Dave Fleming
A look at Shady Brook's experience managing a second location at Deleware Valley College.  The ups and downs will be looked at only 11 months into the process.

Recognizing Opportunities for Growth

Stan Brown
In business since 1948, Brown's Orchards began as a small fruit stand in Loganville, PA and has grown into a destination market for residents all over South Central PA and northern MD.  Stan will detail the changes to the business over the years and the reasons for them.  In addition, he will give us insight on the most recent developments, including the addition of a second location.  Find out what the future holds for one of PA's finest farm markets.

Product Mix to Increase Traffic

Fred Funk
In today’s marketplace, it has become more difficult to maintain and increase market share. Consumers have so many choices, why should they shop at your market? My philosophy is that, if we want to increase traffic, we must give customers six compelling reasons to drive six miles past six competitors. What six items do you have to offer different, better quality, or better value every month of your entire season.
 Keep in mind, intangibles such as farm atmosphere can count as one reason. Cleanliness and image can also be included along with the product mix, like items such as sweet corn and berries sold the same day they were harvested.
 Unfortunately in today’s world, everyone is so busy that they don’t have time to shop a half dozen different stores. People than enjoyed buying farm fresh produce and cooking meals at home are not mainly dining out. Statistics show the average time spent on meals at home from fridge to the table used to be twenty minutes. In 2008, that number dropped to 12.5 minutes. How can we help our customers return to the way of life that they love?
 To increase customer traffic and profits, you must not think in terms of what excess produce to sell. Instead, think: What do customers want that I can do well? Obviously with 12.5 minutes in mind, this list should include value added, signature prepared foods, and perhaps great baked and deli items better than those of your competition. Many of these reasons for shopping your market are not seasonal- therefore, customers will return on a weekly basis to compliment the draw of high demand season fresh-picked produce.
 Farm markets selling plants attractively merchandised on benches in greenhouses can be an unbelievable draw in the spring, with triple the net of produce. May sales are typically 25% of the annual sale at many locations. Mums and fall plants compliment pumpkins for excellent fall decorating solutions.
 Please keep in mind, it’s not what you do, it’s the way you do it. Great success always follows great commitment.

Growing a Retail Farm Market Experience

Eric Voll
A broad presentation covering many aspects of enhancing, expanding, and improving the retail farm market experience for customers, employees, and family members. Drawing from our own past, present & future plans, as well as other suggestions and ideas.

Agritourism

Bringing Entertainment on to the Farm "The Simple Way"

Kelly Paxton
I will discuss my previous year entertainment schedule. I will have a power point to show my year at a glance. I will discuss free entertainment, the usual cost for entertainers, and tricks and tips to being the Director of Fun. I will also discuss the strolling characters and people I dress up in costume to add a simple farm feel and show to any farm.

Beyond Birthday Parties - Generating Revenue with Weddings, Parties, and Group Events

Generating Revenue with Weddings, Parties, and Group Events
Kate Zurschmeide
Using the Web and Social Media to generate leads and awareness

Why not Utilize what you've already Captured?
Jackie Tate
Speaking on the Special Events portion of what we do:  weddings and the events surrounding that:  rehearsals, wedding ceremony and reception.  Showers, parties, reunions and corperate events.  Parties:  Birthday.....all ages!

How and why we Reinvest in our Agritainment Business

John Roba & Jack Coleman
Why Roba Family Farms and Cherry Crest Adventure Farm reinvest in their business.

1. Sustain our 1st generation farms.
2. Secure a living for future generations.
3. Build into the lives of others.
4. Educate people about farming.
5. To better serve our customers and create good word of mouth.
6. Become more efficient and reduce cost.

How We reinvest:

1. management team  (starts here)
2. hiring competent staff
3. buildings and props (build to last)
4. use consultants when necessary
5. Reinvest in food concession sales
6. Reinvest to increase sale of pumpkins, corn stalks, gourds, etc.
7. Reinvest take home sales of food
8. Reinvest Gift Shop sales
9. Reinvest in  Office Space
10. Knowing what new attractions to invest in.

How much money or percent do we reinvest each year?

