Project Description:
This project supported a series of speaker seminars structured to enhance profitability, promote networking, and provide opportunity to explore new marketing ideas and strategies, investigate new trends in farm diversification, agri-food, agri-tourism and farmers markets.
Project Objective:
This initiative allowed producers to become more customer-focused, to find out what customers need and want, and focus their efforts on meeting those needs. This approach aimed to create profit opportunities through customer-focused direct marketing rather than product focused mass marketing.
Performance Story:
Concerns about healthy eating and food safety are motivating consumers to find the direct link between the food they eat and the farmers who produce it. As opportunities to direct market food and non-food products is gaining momentum, Manitoba fruit growers require new and innovative ways to market to an increasingly health conscious customer.
This project's farmer markets seminar provided attendees with information on how to enhance success of selling fruit at farmers markets plus production and marketing data on two emerging fruit crops; Sour Cherry and Haskap.
A second seminar led participants to explore the potential of geo-caching as an agri-tourism opportunity. They also learned about adventures/experimental travel options they could implement.
Exit surveys revealed some participants had not attended direct marketing seminars in the past and that a number of respondents were planning alternative revenue options on their farms such as farm holidays and hunting. In addition, MAFRI staff gave presentations regarding value chain development, upcoming related events, and how to capitalize on networking opportunities.
One of the three events in this seminar series was cancelled due to low registration numbers and logistics issues. The two sessions that were held attracted a total of 75 attendees, most of whom were producers.
