Farmers interested in reaching new local food markets but are unable to attend a daylong workshop can get the same information through an online series.

Hancock County Extension educator, Roy Ballard, said the program, “MarketReady Indiana – Scaling up Your Production and Marketing of Farm Products,” is designed to help food suppliers succeed and stay profitable in a changing marketplace.

“This program will offer some basic insight into what buyers for wholesale, institutions, grocery stores and restaurants will demand,” Ballard said. “These are very different requirements than traditional direct-market consumers might have.”

Ballard explains that “scaling up” is a term used to describe tools and techniques needed to grow farm businesses so they can reach new markets with increased capacity. Participants will learn from experts about expectations of food services, modern food marketing practices, how to produce foods for sale in alternative markets and how to access resources to improve sales.

The Web-based workshop series will be offered March 11, 18 and 25. Purdue Extension offices across Indiana will host the sessions. Participants can view the sessions at a host location and network with other farms, or they can access the sessions from a remote location with a provided URL.

A workshop will be held for Kosciusko County at 202 W. Main St., Warsaw. For more information on attending the Kosciusko County workshop, please contact Kelly Heckaman at 574-372-2340. An additional workshop is offered in LaPorte County, 2857 W. state Route 2, Suite A, LaPorte. To attend  contact Mary Foell, 219-324-9407.

All sessions are 6:30 p.m to 9 p.m. Eastern time, with the exception of those in LaPorte and Vanderburgh counties, which will be 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. central time.

The program is $30 per person or $30 for the first person and $15 for each additional person from the same farm by March 4. Checks should be made payable to “Purdue CES Ed Fund.”

If you have any questions or would like a copy of the registration flyer with complete session and speaker details, please contact the Purdue Extension – Kosciusko County Office at 574-372-2340 or visit the office’s website and look under Hot Topics.