For the past two years, the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) has joined forces with Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission (SMADC) to bring agricultural education opportunities to Southern Maryland. This successful partnership culminated in November at the Maryland Agricultural Marketing Conference held at the College of Southern Maryland’s Prince Frederick campus.
The conference attracted a diverse crowd of 155 participants including agricultural producers, service providers, and marketing professionals. The program featured sixteen different presentations in four marketing-related tracks; a keynote address by Kellie Hinkle, the Chief of Tourism for Charles County; and a visit from Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen.
As one would expect in today’s marketing world, social media was the hot topic. IAA’s Agricultural Business Management Lecturer and Advisor Temitope Fajingbesi said, “I believe hearing the Farmhouse Creative Marketing owner break down the unique features of each of the four major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest) was great. It will help our aspiring entrepreneurs choose and focus on the platforms that is most suitable for them.”
Fajingbesi encouraged all of her students to attend the conference. One of her students, Shana Burke, also commented on the social media workshops, “I learned a lot about marketing on social media and about good market strategies when starting a new business.”
In addition to social media management, the conference drew together an enticing array of marketing workshops including planning, pricing, and photography, and it offered trainings on regulatory and sales topics, as well as discussions of new or popular industries, such as craft beverages, agritourism, hemp, small grains, and urban agriculture.
The IAA’s Sustainable Agriculture lecturer Meredith Epstein presented a workshop on “Staying Fresh with Products and Prices” and Oral Communication lecturer Heather McHale presented “Logos, Ethos, and Pathos: Choosing Words That Sell.” The IAA’s Student Services Coordinator Becky Jones coordinated the group of IAA student attendees, and said, “The SMADC Ag Marketing Conference gave students the ability to elaborate on the concepts developed in some [INAG] courses such as Ag Marketing through connecting and learning from agricultural enthusiasts like themselves. To be able to give IAA students these opportunities to grow in their field of study solidifies our IAA brand.”
Senators Cardin and Van Hollen wrapped up the day’s event by addressing various agricultural policy issues, ranging from the Farm Bill to agricultural labor shortages. Although Cardin commented, "I am a senator, so I can talk for a long time. I can talk about anything or even nothing at all,” he stayed focused on agriculture—for the most part.
“What impressed me the most was the relevance of the materials covered,” said Fajingbesi in summary of the day. “Every single session I attended was value adding.”
