{"id":12540,"date":"2020-12-01T12:07:54","date_gmt":"2020-12-01T17:07:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/agriculture\/?p=12540"},"modified":"2020-12-30T12:39:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T17:39:00","slug":"farm-scoop-december-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/agriculture\/2020\/12\/01\/farm-scoop-december-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm Scoop – December 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Small Bites – Welcome the New Year and Learn Something for You<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Authored by Coach Polly Shyka<\/p>\n

Small Bites are short, informational articles with practical ideas about stress reduction, improved communication, and farm and family well-being. They are written by coaches from UMaine Extension\u2019s Farm Coaching<\/a> team. Farm Coaches are available at no cost to work remotely with farmers and farm teams.<\/p>\n

As the New Year approaches, put yourself into winter planning! As you tee up your spreadsheets and seed catalogs and dig into the predictable planning and analysis after the farm season, consider making a learning plan for yourself. Actually, two lists might be in order: one for farm related learning and research, and another that feeds some of your interests other than farming.<\/p>\n

The farm list should reflect some of your struggles in the last year. Pests, varieties, staffing issues. Or an area that you want to grow into. A lot of farmers in Maine are looking to learn more about de-colonization and racial justice. You could start a book group over Zoom with some of your farmer colleagues, or sign up for a workshop. We are missing each other in so many ways.<\/p>\n

Beware of the rabbit-hole effect that watching YouTube videos can lead to! Make a list. Make it reasonable with just 3 key ideas or interests you would like to explore and then tack it up for yourself. It is so fun to be a student.<\/p>\n

With podcasts and web-based learning opportunities sprouting faster than galinsoga in May, there are so many free and low-priced webinars, live web events and videos to take in. Throw in a book for good measure, of course, and have a great time getting smarter, kinder, more resilient. And Happy New Year~<\/p>\n

Looking for new ideas for personal and professional development? The farm coaches<\/a> can send you ideas based on your interests and goals.<\/p>\n

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Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference and Trade Show<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The 8th<\/sup>\u00a0biennial\u00a0Harvest New England Agricultural Marketing Conference and Trade Show<\/a>\u00a0which draws hundreds of farmers and farm industry members to idea-laden workshops and hear motivational speakers from across the region, will be held virtually for the first time. Mark your calendars now for February 24th<\/sup>\u00a0and 25th<\/sup>\u00a0and join your regional agriculturists for two half days of workshops!<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s conference theme\u00a0is\u00a0Diversifying for Agri-Businesses: Strategies for Weathering the Storms.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Kicking off the educational workshops on Wednesday, February 24th<\/sup>\u00a0at 8:45 am is conference keynote speaker and seventh generation farmer and author, Forrest Pritchard from Berryville Virginia. His talk, entitled\u00a0Lessons from 2020, Opportunities for 2021,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>will examine what the past year taught us not only about our operations, our markets and marketing, but most importantly, ourselves, and how farmers can use these lessons to sustainably pivot into 2021 and beyond.<\/p>\n

Five additional workshops will follow on Wednesday and Thursday. These workshops will include farmers and experts from across the region, with a focus on product and market diversification. Information about all of the workshops, including workshop descriptions and speaker biographies, can be found at\u00a0www.harvestnewengland.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Harvest New England is also developing a New England Farmers Market Managers Seminar to be held in conjunction with the conference. More details will be announced soon.<\/p>\n

Registration<\/a>\u00a0is now open, and in 2021, the conference will be offered at no cost to attendees. Harvest New England recognizes that this year has been unprecedented for producers in many ways, and feels strongly that now more than ever, it\u2019s important to provide agricultural businesses throughout the Northeast with the tools to remain viable, cultivate innovators, and foster the next generation of farmers.<\/p>\n

Harvest New England (HNE) is a cooperative marketing program created by New England\u2019s state departments of agriculture in 1992. It has sponsored this regional conference since 2007. For more information, go to\u00a0www.harvestnewengland.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Uprooting Racism in the Food System Training<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The\u00a0National Young Farmers Coalition<\/a>\u00a0with support from a NESARE grant is inviting farmers to participate in a\u00a0farmers only<\/b>\u00a0Soul Fire Farm<\/a>\u00a0“Uprooting\u00a0Racism in the Food System” training.<\/div>\n
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The training will be on\u00a0January 20th 1pm-4pm est<\/b>\u00a0with a few pre-readings to complete beforehand. This event is only for farmers.<\/div>\n

Register here<\/a><\/b>\u00a0 The password is SFF2021. Feel free to share with your network and register but please respect the farmers only space!<\/p>\n

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This is an incredible opportunity that can help you build sustained commitment to mutual\u00a0aid and racial justice into your business. I recently did this training and would be happy to talk about my experience with anyone considering participating!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Attract More Customers with a Strategic Farm Presence Online<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Are webpages still useful? Does Facebook drive sales in real life? What do hashtags do? What kinds of photos do customers respond to? What are good strategies for low-cost online sales\/marketing? What is Square and should I be using it? If you\u2019ve been struggling with questions like these for your farm, this course is a great starting place for you.<\/p>\n

Take our\u00a0Social Media & Online Marketing<\/a>\u00a0online course and learn how to build a successful online presence, grow your customer base, and sell more product.<\/p>\n

This course is for aspiring, new, or experienced farmers, but it assumes participants will be beginner to intermediate social media\/online marketing users who are interested in polishing and expanding their skills for increased social media traffic and online marketing for farm businesses. Students should have basic digital proficiency, including use of email, internet searches, and may already have some personal and\/or business social media accounts set up, including Facebook, Instagram, etc. The course is not geared to advanced online marketing users and\/or those who anticipate the majority of their farm sales to come from online sources.<\/p>\n

The course is designed to improve your understanding of social media, online marketing ideas and tools that may increase sales and increase awareness about your business. From experienced farmers and farm service providers, you will learn:<\/p>\n