fresh facts - march 2014

8/12/2019 Fresh Facts - March 2014

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Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association

Newsletter #295March 2014

Volume 30, Number 3

Fresh Facts

Inside this issue:

Membership News 2

OMAF Updates 4

Getting Noticed in

20145

2014 Awards

Banquet6

Making Hey in the

Heartland and

Getting Inspired at

NAFDMA

8

Kids, Customers

and Employees:

How to make

time for all of

them

9

Needle in a

Haystack Con-

test

10

Upcoming

Events12

Presidents Message

Another workshop, Awards Banquet and Summit has just concluded. Congratula-

tions to all the award winners and thanks to all who participated.

This years event was truly amazing and magical. It was a testimony to how comfort-

able our OFFMA family feels with each other and their willingness to open up and

share to benefit all. It is hard to describe this feeling but those who attended will

know and those who did not, missed something very special.

As we wake up from the dream of the conference, it is time to sift through all the in-

formation and develop a plan and our action steps for 2014. Dr. Norman Vincent

Peale wrote an article in 1988 before there was the Nike swoosh and slogan. Here

are the first two paragraphs from his article.

Im convinced this upcoming year will be a great one for you if youll make one sim-

ple New Years resolution and stick to it in every one of the 365 days this year has to

offer. That resolution consists of just two short words. Each has only two letters.

But theyre packed with power. They can generate enormous energy. They can

sweep away discouragement and failure. They can make it possible for a person to

accomplish just about any worthwhile goal. And what are those two dynamic words?

Do it!

Have you got a promising idea? Do it!

Do you have a cherished dream? Do it!

Do you have a hidden ambition? Do it!

Have you some great impulse, some burning desire? Do it!

For our businesses to grow, someone in our organization needs to have vision and

dreams.

A plan without action is only a dream.

Dream big dreams! Make a plan with dates. And then commit to Do it!

Brian HugliOFFMA President

Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh experience.


2/12

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Page 2 Fresh Facts

New Members OFFMA is very excitedto welcome the following new members.Make a point to come out to a workshopand get to know some of the OFFMAfamily.

Thompsons OrchardsDonald ThompsonBlenheim, ON 519-358-6347Thompsons Orchards grows and fea-tures apples, peaches, and pears whichthey sell in their market along with plums,pumpkins and squash.

Front Step FarmsMichael Watson & Suky Finn

Maple, ON 647-501-8999Farming in the urban shadow, Front StepFarms offers a farm market, group func-tions, activities, and a pumpkin and rasp-berry pick your own, with an eye on add-ing more features to the enterprise.

Mountainoak CheeseAdam Van BergeijkNew Hamburg, ON 519-662-4967Say cheese. Mountainoak Cheese offersan interesting variety of cheeses from

their Signature Gouda to their Black Truf-fle. A Food Service is also available.

Burrow/Kosir FarmElisabeth BurrowFergus, ON 519-362-1585

A mixed fruit and nut orchard providesthe market specialties of roasted maplenuts, pecans, heartnuts, walnuts, hazel-nuts, along with apples, pears, cherriesand raspberries.

Silver Creek NurseryKen RothWellesley, ON 519-804-6060Silver Creek grows fruit trees and sellsthem from their market. They also offerpruning and grafting workshops.

Comolea FarmsKim MournahanGrand Valley, ON 519-928-2218Comolea Farms raises Premium High-land Beef for breeding stock, filler stock,pets & Beef sales on the farm and atsome local farmers markets.

Associate MemberMiller Thomson LawyersPatricia RintjemaWaterloo, ON 519-593-3295

The Miller Thomson firm has lawyersfrom various disciplines across Ontariooffering an in-depth understanding of le-gal issues and challenges in agricultureand food production.

Last year, OFFMA had over 100,000 visi-tors to its website. We want to offer themaccurate, up-to-date information but wecan only do that if you let us know what ishappening at your farm. Take a minute to

log onto OntarioFarmFresh.com andcheck that the current information is listedfor your farm. In 2014, we want 100,000pairs of eyes to see the right info.

Clean bathrooms

The facilities at Disney World are clean. It'snot a profit center, of course. They don'tmake them clean because they're going tocharge you to use them. They make them

clean because if they didn't, you'd have a rea-son not to come.It turns out that just about everything we doinvolves cleaning the bathrooms. Creating anenvironment where care and trust are ex-pressed. If you take a lot of time to ask, "howwill this pay off," you're probably asking thewrong question. When you are trusted be-cause you care, it's quite likely the revenuewill take care of itself.

