Fresh Facts - September 2010

8/8/2019 Fresh Facts - September 2010

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Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association

Newsletter #261September 2010

Volume 25, Number 8

Fresh Facts

Inside this issue:

Members News 2

Animal displays and

visitors safety3

What AALP has

meant to me4

Agriculture Ambassa-

dor Guidelines5

Retailing.are you

the new social

church?

6

Upcoming Events 8

Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh experience.

We Are Exceponal Quiz!Last November for our year end staff party I thought it

would be fun to play a How well do you know Stroms game.My more seasonal staff (those with us 4 seasons and longer)thought they had this in the bag. They were even making uptheir own questions a few weeks before the party (we had a lotof dreary weekends last October). While playing the game inbetween bowling my eyes were opened to some of what Ithought were common knowledge questionsespecially to an

employee. So, I thought why wait till the end of the season,lets do weekly quizzes. This year, every Friday our staff answer 8 questions about the farmon their We are Exceptional quizzes. It has worked well to reinforce safety issues, quality,and what should be everyday common knowledge.

Some examples of questions are:Name one location you would find a MSDS binder. Where can I find a first aid kit? How many minutes should our sweet corn be cooked? A customer asks if we have lard in our pies, how do you respond. Opening day for the Harvest Fun Area is?

These quizzes have helped to reinforce our employee manual and our orientation while

sending reminders of everyday common knowledge. And yes, we do have prizes with thequiz. The weekly winner picks a gift card from my Gotcha Being Excellent basket and atthe end of six weeks the overall winner receives $50.

Heres to well informed, friendly exceptional staff and a sunny fall!

Amy StromOFFMA President

Employees want to make their work easier and want to help their company. Theyhave lots of ideas, if someone would just ask them. The best employee ideas sys-tems encourage employees to come up with small ideas and lots of them.

Five Easy Idea Generators

1. Make it easy for employees to suggest ideas. If more information is needed,you can ask the employee for it later.

2. Create a departmental ideas board where everyone can post problems and

solutions.3. Order pizza and discuss employee ideas over an extended lunch.4. Encourage everyone to identify things that make their work difficult, waste

money or distract from the customer experience, and then to think of ways to

fix them.


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MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Page 2 Fresh Facts

ClassifiedsFOR SALE:Mini Straw Bales12wide X 10 high x 24 long

$1.50 wholesale, picked up at the farm. Thesebales generally retail for $4.00 to $5.00

Contact Kevin Shantz 519-634-5252

Two used vertical growing hydroponic systemsfrom Vertigro.com

One is a 1512 pot system located in a green-house used 4 seasons. The other is a 3384 pot

system located outdoors and has been usedfor 2 seasons. Can be sold as 1 unit or as 2separate systems. Fertilizer injector not in-

cluded.

Contact Jerry Howell for additional info at 905-

892-3918

Acrylic Demo Mirror48 x 96 in size and .118 in thickness. It

would be invaluable as an overhead mirror forcooking or craft demonstrations. Used twice

for a garlic festival cooking demo. Cost $200,contact Cathy Bartolic 905-841-9278

WANTED:Tomatillos for processing.

If you have extra tomatillos contact Heather

Fraser at Wheel Barrow Orchard, 905-878-

7070 or [email protected]

Supplier for halloween items.

Do you have a suggestion for small halloween

items that would complement an on-farm mar-ket? Megan Snyder is looking for a supplier

who can provide these types of items. Pleasecontact her at 519-632-7356 or

[email protected]

Classified ads are free to all OFFMA members.Classified ads will be printed in the next newsletterand on the web site in the classified ad section.Make use of this membership benefit, if you arelooking to sell or purchase an item, send the rele-

vant information to the OFFMA office. Well makesure it is posted.

Peer Networking GroupsA GO!Peer networking groups are being estab-

lished for the purpose of sharing knowledgebetween OFFMA members with similar inter-ests or goals. It is a formal approach to net-working. With set meeting times and agen-das, groups will leverage one anothers ex-pertise to solve problems, develop ideas, andfor businesses, improve profitability.

Farm businesses owners are expected to beskilled at marketing, finance, production andhuman resources (and much more). Unlessowners make time to connect with others insimilar operations, they are going it alone.The Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Associa-tion (OFFMA) is launching four peer network-ing groups in November/December 2010.

