North Ameica’s best farm
direct marketing conference is coming to Texas, and that’s good
news for Texas farmers and ranchers. More and more farmers and ranchers
are turning to nature tourism, agritourism and direct-to-consumer
sales to boost and diversify their income. The North American Farmer’s
Direct Marketing Conference and Trade Show will provide plenty of
ideas and networking opportunities to help further boost their bottom
lines.
The conference will be held Jan. 13 - 14, 2006, in Austin, Texas,
at the Hyatt Regency Austin. The conference includes a trade show
that will feature more than 40 exhibitors. The conference is part
of the annual convention of the North American Farmer’s Direct
Marketing Association (NAFDMA).
The convention, which rotates each year to a different part of North
America, is one of the premiere farm direct marketing events in the
world. Past attendees have come from as far as the United Kingdom,
Ireland, Japan and Australia. In addition to the two-day conference,
the convention includes a three-day pre-conference bus tour, a day
of intensive workshops and an advanced-level post conference bus tour.
The convention’s theme is Discover Potential. The goal is to
help farmers and ranchers discover potential in themselves, their
farms and the farm direct marketing industry. To achieve this goal,
NAFDMA brings together some the best speakers - including farmers
and ranchers - from the farm direct marketing industry.
“Farmers and ranchers in Texas and across the continent are
looking for ways to diversify in order to survive in their chosen
profession,” says Charlie Touchette, NAFDMA executive director.
“The focus of the conference this year is identifying where
some of the greatest potential is for success.”
The conference’s keynote address will delve deep into industry
trends. Keynote speakers Brent Warner and Ed Mahoney will help conference
attendees discover potential in a variety of areas. They’ll
share information in a lively way that is sure to inspire! Warner,
a direct marketing specialist with the British Colombia Ministry of
Agriculture in Victoria, B.C., and secretary of NAFDMA, is one of
the farm direct marketing industry’s leading experts. He is
co-author of Marketing on the edge: A Marketing Guide for Progressive
Farmers. Mahoney is an associate professor in the Department of Park,
Recreation and Tourism Resources at Michigan State University, East
Lansing, Mich. Both Warner and Mahoney are well known and highly respected
in North America’s farm direct marketing industry. Together,
they’ll tie the trends into many of the conference’s educational
sessions.
NAFDMA has asked several Texans to be part of the program. Pamela
and Frank Arnosky, Texas Specialty Cut Flowers/ Arnosky’s Farm,
Wimberley, will participate in two sessions. One will look at various
direct marketing options, and the other will feature the Arnosky family
as well as the Graff family, South Texas Corn Maze/7A Ranch, of Hondo.
Ken and Laurie Graff and their two children, Colin and Justina, will
join the Arnosky’s for a session called “Nurturing our
kids to Love the Farm (and Want to Stay!).” Debbie Davis, of
Bandera Grassland in Bandera, will participate in a session called
“Retail options for Direct Marketing Meat and Poultry.”
Adrew Skadberg, Advent GX, College Station, and Bill Hellen, La Mota
Ranch, Hebronville, will be part of a session called “Pass the
Binoculars.” Pamela Boyar, marketing manager of Suset Valley
Farmers’ Market in Austin, will participate in “Marketing
Your Market: Local, Regional and National Public Relations Campaigns.”
Andrew Smiley, Sustainable Food Center, Austin, will present “Boost
Your Business: Using the Internet for your Farm and Farmers’
Market.” Craig Christopher and Marjie Chrisopher, Rio Cibolo
Ranch, San Antonio, will both give presentations on different aspects
of their ranch.
All of these Texans will be joined on the program by dozens of other
speakers from throughout the United States, Canada and beyond.
The pre-conference bus tour will feature an unprecedented number of
different tour options, running the gamut from agritourism to on-farm
retail. The tour will be based at the Sheraton Gunter Hotel in San
Antonio. Tour options will include Farmers’ Markets; Animals
and Adventure; and Peaches, Plants and PYO. All tours will combine
educational tour stops with a little bit of local Texas Flavor. All
tours will stop at Wildseed farms in Fredericksburg as well as The
Farm Country Club in Bandera. Most tours will have luch in Luckenbach,
and they’ll all enjoy dinner at Pedrotti’s North Wind
Ranch in San Antonio. Each tour will have a limited number of buses.
Buses will be filled on a first-paid, first served basis.
A day of workshops will be held Thursday, Jan. 12, 2006. Workshops
will include a combination of beginner and advanced level topics,
such as Farm Direct Marketing & Agritourism 101, Farmers’
Markets 101, advanced Retail Detail and Interpretive Training: How
to Tell Your Story.
The post-conference tour will head further south for an intensive
two-day, advanced level tour. Participants will have an option to
extend their trip by three days.
For convention information, visit www.nafdma.com. Or, email info@nafdma.com
or call (413) 529-0386. Registration will be available on-line beginning
Oct. 1. An early registration discount is available until
Dec. 6.