-Seth Godin

Luck is a dividend of sweat.The more you sweat,the luckier you get.


3/12

Page 3Newsletter #295

lassifiedsWANTED: BAKING PANS,Contact Anna Boekestyn, 905-401-5249or [email protected]

FOR SALE: MAPLE SYRUP CONTAINERS,plastic, contact Wellington Wood Prod-ucts at 1-800-265-2397 or 519-323-2904, Email [email protected] orwebsite www.wwp.on.ca

FOR SALE: BEE EQUIPMENTCall Walter Pingle at Pingles Farm Mar-ket for more info, 905-725-6089

FOR SALE: NEW EGG CARTONS in asleeve of 125; contact Wellington WoodProducts at 1-800-265-2397 or 519-323-

2904, Email [email protected] orwebsite www.wwp.on.ca

FOR SALE:10 x 16 modular walk-in freezersinglephase, call Tom Hughes at SpringridgeFarm, 905-691-8423

APPLES FOR SALEHoneycrisp Apples. Medium to large sizebut tending toward large, not much over-size. Great shape, lots of calcium spraysduring growing season, not greasy10 bins available - $800.00 ea. ($1.00per lb). Can package in cardboard if re-quired.Fresh sweet Apple Cider, nice blendMac/Cortland/Empire and Russett - 2 or4 litre jugs, with or without a label.$2.75/$5.00 ea. Call for volume pricing,Chris Hall 613-342-6320 [email protected]

FOR SALE: PEOPLE WAGONPeople Wagon - Horst 8 ton, 8'x18' wooddeck, side rails & foot steps, 6 ply tires,7.5-14,good bearings, fresh paint,

$1500.00 firm. Lindley's Farm & Market -Joe - [email protected]

AUCTION AT FORSYTHE FARMWatch for our auction sale of surplusitems, coming this spring.

Classifieds are free for members. Simply

send your information to the OFFMA of-

fice and it will be included in the next

newsletter.

AnnouncingAria Ilse Anne Declerc

On Monday, January 20, 2014, our littlefamily grew to include one more.Aria Ilse Anne Declerc came into thisworld at 7lbs. 8oz. and it's been a whirl-wind ever since.

We spend a whole lot of our time justlooking at her.We're looking forward to bringing her outto markets so you can all meet her (andas soon as she can reach the table we'llhave her selling mushrooms too).Shannon & Sean DeclercFresh & Tasty Mushrooms

OFFMA Members are winners!!

On March 1, Bennetts Apples &Ciderwas presented with the Farm

Family of the Award at the HamiltonWentworth Federation of AgricultureBanquet.Congratulations on this recognition ofthe Bennett Familys farming effortsfor over 100 years.

Congratulation as well to SaundersFarm. They won the Goulbourn Tour-ism Business of the Year award at the

West Ottawa Board of Trade AwardsBanquet in February.

Farm ecommerce website siteFOR SALEwww.whisperingmeadows.caFor more information contactTrish Scott 519-822-3435 [email protected]


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Page 4 Fresh Facts

OMAF Updates

Carl Fletcher Retires

Carl Fletchers career spans over 33years with OMAF and OMAFRA. Italso spans several regions in theprovince from Peterborough to Or-angeville to Thunder Bay to Chat-ham, St. Thomas and Guelph. Carlwas raised on a dairy farm andworked closely with 4-H but ulti-mately was the Business PlanningLead in Guelph for 14 years.Through these years and varied lo-cations, there were several thingsthat remained constant in Carls life.Namely his sweet tooth, his interestin travel, and his enjoyment of choral singing which was after all where he met hiswife; Kathryn. After spending time in many parts of the province Carl put downroots in St. Thomas and raised his four children in that town.Carl was the OMAF Advisor to the OFFMA Board for the better part of the pastthree years. During that time he helped the OFFMA Board navigate OMAF fund-ing opportunities as well as bring an outside perspective of what OFFMA was do-ing and how it may impact our membership. He has always been an advocate forfarm families and encouraged us to think about what our members really needand want in order to build better businesses.Carl was a thoughtful, pragmatic and dedicated civil servant. His shoes will behard to fill. He is looking forward to retirement so that he wont have to commutefrom St. Thomas to Guelph and can start working on that long Honey Do List.OFFMA wishes Carl all the best in this new chapter of his life.

