The Kansas Department of Agriculture and From the Land of Kansas state trademark program hosted a marketing training academy in 2023 for Kansas specialty crop growers. This program was designed to bring marketing skills and strategies to specialty crop growers to expand the sale of specialty crop products in Kansas.

The marketing training program was hosted online for up to 40 specialty crop grower applicants geographically distributed throughout Kansas and consisted of seven one-hour training sessions on a variety of marketing topics. Up to nine seats were held in the program for local extension agents to participate in the program and distribute the knowledge to specialty crop growers in their area.

Registration priority was given to members of the Kansas state trademark program, From the Land of Kansas. Participants also had access to one-on-one marketing consultation to develop and implement a customized marketing plan for their business for the 2023 growing season. Trainings for the program took take place in January, February, and March and were primarily virtual. All participants in the program agreed to participate in pre and post program surveys to retain good standing in the program.

Through the marketing curriculum, specialty crop growers were guided through topics such as:

• Social media content creation and management
• Marketing cohesion
• Public relations and news features
• Developing a marketing plan and budget
• Analyzing marketing results and traction
• Direct to consumer networking and interaction
• Wholesale relationships and marketing
• Elements of successful advertising

This program was made possible by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant (SCBG). The SCBG makes funds available to state departments of agriculture solely to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. According to USDA, specialty crops are defined as “fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture.”