|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 11:07 PM CDT
MarketMaker Web site links agricultural markets in two more states and Washington, D.C.
Sharon Kuhns, University of Illinois Extension in Coles County
National Food MarketMaker recently added Colorado, South Carolina, and Washington, D.C., to their growing online network on the National Food MarketMaker Web site. MarketMaker now includes 12 participating states plus Washington, D.C.
The national Web site located at national.marketmaker.uiuc.edu is a portal to all of the participating states.
“The site was created in 2004 by University of Illinois Extension with the intention of building an electronic infrastructure that would more easily connect food-producing farmers with economically viable new markets,” said U of I Extension marketing specialist Darlene Knipe. “It’s currently one of the most extensive collections of searchable food industry-related data in the country. And all the information can be mapped and queried by the user.”
“MarketMaker represents a valuable marketing tool and resource for us to share with the food system community, and Colorado is very excited to finally make it available in our state,” said Dawn Thilmany of Colorado State University. “Colorado State University and the Colorado Department of Agriculture will continue to seek effective marketing opportunities for our food industry through MarketMaker and future innovations.”
MarketMaker comes to South Carolina through a cooperative effort between Clemson University Public Service Activities, the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. “This online tool will help the state’s agriculture and seafood industries reach new markets and help consumers find just what they are looking for,” said Dave Lamie, Extension specialist at the Clemson Institute for Economic and Community Development.
Washington, D. C. became a member of the National MarketMaker network with cooperation from the University of the District of Columbia. Calvin Lewis, Washington, D.C., MarketMaker principal investigator and research associate stated, “The nation’s capital is land-locked and lacks sufficient space to support farming; however, D.C. MarketMaker has provided an Internet resource that significantly expands access to locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables for the District of Columbia. This promotes good nutrition and a healthier diet for our citizens.”
MarketMaker is hosted and maintained by University of Illinois Extension and is guided by an advisory board made up of representatives from among participating partner states. There is no charge associated with having a business listed on the site or to search the site for information.
For more information about MarketMaker, go to http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/coles/. Click on Ag & Natural Resources — you will see MarketMaker icon there. If you have any questions, call the Coles County Extension office at 345-7034.
Sharon Kuhns is county director for University of Illinois Extension in Coles County.
Add your comments
Not already registered?
Then click Here.
Comment policy:
JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.
In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.
We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.
No comment may contain:
* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.
If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