New Direct Farm Marketing Program Lead

Jessica Kelly will be joining the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF)and Ministry of Rural Affairs (MRA) as the Direct Farm Marketing Program Leadeffective March 3, 2014.Jessica is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business, Western Universi-ty. While at Ivey, Jessica was a case writer and teaching assistant. She also dida business internship in Tanzania. After graduation, Jessica was a business lec-turer at Ivey until 2012.

Jessica is currently completing her Master of Science degree in the Departmentof Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph.Jessicas experience in Direct Farm Marketing includes direct marketing activitieson her familys farm, volunteer activities with Perth Community Futures Develop-ment and experience with educating consumers about the Canadian agriculturalindustry while working with Farm and Food Care Ontario.Jessica will be based in the Elora Resource Centre and can be reached [email protected] or by phone at 519-846-3404.


5/12


Itsthestartofanewyear,anewseason

andmetothinkofyourloyalcustom-

erscomingbacktocelebrateanotheryearwithyou. Theyllbedrivinginto

thesameparkinglot,walkingthrough

thesamefrontdoorsandlikelybuying

thesameproductsfromsimilardisplays

thatworkedwellforyoulastyear. Sure

itsworkedforyouinthepastbutis

playingitsafethebestwaytogo.

Letsbehonestandaskyourselvesthis:

Havemeschangedoverthelast10

years? Havebuyingexperiences

changedoverthepast5years? Doyour

customershavemoreshoppingopons

thisyearoveranyotheryear? Yestoall

oftheaboveisthehonestanswer. Soif

everythingelsearoundyouischanging

whyarentyou?

Ifyouwantyourcustomerstocome

backandcelebratethenewseason,

youllneedtogivethemareasontocel-ebrate. Considersomeoftheseinex-

pensivechangestostartyourseasonoff

ontherightfoot.

*Fresheningupyourstorefrontwith

planters,exteriordisplaysandperhapsa

freshcoatofpaint.

*Highlightyourbusinessdayandnight

bybringing

extra

a

en

ontoyour

loca-

onwithaddionallighngonsignsand

storefrontsforaerhourexposure.

*Changeupyourstorestrafficpaern

byrelocangproductlines. Dontbe

scaredtoshi productfromonesideto

theotherorfromthefrontofthestore

totheback. Yourcustomerswillsll

Geng Noced in 2014

By Leslie Groves, Creave Retail Soluons

findwhatthey

arelookingfor,

allwhilenocingtheotherareas

thatyouhave

openedupto

them.

*Considerswap-

pingoutshelving

fortabletopdis-

playsandthink

aboutupdang

yourseasonal

propsthathave

beeninstorage

forthelastfew

years.

Rememberthat

ifyoureredof

seeingthesame

propsanddis-

plays,yourcus-tomersaretoo.

Changeiswhat

getsyounoced.

Itbringsaen-

ontodifferent

areasofthestoreanddifferentprod-

uctlines. Givingyourcustomers

somethingtotalkaboutisthebest

formofadversing. Ialwayssaythat

thebest

compliment

you

can

get

isa

customerthatcomesinandsays

Wow,youvechangedthingsaround

again. Thisshowsthatyouaredo-

ingyourjobasaretailerandthat

theyaretakingnoce.Sotheonly

quesonnowis;Whatareyougoing

tochangefirst?

Lesliesfavouritesayingis,Ihaventmetany

thingthatIcouldntfixwithacanofspray

paint.Heresheiswithanoldchairshehad

pickedupforastealandpaintedwhite.The

seatisremoveableandshewillchangethecol

ourofthefabricseatdependingontheseason;

purpleforspring,orangeforthefall,etc.

Achairisoneofthebestpropsyoucanhave.It

canbe

placed

on

the

floor,

on

atable

or

hung

fromawallandthenyoucanshowcaseyour

productsforsaleonit.

Staytuned,OFFMAisworkingonaprogramto

helpbringLeslieto yourfarmformerchandis

ingassistance.


6/12

Page 6 Fresh Facts

Its awards season. The movies recognize their stars and so the members of the Ontario FarmFresh Marketing Association (OFFMA) gather to take some time to recognize the excellence thatshines in their industry. This year, the winners truly are stars in four distinct categories; Leader-ship, Food Innovation, the Ambassador Award and Outstanding Farm Marketer. The gatheringtook place on Tuesday evening before the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention.

Congratulations to each and every winner. You have worked hard to reach this pinnacle.

