By Heather Manzo, Extension Educator. Please join us for an eXtension CoP Community, Local, and Regional Food System webinar. When: Wednesday, September 6, 12 - 1 pm Pacific Time/3 - 4 pm Eastern Time How can we apply equity and anti-racism principles to our food system work? In answer to this question, this webinar provides three examples from the Cooperative Extension System of efforts to promote equity and undo racism in local food systems. These examples from North Carolina, Michigan, and Pennsylvania offer a range of experiences and strategies.  Kaitlin Wojciak, from Michigan St ..read more

By Heather Manzo, Extension Educator, Allegheny County. If the proper assets are in place a farmers market can create activity in building local economies and leveraging assets for mainstream redevelopment projects, enhancing relationships between business, increasing access to fresh food, and making social services more visible to community members. Farmers markets have historically played a role in weaving together the social and economic fabric of communities. Farmers markets today still play the role of creating a sense of place and community. Penn State Extension partnered with Sustai ..read more

By John Berry, Penn State Extension Educator, Lehigh County Many of the farmers I work for have a tough time with the process of getting their business into the hands of the next owner/manager. The reasons for this are many; no time, unwilling to think about mortality, not aware of what should happen, and uncertainty about losing control are some of the primary reasons often heard. Because of the intimate relationship between most farms and the families that work and live there; the unknowns around a broad family conversation on business transition can be a bit scary.   When is the be ..read more

By John Wodehouse, Penn State Extension Educator, Chester County Hundreds of fruit and vegetable growers and industry exhibitors gathered in Chocolate Town for the 2017 Mid Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention.   Take heed, chocolate, there’s a new sweet in town. For four days in early February, vegetable and fruit producers met at the Hershey Lodge & Convention Centerto learn more about the fruit and vegetable production business.   This is the first of three related articles. I encourage you to journey through the fruit and vegetable convention experience with me in ..read more

By Miguel Saviroff, Penn State Extension Educator, Somerset County The Federal Reserve’s decision to increase interest rates in December has raised questions in the farming sector. The feds have announced at least two new hikes in interest rates in 2017. Although farm level interest rates have been too low for a long time, low agricultural prices can’t cover for any operational expense increases. The clear majority of non-real estate loans made to farmers carry floating interest rates which means the cost of credit adjusts upward if rates increase.  A pie chart used to compare inte ..read more

By Winifred McGee, Penn State Extension Educator, Dauphin County A new year signals the time to think about new enterprises – exploring how, and where, to begin profiting from a “family favorite” recipe. The 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, and subsequent FDA rules, have made it a bit more challenging (but not impossible) to start a food business, in that even if state regulations allow a food product to be made in an inspected home kitchen (in Pennsylvania, referred to as a “limited food establishment”), when the food goes regional or national, FDA requires that all products be made in a ..read more

by HeatherManzo, Penn State Extension Educator, Allegheny County This article is the last in a four-part series for Passages discussing how the agricultural community can better understand and address a changing climate. PASA, in partnership with Penn State, was awarded a U.S. EPA Environmental Justice grant (#96335501) for educational programs related to climate change and agriculture. This grant supports this Passages series, several field days and webinars, and pre-conference tracks at the recent 25th Farming for the Future conference. Join us as we explore Farming in a Changing Climat ..read more

Cash flow statements are very useful – they may very well be the first place where a farmer will spot a trend in business performance that may benefit or harm the operation in the long run. Cash flow statements show the business’s liquidity, the ability to pay expenses as they come due. In accounting, there are both active statements and reflective statements. Active StatementsThe cash flow statement, a record of the dollars that came into and went out of the farm, is considered an “active” statement because it is completed multiple times throughout the year. The cash flow statement should be ..read more

By Dr Kathy Kelley--Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management and Dana Ollendyke-- Extension Associate In our previous post, we discussed what a loyalty program should do for your business--which, simply put, it should help increase your tasting room’s profits! In this post, we will discuss developing an outline for your loyalty program. A loyalty program rewards program (photo credit: iQoncept/Dollar Photo Club). The great thing about offering a loyalty program is that customers understand their basic function, as they most likely belong to other programs ..read more

By Dr Kathy Kelley--Professor of Horticultural Marketing and Business Management and Dana Ollendyke-- Extension Associate If you are a winery owner, you most likely have some type of “case club” or “customer loyalty” program in place, or you have thought about implementing one at your tasting room. Whatever you call it, the intent is probably the same – you try to reward customers who purchase large quantities of wine from you in the form of a discount and/or invitation to special events. A customer purchase of multiple bottles of wine (photo credit Efired/ Dollar Photo Club). If ..read more