Improving Market Access for Small and Mid-sized Producers through Food Industry Electronic Infrastructure MarketMaker

In recent years there has been a growth in the interest of consumers to buy more locally. An increasing number of farmers are trying to meet the growing demand for locally produced products. Here in New York State, farmers who are direct marketing their product, either direct to consumer or direct to wholesale markets constantly are looking for additional avenues to connect to current customers or grow their customer base. NY MarketMaker is one avenue farmers across New York can utilize to make connections with their customers. This powerhouse database connects buyers, sellers and transportation services and is easily searchable, even for the „technologically‟ challenged. Cornell Cooperative Extension (CUCE) in New York City began this project with the University of Illinois in 2007, and today the CUCE MarketMaker web site contains information on 3,391 food producers representing vegetables, fruits and nuts, dairy, grains, herbs, wine, and meat products from 56 counties. Our site, which contains over 84,000 New York food-related references, is part of a national network of state web sites that currently includes 15 states. MarketMaker is a FREE in-depth marketing tool to help small and mid-sized producers get sophisticated data to help them reach thousands of potential buyers. New York State producers can get listed on the site at no charge, access census data to determine where targeted buyers are located in a given area, and find markets for products – such as farmers‟ markets, grocery stores, restaurants, and other retail locations- in a map-based format. We created our own educational outreach program that would teach food entrepreneurs how to use the site and the basics of marketing value added food products. The main purpose of MarketMaker is to level the playing field. With this tool, small and mid-sized producers have similar market intelligence as the bigger producers. From July 2007 to December 2009, a total of 45 hands-on MarketMaker presentations were given for producers at conferences, meetings, expos, harvest fairs and Empire Farm Days; New York MarketMaker received 934 new registrations and over 1.5 million hits. Many buyers and sellers actively posted advertisements at the MarketPlace. CUCE staff members conducted 23 online training sessions; participants were farm business management specialists, agricultural economic development specialists, fruits and vegetables specialists, and dairy specialists from across the state.