Harvest Goodies is the winner of thisyears Food Innovation Award. Heatherand Brad Frasers winning combination ofproducts came about because a local veg-etable grower had increased his garlic cropand in mid-June had approximately 20bushels of garlic scapes that he was goingto throw away. Harvest Goodies was chal-lenged to create some products from thepart of the garlic plant that is most ofteneaten fresh or sometimes simply discard-ed. Thus, a wonderful collection was born;Garlic Scape Vinaigrette, Garlic ScapeMustard, Pickled Garlic Scapes and MapleMustard Beans. Each one is a terrific tastesensation on its own but together they area delicious eScape. More informationabout the Frasers farm and business canbe found at Wheelbarroworchards.com

2014 OFFMA Award Winners recognized at Awards Banquet

Amy and Channing Strom were rec-ognized with the Leadership Award.The Stroms have built their sweetcorn seasonal roadside stand to adestination that is visited by manyGuelph families every year to experi-ence harvest fun. Throughout this

period, they have provided leader-ship and shared their knowledgefreely with other farmers. Amyserved on the OFFMA Board andwas also president for 2 years. Shecontinues to be an advocate for thebenefits of networking and encour-ages farmers to do so as it helpseveryone and advances the industryas a whole. To see what StromsFarm offers simply go to Strom.ca


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The 2014 Ontario Farm Fresh Ambas-sador Award was presented to Eliza-beth Baird for her remarkable contri-butions to the promotion and celebra-tion of Ontario foods and Ontariofarmers. Since Elizabeths first book in1974, Classic Canadian Cooking, hercareer in food has included more than

30 cookbooks, countless televisionappearances, serial columns in Cana-das most widely read newspapers, ahighly successful Food Network pro-gram and her famous tenure as FoodEditor at Canadian Living Magazine.Through it all, Elizabeth has nevermissed an opportunity to promote buy-ing directly from a farmer. She hasalways promised her audience thatlocal food in season- will producebetter results; the perfect testament toall the delicious food grown in Ontario.

Anne Just from Kurtz Orchards graciouslyaccepted the Outstanding Farm Marketer

Award for her tireless effort to offer amaz-ing products to her customers in manydifferent settings and different countries.

Annes grandparents emigrated from Po-land and ended up buying a farm in theNiagara region. Her father decided to tryhis hand at preserving some of their lovelypeaches when they had a bumper cropone year, but it is Anne who has taken thebusiness to new heights. She has openedseveral satelitte locations, one being inCarmel by the Sea, California. She has asense of style and great taste that is re-flected in everything she does. Anne is anentrepreneur, an innovator and a leaderas well as an Outstanding Farm Marketer.Further information about the farm busi-ness can be found at kurtzorchards.com.

Thank you to our amazing sponsors.We couldnt have done it without you!


8/12

Page 8 Fresh Facts

Kansas City, MO was the destinationfor this years North American FarmersDirect Marketing Association (NAFDMA)

Convention which took place January 31to February 5 in the beautiful Plaza dis-trict. 350 attendees, including someOFFMA members, came together for anexciting five days of networking, inspira-tion and innovation. For two of thedays, six buses took to the heartland,interspersed with 2 days of dynamicspeakers and workshops.

One of thehighlights of theConvention waskeynote speakerJoe Calhoonwho providedincredible in-sight on busi-ness planning.Joe, author ofThe 1 HourPlan forGrowth, helped

us create aclearly definedplan that ouremployeescould buy into,resulting in fi-nancial success.

Dr. Ron Han-son of the Uni-versity of Ne-braska shared ahumourous andpoignant key-note presentation on the importance ofboth family and employee relationships.

Incredible farms in both Kansas andMissouri shared their best practices. Mynotebook and iPhone were bursting withthe best branding ideas Ive EVER seen

Making HEY in the Heartland and Getting Inspired at NAFDMABy Angela Grant, Saunders Farm

from Shatto Dairy, beautiful gift shopdisplays from Walters Pumpkin Patch,unique wedding possibilities from Wes-

ton Red Barn Farm, and incredible ed-ucation opportunities at CarolynsCountry Cousins.

While the Convention is the mostwell-known benefit from NAFDMA, theassociation offers so much more to itsmembers. NAFDMAs Premium Mem-bers have access to the Convention;the Advance Learning Retreat (ALR), a

3-day in-depthevent to be heldthis August at An-derson Farm inColorado; 25% dis-count on ConstantContact; a mem-bers-only Face-book page; sub-scription to Farm-ers Inspired maga-zine; and an ever-growing online li-

brary of video andaudio presenta-tions.

