C O T T   C O U N T Y   F A R M E R S   M A R K E T

The New Building for the Farmers Market is going up!!!  With the Assistance of Grow Appalachia, the Scott Christian Care Center, the UT Extension Agency, and the support of so many in the community, the Scott County Farmers Market  was awarded a grant for a farmers market building.  The building will be a simple 50 ft x 50 ft structure which will include a large open area for the vendor booths and restroom facilities.   A local engineer has volunteered to design a layout of the facility to maximize the efficiency of the space.   The building will be centrally located in the county, across the street from the Justice Center and beside Scott High School, both of which are Grow Appalachia sites.

The newly elected Scott County Farmer’s Market board are also Grow Appalachia participants, with the exception of one person.   It is such an exciting opportunity for our  participants to have this new place to sell their produce and connect with other growers.

Since Scott County does not have a major grocery store, people have to drive out of town to buy organic fruits and vegetables.  Now they will be able to buy organic fruits and vegetables from our Grow Appalachia participants locally.    This farmers market will also help educate the consumers about origin and production of their food and provide information on how to cook and prepare fresh ingredients.  Farmer’s markets can breath new life into towns by bringing people together and encouraging consumers to buy local.

 

Gro AppalachiClas –  M a r k e t i n   y o u r   P r o d u c e    

 

P. Bartholomew, an Agritourism Marketing Specialist from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, gave a very informative lecture to the Master Gardener and Grow Appalachia participants this week.   She discussed strategies for selling at a farmers market.  She also discussed the benefits of using technology and social media to assist in marketing your produce.

L E C T U R E   N O T E S:

What are you Marketing at a Farmer’s Market?

  .  Produce

  .  Experience (add live music, have kids day, etc.)

 Farmers Market Booth

  .  Know your customers (mostly women)

  .  Add table cloth coverings

  .  Never put produce on the floor

  .  Everything should be very clean

  .  Always have a price listed for everything (nice legible hand  

     written signs are effective.

  .  You can set up an Ipad or smart phone cash register to 

     receive credit cards if you have a Square (www.squareup.com

     or Intuit GoPayment Reader (www.intuit-gopayment.com)

SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY

Facebook –

   Page:

   .  Define Goals, Develop a Plan, and Execute your strategy

   .  Make Page and Posts educational

   .  Focus on Quality not Quantity

   .  Know your audience 

   .  build relationships

   .  Incentivize your fans through online coupons, groupons, 

      loyalty deals,etc.

   Posts: 

   .  Post with pictures

   .  Posts between 400-500 characters receive most shares.

   .  Posts between 8pm and 7am receive higher interaction

   .  Posts on the weekend get the most interaction

   .  Don’t post more than 7 times a week

 

Pinterest – Sharing of ideas

     General Profile:

     .  Use your logo

     .  Reflect your brand in the description

     .  Add your other media sites

     .  Be consistent

      Develop Board:

     .  One theme per board

     .  Place your board in a Pinterest category

     .  Use searchable keywords

     .  Use beautiful clear photos (taller photos get more pins)

     .  appeal to many interests

     .  The best times to pin are on Saturday mornings and 

       Thursday between 2pm and 4 pm.

 

QR Codes- Quick response barcodes 

     .  Can use on printed advertisement, business cards,  

        brochures, t-shirts, etc.

     .  Can link to your website from a smartphone

 

                     MORE MCCREARY CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL   

                          G R E E N H O U S E   P I C T U R E S

 

 

 

 

 

                         “Wet-wall” evaporative cooling system  

 

 

                                 O R G A N I C   F E R T I L I Z E R                            

      WE GAVE 140 – 50 POUND BAGS OF FERTILIZER TO OUR 74    

                 PARTICIPANTS IN SCOTT AND MCCREARY COUNTY

                                     THATS   3.5 TONS – WOW!!!