Introduction:

The options for farmers to market their products locally are growing! Where do you start? What option will work best for you?
Marketing Local Food is a handbook designed to help Minnesota farmers explore the various options for marketing local food. It introduces the basics of different marketing systems, suggests resources and includes profiles of farmers who are selling farm products directly to consumers via farmers' markets, roadside stands, CSAs, on-farm stores; as well as information and profiles about selling indirectly via retail food establishments or food services.

Quick Facts:

• Authors: Jane Grimsbo Jewett, Beth Nelson, & Derrick Braaten
• Published: 2007 (revised 2011), MISA, Univ of Minnesota
• Intended audience: farmers looking to sell locally
  
• Goals / purpose: To introduce various marketing systems, suggest other resources, and offer examples of successful farmers marketing locally, to help farmers looking to sell to the local community
  
• Methods - How would someone know they could trust this?
• A wealth of information drawn from many perspectives, and cites many additional resources
• Acknowledges the benefits & challenges of each marketing model.
  
• From 1 (not very well)–4 (very well), how well does this source of food knowledge:
• Engage an adequate range of perspectives and types of knowledge? (3)
  
• Translate between diverse perspectives? (4)
  
• Address conflicts across perspectives? (4)
  
• Generate useful information for those affected by the issues addressed? (4)
  
• Include an adequate range of relevant stakeholders throughout the knowledge-creation process? (4)
  
• Help users of this knowledge source learn from each other? (4)
  
• Allow users of this knowledge source to put what they learn into action? (4)
  
• Consider the larger context as necessary? (3)
  
• What is useful, meaningful, surprising, or a problem? Questions?
• At http://www.misa.umn.edu/Publications/MarketingLocalFood/index.htm
  they note links to updated info from MDA & MDH that was included in
  the appendix
• Self assessment to help decide which marketing route is best fit.
• Includes profiles of successful markets, CSAs, etc.
• Explains what buyers/regulations/etc appreciate/require from growers (help address potential conflicts across perspectives)
  

• What do you think could or should be done with this source of knowledge?
• What has already been done?
• How should we keep track of what this knowledge does as it circulates in the world?
• What connections would you like to see made to other information / people / organizations?

See http://www.misa.umn.edu/Publications/ for this and other resources from MISA.

(ID# 4010)

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