Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/19
Outputs
Target Audience:This project initially sought to reach novices in farming and local food marketing, as well as experienced farmers who seek to diversify their crops and marketing options. In 2018, in cooperation with USDA AMS, the project scope was modified to reach those who have already received a USDA AMS grant and are seeking technical assistance in carrying out their funded projects. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?By design, the project provides training and professional development to its target audience, as described above. In addition, as the webinars and resources will remain archived online for the foreseeable future, incoming FMLFPP grantees will continue to benefit from these training and professional development materials. The project also engaged several staff who acquired new skills in the process of launching the various components. For example, staff learned website development, Customer Relationship Software (Mailchimp), listserv maintenance, and webinar hosting. Further, through their involvement with the project, our mentor consultants gained new perspectives on issues faced by practitioners who are engaged in farmers market and local foods promotion projects, and learned from each other via their respective areas of expertise. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A listserv was launched in December 2018 in order to market and promote the project's resources to its target audience. This list, which started from scratch, currently comprises more than 500 members. New members are added when they reach us through our website, webinars, inquiries through our help center and one-on-one consulting. Through this list, we have kept our stakeholders apprised of our webinar schedule, new resources available on the website, and other opportunities that pertain to their projects. The Peer-to-Peer Learning Network mentioned above has provided an additional platform for engaging our target audience and reaching potential future FMLFPP cohorts who would benefit from our online resources. From our program evaluation conducted in August of 2019 with surveys to grantees who used our services, AMS Staff, our consultant mentors, and other national technical assistance providers who used our services, we created a 20-page report of AMSTA activities that we submitted to USDA AMS in October 2019. Grantee highlights of impacts with our technical assistance are as follows: 71% Percent of respondents said that AMSTA provided them access to resources that ere formerly unknown to them 55% Percent of respondents said that AMSTA helped them to evaluate their grant more successfully 55% Percent of respondents said that AMSTA connected them to field experts who they could reach out to for help? 45% Percent of respondents said that AMSTA helped them navigate challenges in grant implementation? 40% Percent of respondents said that AMSTA made them more confident in implementing their grant? 24% Percent of respondents said that AMSTA connected them with other grantees What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Several meetings with NERCRD and AMS staff took place over Spring of 2018 to solidify the vision for the revised goals and objectives of this project, to include launch of a technical assistance web portal and mentor program designed to help grant recipients of the AMS Farmers Market and Local Foods Promotion Programs (FMLFPP) access the resources they need to successfully carry out their funded projects. The project, described in detail below, was kicked off at the Direct Agricultural Marketing Summit held in Washington, DC in September 2018. Impacts include grantees making changes to their budget line items and activities; increasing communication with their project stakeholders; securing assistance with event planning; amending their evaluation plans; and integrating new technologies or resources into their projects, such as sales and customer management systems. The project has also increased overall outreach to grantees and facilitated increased communication between grantees and USDA AMS grant specialist staff, as grantees have indicated AMSTA is the 'neutral' third party assistance provider and often "first stop" with whom they feel comfortable sharing challenges and questions. Program Coordinators Sarah Rocker and Bryan Moyer convened a team of six food systems experts from around the country. These mentor consultants conducted seven webinars, each on their own respective area of expertise. Webinars served as the gateway for grantees to connect with the project; they typically learned about a topic through a webinar, and then followed up for one-on-one support or to connect to the mentor for targeted consulting following the sessions. Mentors and program coordinators delivered 120 hours of one-on-one consulting to more than 55 FMLFPP grantees via email and phone in areas such as evaluation strategies, convening stakeholders, farmers market recruitment and retention, metrics and evaluation, client management software, project activities and objectives changes, and collaborating with and maintaining working relationships with community stakeholders. In spring of 2019, we launched the Mini-Group Consulting Workshops, providing direct consulting on topics including institutional sales, metrics and evaluation. We hosted four sessions in this new format, providing outreach and fostering peer learning among approximately 18 grantees. Our first technical assistance webinar took place November 2018, and additional webinars occurred monthly through April 2019 (see below). Each webinar topic was selected based on a review of grant challenges reported in final grant reports submitted to USDA AMS from previous years, as well as from direct feedback from USDA AMS Grant Management Specialist staff. These included: November 2018: Institutional Sales: High Volume, High Hurdles (66 attendees); January 2019: Understanding & Improving Your Customer Expansion or Retention Strategy (37 attendees) February 2019: Convening Events: An Effective Tool for Matchmaking and Raising Public Awareness (41 attendees) March 2019: "REACH OUT" - A Community-Centered Approach to Farmers Markets Promotion & Outreach (83 attendees) April 2019: FMPP & LFPP Project Evaluation (71 attendees) May 2019: Developing Evidence-Based Insights: How to Use Your Farmers Market as a "Living Lab" (61 attendees) June 2019: Reporting Your Grant Results (40 attendees) A total of 425 people attended the seven webinars. Webinars are archived online for those who missed the live webinars, and this appears to be a popular option--website statistics indicate roughly 600 views of the "Webinars and Events" page of the project website. The website was launched in November 2018 and provides visitors with a suite of resources organized in terms of where they are in the life cycle of their funded project (e.g., implementation, evaluation, or closing out their grant). The site has garnered more than 600 unique visits and 5,000 page views, with top page views in webinars, tools and resources for project evaluation. In December 2018, we partnered with the Wallace Center at Winrock International, launching a Peer-to-Peer online network for current, past and prospective LFPP and FMPP grantees. Project leadership coordinated this group, and our mentor consultants posted relevant resources following their webinars. In addition, peer grantees and other technical assistance providers (including USDA AMS staff) posted updates and resources to this site. As of August 2019, the peer network has over 70 posts and 90 individual active users. The largest groups on the FSLN platform have approximately 100 members, and we anticipate our numbers to continue growth as more folks become familiar with the broader platform.