLLrDJVzQ1HeuVv-RNBw2wiXrlDeQe43L3P2_5Z5ylu_GdHKATCRpHgGwKI6cqzpw/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7tOEkko0c83EnvoMha2xdzAZbSSuezhwzCdTQD6X7NojmU63we6-e_jWA_edYZgywRN2ZanjNkOGLLrDJVzQ1HeuVv-RNBw2wiXrlDeQe43L3P2_5Z5ylu_GdHKATCRpHgGwKI6cqzpw/s320/046.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What would you like to do next with your business? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another crowdfunding site that agricultural businesses
should know about is </span><a href="https://zip.kiva.org/"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Kiva Zip</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Kiva Zip is a
debt based crowdfunding site that offers 0% interest loans to funded projects. Kiva
was first created to help finance microloans to farmers and small businesses in
developing countries, but it has recently grown in popularity in the US with
small and beginning farmers. Kiva loans are especially well adapted to new farm
and food businesses because the loans are small, from $5,000 to $10,000, and
are therefore less risky. Once the money is lent, the business has 3 years to
repay the loan. The Kiva fundraising process has three tiers. First, the agricultural
businesses must be endorsed by a Trustee, a business or an individual
(non-family member) that will vouch for the character of a borrower. Then, once
the Trustee is in place, a network of friends and family (ranging from 10-30
contacts) must be the primary lenders to the project. This occurs during the
first 15 days that the campaign is launched. And finally, after this primary
network has lent to the project, the project is opened for anyone to lend. Kiva
projects are live for 45 days. Emily Keebler, Kiva City Pittsburgh Lead, says
that the first 15 days of fundraising is the most intense fundraising period. Emily
says that many businesses that have a successful lending experience with Kiva Zip
then become Trustees themselves for another business, and these small amounts
of money continue to support small businesses over and over again. </span><a href="https://zip.kiva.org/loans/2950"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Healcrest Urban Farms</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, a farm that
grows herbs and small fruits in Pittsburgh, PA successfully received a loan on
Kiva Zip to pay for the use of a shared kitchen and purchase of an ice cream
cart to start their popsicle business, TeaPops. </span><a href="https://zip.kiva.org/loans/1216"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">Good Work Farms, LLC</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, a vegetable
farm in Emmaus, PA received a loan on Kiva Zip to purchase draft horses for
plowing and lowering energy costs on their farm. </span><a href="https://zip.kiva.org/loans/12552"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">BEEBOY Honey</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, a beekeeper in Pittsburgh
received a loan to purchase more hives and a truck for honey deliveries. Kiva Zip
may be an option for your food business if you decide that offering rewards for
donations may be too much of a challenge and you would rather spend your time and
energy repaying a small loan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Be sure to do your research before choosing your
crowdfunding platform. Spend time looking at the projects that are out there. Create
a budget, marketing plan, and a clear, concise message about what you are
trying to accomplish. Have you had any experience with crowdfunding? Share your
comments and suggestions with us!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sources for this
blog:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Caldbeck, Ryan. Crowdfunding Trends: Which Crowdfunding
Sites Will Survive. Forbes.com. June 23, 2013. <</span><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancaldbeck/2013/06/23/crowdfunding-trends-which-crowdfunding-sites-will-survive"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancaldbeck/2013/06/23/crowdfunding-trends-which-crowdfunding-sites-will-survive</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">>
Accessed July 8, 2015.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.
Funding Opportunities. June 2014. <</span><a href="http://communitydevelopment.ces.ncsu.edu/funding-opportunities"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">http://communitydevelopment.ces.ncsu.edu/funding-opportunities</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Accessed July 8, 2015. <u><span style="color: blue; mso-themecolor: hyperlink;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pollack, Bridget. The Ins and Outs of Alternative Financing.
U.S. Small Business Administration Blog. June 4, 2015. <</span><a href="https://www.sba.gov/blogs/ins-and-outs-alternative-financing"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">https://www.sba.gov/blogs/ins-and-outs-alternative-financing</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">>Accessed
July 8, 2015.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-8828643176720438102015-07-10T14:16:00.000-04:002015-07-10T14:16:14.318-04:00Internet Tools to Help You Learn About New Markets, Part 4<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By Dr Kathy Kelley, Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management, and Dana Ollendyke, Extension Associate</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">In our </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1NlSc39" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #596544; line-height: 18.2000007629395px; text-decoration: none;">previous post</a><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; line-height: 18.2000007629395px;">, we discussed using </span><a href="http://bit.ly/1nY5P9T" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #fefdfa; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 0px; color: #2d4567; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Easy Analytic Software Inc (EASI)</a>,<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 21px;"> which </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 21px;">allows users to more easily search Census data. This post, which will be the final one in this series, will focus on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) reports from the </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 21px;">Small Business Development Center (SBDC).</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #555555; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">These reports are free of charge to prospective or existing small business owners who are receiving business-counseling services from their local <a href="http://www.sbdcnet.org/find-your-local-sbdc-office" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2d4567; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">SBDC Advisor</a>.</span></div>
<div style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #555555; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of the reports include:</span></div>
<ul style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #555555; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px 0px 1.5em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 30px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Competition maps—</b>These maps show the location of individual competitors in relation to a small business location.</span></li>
<li style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Competitor lists—</b>These lists can include a competitor’s company name, location, number of employees at each location, whether the location is a competitor’s single location or branch, estimated annual sales volume, the competitor’s NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) and SIC (Standard Industrial Classification) codes and a latitude and longitude coordinate.</span></li>
