Marketing

• Lehigh Valley Farm Market Map
• Lehigh Valley Grain Marketing Club
• Lehigh Valley Growers Association
• Southeast Region Forage Directory
• Regional Infrastructure for Sustainable Agriculture
• Pennsylvania Retail Farm Market Association
• Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture
• Farmer's Guide to Processing and Selling Meat or Poultry (PDF)
• Related Links

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  Lehigh Valley Farm Market Map

  Lehigh Valley consumers are fortunate to live among an abundance of farm fresh agricultural products that are available directly from their farmer neighbors. Today's consumer is not only looking for agricultural products, they value the experience of direct farmer contact. Helping to assure farm viability and preserving open space are public concerns that can be addressed directly through the purchase of locally-grown and marketed agricultural products.

  Penn State Cooperative Extension has produced a Lehigh Valley Farm Market Map that will allow consumers easy access to the wide variety of products grown and sold in Lehigh and Northampton Counties. The map is printed in the format of a folding road map. In addition to a listing of farms and product availability, a detailed map will allow exploration of the countryside. The Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau is involved in distributing the Lehigh Valley Farm Market Map to tourist centers throughout eastern Pennsylvania.

  To receive a copy of the Lehigh Valley Farm Market Map, contact Lehigh County Cooperative Extension at (610) 391-9840.

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  Lehigh Valley Grain Marketing Club

  The Lehigh Valley Grain Marketing Club (LVGMC), is a voluntary organization which offers an opportunity to participate in alternative marketing approaches of agricultural commodities as an educational tool, specifically to provide an understanding of agricultural commodity marketing. The LVGMC is not a speculation club, but is intended to identify alternative means of controlling price risk.

  The Lehigh Valley Grain Marketing Club meets the second Tuesday of each month. These breakfast meetings start at 7:00 a.m. at the Starlite Diner, Fogelsville.

  Everyone is welcome at all Club activities.

  >See theLVGMC by-laws and basis terms.

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  Lehigh Valley Growers Association

  The Lehigh Valley Growers Association operates a producer-only Farmers' Market. The market is located at the community park in Coopersburg. There are currently openings for additional growers. The market is open from July through Labor Day.

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  Southeast Region Forage Directory

  In an effort to provide forage producer contacts to anyone interested in purchasing hay, straw or silage, Lehigh County Cooperative Extension is producing an updated Southeastern Pennsylvania Forage Directory for distribution this fall. The Directory will list forage producers with supplies for sale from the eight county southeast region. The area covered by this directory is: Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton and Schuylkill Counties.

  In addition to allowing the forage consumer easy access to available regional supplies, the increased marketing opportunities for the forage producer, from a centralized listing, is well documented.

  Total acres harvested for hay make it the number one field crop in the Commonwealth. This ranking is due to Pennsylvania's ideal forage growing conditions and the vital need for this feedstuff by the state's livestock. The 170,000 head of cattle, 27,000 horses and 11,000 sheep in the southeastern region of Pennsylvania rely on forage as a major part of their diet.

  Additional sources of information and contacts:

  • Pennsylvania Forage and Grassland Council, c/o Richard Hahn, Milton Hershey School, P.O. Box 830, Hershey, PA 17033-0830
  • American Forage and Grassland Council, P.O. Box 94, Georgetown, TX 78267
  • National Hay Association, 102 Treasure Island Causeway, Suite 201, St. Petersburg, FL 33706

  Publications available from your local Penn State Cooperative Extension office include:

  AGRS-64	Pennsylvania Forage Handbook ($28.00)
  EC396	Harvesting and Utilizing Silage
  NRAES-67	Silage Production: From Seed to Animal ($25.00)
  UC045	Large Round Bale Silage
  NRAES-05	Silage and Hay Preservation ($8.00) Agronomy Facts on Forage Production series Enterprise Budgets on Various Forage Crops

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  Regional Infrastructure for Sustainable Farm Marketing (RISA)

  RISA has twelve areas of common vision for sustaining agriculture in southeast Pennsylvania:

  • improved education and communication
  • tax reform
  • improved marketing
  • revitalization of urban areas
  • economic viability of farms
  • alternative development patterns
  • farm stewardship
  • improved food and farm system linkages
  • increased collaboration
  • regulation reform
  • technology improvement
  • access to affordable, nutritious food

  Contact:

  Suzanne Milshaw, c/o RISA

  Farmers Market Trust

  1201 Chestnut Street, 4th Floor

  Philadelphia, PA 19107
  
  

  (215) 568-0830, ext. 26

  risa@libertynet.org

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  Pennsylvania Retail Farm Market Association (PRFMA)

  The incentive to have a farm market is obvious. The closer you can get to the retail customer, the more retail food dollars go in your pocket instead of the middleman's. If you want to sell retail you have to provide the services wholesalers and retailers provide. That can be tough if you don't have a suitable location, you are not very creative or don't have the knack of dealing with people. If you do, the opportunities are there.

  The Pennsylvania Retail Farm Market Association, Inc., is a statewide organization providing a network for marketing education, communication and idea sharing for grower-marketers. The mission of PRFMA is for members to benefit by education, cooperation, representation and promotion of Pennsylvania Direct-To-Consumer Agricultural Marketing. Everyone involved in marketing farm products direct to consumers at farm stands, roadside markets, pick-your-own farms or farmers' markets is invited to join PRFMA. The annual dues are waived the first year for new members. The Pennsylvania Retail Farm Market Association newsletter addresses current topics of interest. Customer relations, signage, displays, facilities, demographics, advertising and value-added are among concerns covered in the newsletter.

  The Pennsylvania Retail Farm Market Association, Inc., established a new board of directors at the annual state meeting held in conjunction with the Mid-Atlantic Direct Marketing Conference. The new board president, Rob Ferber, states, "This association is invaluable in bringing growers, marketers, industry, Cooperative Extension and the Department of Agriculture together on issues that affect direct farm marketing". To join the Pennsylvania Retail Farm Market Association, Inc., and receive the quarterly newsletter, contact PRFMA, Lehigh County Cooperative Extension, 4184 Dorney Park Road, Allentown PA 18104-5798, (610) 391-9840, e-mail jwb15@psu.edu.

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  Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)

  Statements of Policy
  Sustainable agriculture is an investment in future food production and communities that is economically viable, ecologically sound and socially responsible. Through education and example, PASA promotes an ethic that recognizes the interdependence of people and the environment and sustains farms and farming, natural resources and communities.

  Contact:

  PASA

  P.O. Box 419

  114 West Main Street

  Millheim, PA 16854

  (814) 349-9856

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  Related Links

  Small Farm Resource
  Market Reports
  Dr. Kendrick, University of Nebraska, bookmarks
  Chicago Board of Trade
  Minneapolis Grain Exchange

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