Penn State Extension to offer retail farm market bus tour Oct. 3-4
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Extension will offer “Are You Crazy: Retail Farm Market Bus Tour,” aimed at providing learning opportunities and networking connections for retail farm market professionals. The tour will take place Oct. 3-4 and will launch from the Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster.
This event is designed for owners and managers of retail farm markets and anyone planning or thinking about opening a retail farm market. Participants must register by Sept. 25. The registration fee includes an overnight hotel stay, bus fare, lunch on both days of the tour, and breakfast on the second day. Participants are responsible for dinner the first day of the tour.
Held at the height of the farm market season, the tour is intended to help participants learn from their regional farm market peers. This event will include behind-the-scenes tours and information directly from farm market owners, including unique display and merchandising ideas and information on market expansion and farm transition.
Attendees will visit seven unique farms in two days that highlight agritainment, farm market development, diversification of products, customer relations and other relevant topics.
Organizers noted that the rolling classroom environment enables market owners and managers to share lessons learned and season highlights and to discuss pertinent topics while traveling between tour locations. Attendees can learn about merchandising, display and product ideas, and peer-to-peer networking.
Participants will visit T.S. Smith Orchard Point Market, Fifer’s Farm Store and Kitchen, Parson’s Produce, Evans Farms and the Frozen Farmer, the Homestead Market, Elmer’s Produce, and Willey Farms.
A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service provided funding for the tour. The Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association supplied additional funding.
More information is available on the Penn State Extension website at https://extension.psu.edu/are-you-crazy-retail-farm-market-bus-tour.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Penn State Extension to offer retail farm market bus tour Oct. 3-4
