By John Lovett
A farmer who can’t sell imperfect tomatoes at the market may turn them into a value-added product, like spaghetti sauce, ratatouille, or salsa. With a little imagination, the same option is available for any number of agricultural products, such as spent brewer’s grain for dog treats, or hemp seed for lotions and soaps.
Value-added products are the center of attention for the next “Plan. Produce. Profit!” workshop, May 6, in cooperation with the National Agricultural Law Center, the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
Participants will explore the process of taking a food or beverage product from concept to the commercial market. “Plan. Produce. Profit! Value-added Food Processing Opportunities in NWA” will be held 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on May 6 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences, 1371 W. Altheimer Drive, in Fayetteville.
Registration is $20 per person and includes lunch and refreshments. Preregistration is open through May 1 at the experiment station’s events page at aaes.uada.edu/events. Registration will also be open 8:30-9 a.m. on the day of the event at the center.
In addition to showcasing value-added products made from northwest Arkansas surplus produce, the workshop sessions will be taught by faculty and staff on topics including:
- Value-added product overview with Renee Threlfall, research scientist of enology and viticulture and postharvest horticulture, Division of Agriculture.
- Food safety and practices with Jennifer Acuff, associate professor of food microbiology and safety, Division of Agriculture.
- Challenges with recipe scale-up with Andrea Myers, program technician, Division of Agriculture.
- Information on two shared-use facilities and equipment in northwest Arkansas: The Arkansas Food Innovation Center, with John Swenson; and AFIC at the Market Center of the Ozarks, with Darryl Holliday (Division of Agriculture).
- Food processing basics, with Sun Ferreira, assistant professor of food science, Division of Agriculture.
- Liability in value-added food production, with Rusty Rumley, senior staff attorney with the National Agricultural Law Center.
- Marketing value-added food production, with Rogelio Garcia Contreras and Rodrigo Salas, Walton College.
- Value-added products grower/entrepreneur panel.
While Act 1040 of 2021, which became known as the Arkansas Food Freedom Act, allows Arkansas residents to sell more types of homemade food and drink products in more locations than before, most value-added food products for commercial markets need to be produced in food manufacturing facilities like The Arkansas Food Innovation Center or AFIC at the Market Center of the Ozarks, Threlfall said.
Threlfall noted the May 6 workshop is “focused on those entrepreneurs interested in launching or scaling up production of value-added food products for commercial manufacturing.”
Farmer’s Ratatouille is an example of a value-added product and the first to roll out of the Expanding Farmers’ Opportunities in Northwest Arkansas Program, which was designed to help cut down on food waste and create value-added products for farmers using the Arkansas Food Innovation Center.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact Drew Viguet at dviguet@uada.edu as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
Source : uada.edu