Organizing an Agritourism Association, and Partnering with Rural Tourism Destinations

Growing a Networking Association - How Agritourism Farmers Can Collaborate 
Martha Glass
Agritourism farms are value-added agriculture! The North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association (ANA) helps farmers grow their farms by “lessons learned” from other agritourism farmers’ successes, stumbling blocks, concerns, tips and surprises encountered along the way. The presentation will show how the NC ANA can be a model for developing an organizational structure to provide resources, mentorships and workshops to help farmers network with other agritourism farmers and rural tourism professionals.

Buy Local

Culinary Tourism in Niagara

The Eat Local Movement
Anne Just & Lynn Ogryzlo
The culinary regions of Italy are seductive and legendary. Paris, the gourmet capital of the world and its southern shores have inspired consumers to imitate all things Provencal. Food TV has brought these regions into North American households at the same time the global food system fail consumers. The result has been a huge consumer trend towards finding a safer and higher quality source of food. In their quest, consumers believe they’ve discovered local agriculture and their thirst for all things local has become insatiable.

In Niagara, the eat local movement includes culinary tourism that works to build bridges between agriculture, tourism, hospitality and the local food community. Rural landscapes, farm fresh food, harvest festivals and culinary events set amidst beautiful orchards and vineyards, are bringing "foodies" to the land and thus, bringing new customers and revenues to the land owner.

However, because the local food movement is consumer driven and not industry lead, it has left most North American farmers with more questions than answers.

      1. What is the local food movement all about?
      2. What exactly are consumers looking for? 
      3. What is motivating consumers to buy local? 
      4. What is considered local? 
      5. What industries does the local food movement affect besides farmers? 
      6. What are some of the local food successes across the continent? And what makes them successful?
      7. And most importantly, what do I need to do to reap the economic benefits of this movement?

In this seminar Culinary Activist Lynn Ogryzlo teams up with Kurtz Orchards Proprietor Anne Just to present a clear story of the local food movement from statistics to trends, from examples of value added activities to proven successes. Ogryzlo sets the stage for the growing movement in North America and Just represents a successful agricultural business reaping the benefits of the local food movement. Each will share the facts, give examples and offer tools to position your agricultural business as a prime local food destination and share tips on communicating and marketing your businesses in the local food industry.

Regional Food and What is happening in the UK

Jonny Hewitt
Red House Farm has changed quite dramatically over the last few years with its food offering so it doesn't just rely on the farm shop to provide its core income.  One of its projects is working in partnership with the NHS (National health Service) at a local level to provide fruit and vegetables to a scheme to help lower obesity levels amongst low income families - this has led to a number of opportunities with surprising results.

We added "Farmers' Markets" to our Farm Market

Selling - One Ear at a Time
Carolyn Raasch
Carolyn started out with a card table and a wheelbarrow with a board on it selling excess produce from her garden in 1987. Before long, the whole family was involved, a u-Pick pumpkin patch and corn maze were born and the Raasch Family Sweet corn has been known far and wide for 23 years around the Kansas City area.

We added "Farmers' Markets" to our Farm Market Business
James Barker
Sales of product are a vital piece of the family farm business at Underwood Family Farms. In additon to our on farm business, farmers' markets allow us to reach out to new clients in urban areas that either don't know about us or would not be able to travel to one of our farm locations.

Marketing Everything during a 5 week Season

Stuart Ramsey
Over the past 15 years Ramsey Farm's offering has evolved to be very focused on the 5 weeks preceding Halloween. Given that my entire family maintains full time jobs off the farm we have chosen to focus our energy on a very specific marketing window to maximize our income relative to the time allocated to the farm. Over the years we have tried multiple seasons as well as longer seasons. My presentation will help others, particularly those considering part-time farming situations, understand some of the success and failures we have experienced. Attendees will leave with an understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges of a short and focused marketing window. During the 2008 season Ramseys Farm hosted 6,000 school students for weekday tours, 6,000 guests for night events, and over 30,000 customers for weekend pumpkin picking and related activities.

Business Management

Eating - Is there a Solution to the Media Confusion?

Dr. Joe Schwarcz
Most of the scientific information that the average person gathers about their food stems from the "media," which includes the printed word, movies, radio and TV. How accurate is the scientific information that is presented? What is the image of the scientist that the public derives from TV and the movies? Does the public trust farmers and processors who bring the food to their table? Can we really believe the "science" on those half hour TV "infomercials?" Are stories on "60 Minutes" always scientifically accurate? What is the scientific basis of some best sellers like "Fit for Life?" These questions as well as a number of others (can you really cure arthritis by putting a raw potato in your bra?") which have been raised on the speaker's weekly phone-in show on chemistry will be addressed in an informative and entertaining fashion.

