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Whether you are a farmer, technical or business service provider, supplier, or a fan of farmers you don't want to miss the NH Women in Agriculture Conference coming to Manchester in February.

The keynote speaker is my friend, Dafna Michaelson, who will "knock the socks" off you with real stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Her keynote will include a supportive environment to grow business ideas that benefit community.

The conference doesn't stop with Dafna, it includes a farmer panel of three fantastic women that will share their experiences with starting and operating their businesses and how they connect to the land and their communities. Meet the panelists:

- Donna Ducharme, Snow Dragon Mountain Farm

- Mary Boucher, Boucher's Greenhouse

- Renee Cantara, New Roots Farm

Following that is the Value-Added panel with a group of entrepreneur panelists each owning and operating a value-added business. Meet the panelists:

- Jenny Chartier, Abigail's Bakery

- Jenny Taper, Via Lactea Farm

- Annette Lee, Throwback Brewery

The conference in on February 3, 2012 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Farm and Forest Expo at the Radisson Hotel and Conference Center in Manchester.

For more information and to sign up click here

I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to you, the readers of this blog.

Your commitment to being a socially and environmentally conscious business leader is an inspiration. You are the reason I work to help people like yourself to be successful.

Thank you and have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

In the final installment of the 2011 Meat Producer-Processor Workshop Series the focus will be on building stronger Northeast partnerships to serve the broader region.

The morning will start with a sneak peek of the New England Beef-to-Institution Marketing Study (which I have been working on with 3 collaborators - Rosalie Wilson, Louise Calderwood & Kate Rumley), which will be released later this fall. We will present some of the key findings and offer some recommendations as the research moves into the implementation phase of the initiative. A panel of producers, processors, distributors and institutional buyers, and moderated by Farm-to-Institution New England will offer some thoughts on accessing the institutional marketplace.

After the panel session the workshop will move to Westminster Meats for lunch and a tour of the processing facility. You can find more information and register online:

The event is FREE with preregistration – please register by September 5. Register Now!

Event Information

Date & Time: September 10, 2011, 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM EDT

Location: Southeastern Vermont Community Action, 91 Buck Drive, Westminster VT.

For more information go to vtblogspot.com

Sponsors: VT Agricultural Innovation Center, VT Agency of Agriculture Foods & Markets, NOFA-VT, UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Southeast VT Community Action, Westminster Meats, John Merck Fund, Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Maine Department of Agriculture, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, New Hampshire Department of Agriculture Markets and Food, and Rhode Island Division of Agriculture.

Register by September 5. Register Now!

Image by Melissa Hemken

The theme for the event is Social Media in Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Register Here

In addition to remarks from Idea Greenhouse founder Tom Elliot and SMBNH founder Leslie Poston three speakers will share how they use social media to build and promote their startups.

Mike Behrmann from Revolution Energy

Josh Cyr, founder of Alpha Loft

Amy Hall from Granite State Dairy Promotion

Here is the agenda:

8:30 - 8:58 a.m. - Networking and Breakfast

8:58 - 9:00 - Opening Remarks by SMBMH Founder Leslie Poston

9:00 - 9:05 - Sponsor Remarks by Idea Greenhouse

9:05 - 9:25 - Josh Cyr, Alpha Loft

9:25 - 9:45 - Michael Behrman, Revolution Energy

9:45 - 10:05 - Amy Hall, Granite State Dairy Promotion

10:05 - 10:30 - Group Q&A with all speakers.

Be sure to sign up to attend. Online signup closes on June 21, 2011

Directions and Parking info at this link

Is Your Community Empowered to Save Farming?

When communities keep farming the local economy benefits, local healthy food is available and community character and open space is preserved. However, many factors are affecting the ability of farms to run as successful businesses. A lack of affordable agricultural land, the costs of production including fuel, taxes, and supplies, a lack of infrastructure for processing, marketing, and distribution, and increases in local, state and federal regulations. Communities are concerned as they see their farms going out of business.

Glynwood's Keep Farming Program is founded on the principle that the best solutions to a community's problems come from within the community itself. This community driven and data focused process is geared to the development of well-researched, practical strategies. Economic information gathered through original survey work provides a more comprehensive picture of how the food we eat is produced, processed, distributed and consumed. It also enables a clearer picture of the true economic impacts of farming and local food in the community than is possible with traditional data sources.

Please join us on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, at the Idea Green House in Durham, NH from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. EST as Virginia Kasinki, Director of Community Based Programs will present an overview of the Keep Farming Program and we will discuss how farmers, food and agricultural stakeholders, representatives of municipalities, Agricultural Commissions and interested citizens can work together to address the questions:

What role do we want farming to play in the future of our community, and how can we make it happen?

To Register for this FREE Event:

Online Go to Keep Farming

When: Tuesday May 24, 2011 from 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 PM

Where: Idea Greenhouse, 8 Jenkins Court, Durham, NH on the 4th Floor

For More Information about the Keep Farming Program go to the Keep Farming page on Glynwood's website.

Rose Wilson, business and marketing consultant based in Norwich, Vermont has been selected as the project leader of the New England Beef-to-Institution Marketing Study.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets, the Vermont Agricultural Innovations Center and the State Agricultural Departments and Agencies of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire are collaborating in a joint effort to research and develop the implementation plan for regional marketing of locally produced ground beef to New England institutions. In addition, the Rhode Island Division of Agriculture, Healthcare Without Harm, the Northeast Farm-to-School Network and Harvest New England are providing organizational support to encourage the regional effort.

The goal of the study is to support sales of New England-grown food and agricultural products through various channels to reach local consumers. The implementation plan developed from the study will be a resource for producers, distributors, institutional buyers, state departments of agriculture, and other partners in the sourcing and utilization of regionally raised beef.

The consulting team on the Marketing Study consists of senior level talent across a variety of disciplines. The team includes Rose Wilson as the project leader, Charlene Andersen of Kamigo Marketing LLC as coordinator of institutional market research, communications and social media, Louise Calderwood lead distribution channel researcher, and Kate Rumley as research assistant. Policy Analyst Doug Hoffer will assist with development of effective survey questions and statistical verification of the research results.

For more information contact Chelsea Lewis Vermont Agency of Agriculture (802) 828-3360; Chelsea.Lewis@state.vt.us

Meet me in Augusta Maine.

I'll be heading to Augusta Maine next week so if you want to Take Charge of Your Marketing for your business, meet me there. This talk is part of the Greenhouse Growers' Program at the 2011 Maine Agricultural Trades Show. The Trades Show runs from January 11-13, 2011 with tons of informative presentations and exhibitors and lots of time for some fun and networking.

Here are the details:

WHEN: January 12, 2011 at 10:30 a.m.

Where: Augusta Civic Center

Description: Stop waiting for customers...take charge! Gain a greater understanding of your customers, open doors to new ideas and products, and learn to identify market needs. You'll walk away with low cost actions you can easily put in place.

Here's what a few participants have said about other presentations I've given:

"The information that Charlene presented was focused on one element (Marketing) which allowed me to hone in on my needs and develop a workable plan for my business."

"Useful marketing initiatives. Outstanding information which can be used immediately to ramp up my business."

"I started writing my list of my perfect customers during the break! I never knew it could be that easy."

Hope to see you there!

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