FAR ‘Marketing for Profit' workshops, aim to assist farmers to be better positioned to make decisions on the sales and marketing of their products. August and September have seen Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) conducting the third in the series of Taking Care of Business workshops. Part of the Arable Business Sustainability Project, funded by MAF Sustainable Farming Fund (MAF SFF) and co-funded by FAR these workshops are designed to enable farmers to be better equipped to cope with both the internal and external pressures on their business through improved understanding and better planning. The subject covered in this series was ‘Marketing for Profit', the aim to assist farmers to be better positioned to make decisions on the sales and marketing of their products. Presentations included:
- Future Trends and New Product Technologies
- Managing Market Risk and Understanding Futures markets
- Sales and Marketing from Your Farm Gate
"Large retail organisations understand the importance of having good product lines, lots of options to choose from and most importantly carrying out large marketing campaigns which get people in the doors"said Craig Rust of Business Innovators"This recipe works when the marketing budget is large and the organisation has a number of outlets in various locations. However, underlying these global strategies are a number of basic marketing principles which every business must exploit to both attract customers and retain them".
Over 150 farmers attended five workshops as the team of expert speakers travelled around the country, from Gore in the south through to Hamilton in the north. Outcomes from these workshops have resulted in the formation of an Arable Farmers Marketing Group, to be jointly facilitated by FAR and Federated Farmers.