On-site Bakeries School Tour Groups Community Shared Agriculture

(CSA) Other (you tell us what would work

best for you)

OFFMA members will have the opportunity to

join and begin networking with other busi-nesses with similar interests and needs.At the onset during a face to face meeting,each peer networking group will define a spe-cific purpose (i.e. solve a problem or developan idea), goal and relevant discussion topicsbased on the needs and expertise of those inthe group. The overall objective is that peernetworking groups will encourage the sharingof knowledge, build a network of support andimprove the overall business managementskills of OFFMA members. Application formsare included with this newsletter, please fill

out and return by October 15, 2010.

Live today becausetomorrow is not promised.


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Page 3Newsletter #261

Animal Displays/Petting Zoos/Farms and Visitors SafetyBy Wayne Du, Pork Quality Assurance Program Lead, OMAFRA

Petting zoos/farms certainly are fun places to visit. In fact, manyCanadians get in touch with their rural roots each year by takingtheir children to petting zoos/ farms and agricultural fairs, where

kids can observe and interact directly with farm animals. Unfortu-nately, there are also human health risks associated with theseactivities such as exposure to harmful bacteria, viruses and para-sites. There have been a number of reported cases of E. coliO157:H7 outbreaks associated with animals in public settings.The causes ranged from inadequate hand washing facilities, allow-ing visitors to consume food or drink in animal areas, lack of sign-age, improper facility design and others. If you invite people toyour farm and they will be petting or handling farm animals thenyou need to have their safety in mind. Here a few of the safety tipsyou should consider.

Informing visitors Put up signs in visible areas reminding visitors that farm ani-

mals can transmit/spread diseases and hands should be properly washed im-mediately after touching the animals

Put up hand washing posters showing proper hand washing procedures.

Clearly mark all handwashing facilities and remind people where they are andhow to get to them.

Designing your facility/venue properly Provide a separate area where humans and animals can interact. It should be

surrounded by a barrier such as a fence. This will restrict movement of both hu-mans and animals and will give you better control over the interaction.

Designate specific areas for food service and infant care. These should be sepa-

rate and away from the animal interaction areas. Food, drinks, toys and otherpersonal property does not belong in the animal pen.

Provide sufficient hand washing stations. These facilities should be adequatelystocked with running potable water, soap, and disposable towels available allthe time.

Create a clear traffic flow for visitors. This should ensure that they must passthrough a handwashing station after they touch animals.

Limiting activities Advise parents not to bring food, drink, pacifiers and toys into animal areas. Eat-

ing, drinking and carrying toys and pacifiers should not be permitted in animalinteraction areas.

Advise parents not to allow children to have their mouths come in contact withthe animals or the pen material.

Advise parents to supervise children, especially small children who like to putthings in their mouths. If possible post signs that warn that hands that touchanimals should not go in mouths. Have a supply of hand sanitizer and wipes

that parents can use for quick clean up.

Visiting farms can be fun for children and adults. To keep this experience safe as wellas fun, certain precautions must be taken. Good planning and good communicationwill go a long way in making your farm a great, and a safe, place to visit.


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Page 4 Fresh Facts

It was one year ago that I was on the phonewith director Rob Black of the Advanced Agri-cultural Leadership Program (AALP) accept-ing my offer to join the 19 month long execu-tive leadership and personal developmentprogram. I had already made the decision toretire from Speech Therapy after 4 years andcome home to the family business. I wantedto immerse myself back into agriculture, re-educate myself so I was in the know, anddevelop skills so I could successfully managemyself, employees and the business.

The AALP program is a program of the RuralOntario Institute (ROI) for men and women inall sectors and from all regions of Ontariosagricultureand food industry who aspire to

help shape the future of rural Ontario.

Through a series of seminars, participantsdevelop leadership skills, gain knowledge ofthe agri-food system and perspectives on crit-ical issues in the industry. Now more thanhalf way through our program, Class 13 hasvisited Guelph, Sarnia, Gananoque, Toronto,Sudbury and most recently, our ten day NorthAmerican study tour to Washington, D.C. inJuly (yes I was able to sneak away duringStrawberry season).