Food on the Farm "Springhouse Style"

Marcia Opp
Today the SpringHouse includes a buffet style restaurant and Sunporch, a from-scratch bakery, a larger kitchen where the cooks crank out family-recipe meals for lunch and supper, a smokehouse for old-fashioned hickory smoked hams, classy catering-in house and out, ice cream concoctions galore and farm fresh milk and famous rich chocolate milk...all in an old-time country setting.
Join us for this quick lively session with Marcia (and if we are lucky) some help from her sister Jill on the catering end as Marcia explains the food service at SpringHouse including:
      • Just what is on for snacks, lunch and dinner
      • An over view of the equipment
      • The winners and losers in the food business (from a financial sense)
      • What keeps the customers coming back
      • The new economy – changes we’ve seen in the last two years

Bringing New Technology in the Farm Market

David Brown
Dave will be speaking on his introduction of technology to Brown’s Orchards & Farm Market, which he believes will prove essential to growing the business into the future.
Dave will discuss the introduction of the computer to the business in 1986, although will concentrate on the transformation that began in 2007 which now helps automate many functions of the business, and also gives the departments the ability to improve efficiency in their own departments without relying on the business office.  Dave will explain his general philosophy of decentralizing business functions, improving the efficiency of the overall operation.
Dave will speak in detail on the selection of a POS / Inventory Control system which has given the business much better visibility into product sales and profitability.  He will discuss how the system has allowed employees to become more effective, and valuable to the business through their interaction with the system.
Dave will discuss how the effort behind Brown’s gift basket operation has been streamlined, and how the online sales system which is connected with the POS system, will drive sales of its products regionally and nationally.
Dave will discuss how the POS system has allowed a technically simpler opening of Brown’s second store in 2009 then would have been possible absent a computer system.  He will discuss the technology that allows the stores to be integrated, allowing the original business office to handle the sales, accounting, and inventory control tracking with minimal extra effort.
Dave will discuss his plans for the use of technology in the future to continue to improve sales, profitability, and the efficiency of the overall operation.  He will speak of specific areas of the business which are targeted for technology, and his vision of how the operation will allow Brown’s Orchards to grow faster, with less effort.

NAFDMA Study Groups - Why you Should Participate in Them!

Rob Leeds & Mark Saunders
Throughout the years some NAFDMA members have formed groups to keep connected with individual members throughout the year.  Some of these groups are formal and others are informal groups of friends talking throughout the year.  This session will talk a look at forming a study group within NAFDMA.

Why form a study group?

• To help develop a better understanding of your business
• To benchmark your business from several perspectives, i.e. safety, marketing, margins and spending
• To develop marketing ideas
• Develop food ideas, i.e. bakery, concessions

Family Business

Silver Spoon & Golden Handcuffs - Pay and Performance in Family Business

Lise Stewart
How can we fairly and affordably compensate family and non-family members in the family business?  Do we pay family members the same as other employees?  Do we hold some people to a higher standard than others?   How can we keep loyal employees in the business without diluting ownership or offering shares?   What if we can’t afford to pay high salaries but we want to keep good people? These are just some of the many questions that Lisë Stewart will address during this practical workshop.  Participants will leave with a range of new ideas and techniques they can apply to encourage accountability, increase productivity and effectively tie pay to superior performance – for both family and non-family employees.

A Goal Without a plan is a Wish

Hugh McPherson
A great many ideas are lost every year. How do you deliver on good intentions? We'll cover more than goal setting. Planning for successful implementation takes a hard-nosed look at what should be done, can be done, and must be done. You will leave this presentation not just motivated to see your ideas come to life, but armed with specific tools to make it happen.

Bringing the next Generation back to your Farm

I Came Back......Here's Why!
Ellie Hollabaugh
I graduated from Penn State University in 2002 with dual degrees in Agribusiness Management and Spanish. I made those decisions without knowing for sure that I would return immediately to my family's fruit and vegetable farm in south-central Pennsylvania. After several job interviews, I decided to accept my family's offer and take on a full-time job on the farm. I do a little bit of everything, love every minute of it, and haven't looked back since!

