Today’s consumers are increasingly aware of the fragility of our conventional food supply chain. The good news is that this creates enormous opportunity to promote the advantages of buying sustainably raised meat, poultry, and eggs from local farmers.
The Council for Healthy Food Systems announces a new workshop series to give farmers the marketing and business skills they need to tap into the expanding market for locally raised, pastured meats, poultry, and eggs.
The Council’s “Profiting from Pastured Animals” workshops launched in April in Beaumont and will occur in a variety of locations in Texas over a period of three years.
Our upcoming workshops:
REGISTER: May 20-21 at Southern Sunny Acres in Winona, TX
REGISTER: August 5-6 at Mesquite Field Farm in Nixon TX (SFFFS Pre-Conference Workshop) *For this workshop the classroom portion will take place at 207 N FM 108, Smiley TX 78159, just a few minutes from Mesquite Field Farm.
REGISTER: October 14-15 at H.O.P.E. for Small Farm Sustainability in Harlingen, TX
REGISTER: November 11-12 at Donna’s Farm in Beaumont, TX
The cost of the two-day workshop is just $20, including lunch both days. Workshop attendees will also get ongoing support after the workshop through group and individual calls, as they apply the information to their own farms.
Building the Market for Texas-Raised Pastured Animal Products
This program will not only help farmers build business skills … it will bolster a community of farmers and ranchers who share their challenges and successes and work together to build a statewide movement in support of locally raised food. CHFS will host regular group calls with workshop attendees to get support from the workshop instructors and their fellow farmers.
All those in attendance also have the opportunity to receive a full marketing package they can customize to promote their Texas-raised products. We’ll also launch our own campaign to educate consumers about the importance of buying Texas-raised meat, poultry, and eggs, to help increase consumer demand and loyalty.
More About the Workshop
The workshop is designed to particularly benefit:
- Beginning farmers — or any farmer who feels like they need help with the business, marketing, and regulatory aspects.
- Existing farmers who are considering diversifying their operations.
- Conventional livestock farmers who might be considering direct marketing alternatives for their businesses.
The main topics we’ll cover during each two-day event include:
- Market analysis to determine which products on which to focus.
- Financial considerations, including how to do a cost-benefit analysis.
- Marketing techniques for selling direct-to-consumer.
- Options for how to handle sales and distribution.
- Regulatory issues related to sales of animal products.
