"It's Your Move" was the theme of the Atlantic Farm Challenges Conference in Charlottetown the weekend of November 21-23, providing a unique opportunity for producers to examine the future of their industry. A total of 120 participants represented the four Atlantic provinces and Maine.
An agenda of knowledgeable producers and excellent presenters shared their visions and practical experience of what it takes to survive and thrive, think differently, and be ready for whatever challenges arise. The conference was told that farmers need to make the right decisions by accessing the right information.
Larry Martin, George Morris Centre in Guelph Ontario, spoke on the importance of thinking "vertically and horizontally" in business relationships, marketing and planning. His message was that every problem is an opportunity, change the rules, and continuously reinvent yourself. Treat markets as a series of segments and not as one market, asking "What can I do to make my customer better off?" and "What can my customer do to make it worth my effort?"
Brent Vankoughnet, Agri Skills Inc. and a farmer from Manitoba, spoke on the responsibilities of CEO's. The CEO responsibilities include having a vision, developing a plan that integrates strengths with the market, executing the plan with enough attention to detail and evaluating progress with a never-ending focus on continuous improvement. Areas where CEO's need to focus skill development include verification and proof of performance, re-thinking marketing, and building business relationships -- vertically and horizontally.
Farmer presentations reinforced messages from the keynote speakers by pointing out that they succeeded because they have a strong vision and they care about the value that their product is portraying to the consumer. They also encourage staff input and developing a relationship with the media.
Participants at the conference discussed a number of consumer trends. An older population wants quality and value in its products and are prepared to pay for these attributes. Only 20 percent of consumers place price as their number one shopping concern; 60 percent want value and 20 percent want quality regardless of cost. Health and wellness is a growing industry that has a marketing strategy of "better for you products," and that is worth $3.8 billion dollars in Canada each year. Because of time pressures, convenience is a factor in food purchases, as 50 percent of week day meals are prepared in less than 30 minutes. There is also a growing demand for "ethnic foods," value-added products that meet consumers' cultural tastes.
The conference featured local talent The Lazy Jacks, Louise Waite, Joan Wood, The Gallants and Anastasia DesRoches, John and Leslie Cartwright and the Zodiacks, Catherine MacLellan, and James Phillips. As well, an evening of food extravaganza featuring Island products was enjoyed by participants.