UPCOMING COMMODITY CONFERENCES


Thinking about a new enterprise? Annual commodity conferences are the best chance talk with and learn from the experts in the field: farmers, extension agents, researchers, and marketers. Call the numbers listed for further information.

North Carolina Greenhouse Vegetable Growers Association Conference
Raleigh
October 27-28
919-772-2204

Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Sustainable Agriculture Conference
High Point, NC
November 12-14
919-542-2402

Southeast Strawberry Expo
Raleigh
November 3-5
919-542-3687

Southeast Vegetable & Fruit Expo
Greensboro
December 13-15
919-772-2204

North Carolina Aquaculture Development Conference
New Bern
January 13-15, 2000
919-733-7125

North Carolina Herb Association Winter Conference
Hickory
February 2000
252-589-1957

Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
Jekyll Island, GA
January 21-23, 2000
Gerry Cohn (RAFI)
336-376-0592

MEETING THE NEEDS OF RURAL AND TOWN COMMUNITIES: THE COLUMBUS COUNTY COMMUNITY FARMER'S MARKET

Milton Parker
Cooperative Extension Agent
Columbus & Robeson County


Efforts for developing a community, county-wide farmers' market began in June 1998 with the formation of a planning committee, a group of growers creating guidelines and providing direction to the market. Surveys were conducted in the fall of 1998 that showed strong positive support for the farmers' market by citizens and growers alike from across the County. The market was determined to be particularly important at this time due to the changing tobacco situation. The new farmers' market is given direction by a 15 member advisory commiteee, which consists of a diversity of interested growers and community leaders from Whiteville and across the county.

This past winter, the committee received the support of the County Board of Commissioners and the Whiteville City Council for the proposed Columbus County Community Farmer's Market (CCCFM). Additional support for the market has come from Cooperative Extension, the local Farm Services Agency, the Downtown Whiteville Development Association, the Columbus County Health Department, and the Whiteville Chamber of Commerce.

The CCCFM is strongly supported by many downtown Whiteville businesses and churches as a stimulus to local economic development and community. The Chamber of Commerce has donated the market site in the parking lot across from the Depot. The CCCFM received financial assistance to plan, develop, and promote the market from a number of sources, including RAFI's Tobacco Communities Reinvestment Fund.

At the new Farmers' Market opening in May, Gene Wilson, Chairman of the Columbus County Board of Commissioners and a member of the North Carolina State Extension Advisory Council, stated that the new market comes at a crucial time for agriculture in Columbus County and offered a unique opportunity for farmers and consumers to work together for the benefit of everyone.

21 vendors/growers have participated since the opening of the market, with more anticipated as the harvest season progresses. Come by the market on Saturday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 6-12 a.m. to support your local growers and enjoy the finest in fresh local farm products.

CONCERNED ABOUT CONTRACTS?


With increasing concentration throughout agriculture and Philip Morris' proposal to begin buying tobacco on contract, many farmers are wondering about a future in which many farm products will be raised and sold on contract. Agricultural producers across the country are finding fewer buyers for their farm products. This concentration in food and fiber processing requires producers to join together to receive fair prices for their products. However, many farmers and cooperatives are operating under contracts with little protection against unfair and deceptive practices by processors and handlers.

The passage of the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967 provided some protection to farmers attempting to improve the terms of their production and marketing contracts, but it failed to provide farmer cooperatives the clear authority to become equal partners in negotiations with processors and purchasers.

However, a new bill currently being introduced in the U.S. Congress by Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), the Family Farmer Cooperative Marketing Amendment (FFCMA) to the Agricultural Fair Practices Act, would strengthen producers in their dealings with processors by providing good faith bargaining opportunities for voluntary cooperatives of commodity producers.

The FFCMA would provide the following protections for farmers producing under contracts:
1. Mutual obligations for good faith bargaining between processors or handlers and cooperative associations of agricultural producers.
2. Mediation by the Secretary of Agriculture to resolve impasses in bargaining.
3. Investigative and enforcement authority for the Secretary of Agriculture.
4. Accreditation of associations to represent producers by the Secretary of Agriculture.


With the continued talk of direct contract purchase of tobacco, the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative in Kentucky passed a resolution in support of the FFCMA in July. For more information on this bill, contact RAFI at 919-542-1396.

MARKETING

For most farmers, marketing has long been a way to get rid of the commodity they have grown, regardless of the price; the farmer is a "price taker." Over the past 50 years, improved production practices by farmers has resulted in greater output, but shrinking returns on sales of raw products. In today's increasingly specialized, global, and vertically integrated agricultural system, a profit and product oriented approach to marketing is essential to determinethe success of an enterprise.

Here are the ten rules of successful marketing in todays environment:
1. Creativity and an open mind are the first steps to success. No question or conversation around marketing is wasted. Be open to what pops up.
2. If you let someone else do your marketing, you're letting someone else make your money. The less hands the product passes thru before reaching the end consumer, the more left over for you.
3. Marketing begins before the first seed hits the ground or hoof hits the pasture.
4. Think "consumer" first; what products can you produce to satisfy a need that's out there?
5. Marketing isn't just for produce growers; field crops, livestock, and ornamentals all present opportunities to increase your return on your hard work.
6. Marketing isn't just selling; it's planning, production, promotion, pricing, and distribution; once you get feedback from your customers, it
starts all over again.
7. A good marketing approach spreads out your risk; just as in the field, you don't want all your eggs in one basket.
8. Read, talk, look, and ask questions; magazines, stores, neighbors, and family members are all good sources of inspiration. Look at changing lifestyles in your area and beyond.
9. You're selling yourself and your farm, as well as your product. Do what it takes to make you and your product stand out from the crowd. Educate your customers.
10. There's no clear path to success. Marketing takes time, but it can be the most cost-effective use of your time (or another family member's time) of any activity on the farm.

MATERIALS LIST

The Tobacco Communities Project has collected a library of information packets on the topics below. If you would like a free copy of any of these packets, please call either Charles (910-947-5107), Gerry (336-376-0592), or mail the list below, with desired packets checked, to:
Tobacco Communities Project
P.O. Box 640
Pittsboro, NC 27312



___ Alternative Livestock Production
___ Aquaculture
___ Blueberry Production
___ Bramble Fruits
___ Churches and Tobacco
___ Deer Farming
___ Direct Marketing
___ Farmland Protection Tools
___ Fiber Production
___ Funding Opportunities
___ Greenhouse Lettuce
___ Greenhouse Tomatoes
___ Organic Certification
___ Organic Markets
___ Specialty Grains
___ Value-Added Marketing

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