Poultry and Egg Production Sessions Slated for Kansas Farmers Market Conference for Vendors

Update: Three new meat producers sessions have been added! Read the descriptions below.

Market managers say their vendors are unable to keep up with the demand for locally-raised, farm fresh eggs. If this is the case at your market, it may be an opportunity to increase the diversity of your farm and market stall.

Betsy Conner, an ATTRA research specialist specializing in sustainable poultry, will share what it might take to become a small-scale egg producer at this month's Kansas Farmers Market Conference for Vendors on January 30 at the Flint Hills Technical College in Emporia.

Betsy will also explore the potential of slow-growth broilers to set your product apart from others in the poultry market.

 ATTRA has several excellent poultry publications on its livestock resource page.

Betsy Conner is an ATTRA research specialist specializing in sustainable poultry.  She received a B.S. in Poultry Science from the University of Arkansas.  Her farming experience includes raising pastured broilers and layers for market and CSA and market gardening.  She farms with Farm Girl Natural Foods in Perryville, AR.

The following sessions will be offered at the conference:

Small Scale Egg Production
Betsy Conner
Thinking of getting into small-scale egg production or increasing the size of your existing flock?  Learn the bare bones of egg production including production systems, breed choices, egg handling, marketing, and resources. 40 minutes

Niche Poultry Production: Slow Growing Broilers
Betsy Conner
Slow growing broilers can be a great niche pastured poultry market opportunity. Learn about slow growing broilers including differences between slow and fast growing broilers, budget, resources, and marketing options. 30 minutes

Meat Marketing Displays at Kansas Farmers Markets
Rosanna Bauman
A kaleidoscope of Kansas farmers market meat vendor' display techniques interpreted by KRC's Farmer Educator Rosanna Bauman. Vendors showcasing multiple meat species, niche and value-added meats will be critiqued for displays exhibiting character, signage and sidelights. This session in followed by a brief look at profit keys that will support the demand generated by good displays. 30 minutes

Meat-mathics 101: A profits and pricing survival guide for meat producers drowning in numbers
Rosanna Bauman
Why is someone who is notorious for poor record keeping giving a talk on record keeping? Because the Baumans can tell you the horror stories of not keeping records and the necessary systems they use to track their eleven on-farm enterprises. The operators of Cedar Valley Farms share their simple systems for profit and cost assessment, cash flow analysis, and value increasing. 30 minutes

Stop the Meatball Slingin': Producer/Processor Relationships
Rosanna Bauman
A successful direct marketing meat business must have good relationships with its processor/butcher. The future of many processing facilities is dependent on local meat producers. As a diversified meat producer from Bauman's Cedar Valley Farms, Rosanna also has experience as a poultry processor with her family's USDA-certified ANCO Processing facility. Get the scoop on how to improve and strengthen the relationship with your processor. 30 minutes

Register for the 2010 Kansas Farmers Market Conference for Vendors