Completed Project Report


Risk Management Workshops for Small-Scale Producers in Texas

  • Award Amount: $38,383
  • Regional Center: Southern Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2019 Education Projects

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Project Overview

The Council for Healthy Food Systems produced and hosted 8 in-person and 4 virtual workshops in multiple regions of Texas covering food safety, business laws and regulations, and financial management. Our program had 294 participants, with an average of 25 people at each event.

Of the 12 total workshops, 7 included sessions on all three topics: food safety, business laws and regulations, and financial management. One was solely on financial issues, while 4 included all except the financial session. All financial sessions were conducted by a consulting partner, Foodshed Investors.

We provided 22 individual consultations to help producers make improvements that best fit their operations.

Our outreach, workshop materials, and follow-up focused on small to mid-sized farmers and food producers (produce, livestock, and value-added), with emphasis on producers doing direct-to-consumer marketing.

Our follow-up surveys and interviews with attendees indicate that farmers increased their ability to ensure compliance with laws and regulations governing food safety for their existing operations, as well as the information and confidence to legally expand into new product lines, diversifying their operations. They identified and addressed business and personal liability risks, and implemented accounting and financial best-practices to reduce financial risk and expand sources of funding.

Number of Participants: 294

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

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REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

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DELIVERY AREA

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