Tennessee Farmers Market Forum to be Held April 9 in Memphis
Memphis – The Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Agricenter Farmers Market and Memphis Farmers Market have partnered to host the 7th Annual Tennessee Farmers Market Forum. The forum will be held on Saturday, April 9 at the Agricenter located at 7777 Walnut Grove Road, Memphis, Tenn. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The meeting is open to the farmers and farm market managers across Tennessee. The forum will feature training in food safety regulations, farmers market voucher programs and farmers market grant opportunities.
“The forum will address all of the regulatory issues that a producer will certainly have to navigate in order to process, package, market and sell his products to consumers,” said Laura Fortune, farmers market marketing specialist with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. “Memphis Farmers Market and Agricenter Farmers Market were excited to partner with TDA to bring this important training to the Shelby County area. Anyone working with farmers markets can benefit from this conference.”
The forum will also feature a guest speaker from The University of Tennessee on succession planning for farms and farm businesses, which is a relevant subject for any small to large agricultural business.
“When a producer sells a at their farm or at a local farmers market – and especially when he adds value to that product before he sells it- there’s an opportunity to increase profit with the direct to consumer sales,” said Fortune. “It’s a strategy which is becoming more attractive to farmers as more consumers are concerned about where and how their food is made.”
The Farmers Market Forum pre-registration is $5 and on-site registration is $10. Lunch will be provided by Amerigo Italian Restaurant of Memphis. To register, contact Laura Fortune at 615-837-5349 or e-mail at laura.fortune@TN.gov.