North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Convention
v. (grÖ west) a direct marketing journey of innovation and inspiration through Alberta's historic Cowboy Trail
| REGISTRATION |
Track: Advanced Learning
Authenticity in Farm Direct Marketing and Agritourism
Joe Pine is the most prominent speaker NAFDMA has ever presented. As the author of Mass Customization: The New Frontier in Business Competition and co-author of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage with his partner at Strategic Horizons LLP, James Gilmore, his ideas have taken the business world by storm and elevated him to the top echelon on the speaking circuit.
Even Joe Pine would acknowledge that our little niche industry of farm direct marketing has been leading the way through the era of The Experience Economy. One of his favorite examples is of his own daughter’s birthday party experience on a working farm. But is our flourishing agritourism industry poised to remain on the cutting edge? Are we overcoming our own challenges associated with liability, regulations, and enterprise development in the most advantageous ways possible? In this keynote address, Joe Pine will address issues such as these from his forthcoming book – soon to be on the shelves of bookstores everywhere – on authenticity in business. You won’t want to miss this sneak peak at Joe’s latest ideas and frameworks, for thinking about what authenticity means for your business could have a huge impact on your future sales.
Are plywood cows and double-fenced barnyards in this industry’s best interests? Do zip lines and merry-go-rounds really depict the image of the farm? They might, but take great care in how they are incorporated to your individual business. Are those apples or pumpkins in the retail market really grown on your farm? And how might you best explain those bananas without confusing the issue? Believe it or not, these types of questions are not unique to our universe of agritourism, on-farm retail, and farmers’ markets. In a world of paid-for experiences, consumers increasingly question what is real and what is not. As a result, authenticity is becoming the new consumer sensibility, often determining what offerings consumers buy and who they buy them from. Increasingly, they no longer accept the fake from the phony; they want the real from the genuine.
The Experience Economy is still as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1999. If you haven’t read it yet, do so before coming to the conference so you can take full advantage of the new ideas from the fertile brain of Joe Pine. Authenticity in Farm Direct Marketing and Agritourism will give you actionable insights into the next step of consumer sensibility. Those who attend the 2007 NAFDMA Convention will be among the first anywhere to hear how your business can render its offerings authentic. If you haven’t decided to do so yet, plan on attending Grow West to stay on the cutting edge!
Keys to Profit
- Rick Turner
A presentation which will equip you with the tools and ideas to pay for the total cost of the conference within the next hour, guaranteed!
Exploring the 5 keys to profit with examples and ideas which can be brought into your business today and increase your profit by 61% in the next 12 months. Rick Turner, a farm retailer and voted as one of the top 3 UK farm attractions for the past three years, has seen profits quadruple in the past four years and now spends 30% of the year away from the business, whilst his teams drive his business forward to greater heights.
Brand Success -- Branding a Legacy
- Jim Hole
Holes’ Greenhouses and Gardens Ltd is a home-grown, Alberta farm-direct marketing success story. This second generation retail
operation that began as a roadside stand now has it all – the largest retail greenhouse in Western Canada with services ranging from
floral design to commercial planting, a publishing arm that produces books, magazines and online communications, and some of
the most knowledgeable, well-trained staff in the horticultural industry. Discover how Hole’s determined their difference, created
an identity, developed a brand and built an enduring market niche. Jim Hole, critically acclaimed speaker, broadcaster and author,
offers customer service and marketing tips that work.
The Very Models of the Modern Direct Marketer
- Speakers soon to be announcedAttract, Reward & Retain Employees That Work!
Please join us for a very special session. Three outstanding farm direct marketers from across North America will take the stage to share their insights and experiences. These three marketers have already been selected as finalists for NAFDMA's annual Farm Direct Marketer of the Year award. They are the real deal. They will describe their farms, their promotions and merchandising schemes, and their marketing strategies. They'll also share the means by which they measure their own success.
Come prepared to learn from the best of the best in the business. It's your chance to listen, learn and even pick their brains a little during the Question & Answer portion of the session. And as part of the judging process, it's also your chance, for the first time ever, to help select the Farm Direct Marketer of the Year. All three presenters have already won. Every one of them is a premium practitioner. Now, they’ll need to demonstrate their best marketing skills for you if they are to be the one and only Farm Direct Marketer of the Year!
- Lori Colborne
Lori Colborne’s dynamic and informative seminar will motivate and empower you to take your team to the next level of success!
All managers exist to serve their staff by challenging, motivating, giving direction and problem solving.
Creative Recruiting
- Innovative Methods That Produce Peak Performers
- Keeping the Lines of Communication Open
- Feedback – Food for Thought
- Problem Solving Savvy
- The Fun Factor
- Earn Employee Loyalty
Making Good Decisions to Grow Your Business - Jan Vala
People come to the farm to shop, eat, and be entertained. We will present entertainment ideas from Vala's Pumpkin Patch that keep the customers coming back year after year.
Making Good Decisions to Grow Your Business - Tim Vala
People come to the farm to shop, eat, and be entertained. We will present entertainment ideas from Vala's Pumpkin Patch that keep the customers coming back year after year.
