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.

“Our growers do a very proficient job of raising specialty crops across the state. However, one of the concerns we hear often is the lack of training and support in the marketing of their products,” said Russell Plaschka, KDA agriculture marketing director. “This training opportunity will address the challenges those farmers face and help them develop and implement a marketing plan.”

The marketing training academy will be hosted online for up to 40 specialty crop grower applicants geographically distributed throughout Kansas and will consist of seven training sessions on a variety of marketing topics. The sessions will take place in January, February, and March of 2023 and will be primarily virtual.

Register at ksspecialtycropsmarketingacademy.com/register. For more information, contact Sammy Gleason, KDA’s From the Land of Kansas marketing manager, at 785-564-6759 or FromtheLandofKansas@ks.gov. This program is made possible by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant. 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.