Regional Farmers Market Workshop Scheduled in Allen County

By Debbie Bearden, Allen County Farm Bureau

With the current economic situation, producers and consumers alike are looking for local, sustainable food sources.  Come catch a vision of how Farmers’ Markets can be an increasingly viable venue for fresh, locally grown food.  A free Farmers’ Market Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, December 3, 2011, at the Townhouse West Assembly Room, 217 N. Washington, Iola, KS, from 9:00 to 4:00 for all who are interested in vending, managing or anything in between.  A soup lunch will be provided.  Pre-registration is requested in order to provide all attendees with take-home materials and plenty of lunch. 

Workshops include “Production Techniques to the Lengthen the Garden Season” and “Consider Marketing at Farmers Markets a Business, Not a Hobby” with David Coltrain, K-State Research & Extension Agent, River Valley District, Horticulture and Community Development.  Katherine Kelly, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture, will present “Market Customers Eat With Their Eyes”.  Laura Christensen will talk about “Post Harvest Handling” and Eileen Nichols will share “Confessions of a Small Town Market Manager – working with vendors, volunteers and the community”.  Tracey Graham, Chapter Coordinator of the Our Local Food-Twin Rivers, will discuss “Electronic Bank Transfer at the Market” and “Rapid Market Assessment”.

Workshop partners include Allen County Farm Bureau, the Kansas Rural Center and the Our Local Food program with funding assistance from Kansas Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, Kansas Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, and the USDA Specialty Crop Grant Program, through a sub-grant from the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

For more information and to register, click here.