Value-Added Workshop/Roundtable Series

Turn your idea into a marketable product! Four weeks of one-day/week intensive classes to learn all you need to know in order to extend your market season through value-added products.

Who: Farmers, chefs, passionate foodies, current and/or wannabe food processors

What: A fun and fact-filled opportunity to learn, network, and develop your own concept for value-added specialty crop products.

Why: Because you can! Value-added products, with shelf life for year round sales that you can market directly can generate higher profits. Besides- it will be FUN!

Value-added processing is sometimes most feasible in partnership with other producers or appropriately-scaled processors due to infrastructure and labor costs.  Based on our past successes using small roundtable formats, we will conduct a series of roundtables with 12 -18 people at each.  Farmers and small processors will be included together to share ideas, experiences and knowledge to develop self-sustaining teams to mutually support each other’s efforts.  One of the biggest challenges to farmers expanding their businesses into value-added processing is lack of knowledge of the resources available, the potential benefits and potential risks, and the steps to get started.  The target beneficiaries for this project will be small and midsized fruit and vegetable producers and small and midsized food processors (YES, chefs, you too can be processors!) that may be partners or provide co-packing for the farmer/entrepreneur. For those interested and willing to make the commitment, diverting part of their crop into direct sales or value-added processing will diversify their revenue, reduce market risk, and give them greater control over their markets, pricing and the bottom line.

Our primary objective is to help specialty crop producers and processors increase their total farm or business income and to be more profitable and economically viable. We expect that all participants will gain knowledge and access to resources that will allow them to improve their business operations and marketing outlets which will benefit their profitability. We also expect that the project will benefit existing and new processors who may partner with growers, or develop new product ideas using specialty crops acquired from these growers.

Some of the topics will include:

- Benefits to the producers of directly marketing their product

- Opportunities to develop unique or added value, processed products

- Critical steps in developing a value added product

- Commercializing a product

- Marketing and market research

- Food Safety

- Sources of knowledge and expertise

- Financing

- Co-packing options

Register now at: http://valueaddedseries.eventbrite.com.

When	Apr 24, 2012 04:00 PM to May 15, 2012 10:30 PM
Where	Mt. Vernon
Contact Name	Fred Berman
Contact Email	fberman@agr.wa.gov
Contact Phone	360-656-5063
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