While on our ten day journey, Class 13 wasprivileged to experience inside tours and can-did discussions as we examined a variety ofagricultural, political, environmental, culturaland social issues in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Mar-yland, Washington, DC and New York. Nomatter where we went or who we talked to,

one message was clear. Farmers must maketheir voices heard as changes in agricultureaccelerate.

Dr. Michael Dykes, a Vice-President from

Monsanto said, If you havent been on a farmin the last 5-10 years, you do not know pro-duction agriculture. This is a message thatfarmers in the US are trying to communicateto local officials and the public, and is a mes-sage that Ontario farmers can fully under-stand. There are thousands of people thatvisit our farm in Caledon every year. We arelucky to be in a business that welcomes visi-tors to our farm so that we can teach peoplewhere their food comes from, show them On-tario agriculture at its best and how farm life is

changing.

During our trip, entrepreneurial farmersshowed how their operations have made bigchanges in their efforts to adapt to new tech-nology, changing regulations and how theyhave become more productive and environ-mentally friendly than ever before. The sameis true for all of our family businesses. Everyyear we add something to the Play Area, wetry a new variety of pumpkins or sweet corn,change our marketing approach as we learnto deal with infrastructure change, we try to

find more efficient ways of doing thebooks...the list goes on. We adapt, wechange, we grow but are we doing our best tomake our voices heard?

Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Secretary ofAgriculture, told AALP Class 13 that in order

to have farm voices heard, weneed to reconnect farming tothe city and to build relation-ships with government offi-cials. In the agritourism busi-ness, we educate on a dailybasis but maybe it is time totake another look at your farmbrochures, school tour pro-grams, signage around thefarm, expertise amongst yourstaff, read up on the newesttechnology/trends, and evalu-ate your relationship with townofficials. By doing this, wecan ensure we are doing ourbest to show Ontarios best inour field.

What AALP has meant to meBy Darlene Downey, Downeys Farm Market and Estate Winery

AALP Class 13 during their annual study tour.


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Every seminar I am learning something newabout myself, a classmate, issues in agricul-ture, or developing a new skill that helps bothin my personal and work life. I try to take away1 or 2 key messages from each seminar, per-sonalize them, and act upon them to ensure I

benefit fully from the AALP program. I havelearned how to be more candid with familymembers and employees which has really im-proved communication at work. My family hasstarted succession planning (which I am nolonger afraid to talk about), making goals andwriting them down so we are all becomingmore accountable. The media training in To-ronto has trained me to be prepared before aninterview, stick to my message, and stay posi-tive. Following the Sarnia seminar, not onlyhas Microsoft Outlook become my new best

Agriculture Ambassadorbe the bestBy Kelly Daynard, OFAC

friend, but I have become more honestwith myself and others when it comes totime commitment. The most recent studytour to Washington reminded me that edu-cation is key if we really want people tounderstand us, our business and where

Ontario agriculture is now and where weare going.

The Advanced Agricultural LeadershipProgram is currently looking for membersfor Class 14. If you are interested in learn-ing more about the program, please visitwww.aalp.on.ca

Darlene will receive the AALP scholarshipavailable to OFFMA members and their fami-lies that participate in an AALP program.

Kelly Daynard, Program Manager at Ontario

Farm Animal Council (OFAC), shares tips onhow farmers and industry can become Agri-

cultural Ambassadors.

Newspaper, television, radio, facebook,twitter, blogs and the list goes on of the

different mediums where people are talkingabout agriculture and unfortunately some

of what is being said is biased and untrue.How can we make sure the right messages

about agriculture are reaching the public?Here are some tips that can help you do

that clearly and effectively.

Top 10 tips for an Agriculture Ambassador

1. Be positive even if youve met with hos-

tility or contention, remain positive and

open to conversation.

2. Know who you are talking to your mes-sage will change depending on your audi-

ence e.g. speaking to a grade 3 class ver-

sus talking to the media.

3. Be prepared know what information

you want to share and dont try to speak off

the cuff.

4. Use easy to understand words no jar-gon or acronyms.

5. Provide comparisons/visuals your audi-

ence can understand such as bringing in

photos of your own farm.

6. Use examples that you know about if you

are a strawberry grower then talk aboutstrawberry production.

7. Show you care make it clear that you

want to be there!

