The Kansas Department of Agriculture and From the Land of Kansas state trademark program will host a marketing training academy in 2023 for Kansas specialty crop growers. This program — Marketing Mastery Academy for Specialty Crop Growers — is designed to bring marketing skills and strategies to specialty crop growers to expand the sale of specialty crop products in Kansas.
The marketing training program will be hosted online for up to 40 specialty crop grower applicants geographically distributed throughout Kansas and consist of seven one-hour training sessions on a variety of marketing topics. Up to nine seats will be held in the program for local extension agents to participate in the program and distribute the knowledge to specialty crop growers in their area.
Registration priority will be given to members of the Kansas state trademark program, From the Land of Kansas. The participants will also have access to one-on-one marketing consultation to develop and implement a customized marketing plan for their business for the 2023 growing season. Trainings for the program will take place in January, February, and March and will be primarily virtual. All participants in the program must agree to participate in pre and post program surveys to retain good standing in the program.
Register at ksspecialtycropsmarketingacademy.com/register
Deadline to apply is December 1, 2022.
Through the marketing curriculum, specialty crop growers will be guided through topics such as:
Social media content creation and management
Marketing cohesion
Public relations and news features
Developing a marketing plan and budget
Analyzing marketing results and traction
Direct to consumer networking and interaction
Wholesale relationships and marketing
Elements of successful advertising.
Questions should be directed to Sammy Gleason, From the Land of Kansas marketing manager, at 785-564-6759 or Sammy.Gleason@ks.gov.
This program is made possible by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG). The SCBG makes funds available to state departments of agriculture solely to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. According to USDA, specialty crops are defined as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.”
This grant helps fulfill KDA’s mission to provide an environment that enhances and encourages economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy.