Wallace/ALBA FM Conference
Monterey, CA March 17 & 18 2008

Manager Track:

Market Integrity and Good Governance
Expanding Your Market, EBT Sales and Community Marketing
Measuring Market Performance
Market Sustainability + Why Markets Fail
Managing for Diversity

Farmers Track:

Are Farmers’ Markets For You?
Manager Expectations of Vendors
Value-Added Products
Distinguishing Yourself in the Market
Business Strategies and Financial Planning

Sunday March 16

Travel Day – NFMWG Members Arrive


Monday March 17

10:00am         Presenters and Staff meet to discuss agenda

12:00pm – 1:00pm     Lunch and Introduction

1:00pm – 2:30pm    Session One

                                       Market Manager     Market Integrity and Good Governance
                                                                        Darlene Wolnik, MarketUmbrella.org
                                                                        Gabrielle Langholtz, Greenmarkets, NYC
                                                                        Chris Curtis, Seattle Farmers’ Markets
                                                                        Stacy Miller, FMC

                                       Farmer                    Are Farmers Market For You?
                                                                        Kate Granger, New Farmer Development
                                                                        Deborah Yashar, ALBA
                                                                        Dru Montri, Michigan Farmers’ Markets

2:30pm – 2:45pm       Break

2:45pm – 3:45pm    Session Two

                                       Market Manager     Expanding Your Market with EBT + Community Marketing
                                                                        Darlene Wolnik, MarketUmbrella.org
                                                                        Gabrielle Langholtz, Greenmarkets, NYC
                                                                        Chris Curtis, Seattle Farmers’ Markets
                                                                        Dru Montri, Michigan Farmers’ Markets


                                       Farmer                    Manager Expectations (both sides)
                                                                        Kate Granger, New Farmer Development
                                                                        Stacy Miller, FMC
                       

3:45pm – 4:00pm    Break

4:00pm – 5:00pm    Session Three   

                                       Market Manager    Measuring Market Performance
                                                                        Darlene Wolnik, MarketUmbrella.org
                                                                        Gabrielle Langholtz, Greenmarkets, NYC
                                                                        Chris Curtis, Seattle Farmers’ Markets


                                       Farmer                    Value Added Products
                                                                        Jim Cochran, Swanton Berry Farm (invited)
                                                                        Kim Wright, Slowfoods (invited)


Tuesday March 18

9:00am – 10:00am      Breakfast

10:00am – 12:00pm   Session Four

                                       Market Manager    Market Sustainability + Why Markets Fail
                                                                        Dru Montri, Michigan Farmers’ Markets
                                                                        Gabrielle Langholtz, Greenmarkets, NYC
                                                                        Chris Curtis, Seattle Farmers’ Markets


                                       Farmer                    Distinguishing Yourself in the Market
                                                                        Kate Granger, New Farmer Development
                                                                        Deborah Yashar, ALBA
                                                                        Darlene Wolnik, MarketUmbrella.org
                                                                        Stacy Miller, FMC

12:00pm – 1:00pm     Lunch with Invited Keynote Speaker

1:00pm – 3:00pm       Session Five

                                      Market Manager    Managing for Diversity
                                                                      Chris Curtis, Seattle Farmers’ Markets
                                                                      Kate Granger, New Farmer Development
                       
                                      Farmer                   Business Strategy + Financial Planning
                                                                      Invited Guests TBA
 
3:00pm – 3:45pm      Break and Reassemble at Oldetown Farmers Market in Monterey

3:45pm – 5:30pm      Scavenger Hunt in the Market.  Small Group Sessions.  Meet Vendors, Market Manager. 
 

Possible Presenters and their preferences:

Stacy Miller

Beyond 'Damage Control': Balancing the Needs of Farmers and Shoppers (which could include some conflict management)

Man(agers) Cannot Live on Bartered Bread Alone: Bootstrap Fund-raising for Market Sustainability

Financial tracking form/Customer Tracking Dot Method (these could lend themselves to 2 sections or one longer one, but I'd steer clear completely if someone from MarketUmbrella was available to do this along with SEED. Below I broke them into two, but that's just my 2 cents)

'Doing the Dots': Maximizing Your Market's Role in the Community Through Simple (and Painless!) Surveys

Methods to Evaluate and Report Economic Impact

Beyond the 'Buy Local' Loyalists: Growing Your Customer Base (If you don't include Dot Surveys anywhere else, I could do it here)

Why Markets Fail: Some Simple Ways to Avoid Common Pitfalls ( I would rely on Lev, Brewer, Stephenson's paper as a resource for this, and if any of them are able to attend, then by all means let them do this one)

Darlene Wolnik

Marketing, EBT, Market Operations

Dru Montri

Serving the farmers and the community
– EBT etc (We just finished a 2007 EBT pilot project in which we increased the number of markets accepting EBT in the state from 5 to 15.  We were presented with a Certificate of Appreciation from the USDA just last week for these efforts.  Also, last week we had a strategic planning session for 2008.  I know a number of other states are making lots of progress here as well, including Darlene who is also included on this e-mail.) 

Market sustainability, why markets fail
(In December I facilitated a discussion at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo around the question, How Sustainable is Your Farmers Market?)

Are farmers’ markets for you?
(I’ve also presented on this topic in the past here in Michigan, at the 2007 Michigan Family Farms Conference). 

Gabrielle Langholtz

Marketing, PR/Communications, EBT

Chris Curtis & Karen Kay

Polices and Guidelines
Vendor Relations:  Process, Concerns, Policy
Budgeting and Analysis of Market Sustainability