It is great to constantly be on the hunt for ways to diversify your farming operation, and one of those routes can be through selling new products on the farm. However, building a customer base and finding the resources you need to get your product out there can seem daunting and may even deter some people from going down that route.

Indiana Grown fills that gap. The initiative, housed under the Indiana State Department of Agriculture umbrella, is a great tool for producers to start with when learning how to navigate marketing their new products.

What is Indiana Grown?

The Indiana Grown initiative was created in 2015 with a goal of promoting anything that is grown, raised, processed or packaged in Indiana. Caroline Patrick, program director of Indiana Grown, says member success remains top of mind.

“It’s been great to watch their success and be able to help and celebrate and share in that,” Patrick says. “We try to bring as much attention and elevate the conversation around why supporting local is so important.”

Interested producers can head to the Indiana Grown website and apply to be a member. Patrick says the cost of being a member doesn’t appear to be widely known.

“What’s often overlooked is that the program is free,” she says. “It’s really a no-brainer in my mind as far as why businesses would join or look into the resources. There’s a wide range of free opportunities.”

This seems like a no-brainer to me as well. This could be the kick-start that someone needs to get their product up and running. And the opportunities could bring so much exposure to a small business.

Just a sampling of those opportunities includes a weekly WISH-TV segment that showcases members’ products, free highlights on Indiana Grown’s social media channels, and other marketing and advertising events that are open to members.

Upcoming events

Two upcoming Indiana Grown events were designed with the members in mind: the Indiana Grown symposium on March 19 and the Indiana Grown showcase on April 23. The symposium is open to anyone interested in learning more about the initiative, and specifically about how to start an agritourism business. On the other hand, the showcase will be like a trade show of sorts for members to display their products.

Patrick explains that staff are always looking for feedback from the members so they can continue to best meet their needs.

“We always try to make it accessible where, if things aren’t going the right way or members aren’t happy with the program, they can reach out to myself or other team members,” she says. “If they’re not happy, we want to make sure we correct that and turn their experience around.”

I would recommend attending one of the Indiana Grown events if you’ve considered creating a new product and are unsure of where to start. It can be scary to take that leap of faith after committing so much time, energy and money into a new business venture. The folks at Indiana Grown are working to make it easier.