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“Connecting the Dots”

http://ar.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/

Promoting Arkansas Agriculture by linking students and farms.

Clubs/chapters will compete for cash prizes and the winning market will receive free consultation, including a site visit, with an industry marketing expert.

MarketMaker Promotional Campaign

Connecting the dots is a promotional campaign to promote Arkansas’ MarketMaker Resource. MarketMaker is a free online resource available to Arkansas’ farmers, businesses, and consumers.  It is an interactive web resource aimed at promoting the products and businesses of agricultural producers. The Division of Agriculture will partner with Arkansas 4-H and FFA to allow local clubs/chapters to compete in a statewide marketing competition. The contest would allow a single entry per club/chapter, whereby the members work with a farmer or farmers' market located in their county to develop a marketing brochure for the farm or farmers' market. The brochure will be submitted online to the Division of Agriculture and judged by a panel of marketing experts. Both the farmers and the students will benefit from participating in the promotional campaign. The farms and farmers' markets will receive a variety of ideas and resources to assist them in their marketing efforts.  The students will connect with area growers/markets to strengthen the local connections and awareness of what is available in their local community.  This is an opportunity to expand the understanding of Arkansas agriculture across the state and connect young people to farmers. For more information, e-mail marketmaker@uaex.edu.

Competition Rules

1. Club/Chapter must visit with farm/business and gain permission to use their operation for the campaign entry.
2. One entry per club or chapter.
3. Farm/Farmers Market must be registered on MarketMaker by March 1st to be qualified to enter the competition. If you wish to work with a farm or farmer who is not yet registered, they can register at http://ar.marketmaker.uiuc.edu/.
4. Each entry must be submitted as a Word or PDF document no later than March 1st.
5. Word or PDF file must not exceed 1 meg.