During the month of March and the first week of April, the Kansas Department of Agriculture will offer a Specialty Crop Lunch and Learn Webinar Series for those interested in the specialty crop industry. Topics of interest include production practices, specialized equipment, floriculture, diversifying and scaling your operation, turning your specialty crop operation into an agritourism destination, and specialty crop marketing plans and strategies. The six-part webinar series will be held at noon every Tuesday from March 1 through April 5.

During the webinar series, KDA will feature successful specialty crop growers from across the country who can share their stories and lead discussion on topics specific to this unique sector of the agriculture industry.

• March 1: How We Use the Lean System to Earn a Comfortable Living from a ½ Acre Farm — Ben Hartman, author of The Lean Farm
• March 8: Growing your Passion with Profit in the Floral Industry — Suzi Batdorff, Viavi Flower Farm
• March 15:Diversifying and Scaling Your Operation — Michael Kilpatrick, Growing Farmers
• March 22:Designing, Building and Implementing Tools and Systems on Your Own Farm — Josh Volk, Slow Hand Farm
• March 29:The Importance of Value-Added Products in our Farm Store — Olivia Telschow, Helene’s Hilltop Orchard
• April 5: Basics are Best: Must-Haves for Your Marketing Efforts — Ruth Inman, Agorapulse

Registration is now open and there is no cost to participate in the webinars. Participants will register for each of the six sessions separately. Find out more and register at: www.agriculture.ks.gov/BusinessDevelopment. 

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 supports KDA’s mission to provide an environment that enhances and encourages economic growth of the agriculture industry and the Kansas economy.

Questions about the specialty crop webinar series should be directed to Sammy Gleason, From the Land of Kansas program coordinator, at 785-564-6755 or fromthelandofkansas@ks.gov.