Team Motivation and High Impact Team Performance
- Rick Turner has been shepherding his flock at The BIG Sheep. You might think of it as managing by a maverick at the UK’s top tourist farm, which features events from Sheep Racing to Duck Trialling, as well as farm retailing, farm foods, an in-house brewery and a plant center.
Rick will share with you what the world’s best managers do differently and the keys to a great workplace.
Track: Professional Development
Agritourism: The Sleeping Giant is Rising in North America
Canada’s ‘Best of Show’ – This showcase will highlight some of Canada’s leading, innovative agri-tourism operations. Business owners and agriculture tourism professionals from the Canadian Agritourism Working Group (CATWG) will collectively highlight some very unique operations from coast to coast. Learn how imagination and business savvy allowed several totally different agritourism operators to become successful on a local, national and in some cases international level.
- Claire Hanlon-Smith
Claire is presenting on behalf of Sugar Moon Farm, highlighting their unique approach to agri-tourism. Sugar Moon provides visitors an opportunity to learn about maple syrup production and processing through their Economuseum. They also offer visitors a chance to taste delicious maple products by dining at their all-day maple breakfast or by enjoying one of their special chef nights.- Pierre Pellerin
Learn how the Pellerins transformed a newly purchased farm into one of the top lavender farms in the world in less than 10 years. After purchasing the farm, several major setbacks and years of research and meticulous work, they finally produced and planted more than 110,000 lavender plants, each one selected individually. Bleu Lavande opened its doors to the public in July 2004 and attracted over 32,000 visitors to tour their farm, learn about the production and visit their gift store. In 2006, they plan to increase the total number of plants to more than 200,000 and expect to see more than 70,000 paying customers. Pioneers in growing lavender in Quebec, Bleu Lavande is the biggest lavender producer in Canada, one of the largest in North America and one of only four to produce certified oil.- Danny Kleinsasser
Interested in catered events or building partnerships? Danny’s story on how he created his catered meat business, Danny’s Whole Hog Barbecue & Smokehouse, and is now expanding into his own retail and operation will mesmerize you. Danny's Whole Hog Barbeque and Smokehouse roasts pork, baron of beef, bison, whole lamb, whole turkeys or chickens in custom designed cookers, that they have designed and manufactured. The occasion doesn't matter - weddings, parties, graduations, fundraisers, church picnics, family reunions and he even barbecues for restaurants! In business for less than 5 years, Danny will tell you where he has been and where he is going, and be prepared to hang on for the ride!
Rural Routes and Rules: Regulations, Restrictions and Remedies
Lessons learned from the 3R’s on the bumpy road to agri-tourism success. No more burying our heads in the ‘prairie grass’ when it comes to starting, sustaining and growing an agri-tourism industry. Agri-tourism operators and CATWG representatives from across Canada will share their stories on regulations and restrictions affecting this dynamic industry and how successful solutions have been found. Bring your issues and solutions to what will be an entertaining and eye opening session.
Health Regulations. The impact a heath issues can have on your business is forefront in most of our minds now as we all read daily about the contaminated spinach which has affected people across the continent.
“Learn from Ontario’s newly published ‘Jurisdictional Analysis and Best Practices for Land Use Planning Affecting Direct Marketing and Agri-tourism Operations in Ontario’ through an operator who has faced the health authorities, bylaw officers and local permit people to make their business thrive through open communication, awareness building and a lot of determination”
The BC Agritourism Alliance has slowly begun to change the look of direct marketing operations in BC. With on farm quality assurance inspections, a liability insurance program and a highway sign identification program, this group is developing a professional image of the industry in BC. Brent Warner will detail the struggles and success which will allow others not to make the same
- Joe Doef
The Doefs, who run a large hydroponic greenhouse and sell both at the site and at farmers markets have taken a very proactive approach to meeting and exceeding health regulations in their farm direct/Farmers' Market operation. In Joe's words, "it was all about covering our butts."
Prairie Bounty - Reflections of Great Taste
Discover the potential of culinary tourism - Janice McGregor
Discover the potential of culinary tourism for farm direct marketers. Join Janice as she leads you on a journey to “share the bounty” of the land through a marriage of food, rural heritage and tourism. Janice will share success stories from around the world and reveal how this growing culinary trend may impact your farm and business. Janice will be teaming up with Gwen Simpson of Inspired Market Gardens who will share her own culinary success story with participants.
Discover the potential of culinary tourism - Gwen Simpson
Selling specialty food items to chefs and consumers has proved to need equal parts education and marketing. Relying heavily on a key rule of retail: ”Never make them feel stupid,” Gwen will describe how she encourages consumers to try new culinary tastes by providing a positive learning experience as part of the sale. Gwen will also share tips about developing mutually beneficial relationships with chefs.
It Takes a Village to Raise a Business
- Monica Coneys
This session addresses a growing concern as our industry matures.
Farm direct marketers and agritourism operators don’t just own a piece of ground. We operate potentially large businesses. Some of them are even economic hubs in our community. But there’s no college that turns out graduates who understand our business. What do we do with the farm and business when the next generation is absent and we’re growing weary?
