Marketing Archives | PA Farm Markets

Small Farm Social Media Magic

Gone are the days when social media could be an afterthought for a small farmer. If you have any direct contact with your consumers, social media needs to be an important step in your outreach, says Anthony Ndoca, a young grower turned consultant. “The ones that are marketing well are making it,” he says. “A […]

Customer Counts: How & Why

WHY: Customer counts are an important part of operating your market – in short; they are a simple way to track customer attendance and growth. If you know how many community members you are serving, this data can be taken to your town representatives, Municipality and local business owners to demonstrate the market’s community impact. […]

The Best Business Model for Today’s Markets

Many markets have rules and regulations for internal operations. While rules and regulations are important for setting guidelines for vendors at the market, they cannot be used when dealing with external business partners such as municipalities, businesses, or even customers. According to the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, more and more farmers markets […]

A Guide to Pricing for Direct Farm Marketers

Establishing product prices is a challenge for most direct farm marketers and value-added agricultural entrepreneurs. Producers often base prices on a single factor or resort to the equivalent of picking a price out of a hat. Yet pricing is an important decision that directly impacts the potential of the business to meet goals and ultimately […]

Tips for Selling at Roadside Stands

Roadside stands are physical structures located on a farm or along a nearby road where farmers sell produce, meat, eggs, dairy, or other products from the farm. The stands can be as simple as a small open-sided display with payment on the honor system, or as elaborate as a small grocery store. Click here to […]

Recruiting Producers

Creating an atmosphere of variety and abundance is extremely important in building a successful farmers market. A diversity of farm products, including a variety of fruits and vegetables, nursery stock, cheese, meats, eggs, seafood, herbs, wine, breads and other processed products will encourage shoppers to do the bulk of their grocery shopping at the market. […]

Top 10 Strategies for Farmers Market Vendors

By Eric Barrett and Hal Kneen, Extension Educators, OSU Extension. Based on a market research trip through New York State and New York City visiting fourteen farmers’ markets. Click here to download the Top 10 Strategies for Farmers Market Vendors PDF

Tools for Rapid Market Assessment

Most farmers’ markets lack information to make effective changes and improvements. We have designed three simple, low-cost methods to address the information gaps. Click here to download the Tools for Rapid Market Assessment PDF.

Social Media for Agricultural Businesses: Facebook

Facebook. It’s almost indispensable to a business’s marketing strategy. Facebook is whole-heartedly embraced as a marketing tool by businesses, government, and all types of organizations. Why is this? Primarily because Facebook has gained such popularity among the general population with folks from every demographic and the fact that it is free (except for ads and promoted posts, […]

PA Preferred

PA Preferred was created to ensure that Pennsylvanians are supporting fellow Pennsylvanians, our neighbors, friends, family. By purchasing products made in PA you are making a difference by restoring pride in our homegrown products and helping our economy. PA Preferred is a public-private partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and many companies throughout the […]

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