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Rocker, Sarah J. and Brian Moyer. 2019. Agricultural Marketing Service Technical Assistance (AMSTA) Project: Summative Evaluation of 2018-2019 Program. Prepared for AMS staff, October 2019.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Rocker, Sarah J. and Brian Moyer. 2018. An Introduction to the Agricultural Marketing Service Technical Assistance Project. Presented at the USDA AMS Direct Marketing Summit, Arlington, VA, September 2018.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Candib, Addie. 2019. Reporting Your Grant Results. AMSTA Webinar, June 19. https://psu.zoom.us/recording/share/y_bmsowYp4pJQo8yIf9ZiBSKdzfv8Kh5xV5IuYw73i-wIumekTziMw?startTime=1560961986000.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Fritschner, Sarah. 2018. Institutional Sales: High Volume, High Hurdles. AMSTA Webinar, December 5. https://vimeo.com/301269207.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Karlen, Ann. 2019. Convening Events: An Effective Tool for Matchmaking and Raising Public Awareness. AMSTA Webinar, February. https://psu.zoom.us/recording/share/oflPNzzOILMJGCCCDKgRunb64VOpHLnn6JNCHtUdJmewIumekTziMw.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Madison-Keita, Nykisha, and Dorothy Cross. 2019. REACH OUT A Community-Centered Approach to Farmers Markets Promotion & Outreach. AMSTA webinar, March. https://psu.zoom.us/recording/share/ZUTDqaxdMPwnFJN76WsWUf17TdA6nb0jYpwnp9wV_iSwIumekTziMw?startTime=1551893168000.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Sero, Rebecca. 2019. FMPP and LFPP Foundational Strategies for Project Evaluation. AMSTA Webinar, April. https://psu.zoom.us/recording/share/GLBxHBSlq3xZoVCAzVhYc2NXQBdC5EMgMTTXVPzdjgQ?startTime=1556128754000.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Staisey, Nancy, and Helaine Harris. 2019. Developing Evidence-Based Insights: How to Use Your Farmers Market as a Living Lab. AMSTA Webinar, May 22. https://psu.zoom.us/recording/share/zNhLpLB3EYh2daI-vAosAMMUcHn-qrZUawEQSc1kFnewIumekTziMw.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Wolnik, Darlene. 2019. Understanding and Improving Your Customer Expansion or Retention Strategy. AMSTA Webinar, January 16. https://psu.zoom.us/recording/share/XSJ4Zw5qjAy2t8DOnHU4GVNSqpQ0-5TVJiqFxo5MlT2wIumekTziMw?startTime=1547661578000.
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Agricultural Marketing Service Portal and Support Network Website: https://sites.psu.edu/amsta/
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Progress 09/01/17 to 08/31/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Novices in farming and local food marketing, as well as experienced farmers who seek to diversify their crops and marketing options. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our work consists of building the Helpline Web Portal and Webinar training series, and we intend that these resources will provide training and development opportunities for the 2017 and 2018 LFPP and FMPP awardee cohorts. As this project also employed a graduate research assistant in the 2017-2018 academic year, they were given opportunities to participate in professional speaking engagements, technical report writing, and co-authorship in academic publications. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We hosted a series of monthly phone calls throughout the Spring of 2018 with project partners from each state, many of which were faculty and Extension staff. As a group we reviewed the takeaways from the multi-state survey data and identified a gap in technical assistance offerings, especially for intermediated and wholesale channels. This information was disseminated to our state partners for consideration of future development and adaptations to their technical assistance programming in their respective institutions. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The 2018-2019 year is the launch of the Helpline Web Portal, webinar series and Help Line Mentor program. We intend to kick off our program launch with presentation and outreach materials at the upcoming Direct Marketing Summit meeting in Washington, DC in September 2018. We intend to track the results of our technical assistance interventions over the next year through attendance of webinars, number of consulting hours provided by mentors, as well as statistics on the top challenge areas, and tracking intervention success stories.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Data analysis for all focus group and survey data was completed in the 2017-2018 year. Presentation of this data and results was at two professional meetings. A preliminary report including focus group and survey findings was also delivered to AMS leadership in February of 2018. Several meetings with NERCRD and AMS staff took place over Spring of 2018 to solidify the vision for the launch of the Help Line Web Portal and Mentor program. As of August, highly qualified mentors have been recruited, content has been laid out, and we are actively preparing for the outreach and launch of the website and webinar series. We have undergone some internal leadership staffing changes on the project, but have over the summer successfully hired and trained a new program associate to co-lead the Help Line Technical Assistance Program. As of August we have recruited a national team of (8) eight national experts to serve as Help Line Mentors over the following year.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Rocker, S., S.J. Goetz, C. McDavid, and B. Bowen. An Update on the AMS-Funded Local Food Resource Mapping Project. Presented at the Food Distribution Research Society Conference, Honolulu, HI, October 24, 2017.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Goetz, S.J., S. Rocker, H. Manzo. LFRM Survey Data, AMS Workshop, Atlanta, GA February 28th, 2018.