NAFDMAs mis-sion is to grow theprosperity of itsmembers. Judgingfrom the excite-ment generated atthis years Conven-tion, 2014 will seesome very prosper-ous farms!

If anyone is interested in learning

more about NAFDMA and how it can

help your business, please visit

www.FarmersInspired.comor send me

an email at [email protected].

The back of the Strawberry Ice Cream Package

at Shatto Dairy #BrilliantBranding


9/12


Kids, Customers and Employees:How to Make Time for A ll of ThemSome highlights from an amazing panel presentations by Sarah Jollay-Jollay Orchards,Shawn Murphy-Murphys Farmstead and Michelle Herrle-Herrles Country Market at theOFFMA Summit in Niagara Falls.

1. Be IntentionalWork on a farm is unending, you need to set aside time that is just for the family. Approxi-

mately, ever two weeks plan on taking a few hours with your family. If you plan for it, it issomething you can look forward to and anticipate as well as enjoy when it happens.

2. Dont be afraid to ask for help.Get help with kids or the household and dont feel guilty doing so. Barter for babysitters. Per-

haps you can do some snowplowing or cut their grass with the big mower, if they takeyour kids for a few hours each week.3. Accessible

Michelle said, Our busiest time of the farm is during the summer months, we will never be

able to take a summer holiday. A few years ago, we decided to put in a pool so we couldenjoy some family time together doing something we all enjoy.4. Managing Your Employees

Your employees work for you and you need to be able to DELEGATE, EMPOWER andTRUST them to do their jobs and accomplish the required outcome. It may not be donethe exact way you would do it but if the outcome is the same, does it really matter.5. Know your values/know yourself

Michelle shared with the group that she needs time for herself in the morning before shegoes to work. She has set up a system where she can get to work a little bit later andtake time to go for a jog or just for reflection before she starts her work day.

Shawn talked about how after 10 years of having exchange students and nannies, she want-

ed her house back just for her family. They decided to close the market and only havean honour box for some veggies. They were going to focus on growing great potatoes.6. Its the little things that matter to kids

Sarah shared the story of their 2012 family holiday. In June, when they are usually crazywith cherries and getting ready for the fall season, her husband suggested they get acamper trailer and go to South Dakota for a few weeks because it was 2012 and theyhad no cherries or apples to pick and sell. Sarah had never camped a day in her life andwas not very interested in learning but went along with the idea anyway. It was a greatfamily holiday. The 6 kids loved being together as a family and Sarah pointed out thatthey could eat their breakfast in their PJs and be on the road each morning becausethey were in a camper. Expensive things are not always what make a lasting impressionon children.

Some additional comments to take to heart..

It will never feel balanced and as long as you are present for your kids, it is okay.

Give up your superwoman capes!

We cannot make time, we can only manage it, prioritize it


10/12

Fresh FactsPage 10

Needle in a Haystack ContestBy Sue Gammond, Director of Education and Fun, Gammondale Farm

Editors Note: In chatting with Sue a few weeks ago, she mentioned a new contest they

had developed for their farm in Thunder Bay. She kindly sent me the background infor-

mation that they used last fall to launch it and have it available for their customers. Suewas really excited about how well this contest worked for them and hoped some other

members might try and similar activity.

Contest Rules and Guidelines

On September 18th, Gammondale Farm willpost a picture of a secret scene on their farmto the Gammondale Farm Fun Facebookpage. Families are invited to attend Pumpkin-fest on weekends beginning September 28ththrough Halloween. At Pumpkinfest families

may attempt to find the secret scene on thefarm. Families who think they have found thesecret scene must take their family photo atthe secret scene and post it to Instagram,Facebook or Twitter #Gammondalefarmfun.Families who take their photo at the right sce-ne will be entered in a draw to win fantasticprizes on Halloween weekend. There is nolimit to the number of visits to Pumpkinfestmeaning there is no limit to the number of pic-tures posted.

FINDthe farm photo on our Gammondale Farm Fun Facebook pageSEARCHfor the farm photo scene with your family

TAKEa family photo at our secret scene

POSTit to Facebook

WINfantastic family prizes!

How to set up ContestYou need a picture that is of a small item on yourlocation. Visitors search for the item and thentake a picture of their group with the item. Wewanted to get pictures with our cornstalk horses

because it has a great background and the loca-tion is unique. The picture is of a hame on thehorse harness with autumn leaves and brilliantblue sky. Usually the kids were the first to find thesecret spot. The pictures were great. We plan touse the activity this spring for the Easter Festivaland again next Pumpkinfest. We just need to pickanother secret scene.

