September/October 2022 - 12

GREAT LAKES EXPO NEWS
CREATING A
BRIGHTER
FUTURE FOR
GENERATIONS
OF FARMERS AND
CONSUMERS ALIKE
Great Lakes EXPO sessions to look at how to effectively plan
farm succession and the benefits of Farm to School
By Madi Jones
VGN Correspondent
As the business of farming continues
to change, growers are faced with
a number of challenges such as
succession planning and product sales.
During the 2022 Great Lakes Fruit,
Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO,
growers will get a chance to learn more
about these issues in two different
presentations.
Founder and president of
AgriStrategies LLC, Steve Kluemper,
helps people communicate their
company's vision, manage their
business and finances and facilitate
discussions with customers, vendors,
lenders and investors.
During Kluemper's presentation at the
EXPO, " Transitioning your Business, "
attendees will gain insight and direction
to help make positive business changes.
Kluemper discusses business goals, key
stakeholders, commitments and how to
measure success.
Kluemper's expertise includes his
vast knowledge of farm succession.
In order to have successful farm
succession planning, businesses must
map out their plan from start to finish
and be proactive.
" Successful farm succession plans
start with a successful business.
Successful businesses have short-,
medium- and long-range business
plans, robust decision-making
processes and data that is used to
make decisions and monitor results, "
Kluemper said.
Kluemper has seen many challenges
within farm succession such as rushing
plans, not understanding the needs and
desires of stakeholders and not having
a sufficient plan to balance competing
interests. Giving farm succession
planning the time and energy it
12 | VegetableGrowersNews.com
deserves is
crucial to the
long-term
survival of the
business, he said.
Kluemper's
tips for farmers
who are in the
process of farm
succession
planning is to be
transparent and
clearly define
all expectations.
He also advises to " use third-party
advisers to help address items such
as the viability of the business, fair
vs. equal distributions, personality
conflicts and more, " Kluemper said.
Kluemper's Farm Succession session
STEVE
KLUEMPER
will be the morning of Thursday, Dec. 8.
Farm to School
Colleen Matts, director of Farm to
Institution Programs and coordinator
for Michigan Farm to Institution
Network, helps institutions such as
schools, hospitals and universities
source more Michigan-grown foods
and foods that fit people's values. She
also helps farmers and other food
vendors connect with institutional
food buyers.
Matts also works for the Michigan
State University Center for Regional
Food Systems, to engage not only
Michigan - but the entire United
States and the world - through applied
research, education and outreach
to develop regionally integrated,
sustainable food systems.
Matts will be at the 2022 Great
Lakes Expo alongside teammates
from Michigan Farm to School, the 10
Cents Program and the Michigan Farm
to Institution Network, delivering
training to producers about how to
access and sell to school markets.
Using a curriculum developed by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Bringing the Farm to the School, Matts
and her team will use their Michigan
experience to deliver an interactive and
helpful experience.
Learning from practitioners and
various programs in Michigan, Matts
and her team successfully make local
food purchasing work for both buyers
and sellers while taking advantage
of the diverse agricultural products
Michigan has to offer.
Matts offers some advice and best
practices to growers looking to get
involved with selling produce to local
school districts.
" If growers are new to school sales,
starting small is a good idea, " Matts
said. " Start the conversation with a
few products that you could sell in
decent volume, ideally products you
enjoy growing, that might work well in
school meals. You could also start by
working with a smaller school district
or even an early childhood site before
you grow into larger school districts
that will require greater quantities of
products. "
She said Farm to School programs
are becoming more integrated into
Michigan school districts as many
schools are actively seeking programs
that fit their needs.
" Farm to school is becoming the
norm, rather than the exception, here
in Michigan, " Matts said. " Growers
will likely find that many schools are
not just receptive to purchasing local
foods, but are actively seeking more of
them, including minimally processed
options such as chopped, frozen, or
dried local foods. "
Programs like Farm to School are
important for local economies - more
local food procurement by school
districts means more money funded
toward local communities and the
Michigan economy.
Matts mentions the 10 Cents a
Meal program and how it provides
extra funding for schools to purchase
Michigan-grown foods from local
farmers and food vendors.
" The Michigan Legislature has been
steadily increasing
funding for
(the 10 Cents
Program), which
started out as
a pilot in just a
couple of regions
of the state but is
now statewide,
because of the
impact it can have
on kids and their
healthy eating
habits and on
local agriculture and the related food
business economy, " Matts said.
These programs are helpful for not
COLLEEN
MATTS
only farmers but children too. While
schools may not be able to pay a high
price for some food products, they can
offer farmers a stable, steady market,
Matts said.
When farmers supply schools with
local foods, it can influence the tastes
of school children and introduce them
to new foods.
" By implementing these programs in
school districts, it may have longer-term
impacts on the eating habits - and also
the buying habits - of schoolchildren as
they grow up, " Matts said.
The Farm to School session will be
throughout the day on Thursday, Dec. 8.
Learn more about these sessions and
others at www.glexpo.com. The 2022
Great Lakes Fruit Vegetable and Farm
Market EXPO is Dec. 6-8 at DeVos
Place in Grand Rapids, Michigan. VGN
http://www.glexpo.com http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com
September/October 2022

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