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Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Novices in farming and local foo marketing, as well as experienced farmers who seek to diversify their crops and marketing options. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has engaged Extension staff from eight states, as well as numerous focus group participants, all of whom gained a better understanding of their state's production, distribution and consumption data. Project team members presented on the project at the joint annual meeting of the National Association of Community Development Professionals and the Community Development Society, to an audience of approximately 40 community development research and extension staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The focus group meetings themselves are important avenues for presenting research based descriptive and analytical information about the various State's local food systems. Additional dissemination occurred at the aforementioned conference in Big Sky, Montana in June 2017. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Following further discussion with AMS and NIFA on September 13, 2017, we will continue to interpret and digest the information received from the focus groups as well as the online surveys, and to develop recommendations for AMS about how local foods producers and consumers can be better connected through markets.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
At this point focus group events and online surveys have been administered in all six of the pilot states, with varying numbers of participants and respondents for each activity. We have received summaries of the focus group events from all states except AR (pending). In Alaska it has been difficult to carry out the project both because of the remoteness of markets in the state, different conceptions of local foods, and staffing problems at the University because of severe funding cutbacks. Nevertheless, we have received input into this project even from this state. We prepared a Mapping platform proposal for AMS (May 2, 2017).
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Bowen, Becky, Susan Jakes, Stacey McCullough, Amanda Perez, Stephen Brown, Chance McDavid, and Stephan Goetz. "Local Food Resource Mapping Project." Presented at the joint meeting of the National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals (NACDEP) and the Community Development Society (CDS), Big Sky, MT, June 13, 2017.
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Progress 09/01/15 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Novices in farming and local food marketing, as well as experienced farmers who seek to diversify their crops and marketing options. Changes/Problems:We have had weather-related and organizational delays in two of our States. These are now on track to complete the work as planned in the revised project timetable. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A post-doc is being trained in developing state- and county-level food systems analytics that allow the identification of potential new business opportunities. Participants in the focus group meetings are being exposed to mapping possibilities and new ways of viewing and understanding their local food systems. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The focus group meetings themselves are important avenues for presenting research based descriptive and analytical information about the various State's local food systems. In addition, we have share the preliminary findings from this study at the 2016 annual meeting of the Food Distribution Research Society, in New Orleans, LA. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue to hold focus groups in some of the states and also analyze the focus group materials and survey responses received thus far.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
To date two of the States (AR, NC) have completed all of their Focus Group events, with the other states either wrapping up the events or planning to hold them early next year. MS has one more scheduled in December. Unexpected events including weather cancellations in Alaska and the withdrawal of a key partner in Arizona have delayed implementation in the West more so than in the Southern States. At the focus groups, invited participants were generally presented with a series of state-level maps showing basic production, distribution and consumption data, along with questions designed to guide the discussions and provide useful insights. In addition, participants were invited to respond to an on-line survey about the local foods system. We are in the process of compiling, analyzing and synthesizing this work. An early conclusion is that we may need a web-based mapping service that serves two distinctly different needs, although these may eventually overlap. One, there is a recognized need for and value in providing food systems analytics in the form of maps showing where different supply chain firms are located, and benchmarks such as location quotients that may point to opportunities for new businesses to emerge or improve the functioning of the supply chain. Two, there are opportunities to enhance the usefulness of MarketMaker and to expands its adoption for more immediate transactions between buyers, sellers and market intermediaries. There are strong complementarities between the two platforms. For both of these, sustainability over time is a key issue (also for complementary products such as NC's mapping system and KY's CADES), as the secondary data rapidly become obsolete. This may also represent an opportunity for an entrepreneur, however. There was also a sense, in MS, of an important need to develop more technology skills and provide education to farmers, who want to participate more in local foods systems but lack the knowledge to do so effectively. In addition, broadband access could be a challenge, especially in rural areas. Because of the highly graphical nature of any online mapping tool, adequate bandwidth is essential. Another key issue that emerged was the need for a marketing plan build around the tool so the target audience will know about it.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Stephan Goetz, Chance McDavid et al. Local Foods Resource Mapping, Research Update presented at the 2016 Food Distribution Research Society annual conference, New Orleans, LA. Proceedings is in progress.
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