The Institute and its partners provide workshops on marketing, business planning, soil management, season extension, greenhouse construction and propagation techniques, and post-harvest handling in order to help agricultural producers provide a safe and growing food supply to Santa Fe and the region.
After the Harvest and leading into the 2012 winter months, the Institute will continue its Professional Development workshops for SFFM agricultural producers. Keep your eyes peeled!!
2011 Professional Development Classes:
Tuesday, February 22nd- How to Stand Out at the Market, a guide to effectively marketing yourself and your products at the Market .
The presenters for this workshop will be Deborah Madison, well known chef and author and a strong advocate for farmers’ markets across the country; T.C. Gritt, former produce manager for Whole Foods Market; and Daven Lee, Farmers’ Market vendor and owner of Milk and Honey Soaps. How to Stand Out at the Market will take a fresh look at how to market yourself and your product, be it produce, meat or value-added, to your intended market costumer. Deborah Madison, who shops at farmers’ markets across the country, will share best practices of vendors nationwide in how to attract attention to your booth through attractive labeling and informative signage. T.C. Gritt will talk about the importance of your table presentation to get customers to look your way. Her years of experience as store manager at Whole Foods will provide lots of tips about enhancing the look of your produce, meat or value added items. Daven Lee will talk about her experience at the Market in getting customer attention through product presentation and customer interaction. This workshop is designed to help you stand out in the crowd.
Thursday, March 10th- Business Planning and Record-keeping for Small Farms and Businesses,
The presenter for the Business Planning portion of the workshop will be John Garlish of the Bernalillo County Agricultural Extension. John grew up on a farm in the Midwest and has a good understanding of the need for good business planning and many techniques to share that are particular to farming, ranching and value-added businesses. The presenter for the Record-keeping portion will be Joanie Quinn. Joanie is the Marketing and Education Coordinator for the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission. Joanie understands that record-keeping is critical to a successful farming or business operation and knows that all too often, the temptation is to put the receipts in a big envelope and only look at them once a year. But it’s actually easier to keep track of your income and expenses on a more consistent basis, and Joanie will show you how.
Tuesday, April 5th- Soils Management, Making Your Soils Do What You Want Them To Do
Our presenter is Dr. Ron Godin. He is the Colorado Agricultural Extension Agronomist for Organic and Sustainable Agriculture at Colorado State University. He has given workshops at the New Mexico Organic Farming Conference and has established a reputation as a soil guru.