Full Time, Part Time, or Weekends???
Garth Ellms
After moving to New York at the age of one, my parents decided to start a "choose and cut" Christmas tree farm.  Since both had full time jobs, it turned into a chore factory for me and my sisters!  When it came time to go to college, my sisters and I hit the road with the decision made to return to the farm OR enter the "real world" OR get married and have kids.  You can guess what my sisters did.  For me?  I took my chances in the "real world".  Now, four years later I have returned to the farm, faced with the question of whether I do this full time, part time or only on weekends!  During my presentation today I will be walking through the pros and cons of the decisions and will answer questions from both the current generation as well as the next!

Innovate, Adapt, or Die

Harry McHugh
Since 1803, Wawa has been continuously owned and operated by the Wood Family. To survive, the company has had to innovate and adapt to widespread changes in customer lifestyles, technologies, products, national events, and an emerging global supply chain and economy. Wawa products and business models have failed and succeeded many times. Re-invention is a common thread. The key to Wawa's long term success is it's continuing commitment to timeless shared values and a culture of customer and community service and internal development of it's associates.

Employee Management

Identifying Personalities for an Effective Workforce

Your True Colours
Kiersten Gates
This interactive session will encourage you to bring out the best in your team. Learn how to apply a primary colour to each team member and in doing so, recognize each team member's unique personality strengths. Find true leaders, true communicators and true managers through " true colours."

Catching Starlight - How to find, motivate, and Harvest the Talents of our Young Millennial Generation

Lise Stewart
Our newest generation of employees have a great deal to offer our traditional workplaces but they can be hard to attract and even harder to keep.  Young employees are entering the workforce with an entirely new set of expectations, different demands and greater life options than ever before.  If potential employers want a chance at hiring the best and the brightest of these young professionals, workplace practices will need to be creative and flexible – from our hiring methods to our compensation programs.  Jobs will need to be challenging and dynamic and older employees will need to both understand and mentor their younger colleagues.  During this one-hour workshop, Lisë Stewart, Managing Director of Galliard Group, will share a number of practical techniques for attracting and motivating younger employees in the family business.

Let Go and Grow:  Building your Management Team

Kerry Engel
Is your business in, or nearing, that critical expansion stage where you begin to bring on management staff? Do you have the confidence and tools to build your new management team?

In this session we will examine how you can maximize the return on your management investment by engaging new managers, building trust and fostering team play.

WhenToWork™ Employee Online Scheduling Program Details 

Donna Coleman
Imagine... employees automatically and instantly being notified of new schedules and schedule changes.
This feature is included in WhenToWork Online Scheduling Software and is extremely convenient for both Managers and Employees.
Imagine... a world where employees can be automatically assigned to shifts based on when they want to work.
No more searching for scraps of paper to jog your memory. Produce more favorable scheduling by allowing employees to go online and choose when they prefer to work, and then assign shifts based on those preferences. Our automated scheduling algorithms incorporate all employees' preferences to produce the best possible employee scheduling. Best of all, they can set their preferences themselves, from any web browser.
Imagine... knowing which employees have viewed and confirmed receipt of their schedule.
No more wondering if employees have seen their schedule. You know at a glance the status of all employees.
Imagine... knowing which employees would be happy to come in when you are looking for a replacement.
By a simple click of your mouse, contact information can be listed for the best available replacements along with when they prefer to work.
Imagine... your employees no longer needing to call in or drop by just to find out when they are scheduled to work.
Employees can go online to check a posted schedule, change their preferences, and request manager-approved time off or shift trades. Employees can also choose to receive e-mail notifications of their schedules and other company messages.
Imagine... having the option to do your schedule from home - or while on the road...
All you need is a computer connected to the Internet and you can access employee information, schedules and information.  This allows you the freedom to create and view schedules and easily find replacements from almost anywhere!
Imagine... never having to worry about software upgrades or complicated installations.
Our online scheduling software system ensures you are always using the latest version of the program, and all program upgrades are made completely free of charge.
Imagine... what you can do with your extra time when you aren't spending the hours redoing layouts when shifts change. 
Entering information on shifts & employees is quick and easy. New shift layouts can be created in minutes & stored as templates for future use. And your employees are instantly updated with any changes in the schedule that affect them.
Imagine... all this and more, for as little as $8 a month!