8. I dont know is a valid answer.

9. Invite discussion but avoid debates andconfrontations and respect others opinions.

10. Make a memorable impression you may

be the only farmer someone ever gets tomeet.

How can you speak up about agriculture?

* Write a letter to the editor correcting misin-formation

* Speak to school kids in the classroom orhave school tours at the farm

* Distribute educational resources so people

have access to the correct information* Visit your MP and MPP* Volunteer at events

If youd like to learn more about how to be an

agriculture ambassador, OFAC will be hosting

Speak Up media training workshops for farm-ers this fall. Contact Kelly Daynard at (519)

837- 1326 for more information.
http://www.aalp.on.ca/http://www.aalp.on.ca/http://www.aalp.on.ca/


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Page 6 Fresh Facts

Various reports have been produced on re-

tailing in recent years that focus on why

people go shopping. Some of thesereports identify that consumers

are driven by convenience and

price. I agree that these are keydrivers and the multitude of

box stores and TV com- mercials will verify thatthis is the case for manyretailers.

Having said that, there

is a fundamentalchange going on insome retail sectors that

we need to be aware

of. The consumer isrelooking at their most

precious commodity, TIME, and asking

themselves how can they use it more effec-tively, but also how can they develop qual-

ity time within the community.

The community is still an important factorfor consumers and they still want to gatherand connect as a community. Historically

the village and town square became the

focal point for the local population and theweekly market was a must be place to be

seen, catch up on the latest local gossip and

to connect as a community. The townsquare remained the centre of the commu-

nity until the emergence of the supermar-

ket. This resulted in consumers changing

their shopping habits and as a result theywould often go shopping and not engage

with anyone else in the community whilst

on that shopping trip.

During the last twenty years this has be-

come the main shopping focus. Out of

town shopping complexes were developed

and as a result the hub of many towns went

into decline and the community suffered

as a result.

We are now in a period of change, con-sumers are wanting their Social Church

back and as a result we are seeing a num-

ber of changes in the way people plan to

shop.

What is Social Church?My definition of social church is where

the community can gather and connect.This may take place at a market, a com-

munity hall or club. Over recent years thesocial church has become more segregat-

ed with consumers congregating in tribesbased on age or hobbies rather than mix-

ing as a community where all ages and

interests get together and enjoy the com-munity.

Communities need to get together, alas in

many communities in the last decadespeople have moved in and out of houses

and may not even know the neighbours;the result is a breakdown of the overall

community.

Consumers are now challenging this con-

cept and as a result we are seeing achange in the way we retail and I believe

this will be a trend rather than a fad and

retailing may be changed for decades as a

result of it.

Activity CentresThe shopping mall is already seeing thisevolution take place. Some estimates arethat 50% of American shopping centres

are already in decline and empty malls are

now a common site in the States. The

consumer has started to rebel against anexperience where they are left in a con-

trolled environment to walk along lines of

Retailing...are you the new social church?By John Stanley


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global shops without much relief.

The result has been the emergence of the

main street in new shopping centres

whilst architects start to design shopping

centres that look more like town hubsthan boxes with shops in them. In Austral-

ia we have the term Activity Centres,this is where 50% of available rental

space is made available to other activities

other than retailing. This means that li-

braries, night clubs, taverns and commu-nity halls are now being introduced into

the same complex and a 24/7 community

experience is on offer to local residents.

My Book Shop Experience I recentlyhad a meet-

ing in a sub-urb of Perth

and we

planned to

meet at Mill-

PointCa Bookshop, a business I was

unfamiliar with. I was told it was an inde-

pendent bookshop. The meeting was on a

Friday morning. I arrived at the bookshop to find the place full of consumers,

reading books, buying books and having a

late breakfast or early lunch, in fact wehad a challenge to find a seat.

Here was an independent, locally owned

bookshop that had discovered that if theycould tap into Social Church they would

have a thriving business.

The place I am told is like this every dayof the week.What had they discovered:

1. You need to create a relaxing

atmosphere to get consumers to

linger longer.

2. The product does not dominate

the experience; the customer

needs space to enjoy the experience.3. The quality of the food and

coffee is as important as the

quality of the product they sell.

4. The customer is encouraged tolinger longer.

5. The staff were exceptionallygood at their interactive personal

skills.

