Released: January 11, 2007

Kansas Farmers’ Market Conference Slated for Feb. 5 at in Topeka

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Farmers’ market managers and vendors both can attend tracks targeted just for them Feb. 5 during the 2007 Kansas Farmers’ Market Conference.

Themed “Cultivate and Grow Your Market,” the conference will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Marvin Auditorium at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. Admission is free. The cost for breaks and lunch on-site is $10, due by Feb. 1.

(The Web calendar at http://www.kansassustainableag.org/calendar.htm links to the conference brochure and registration form.)

The event’s keynote and closing speaker will be former Kansan Larry Johnson, who now is a farm management consultant, a cut flower producer, and manager of the Dane County Farmers’ Market. The DCFM has 300 active members and a waiting list of some 75 more growers. One of the largest producer-only markets in the nation, the DCFM is uniquely located on the grounds around the Wisconsin State Capitol in downtown Madison.

Other featured speakers will include Pat Randleas – manager of the Old Town and East Side Farmers’ markets in Wichita – who will address chefs’ teaching customers how to use farm products. Steve Moris, Kansas Department of Agriculture, will discuss keeping produce and other foods safe at farmers’ markets.

Jerry Jost of the Kansas Rural Center will open the conference with a sampling of news and ideas from Kansas farmers markets. He also will coordinate the break-out sessions for market managers and board members.

That track will include a round-table discussion, as well as presentations on “Harvesting Lessons from a Decade of Managing a Small Farmers’ Market,” “Cultivating the Best Practices in Managing a Market,” and “Electronic Benefits Transfer Program.”

Becki Rhoades with the Kansas Department of Commerce will facilitate the vendors’ track, which will include sessions on “Farmers’ Markets: A Family Affair” and ‘Growing Relationships with Your Customers.”

Conference sponsors include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency, USDA’s North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Program, Kansas State University Research and Extension, the Kansas Department of Commerce, the K-State based Center for Sustainable Agriculture and Alternative Crops, and the Kansas Rural Center.

For more information, vendors and managers can contact Jerry Jost by phone (785-766-0428) or e-mail (jjost@myvine.com).

-30-

K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News