Now more than ever, consumers are looking to build relationships and buy their food direct from the source. The Kansas Department of Agriculture will host a series of informational webinars in early January 2021 to provide information about direct-to-consumer meat sales. “Adding direct-to-consumer sales can be an option to diversify farm income,” said Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam. “We are pleased to provide innovative programing and educational opportunities to help Kansas’ farmers, ranchers and agribusinesses grow and expand market options and continue to serve as economic engines in their communities.”

During the week of January 4, KDA will be offering a webinar series designed to provide more insight in the direct-to-consumer business model. This five-part webinar series will be held daily, January 4–8, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m., and will feature meat marketing and regulatory experts. This series is designed for those who wish to sell direct-to-consumer. In addition, KDA will host a second one-part webinar which will be focused on information for consumers and will address their questions about direct purchases of meat products. It will be held on Wednesday, January 6, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Throughout the first webinar series, Kansas Meat Marketing Basics: Putting you a Cut Above, participants will learn the basics of starting a farm to fork business, including discussions about naming your business, product selection, pricing, social media marketing, regulatory considerations and more. The series will feature presentations by Rachel Cutrer, Ranch House Designs, Inc. and B.R. Cutrer, Inc.; Danette Amstein and Myasia Burns, Midan Marketing; and Dr. Liz Boyle with Kansas State University’s value-added meats program.

At the second webinar, Clearing the Confusion: Meat Marketing Consumer Basics, participants will learn about basic meat science and meat processing and will receive recipes and resources for consumers to utilize cuts of beef. Guest speakers will include Collette Kaster, American Meat Science Association; Chad Bontrager, Yoder Meats, Bowser Meat Processing and Heartland Meat Market; and a representative from the Kansas Beef Council.

Registration is now open for both the webinar series and the consumer webinar, and there is no cost to participate. You can participate in one or more of the webinars, as the speakers and content will be different for each session. Find detailed agendas and register at: www.agriculture.ks.gov/BusinessDevelopment.

It is the mission of KDA to support all facets of agriculture, including lending support to those who wish to market and sell their products off the farm. For more information, contact KDA compliance education coordinator Dana Ladner at Dana.Ladner@ks.gov 785-564-6660.