Workshops Help Growers Make Products 'MarketReady'

PIKETON, Ohio -- Ohio food producers looking to sell through different marketing channels are invited to attend one of three MarketReady training programs. The day-long workshop teaches what is required to sell to grocers, restaurants and other wholesale buyers.

Programs will be held on Feb. 15 at the UFCW Hall in Cincinnati, Feb. 23 at the Center for Innovative Food Technology in Toledo, and Feb. 28 at the Mustard Seed Market and Café in Akron. Each program will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The cost is $75 per person and $25 for each additional person from the same business. Registration should be completed one week prior to the workshop. For details or to register, contact Julie Moose at 740-289-2071, ext. 223, or email moose.14@osu.edu.

The MarketReady program was initially developed by the University of Kentucky and was piloted in cooperation with OSU Extension and the Ohio Direct Marketing Team. To find out more about the program, go to http://go.osu.edu/MarketReady. 

"MarketReady workshops and resources guide producers through the decisions needed for entering various direct marketing channels," said Julie Fox, direct marketing specialist with Ohio State University Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. "Participants leave knowing what is required for packaging, pricing, delivering, regulations, insurance and marketing of their products for each type of buyer."

OSU Extension and OARDC are the outreach and research arms, respectively, of Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.