Situation: The “Marketing Training for Adirondack Region Farms to Reduce Economic Risk” project aimed to enhance the marketing skills of local farmers and small business owners in New York, through one-on-one personalized coaching and by hosting opportunities for participants to practice their new skills. Their approach focused on providing tailored support to help Adirondack Harvest member farmers and small business owners develop a comprehensive marketing strategy that can help them stay resilient and agile in the face of a changing market and climate.
Outcomes: This project, led by Mary Godnick and her team at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County, provided free one-on-one consultations and coaching to over 30 farmers and small business owners in the Adirondack region that are current members of the Adirondack Harvest program, and gave over 15 different farmers a chance to participate in special events where they could practice their new marketing skills. An unexpected outcome of this project, was that many participants asked for support on finding marketing professionals they could hire to complete many of the skilled tasks that came out of their strategy sessions, but were unable to because of lack of resources. This revealed that there is a gap that needs to be filled for our small businesses and farms; they need support from professionals that can help them at a rate they can pay.
Impacts: With the goal to improve participants understanding of marketing strategies for local farmers, and give them confidence to implement stronger marketing strategies to connect with their customer base, there has been a significant increase in the frequency, strategy and quality of marketing efforts by many of the project participants. Participants gained understanding in website management, social media marketing, and public relations skills. Participants analyzed and developed their current market standing, potential marketing risks and opportunities. The participants that got
the most out of the program were small business owners and farmers that already had a very clear direction on their general business goals. Because they had a clear idea of what products they wanted to sell and to whom they want to sell, they were ready to start thinking about the marketing strategies that best served their overall business strategy.
“Taking the time to talk about
marketing for the farm was
great, it’s usually the thing
pushed to the bottom of the
to-do list and I am glad that I
made time to think about it.”
– New York Farmworker
from Agritourism Business
Planning webinar presentation