6. The team had a passion for the

product and can help the

customer could enjoy it to the

max.7 . The environment was authentic

and unique; you knew you were

not in a globally designed retailenvironment.

All forms of retailing need to develop

the social church niche. For some retail-ers it can be a broad church whilst oth-

ers will develop a narrow church and

build on the hobby or interest of theircustomers.Today, businesses that have an ad-

vantage are locally owned independent

operators who are keen to develop theirmarket penetration within the communi-

ty.

John Stanley is a coach, consultant, author,speaker and trainer. He has been described as

the 'Retail Guru' and he has also been described

as the leading horticultural consultant in the

world today. To learn more about John and the

resources he offers, visit JohnStanley.com.auProduct of the Month

John Stanleys audio recording of his February Workshop at the

Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention; Innovative Merchandisingand Displays to Increase your Bottom Line.

$40 + HST for the month of SeptemberRegular price $60 + HST

If you missed this workshop, dont miss out on this opportunity to

learn valuable tips on how to increase your sales through effective

displays. Call the OFFMA office today!


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Upcoming EventsSept. 14-16 Canadas Outdoor Farm Show, Woodstock, ON, visit

www.outdoorfarmshow.com for more info.

Sept. 21-25 International Plowing Match, St. Thomas, Elgin County, for additional infogo to www.ipm2010.com

Sept. 22-24 20th Annual National Compost Conference, Crowne Plaza, Ottawa, ONOct. 6 & 7 Canadian Greenhouse Conference, International Centre, Toronto, ON

Visit canadiangreenhouseconference.com for further info

Oct. 20-23 International Maple Syrup Institute and the North American Maple SyrupCouncil Annual Meeting, Arden Park Hotel, Stratford. For additional details,visit www.northamericanmaple.org/index.php/annual-meeting

Nov. 5-14 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, Exhibition Place, Toronto, ON Watch fordetails at www.royalfair.org

Nov. 7-9 OFFMAs Bus Tour in Central Ontario, contact Cathy at 905-841-9278

Dec. 3 Haygrove Tunnel Conference, Lancaster, PA. Visit haygrove.com or call1-866-HAYGROVE for additional information.

Dec. 7-9 Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo , DeVos Place Conven-tion Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for further info visit, www.glexpo.com

January 5-6 Southwest Agricultural Conference, Ridgetown College, Ridgetown, ONVisit southwestagconference.ca for additional details

January 22 FarmSmart Agricultural Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, ONGo to uoguelph.ca/farmsmart for additional info

January 29-30 2011 Guelph Organic Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, ONwww.guelphorganicconf.ca

April 4-8, 2011 Bus Tour to UK, contact Cathy Bartolic at 905-841-9278

Page 8 Fresh Facts

Ontario Farm Fresh

Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director

2002 Vandorf Rd. Aurora, ON L4G 7B9

Phone: 905-841-9278

Fax: 905-726-3369

E-mail: [email protected]

www.ontariofarmfresh.com

2010-11 OFFMA Board of DirectorsAmy Strom, President

Stroms Farm

Jesse Lauzon, Vice President

Springridge Farm

Mark Saunders, Past President

Saunders Farm

Paul Brooks, Brooks Farms

Jay Howell, Brantview Apples & Cider

Anne Just, Kurtz Orchards

Marg Land, Annex Publishing

(Associate Member)

Colleen Pingle, Pingles Farm Market

Geri Rounds, Rounds Ranch

Steve Smith, Smiths Apples

Dorene Collins, OMAFRA

(Advisor to the Board)

People are like Potatoes

Some people never seem motivated to participate, but are content to watch others do.

They are called Speck Tators.

Some people never do anything to help, but are gifted at finding fault with the way others do things.They are called Comment Tators.

Some are always looking to cause problems and really get under your skin.

They are called Aggie Tators.

There are those who are always saying they will, but somehow, they never get aroundto doing. We call them Hezzie tators.

Some people put on a front and act like someone else.

Theyre called Emma Tators.

Then, there are those who walk what they talk. Theyre always prepared to

stop what theyre doing to lend a hand to others and bring real sunshine into

the lives of others. You can call them Sweet Tators.

Documents

Fresh Facts - September 2010