2011 Louisiana Farmers Market Conference

Agenda

Rayne LA September 7, 2011

7:30 to 8:45 Breakfast, introductions, networking with interactive dot surveys

8:45 to 9:00 BREAK

9:00 to 9:15 Welcome - Commissioner Strain, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry

9:15 to 10:15 “Ensuring Sustainability in the System: A National Overview of Risks & Opportunities in the Farmers Market Sector” Stacy Miller, Executive Director, Farmers Market Coalition

10:15 to 10:30 BREAK with Dot Surveys

10:30 to 11:45 Market Integrity and the Producer Connection (Multiple Presenters)

“Food Safety Protocols” Emery Van Hook, Crescent City Farmers Market
“Farmer Relations and Recruitment” Renee Schmitt, LSU AgCenter
“What it Takes to Get to Market” Brian Gotreaux, Gotreaux Family Farms
“MarketMaker and MarketReady” Kathryn Fontenot, LSU AgCenter

11:45 to 12:00 BREAK with Dot Surveys

12:00 to 1:00 Networking Lunch with Learning Clusters

1:00 to 2:15 Panel: Relationships as a Risk Management Strategy Facilitator: Stacy Miller
“Forging Community Partnerships” Jean Hamilton, NOFA-Vermont
“Expanding Markets Reach” Darlene Wolnik

2:15 to 3:00 “Lessons Learned from an Eight Year Old Market” Ann Montgomery, German Coast Farmers Market
3:00 to 3:15 BREAK with Dot Surveys

3:15 to 4:00 Facilitated discussion: Select one group:
"Telling the Affordability Story" with Jean Hamilton, NOFA –VT, who will lead the discussion with a presentation of the recent price comparison studies.
“SNAP, FMNP, EBT, oh my!: Making Nutrition Programs Work in Your Market” with Emery Van Hook, Crescent City Farmers Market and Sheila White, Louisiana WIC State Agency
“Market Events — “Getting the Local Foods Message to the Public” facilitated by Copper Alvarez and Darlene Rowland, Red Stick Farmers Market

4:00 to 4:45 Conference Review, Strategizing for the future, Next Steps

Registration form

Louisiana Farmers Market Conference
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7TH 2011
(Location: Chef Roy’s Frog City Cafe, Rayne, La)
Registration Form
(Please fill out one form per person)
Name _________________________________________
Farmers market___________________________________________________________
Farm business (if applicable) _________________________________
Address ______________________________________________
City, State, Zip Code _________________________________________
Contact information: Phone _______________Email: _____________________________
(An e-mail address or telephone number will be used to send any updates)
Do you need a vegetarian lunch option (circle)? YES NO
Return the completed registration form to:
Amy Blanchard, LSU AgCenter School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences 155 J C Miller Hall Baton Rouge, LA 70803 FAX: 225 578 1068 ablanchard@agcenter.lsu.edu

Farmers Market Conference Attendees

Graph of attendees to the 2011 Louisiana Farmers Market Conference:

Conference Day Survey-Attendee Satisfaction

This survey was handed out to attendees during the last workshop to be filled out and dropped in the ballot box at the end of the day.

Louisiana Farmer’s Market Conference Survey Rayne, LA • September 7, 2011
Sponsored by the Louisiana State University AgCenter with funding from USDA AMS Farmers Market Promotion Program

Tell us about yourself: Name: (optional) __________

Affiliation:

Where are you from? (Parish/ Zip Code):

□ Farmers Mkt Manager □ Farmer □ Vendor □ Educator

Agricultural Professional □ Extension □ Researcher □ Other

Please rate the following on a scale of 1 ─ 5, with 1 the lowest and 5 the highest:

Was this conference worth your time and effort to attend?

What did you like most about the conference?

What did you like least about the conference?

Did you find this conference useful for your market or farmers/producers?

○ Yes ○ No

If yes, please specify some of the ways you plan to use the training:

Please comment on ways that the conference has contributed to and/or changed your professional knowledge and attitude:

Please offer any recommendation on how we can improve this training:

Would you recommend the conference to a colleague, yes or no? Please explain.

Do you think that Louisiana needs a statewide farmers market organization? ○ Yes ○ No

Do you think that there should be an annual Louisiana Farmers Market Conference? ○ Yes ○ No

If yes – what location, time of year, day of the week would you suggest? Location:_______________________Time of year: ___________Day of the week _______

What you be interested in participating in a listserve to communicate with other Louisiana farmers markets? ○ Yes ○ No

Please provide any additional comments, critiques or questions you have concerning this conference.

Thank you.