Released November 4, 2009
DAVIS, Calif. -- University of California Cooperative Extension has launched a new Web site at http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/farmbusinessandmarketplace to help new and established small- to medium-scale farmers of fresh products with the business and marketing aspects of their operations.
UCCE has a long history of providing research-based agricultural production information to California farmers. The new Web site, developed by farm management advisor of UCCE in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties, Laura Tourte, extends information about equally important factors of successful farming – business plans, budgeting, and managing cash flow, targeting particular segments of the market and keeping customers satisfied.
“Farmers generally go into farming because they like growing crops, working outside and producing food,” Tourte said. “But the business aspects are critical.”
The Web site is designed for people who are considering farming, and those who have been in the business for quite a while and wish to refresh or enhance their skills. It was designed with Central Coast farmers in mind, but is applicable in most parts of the state. The site aggregates information from the University of California and other universities and agricultural affiliates from around the nation.
“The intent was to reduce the amount of time it would take farmers to search for reliable information on the Web,” Tourte said. “I devoted months to evaluating and compiling the best resources for Central Coast farmers, and developing one ‘go-to’ site, which they can access at any time of day or night to find business and marketing information.”
For now, the resources on the Web site are written materials, but in the site’s next phase of development, slide shows and videos will be added for users who prefer presentation-style information delivery. Also planned for the future are materials that will be made available in Spanish.
For more information about the Web site, contact Tourte at (831) 763-8040, ljtourte@ucdavis.edu.
--30--
http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1250
Contact: Jeannette Warnert, (559) 241-7514, jewarnert@ucdavis.edu
