Scholarships Offered to Specialty Crop Farmers

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Agriculture Market Development Division as part of its Direct Farm Marketing Initiative is offering scholarships to the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association Convention, to be held Feb. 1-­6, 2015 in Nashville and Knoxville. These scholarships are competitive and target farmers who want to learn how to improve marketing of their specialty crops.

To be eligible for a scholarship farmers must:

• Produce a specialty crop, including fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops or floriculture
• Submit an application postmarked by Nov. 7
  Faxed and emailed applications will not be accepted.
• Agree to complete a pre and post-conference survey
• Agree to participate in direct marketing and specialty crop sessions and tours
• Agree to present lessons learned to at least one specialty crop association (Tennessee Association of Farmers Markets, Tennessee Christmas Tree Growers Association, Tennessee Fruits and Vegetables Association, etc.)

You can find the application at http://www.tn.gov/agriculture/marketing. Contact Pamela Bartholomew at 615-837-5160 or pamela.bartholomew@TN.gov for more information.
 

The scholarship will cover the registration fee for attendance but does not include travel expenses to or from the convention, or the cost of association membership.

This scholarship opportunity is funded through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG) program.

Learn more about the North American Farm Direct Marketing Association Convention at http://www.farmersinspired.com/TN2015/.