NAFDMA Convention in 2012, New Opinions from the Old Dominion

Southampton, MA, October 05, 2011 --(PR.com)-- North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Association announces the schedule for its 27th Annual Convention. The convention will be held at the Williamsburg Marriott in Williamsburg, Virginia on February 10-16, 2012.

New Opinions from the Old Dominion is the theme of the 2012 NAFDMA Convention. While taking advantage of the rich heritage of Virginia’s Historic Triangle, new lessons in farm direct marketing and agritourism can be learned. This event will give attendees comprehensive access to networking and education opportunities that are unmatched at any other conference. This is the last NAFDMA convention to be held on the east coast for the next several years.

The focus will be on how family dynamics, business management, customer service and technology can be leveraged for a successful farm operation. The convention includes bus tours, workshops, concurrent sessions, round table discussions, networking events and a trade show.

“Farm direct marketing is more than farming,” states Virginia Schwarzenbach, Membership Services, Communications and Marketing specialist for NAFDMA, “An astonishing 72% of attendees to the closing session of the 2011 NAFDMA convention responded that their household income derives from the farm and no off-farm income. That can be a lot of pressure. The convention will provide delegates with the information they need to effectively run all aspects of their business today.”

Networking Bus Tour
The convention begins with a three-day School on Wheels. The Networking Bus Tour will be held on February 11-13. This popular tour will have six buses on the road to farms such as Carter Mountain Orchards, Virginia Farm Market, Belvedere Plantation, Great Country Farms and Cox Farms. Each bus will have an individualized focus to give attendees an in depth opportunity to network and share subject matter that is important to them.

Trade Show and Participation Day
The Trade Show will be open February 13-15. This unique trade show gives delegates a chance to taste test many specialty food products, compare corn maze companies and even test drive a pedal kart. As many as 90 trade show booths will promote the latest products and services available for farm retail and on-farm entertainment. Along with the trade show, this day features interactive sessions on some of the best marketing practices by NAFDMA members and round table discussions on a myriad of topics from liability and employee training to the next generation on the farm.

Workshops
Wednesday, February 15 will offer full day workshops and mix and match half day workshops. Three workshops will be held off-site at locations in Busch Gardens, Jamestown Settlement and the Yankee Candle Flagship Store. These workshops will focus on agritourism attractions, school tours and retailing. Workshop presenters at the convention hotel include diversity marketing expert Kelly McDonald, retail guru John Stanley, agricultural financial educator Dr. Alex White, and family business advisor Ann Dugan.

Conference
The Keynote Presentation on Thursday, February 16 will be by Kelly McDonald, of McDonald Marketing on how to “market to people not like you." Her definition of diversity and how to effectively market your business through strategic marketing segmentation is the new opinion many marketers need to build their business. All featured workshop presenters will also return for one hour concurrent sessions. Additional speakers will present sessions on subjects that include market expansion, farm to school programs, on-farm weddings, QR tags and Facebook.

For further information on the 2012 NAFDMA Convention, please visit www.nafdma.com/VA2012.

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