Passing the farm on to qualified new ownership and reaping the collective rewards after a lifetime of investment doesn’t come easily. We shouldn’t expect simple boiler-plate solutions now, any more than we did when creating these wonderfully untraditional farm enterprises in the first place! In many cases, you should start developing your exit strategies ten or fifteen years before you plan to retire.
Monica presents innovative alternatives for you to consider. More important, she’ll get you creatively thinking about solutions you never even imagined on your own. The best idea in the room might even come from the stranger sitting in front of you and living 2,000 miles from your home and farm. This unique session promises to turn over stones you didn’t even know existed in this field. It has the potential to alter how you plan your future from now until forever.
This is not the conventional farm succession planning session. Sure, it begins with a review of several examples of recent farm transfers by NAFDMA members. Then it uncovers the knowledge base of the participants within the room. Concrete solutions might even begin to emerge through your own self-awareness as you consider the opportunities “under your own nose” - within your current community structure. But rest assured before it’s over you’ll be unable to resist the “audacity to hope” as weird and wonderful solutions present themselves. Beware. Monica is not the conventional conference speaker. But then, you’re not thinking about retiring from a conventional business, are you?
Track: Agritourism
Explore the West - Palate Pleasing Adventures
A Unique Partnership from Farm to Table: Highwood Crossing Organic Farm and River Café - Sal Howell
My presentation will include a brief history of River Café and a brief profile of our culinary philosophy and guiding principles to source seasonal ingredients from local farms and producers. An exploration of our successful relationship with Highwood Crossing Organic Farm and the evolution of the 'Cooks garden'. Discussion of how the relationship works, logistics and challenges, and an outline of the key benefits at the restaurant. Discussion of the evolution to identify the provenance of ingredients on the menu and the connection from the 'earth to the table' and how the story unfolds at the restaurant.
Unlock profits by creating a regional cuisine experience - Tony Marshall
Reap success with culinary tourism. Build industry relationships to eliminate the middleman, maintain local food security, and keep dollars at home. Discover the mutual benefits of a partnership between producers Penny & Tony Marshall, Highwood Crossing Farm, and Sal Howell of Calgary’s River Café.
Just Like a Poker Hand...It's the Draw that Counts!
Attrracting urbanites to country locations - Don & Linda Christensen
Panel presentation of Alberta producers and the ways and means that we use to attract people to come into the country to enjoy
and purchase our products. We run a market garden and bedding plant greenhouse operation along with our owm farm store
selling everything directly to the consumer. We have been in business for 23 years, with the farm store in its 7th year of operation.
We are located at Smoky Lake (a population of 1,000 people) and 1.5 hours away from the Edmonton urban city.
Attracting a crowd to the end of the road - Greg Sawchuk
Attracting crowds to the Family Fun Farm Festival. Description of event, how to host people on an actual working farm
Attracting people to a remote location (are you lost yet?) - Theo Slingerland
How to attract visitors to a remote farm.
Harvest the Talent - Grow the Cluster - Cash in on Tourism Connections: Starting the Buzz
Raise a Little Hell and Engage your Community - Tam Anderson
Work together in your community towards creating effective and vibrant partnerships that make a difference to your bottom line. Tam will describe the path of several partnered projects including an award-winning driving tour (The Country Soul Stroll), culinary events (A Taste of the Stroll, and ag-tourism marketing consortium activities (Visit the Country) and the Edmonton Countryside Spring Drive that has proven to be a very successful part of the marketing mix for Prairie Gardens over the last four years.
- Monica Coneys
Harvest the Talent - Grow the Cluster - Cash in on Tourism Connections: Taking the Leap
Taking the Leap: A producer perspective - Greg Sawchuk
Cluster promotions happening in NE Alberta, Taste of Lakeland, Ag passport.
- Carmen Andrew
Hear about ag tourism collaboration success stories! An Ag Tourism Cluster is a group of like-minded stakeholders and operators who come together to increase the profile for their operations and geographic area along an ag tourism theme. Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development's staff and partners are currently working proactively with eight ag tourism clusters in the province.
Learn all about the process which creates the environment for people to take the leap.
- Joan Barber
My presentation will address the role that our municipality plays in Ag Cluster Development. I will speak to the benefits of working with our rural neighbours to produce unique tourism events. I will also discuss some of the challenges of working with our rural neighbours. The main message will be the economic and holistic benefits of these partnerships. During my presentation I will refer to the four ag tourism events that our municipality is involved in. The Country Soul Stroll, Country Cuisine: A Taste of the Stroll, Visit the Country and the Edmonton Countryside Spring Drive.
Join us for all or any part of our convention.
Each component is priced separately.
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Feb. 12, 2007 |
Feb. 13, 2007 |
Feb. 14, 2007 |
Feb. 15, 2007 |
Feb. 16, 2007 |
Feb. 17, 2007 |
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Bus Tour |
All-Day Workshops |
Conference Sessions | |||
62 White Loaf Road
Southampton, MA 01073