Everyone can now connect to AgriConnect.
This online information boutique puts the public and the producer into the same space, so names and details about local food and farming is at your fingertips. Growers and makers can get their word out, people looking for local food and agricultural services can look it all up.
It is part of the many programs offered by the organization called FARMED, a division of the North Cariboo Agriculture Marketing Association.
AgriConnect became available earlier this summer through a “soft launch” at the Quesnel Farmers’ Market, and now it is wide open to the whole public. It is a project that came to life thanks to the sponsorship and guidance of Community Futures Development Corporation of the North Cariboo, among other key supporters of local agriculture and agritourism.
“AgriConnect is a living site. Additional content will be added on an ongoing basis to ensure it remains current and relevant,” said Heloise Dixon-Warren, chair of FARMED. “One goal is for the site to be a valuable resource that the greater North Cariboo community will use. FARMED will be further developing the site by adding information.”
There are a number of tabs on the AgriConnect home page, so you can look up various topics, but the most comprehensive is the Producer Directory where you can easily look up farms by name, or anyone who might be selling an item of particular interest, from alpaca yarn to beeswax, from wreaths to sausages. You can also look up an item and pick different communities to see if there are producers closest to you, including Alexandria, Baker Creek, Bouchie Lake, Kersley, Narcosli, Nazko, Quesnel and Strathnaver.
“Another benefit of this site is that producers and non-profits who sign up for a listing, whether it is basic or extended, can update their listings as needed,” said Dixon-Warren. “FARMED is also hoping to expand the non-profit section to ensure it is as comprehensive as possible.”
All the information pertains to local contacts involved in the agriculture and agritourism sectors.
The idea of AgriConnect was born about two years ago when a public consultation process was held, gathering input from FARMED members and from the general community. This one-stop-shop website was one of the things people wished for.
The whole exercise was named the Opportunities 2022 & Beyond Project, and AgriConnect is only one part of it.
Another part of it was a roundtable created for food producers, so conversations could be held from Fraser Lake to Fort St. James to Clinton pertaining to the common goals of farmers, ranchers and home producers.
There will also soon be billboards posted on Highway 97 north of and south of Quesnel.
FARMED will also be hosting a celebratory event on Sept. 1 as an official launch of AgriConnect along with three workshops and two tours under the Knowledge & Technology Transfer Program by the Ministry of Agriculture. They include:
• Market Garden Root Cellar / Cold Storage Tour;
• Wildfire Resilience for Agriculture Producers Tour;
• Vending at BC Farmers Markets;
• Adding Value to your Produce through Processing and Preservation;
• Farm to Consumer – Rules for Compliant Production.
“Since initiating the Opportunities 2022 & Beyond Project, membership with FARMED has increased by more than 165 per cent,” said Dixon-Warren. “Membership is now at 41 members with the majority of them regionally based agriculture producers (farms and ranches). This is a true indicator of the value of the project.”
She added that “As a longtime member of FARMED, it is exciting to be involved with an organization that has such dedication, is innovative and supportive with members that have such amazing skill sets. The success of the Opportunities 2022 & Beyond Project is an indicator of the value of the project to the greater North Cariboo community.”
To take a look at all the new website has to offer, and for information on the workshops and tours coming up on Sept. 1, go to https://www.farmed.ca/agriconnect and take a look around.
READ MORE: Getting to know local products and producers through brand recognition
READ MORE: “Growing Together” in the Cariboo
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