9 – 9:15 a.m.

Welcome & Announcements

Welcome & Announcements

9:15 – 10:15 a.m.

KEYNOTE

David Manuel and Red Lake Nation Food Sovereignty Plan

Sales Tax and Farmers’ Markets

Updated information from the MN Department of Revenue

10:15 – 10:20 a.m.

Door Prizes!

Door Prizes!

10:20 – 10:25 a.m.

BREAK

BREAK

10:25 – 11:25 a.m.

MFMA: 2021 Accomplishments /

                2022 Goals

Grants, Legislative Efforts, Bills Passed, Growing More Farmers, Broadening the Foundation for MN Farmers’ Markets – 9 Regions, New Projects

SNAP EBT and Market Bucks Update

Jill Westfall, Hunger Solutions MN

2021 saw an increase in SNAP EBT purchases at farmers’ markets, with more markets applying to accept SNAP EBT in 2022. Jill will review 2021 and forecast for 2022. Market managers’ input during this session welcome!

11:25 – 11:30 a.m.

Door Prizes!

Door Prizes!

11:30 – 12 Noon

Trends for 2022

Shopper preferences, new products (CBD?), and more

MFMA Insurance Update for 2022

12 – 12:30 p.m.

LUNCH

LUNCH

12:30 – 2 p.m.

Manager Sharing & Networking

Presenter: David Kotsonas, Director of Operations, St. Paul Farmers’ Markets; President of MFMA.

David manages 20+ farmers’ markets across the Twin Cities area. He’ll share his lessons learned & unique challenges / unfair advantages. Then we’ll “open the floor” (unmute you all) – so you can share your stories and learn from each other.

Marketing 101: 5 Marketing Basics on a Budget

Kim Guenther, MFMA Communications Director

Christian Guenther, Branding and Swagging Consultant, Liquid Screen Design.

Do you know how to outline your "why,” how to write good digital content, and how to use visuals to attract attention? Join Kim and Christian Guenther for a conversation about marketing your business or farmers' market without a huge budget. 

2 – 2:05 p.m.

BREAK

BREAK

2:05 – 3 p.m.

Soil Health for Produce Farmers

Dan Zimmerli, MN SFA

Click here for SFA Soil Health resources 

Soil health is critically important for growing abundant, nutrient dense produce for your markets. In this session we will discuss the 5 soil health principles in detail and strategies to implement these principles on your farm. We will also discuss methods for assessing the health of your soil and strategies to monitor your soil health over time. Dan will provide practical, real-life examples of how these are implemented on his farm, Cedar Crate Farm, a diversified produce farm in south central Minnesota. Hint: we're going to talk a lot about cover crops.

Market Metrics: FM360 results for 2021

Hikaru Petersen, Joe Nowak, UMN

Number #1 question asked by a potential new vendor: “How many customers does your market usually see each market day?”

FM360 – the market metrics collection tool that assesses the sustainability health of your market, your vendors, your customers – gathers this data and so much more. Hear the results from the 2021 data – and how markets are using that data to make management decisions.  

3 – 3:45 p.m.

Yes, Virginia, There Is Government Financial Aid Available for Farmer Vendors

COVID-19 shined a pretty bright light on the systemic inequities many of our farmer vendors face when accessing financial aid available to them. This session will introduce the many programs, and walk farmers through the steps to open the doors to these programs.

FM360 in SE MN

Maeve Mallozzi-Kelly – MFMA VISTA

Maeve will share her experience in rolling out FM360 to new markets in SE MN, and introduce the plan to blast FM360 statewide. Special announcement on NEW funding for FM360 for markets – and how we’ll ‘train the trainer’ for parts of FM360 to allow farmers’ markets to empower themselves.

3:45 – 4 p.m.

Announcements

Announcements

6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

SOCIAL HOUR

KaHOOT! Play games / win prizes!