Making ‘Hay’ – Reaping Profits: Marketing Strategies for Family Farms

In a recent survey by Ohio State University, 80% of Ohioans would prefer to eat locally grown foods. To serve these emerging markets well, there is a need to develop systems for marketing and distribution that maintain farm profitability while providing citizens with a secure food supply.

Family farmers are invited to attend Making ‘Hay’-Reaping Profits: Marketing Strategies for Family Farms, a special joint annual conference of Innovative Farmers of Ohio and the Ohio Forage and Grassland Council on January 17 and 18, 2003 at the Dan Emmett Conference Center in Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The conference will begin by exploring emerging marketing opportunities for family farms: from institutions, and restaurants to direct marketing, and how farmers can develop infrastructure to serve these markets. On January 18, the conference travels from the marketplace back to the farm, with speakers on grazing management, whole farm systems, and hay production.

Presenters from Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio with ‘on the ground experience’ have been invited to provide farmers with the practical information that is the keystone of both organizations.

FOR FULL CONFERENCE INFORMATION, INCLUDING REGISTRATION, VISIT: www.ifoh.org