<li style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Consumer expenditure comparison reports—</b>These reports help clients evaluate the relative demand for their chosen industry within their local market area, county, state, and the nation.</span></li>
<li style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Drive time reports—</b>The time it takes to travel to a local store or restaurant can be a significant factor in defining the target market for a small business. These highly detailed maps show the geographic boundaries of a small business’ target market customized to the amount of time considered acceptable to the small business’ clientele (Image 1).</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #555555;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><b>Image 1. </b></span></span><strong style="background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #555555; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A sample Drive Time Map showing the market area that can reach a small business destination in Lakewood, CA within 10 minutes. </strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #555555; line-height: 21px;">(Contact your local SBDC for a customized map.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Certainly, this blog series doesn’t discuss all that is needed to better understand consumers’ attitudes, behaviors, etc. towards wine based on their race and ethnicity. It does, however, provide some tools that are useful in gathering data and learning about the population of racial and ethnic groups you could serve in your community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">There are other components such as the consumer’s level of “acculturation,” which is the “cultural modification of an individual, group, or people by adapting or borrowing traits from another culture” (<a href="http://bit.ly/1xEH2NK" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2d4567; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://bit.ly/1xEH2NK</a>). To demonstrate this point, we will use an example from Kathy’s family. Her sister-in-law was born in South Korea and came to the U.S. 15 years ago. As she has become more ingrained in U.S. society, some of her habits and preferences have become more “mainstream” American. Not only can food choices, etc. change over time, but as someone becomes “fully acculturated,” their language preference can change from their native language to English (<a href="http://bit.ly/1IxluaM" style="background: transparent; border: 0px; color: #2d4567; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://bit.ly/1IxluaM</a>) which could impact how you choose to promote your wine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Another component is to search the Internet for “wine and Asian culture,” “wine and Chinese culture,” etc. to learn about wine style preferences and how wine is consumed (e.g. wine and Coke or wine cocktails). Also, don’t forget to investigate what culturally significant holidays these consumers celebrate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Regardless, conducting adequate research is crucial when developing a realistic marketing plan. By finding out as much as possible about viable consumers, you will have a much better chance of understanding their needs and wants and hopefully gaining them as customers.</span></div>
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Dana Ollendykehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12323686480016353999noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469761387848544006.post-74333884736461758382015-07-01T14:23:00.000-04:002015-07-01T14:25:14.156-04:00Does the average age of Pennsylvania farmers threaten our agricultural industry?
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We see observations noting concern over the escalating
average age of our farmers. For example; the average age of a Pennsylvania
farmer was 51.6 years in 1940 and in the most recent ag census of 2012 the
average age is reported at 56.1. This article takes a closer look at data around
average farmer age with an eye to a better understanding of how average age may
impact farming and the food we enjoy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We find the 2012 Census of Ag reports Pennsylvania has
59,309 farms. The first table below shows the age distribution of the operators
of these farms according to Ag Census categories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3t2JgJysq-QuY7A5h2vsLwXapyIBmqrMpHchg8E6OyCqeUoYT13KAyV8uLlqmtmYufZAdqXIWFsLoHiOFMeFHiHYT3jnvl8P3-2iKqKJNY3InL0OFSBeNgZsGP87mCkc-ZWUWXyYhBr4m/s1600/age+range.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3t2JgJysq-QuY7A5h2vsLwXapyIBmqrMpHchg8E6OyCqeUoYT13KAyV8uLlqmtmYufZAdqXIWFsLoHiOFMeFHiHYT3jnvl8P3-2iKqKJNY3InL0OFSBeNgZsGP87mCkc-ZWUWXyYhBr4m/s320/age+range.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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"/><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Using the categories provided by USDA in this table we
can see that the largest number of farmers are over 64. This proportion is
slightly over 28% of the total. This causes concern because many feel the age
at which one should retire from productive work is 65. One piece of information
to note also in the above table is that 40% of our over 64 years of age farmers
list their principle occupation as something other than farming. If we include
all ages of principal farm operators we find 48% of Pennsylvania farmers have a
principle occupation other than farming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Exploring further using the data in the table below from
this same USDA Ag Census we find that the 28% of farmers over 64 have 29% of
the farm acreage and 22% of the farm income in Pennsylvania. While the farmers
between the ages of 35 and 54 have 36% of our farms with 35% of the acreage and
45% of the farm income.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDL5Itpxa7TJdhqZAxsCmaDvhMwRfOzGj5jztY3AWbu-UVGGT9r1x75uvtfchVGMR3q1spp14rs8C-lyUJf2R5XQfJA6oNsu3Y5SjNdkN9f8uV6KqOSuDo_9PNE03qXb7RD2dzpLs1fd6/s1600/age+acres+farms.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNDL5Itpxa7TJdhqZAxsCmaDvhMwRfOzGj5jztY3AWbu-UVGGT9r1x75uvtfchVGMR3q1spp14rs8C-lyUJf2R5XQfJA6oNsu3Y5SjNdkN9f8uV6KqOSuDo_9PNE03qXb7RD2dzpLs1fd6/s320/age+acres+farms.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In summary, while the number of farms controlled by
“retirement age” farmers is relatively large the majority of farm acreage and
farm income belongs to a lower age range of farmers. Additionally, nearly
one-half of Pennsylvania farmers are 54 years old or younger. We may also
remember that the wider U.S. labor force also has an increasing average age
compared to 1940. The 2013 research of C. Zulauf, University of Illinois tells
us the average age of farmers mirrors the average age of the broader work
force. Further checking<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bureau of Labor
and Small Business Administration statistics we find the average age of a
farmer compares closely to the average age of the owner of any small business.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This article adapts information first presented by
Kuethe, T. “We may not have an aging farmer problem after all”, farmdoc (5):27
and USDA, 2012 Ag Census.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
John Berryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03862624356359574004noreply@blogger.com