We were open 5 weeks and gave away prizes for


11/12

Newsletter #295 Page 11

2 families for 4 weeks. Montanas Res-taurant gave us 9 $25.00 Gift Certifi-cates.These are the prizes each family re-ceived.Week One- Gammondale Pumpkins and

Fall Dcor (value $50.00) plus Mon-tanas $25.00 Gift CertificateWeek Two- 4 Tickets to the Gammon-dale Haunted Cornfield (value $60.00) )plus Montanas $25.00 Gift CertificateWeek Three-4 Tickets to the Gammon-dale Easter Festival and Egg Hunt(value $36.00) ) plus Montanas $25.00Gift CertificateWeek Four- 3 Hour Gammondale Birth-day Party for up to 10 children and 10adults (value $160.00) ) plus Montanas

$25.00 Gift CertificateWeek Five- GRAND PRIZE ChristmasSleigh Ride Party including Buffet Sup-per for up to 20 Guests value $SleighRide $15/person and Meal $15.00/person $600.00) ) plus Montanas$25.00 Gift Certificate

This was a fun activity to add to thePumpkinfest. Everyone enjoyed it and wegot a lot of really great photos. Montanasgot some exposure and the only cost toGammondale was the food for the buffetsupper which turned out to be spaghetti

and meatballs, Caesar salad, veggie andfruit trays, sweets, hot and cold drinks fora party of 8 small children and 10 adultsthat took place in the 2ndweek of Janu-ary.

The only good

luck many great

men ever had

was being born

with the abilityand determina-

tion to overcome

bad luck.


12/12

Upcoming Events for 2014March 19 & 20 SWOTC Spring Conference, London, ON. Check out details at

http://swotc.ca/spring-conference-2

April 3 & Attract, Keep Engage More CustomersHow to use customer experienceApril 8 innovation to drive results in todays highly competitive marketplace,

Milton (April 3) and Kemptville (April 8), details in this newsletter.

March 26 Media Training for Farmers, coordinated by Farm & Food Care,& April 29 limited to 10 participants. Book a spot by emailing [email protected]

Page 12 Fresh Facts

Ontario Farm Fresh

Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director

2002 Vandorf Rd. Aurora, ON L4G 7B9

Phone: 905-841-9278

Fax: 905-726-3369

E-mail: [email protected]

www.ontariofarmfresh.com

2014-15 OFFMA Board of DirectorsBrian Hugli, President

Huglis Blueberry Ranch

Leslie Forsythe, Vice President

Forsythe Family Farms

Jesse Lauzon, Past President

Springridge Farm

Hollis English, Murphys FarmsteadCara Epp, Associate Member

Edana Integrated Marketing

Nicole Judge, Spirit Tree Estate Cidery

Steve Martin, Martins Family Fruit Farm

Colleen Pingle, Pingles Farm Market

Steve Smith, Smiths Apples

Dana Thatcher, Thatcher Farms

Jessica Kelly, OMAF and MRA Advisor

Coming down the pipeline

W ho l e s a le D a t a b a s e

We are working on creating a wholesale database for OFFMA members to

be able to purchase products made by other OFFMA members. If you haveproducts that you wholesale and you are interested in getting involved,

please send the following information to the OFFMA office:

1. Your order form

2. Pictures of your products this is optional and 3 would be the max3. Your product logo

We are planning for the database to be searchable and easy to use. If you

are interested in being on the trial team, let Cathy know and she will set itup with you. The trial team will be made up of approximately 3 people who

will help to get any bugs out of the new system and provide feedback onthe overall effectiveness of it.

W ed d i n g L is t

It must be wedding planning season because we are getting e-mails andcalls in the office from people who want to have their weddings on a farm. I

honestly cant blame them, what could be a more beautiful setting for twopeople to start their new lives together.

In order to help these soon to be newlyweds, OFFMA is putting together alist of members who offer this unique opportunity. Please let the office

know if that is something you offer on your farms and your contact infor-

mation will be included on the list.

The last word of the month.Noticing a horseshoe hanging on the wall of the Niels Bohrs (Nobelphysicist) cottage, a visitor asked, Can it be that you, of all people,believe it will bring you luck? Of course not. replied Bohr. But Iunderstand it brings you luck whether you believe it or not.

fresh facts - march 2014

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