MarketReady Producer Training Program

The SBDIIC team, led by Gabriel Cassone, Tim Woods, and Brett Wolff, is conducting research on how different types of social media promotion affect audience engagement. Read more 👉

SBDIIC Team Studies Social Media Engagement | MarketReady Producer Training Program The SBDIIC team, led by Gabriel Cassone, Tim Woods, and Brett Wolff, is conducting research on how different types of social media promotion affect audience engagement. One set of posts features value-added dairy businesses and is being shared through the Kentucky Dairy Development and Kentucky Prou...

LAST CALL: Only a few days left to get your products in front of wholesale buyers!
The deadline to apply for the 2026 Kentucky Proud Expo is Monday, August 3rd. Don’t miss your chance to pitch directly to major retail and wholesale buyers on September 18th in Shelbyville.

Only 40 members will be selected and spots are filling up fast! Selection preference will be given to applicants who submit payment and all required documentation.

Booth Options: Standard Booth - $150; with Electric Access - $200.

Don't miss the deadline. Log into the member portal now at kyproud.com and click "KYP Vendor Expo" on the main navigation bar to apply.

For full event details 👉https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/documents/KYP_Expo-Event.pdf

Sign-in to your online account 👉 https://portal.kyproud.com/Login

Our July edition of The Marketeer just hit your email inbox! Read it in your inbox or check out the full newsletter here 👉 https://mailchi.mp/uky/the-marketeer-july-2026

Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter here 👉 https://uky.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=28f9631e0fbcfa144782d1753&id=ea8ab6c95a

The Marketeer: July 2026

The Kentucky Proud Vendor and Expo are returning on Friday, September 18th from 1-4 p.m. at the Shelbyville Conference and Welcome Center!

This business-to-business event connects retail ready Kentucky Proud vendors with wholesale buyers from across the Commonwealth, creating opportunities to grow business, build partnership, and help bring more Kentucky Proud products to store shelves.

Click the link for further information and registration: https://www.kyagr.com/Ky-agriculture/PressRelease/2026/Kentucky-Proud-invites-buyers-sellers-to-Retail-Ready-Vendor-Expo-in-Shelbyville

Recently, we attended the Kroger Louisville Division Local Food Show in Louisville, Kentucky. This is an annual, invitation-only trade and vendor event that connects local Kentucky producers with Kroger buyers. At the show, over 80 local vendors were set up! While we didn't capture many photos, we enjoyed lots of yummy samples 😋

Pictured here are B.T.Leigh's Sauces and Rubs and Mama Jan's Soul Food. They both attended our Retail Readiness Marketing Workshop earlier this year and are putting some of the things they learned to work! Stay tuned for a location and date for our 2027 Retail Readiness Marketing Workshop.

We are still feeling the excitement from our trip to Charleston, West Virginia, earlier this month for our Train-the-Trainer program with the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition. Read more about the program here 👉

MarketReady Travels to West Virginia | MarketReady Producer Training Program Last week, Savannah Columbia and Dr. Timothy Woods traveled to Charleston, West Virginia, for a two-day program to train West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition technical assistance providers on the MarketReady Producer Training Program material and to facilitate a MarketReady Producer Training for valu...

Last week, we traveled to Charleston, West Virginia, to facilitate a MarketReady Train-the-Trainer program with the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition.

During our two-day program...
🔵 Fifteen technical assistance providers were trained to lead & facilitate MarketReady programming.
⚪️ Fourteen value-added producers were educated through the MarketReady Producer Training Program.

It is always exciting to see our extension work travel across state lines. We hope each participant was able to take at least one thing away from our presentation in order to take the next step toward growing their businesses.

We enjoyed the opportunity to collaborate with the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition last week in Charleston, West Virginia for our Train-the-Trainer program! We can’t wait to share our photos from the program later this week.

Today was one of those days that remind us why our work genuinely matters.

A sincere thank you to Tim and Savannah from the MarketReady Producer Training Program for sharing their knowledge, experience, and honest advice with our participants. The direct look into marketing and business sense they provided will help many of our producers and business owners take steps toward growing their businesses.

To everyone who traveled to be with us today, thank you for investing your time in yourself, your products, and your future. We see you, and we love it! We hope you left inspired, encouraged, and packed with new ideas to move forward.

We're also wildly grateful for our team. Your energy, support, and willingness to jump in wherever needed helped make this day a success from start to finish.

And to everyone who has already signed up for the Mountain State Market Academy, thank you for trusting us to be part of your journey. It’s a big step, and we’re here to help you build it. We are excited to work alongside you as you grow.

Don’t forget, applications are still open at www.wvfoodandfarm.org/mountain-state-marketing-academy

If you've built something special and you're ready to reach more customers, explore new markets, and take the next step, our team is here to guide you to do exactly that!

We took a trip down to Charleston yesterday for a fantastic MarketReady Producer Training Program session led by Timothy Woods and Savannah Columbia.

It was an incredible day spent hanging out with fellow producers and the dedicated changemakers who work behind the scenes to make things happen for our local agricultural system.

We want to send a huge thank you to everyone at the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition and Appalachian Cellar for hosting such a valuable event and bringing everyone together.

When you strip it all down, the mission remains simple and vital, because it is entirely about getting local food to local people.

We are excited to take everything we learned and put it into action right here at Mountain Table to keep building a stronger, more resilient food community.

Partner Community Capital

It’s almost time! REGISTER HERE! www.eventbrite.com/e/market-ready-training-tickets-1989615061207

MarketReady Producer Training Program | Thursday, June 18, from 10:30AM to 3:30PM! Folks, this is a one-of-a-kind, hands-on workshop designed to help value-added producers turn hard work into new opportunities.

You'll learn what buyers are really looking for, how to price your products for profit, navigate food safety requirements, manage risk, market your products effectively, and prepare your business for wholesale success.

You'll also hear directly from wholesale buyers during a live panel discussion, giving you honest insight into what helps products stand out and what it takes to get on their shelves.

Spots are limited and filling quickly. Reserve your seat today by scanning the QR code, clicking the registration link, or swiping up on our story before they're gone.