Collaborating to access new markets
The "Collaborating to Access New Markets" workshop, offered by the UC Small Farm Program, will share ways small- and medium-sized growers can pool their resources to better compete in wholesale markets and other larger distribution networks.
When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., June 29
Where: 147 W. Main St. in Woodland (office of the Yolo County Housing Authority)
Topics of discussion will include:
- identifying growers' marketing needs
- history of the YoCal Produce Cooperative
- lessons from Tuscarora Organic Growers
- tips from Capay Valley Growers and Capay Valley Farm Shop
- discussing opportunities and future plans
For more information about this event, please visit http://ucanr.org/collaborating.
Registration for the workshop is $15 until June 24, or $20 at the door, and includes lunch.
The workshop is co-sponsored by the Yolo County Agricultural Commissioner and UC Cooperative Extension in Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Lake, Contra Costa, Sonoma and Marin counties.
Why collaboration?
"Many growers are trying to expand their markets, and they can’t do it all by themselves," said Shermain Hardesty, director of the UC Small Farm Program and agricultural economist at UC Davis. "By working together, small- and medium-sized farmers can save time and money. We’re not just talking about a vague concept, but talking about specific tools that can help farmers grow their businesses."
Featured at the event will be Jim Crawford, farmer and president of Tuscarora Organic Growers cooperative in Pennsylvania. Crawford has more than two decades' worth of experience leading a collaborative marketing service to sell to urban wholesale markets. Tuscarora Organic Growers is owned entirely by member farmers who share shipping and marketing costs to retail grocery stores, food co-ops and restaurants in the Washington, D.C., metro area. The cooperative currently works with more than 50 producers to distribute about 100,000 cases of fresh produce and flowers each year.
Also speaking at the event will be Dru Rivers and Andy Scott to discuss lessons learned from their experiences as founders of YoCal Produce Cooperative in California. Though no longer in operation, YoCal's decade of marketing collaboration served as a building block to many of the ventures that Capay Valley growers participate in today.
More information
For further details or to register, visit http://ucanr.org/collaborating.
Questions? Email paleff@ucdavis.edu or call (530) 752-7779.