Tips for putting on a farm-to-table event

Thinking about hosting a farm-to-table influencer event on your farm? You might want to consider some of these tips from Wanda Patsche, Minnesota Farm Living.

Patsche, who lives on a corn, soybean, and hog farm in Southern Minnesota, shared some of her advice from two farm-to-table events she recently helped host during her presentation ‘Farm to Table Events — What to Do and What Not to Do’ at the AgChat Foundation’s 2016 Cultivate & Connect conference in Kansas City Thursday.

Here are some of Patsche’s tips:

1. Start early- a year in advance would be best.
2. Think about the time of year, day of week, and time of day to host event.
3. Plan for funding. Utilize agribusiness sponsors. Budget for an event planner.
4. Consider if the event can be a fundraiser for FFA, a community center, or another organization to tie into event.
5. Invitation only. Who are the mommy bloggers, education influencers, medical professionals, business and community leaders that you want to include on your target list?
6. Keep the farmer to non-farmer ratio at 1/3 farmers to 2/3 influencers.
7. Have a couple farmer sit at each table. Use conversation starters on tables.
8. Invite the commodity groups to host educational tables.
9. Utilize local FFA and 4-H groups for set-up/tear down.
10. Pick other positive farmers to attend.