Ontario Farm Fresh Marketing Association

Providing knowledge and leadership to grow the farm fresh experience.

Fresh Facts
Newsletter #273 Dec. 2011
Volume 26, Number 10

Presidents Message
Do you hear what I hear? Its that time of year again the holidays and with this time comes a host of familiar sounds. Snow crunching underfoot, doorbells signaling the arrival of guests, and those ubiquitous songs of the season. So why is it that this past weekend all I could hear were sounds of discord and restlessness? Because I went to a mall. Now, I really dont have anything against malls, normally. What I do wonder about whenever I find myself inside a shopping mall before Christmas is this: why is everything on sale? Dont get me wrong, I love a good deal. My secret problem with the mall is that it makes me wonder if were retailing properly. We dont do blockbuster door-crasher roll-back sales here on the farm. Never have. Weve not gotten up Black-Friday-style at 2am to face an onslaught of hungry shoppers looking for loss-leaders. And were not equipped to handle the crush of Cyber Monday shoppers to our farm website. For all of these things I am all kinds of grateful. See, I dont think our customers would like it if we did those things. Frankly, its not who we are. As on-farm retailers in a price-conscious economy, our value identity has to rest with quality, local, and service. A couple of weeks ago the OFFMA Annual Bus Tour took about 50 of us to tour the beautiful Niagara Region. We visited a truly eclectic mix of really interesting Ontario businesses who each in their own way demonstrated what a little heart and soul can bring to a business. We saw beautiful apple, pear, peach, and cherry orchards, on-farm wineries, research gardens, gourmet food makers and retailers, flower sellers, and cheesemakers. One is enthusiastic about trains, another about antique cars. Each had one thing in common: a passion for what were talking about here a commitment to standing apart from conventional retail. Wherever you are this holiday season, whether on the farm (or at the mall!) may I wish you nothing but the best. I know that some OFFMA members are closed for the season, some pushing through until Christmas, and still others are planning to stay open all year. No matter where you are in your work, I hope that you find time to rest and enjoy. And on behalf of the entire Board of Directors here at Ontario Farm Fresh, warm wishes to you and your family this Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Inside this issue:

Membership News Christmas tidbits Bus Tour Highlights Advancing agriculture through AALP The ABCs of Giving Upcoming Events

2 3 4 6 7 8

Jesse Lauzon OFFMA President

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Fresh Facts

MEMBERSHIP NEWS
OFFMA welcomes the following new members. Make the most of your membership participate whenever and wherever you can. Robert & Shannon Miller Millers Bay Farm Lombardy, 613-283-0205 Dale & Angeline Vranckx Blueberry Hill Estates St. Williams, 519-586-8712 Calvin & Paul Dentz Dentz Orchards & Berry Farm Iroquois, 613-652-2397 Mark & Hector Delanghe Delhaven Orchards Ltd. Blenheim, 519-676-4475 Associate Members Susan Dupej Susan Dupej Company Toronto, 647-200-5349 Myla Malik ICP Conferences Whitby, 289-315-0519

Congratulations to Adam and Dana Thatcher from Thatcher Farms in Rockwood. They welcomed little Thomas to their family on November 1. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to Christmas with a new baby to enjoy the holidays.

Sandy Archibald from Archibalds Orchards had a very special birthday last month and her husband, Fred wanted to make sure it was memorable with a surprise party. Sandy said she has done 30 twice, and is now working on her third time. Happy belated birthday!! What we found on the web.. Have you seen the word clouds similar to the one we made with the last paragraph of Jesses President Message this month? Wordle is a toy for generating word clouds from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends. Check it out on www.wordle.net and have some fun creating your own word clouds.

May your parking lot always be too small to hold all of your customers vehicles.

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Interesting Christmas Tidbits

(impress your customers with your knowledge about Christmas traditions) Christmas trees take 7-10

Virtual One-on-One Social Media Consulting-REMINDER

In the September newsletter, the Social Media Consulting program with Susan Murphy was outlined. OFFMA has been working with Susan Murphy from Jester Creative Inc. to develop a consulting program around social media. It is intended for people who have a basic understanding of social media but do not feel confident to expand. This program will be delivered over the phone, thru Skype or another type of video conferencing. For details check your September newsletter or go to the OFFMA website at www.OntarioFarmFresh.com Your Investment Cost is $300 + HST We still have some spots available, so if you are interested please call the OFFMA office at 905-841-9278.

years to mature. The first Christmas card was printed in England in 1843. An acre of Christmas trees provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people. Candy canes began as straight white sticks of sugar candy used to decorate the Christmas trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral decided to have the ends bent to depict a shepherds crook. He passed them out to the children to keep them quiet during the services. It wasnt until about the 20th century that candy canes acquired their red stripes. Christmas tree was decorated for the first time in Riga (Latvia), in the year 1510.

