Register for Free Wholesale Training in the New Year

Are you a farmer who sells produce? Are you considering selling wholesale? Have you tried selling wholesale and think it could work for you?

Wholesale Readiness Training is a new and free opportunity in 2023! Sign up to join a regional farmer group with in-depth training, coaching, and one-on-one assistance to build skills and develop individual plans to launch or expand a wholesale produce enterprise.

Wholesale isn’t just for large-scale distributors. Sales in your community to schools, restaurants, grocery stores, hospitals– those all count as wholesale sales. Wholesale doesn’t have to mean truckload or even pallet-load quantities. Local food businesses can often buy quantities that are manageable for smaller-scale farmers.

How it works: Regional farmer groups will form in January 2023 and the project will continue through June 2024. Farmers who complete the training, develop written enterprise plans, and connect with buyers will be eligible for $500 mini-grants to support their transition into or expansion of wholesale sales.

More info: To see a timeline of the project, qualification information, and the application, just visit the training webpage. A recording of the introductory webinar to the the program is also available here. The training kicks off in January, so now is the time to apply!

Questions? Please reach out to Jane Jewett at jewet006@umn.edu.

Wholesale Readiness Training is offered by Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, Renewing the Countryside, and U of MN Extension, and funded by a Specialty Crop Block Grant from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.