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Fresh Facts

A few 2011 Bus Tour Highlights

Pictures are worth a thousand words and when your pictures are as beautiful as this one, they are priceless. Peach Country had some great displays that customers could not only enjoy but also learn from each one.

Great Wolf Lodge is set up to entertain kids of all ages. The entire lodge is created to wow and provide a great experiential visit for the entire family. Theming throughout the facility is consistent with the great outdoors. Even garbage cans have wildlife displayed on them.

Try a different twist to the traditional gingerbread men..dip em in chocolate to create chocolate pants.

Wish you were here! Were having a great time! Make sure you join us next year.

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Kurtz Orchards do an amazing job of displaying and sampling the many delicious products they sell. This example shows how the sampling, the products and a recipe using the product are all displayed to tempt customers into trying and buying the product.

Trains are clearly a passion for Murray Puddicombe. He has found a great way to combine his passion with his business. Their signature train station and narrow rail train is a major draw on their farm. Murray also has several other train cars that he uses for Santas visit and B&B accommodations.

We were treated to a demonstration about gift basket making at Niagara Presents. Everyone came away with contacts for new suppliers and tips on how to make great Christmas baskets. Sue Bennett, from Valleyview Little Animal Farm even won one as a prize. All thanks to Niagara Presents.

A big thank you to all our hosts on the bus tour. You made our tour special and you made use feel special whether it was with welcome signs or great presentations. We learned something at each and every stop; valuable tips and tricks for on-farm marketers.

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Fresh Facts

Advancing Agriculture through AALP

by Will Heeman, OFFMAs AALP Scholarship Winner for 2011 My name is Will Heeman and my family owns Heeman Greenhouses and Strawberry Farm. Im the newest family member to return home to the farm and this summer I was accepted into the Advanced Agricultural Leadership Program (AALP). Now offering its fourteenth class, AALP is an executive development program for men and women who want to broaden their horizons and expand their networks to help shape the future of the agriculture and food sectors in Ontario. Assembling primary producers, employees of agriculture based business and other partners with our industry as part of the program; AALP provides a great opportunity to develop strong industry wide partnerships. Our current class started seminars in Cambridge this past September and will continue to meet across the province, even travelling all the way to Thunder Bay. In the next 19 months we will cover topics ranging from marketing and working with the media to consumer and social issues. In addition to travels across Ontario, a North American study tour and International study tour are part of the curriculum to gain a foreign perspective on our industry. After completing two of twelve seminars weve covered topics on leadership theory and personal development. We covered Grid Theory in the first seminar, which teaches a person how to attain the perfect harmony between relationships and results that ultimately promote synergy. In seminar two, we were exposed to the Lumina Spark method of personal development, which is a hybrid of True Colours, Myers Briggs and a few other personality test programs. Not only did the tool accurately peg each AALP member to their leadership style, it gave recommendations on how best to interact with other peoples styles as well. I especially found this information useful when I was back on the farm working with other family members and staff. AALP has a reputation for bringing in world-class speakers and facilitators. They have certainly delivered on that reputation thus far. Our speakers have been fantastic as well. In the first seminar Lorie Jocius, President and General Manager of Canadas Outdoor Shows Limited told us how farmers need to be more proud of the special role we play in providing quality, reliable food to our communities. She said we are not just a farmer were a Farmer and thats something to be proud of! In the second seminar we heard from the Honourable Lyle Vanclief, former Federal Agriculture Minister. Hon. Vanclief, or Lyle as we were instructed to call him, spoke of the importance of people and organizations (like OFFMA) who help support the leaders and faces of our industry. He reminded us that behind every leader is a network of people who helped them get to the position they are in. I look forward to our next sessions, which include visits to Ottawa to meet with government leaders, and Toronto to sit down with executives from high finance businesses. Of course our next session in January is most exciting because it is where well learn the mystery location of our North American and International travel locations. You can follow our classes progress and travels on the AALP website (www.aalp.on.ca) or on Twitter (@AALP).

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(modified from a poem written by Karen Ann Bland)

The ABCs of Giving

Ask someone to lunch at your house. Bake a special treat for an elderly acquaintance. Call an old friend whos been out of touch. Deliver groceries or medicine to a shut-in. Encourage someone whos having a bad day. Fix your familys favourite meal. Give outgrown toys and clothing to charity. Hug a friend; them tell why they are special to you. Invite a friend for coffee and some conversation. Just do it-when you see a need, try to fill it. Keep giving even when you feel youve given enough. Lend a favourite book or movie to someone whod enjoy it. Make someone smile with a pleasant word or joke. Nominate a deserving employee for an award. Offer to organize a community event. Pick up flowers for someone whose day needs brightening. Quench a co-workers thirst - treat them to a hot cocoa. Read a story to a child. Send a greeting card to friends and relatives to mark special occasions. Take a walk with a friend. Use every opportunity to deliver sincere compliments. Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank. Write that long-overdue letter, getting personal mail is a treat these days. EXpress thanks daily. Yield the choice of movie or restaurant to someone else. Zealously support a worthy cause.
OFFMA is very grateful to Dominion and Grimm for the incentive program they sent up with us approximately a year ago. Two percent of all glass sales to OFFMA members are donated back to the association. Recently, Heather Clark from Dominion and Grimm presented Jesse Lauzon, OFFMA President with a cheque from last years sales. If you are looking for any kind of glass containers consider Dominion and Grimm as your supplier of choice. They have very competitive prices and support our industry. Everyone wins!

It is easy to get caught up in the material craziness of Christmas. But you dont have to spend a lot of money to brighten someones day. Here are some suggestions on how to create a bit of Christmas cheer with an investment of just a little time.

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Fresh Facts

Upcoming Events
Jan. 4-6 Jan. 21 Ontario Farm Fresh
Cathy Bartolic, Executive Director 2002 Vandorf Rd. Aurora, ON L4G 7B9 Phone: 905-841-9278 Fax: 905-726-3369 E-mail: info@ontariofarmfresh.com www.ontariofarmfresh.com 2011-12 OFFMA Board of Directors Jesse Lauzon, President Springridge Farm Steve Smith, Vice President Smiths Apples Amy Strom, Past President Stroms Farm Leslie Forsythe, Forsythe Family Farms Jay Howell, Brantview Apples & Cider Brian Hugli, Huglis Blueberry Ranch Marg Land, Annex Publishing (Associate Member) Hollis English, Murphys Farmstead Colleen Pingle, Pingles Farm Market Geri Rounds, Rounds Ranch Dorene Collins, OMAFRA (Advisor to the Board)

Central Ontario Agricultural Conference, Georgian College, Barrie, ON, www.centralontarioagconference.ca FarmSmart Agricultural Conference, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON Guelph Organic Conference, Univ. of Guelph, www.guelphorganicconf.ca

Jan. 26-29

Jan. 29Feb. 2 Canadian Gift and Tableware Association Show, Toronto International Centre & Toronto Congress Centre, Toronto, ON www.cgta.org Feb. 10-16 Feb. 21 North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association Convention, Williamsburg Virginia, check out www.nafdma.com for more info Pre-Convention Workshop, Hiring and Keeping Employees with Michelle Painchaud, Crowne Plaza, Niagara Falls, ON, call Cathy @905-841-9278 for additional info. Ontario Fruit & Vegetable Convention, Niagara Falls, ON, www.ofvc.ca

Feb. 22-23

A simple but brilliant business thought

by Donald Cooper, www.donaldcooper.com A very clever retailer has put each of his sales people in charge of merchandising, housekeeping, stock replenishment and staff product knowledge training for one specific area of the store. The result has been a much higher level of staff interest and commitment..and much improved store performance. The staff are more engaged, their jobs are more interesting, they undertake their additional responsibilities during the slow periods, rather than standing around.and each one of them is worth more, so theyre all paid more. Net result.sales and profits are up, staff turnover is way down, they feel that they have a retail career rather than a retail sales joband, because the staff have taken ownership of running the store wonderfully, the boss now has much more time off to have a life. Whether youre a retailer or not, how could you give your team additional responsibility, more initiative and more money to grow your business and their lives?

The OFFMA Board of Directors wish you and your family a wonderful holiday doing whatever it is that gives you peace, contentment and happiness. Wishing you good health and good weather for 2012.