If COVID-19 has taught farm families and other businesses anything over the past several months, it has identified the unbridled potential of online sales and services — and the tidal wave force behind everything in our lives toward digital. That’s where Grow Nebraska comes in.

Founded in 1998 in the former high school building in Holbrook, Neb., the  nonprofit foundation has grown from its regional roots into a statewide dynamo with 419 members in 82 counties — many of which are farm and ranch families — and an annual budget of nearly $1 million.

Farmers know how to grow and develop their value-added products, but marketing often is a challenge. With the onslaught of COVID-19 and the demand for online marketing of farm and food products, Grow Nebraska has been positioned to help farmers out now more than ever.

 “Our primary focus has been to help our member businesses pivot to digital platforms,” says Janell Anderson Ehrke, founder and CEO. “We want people to be able to find them. We have an extremely successful Amazon store — buynebraska.com. We have the largest Nebraska site on Google Shopping, but we also have a Facebook store, an Etsy store, and we do commerce through Pinterest and other social media.”

Building a brand

Getting members and their products noticed and helping members build their brand, so they show up at the top of online search engines, is all part of the game plan. In addition, Grow Nebraska assists members in figuring out how to handle orders, get packaging right and develop shipping strategies that work.

Two decades ago, Grow was focused on setting up a gift basket website. Today, it is trying to get its members’ products noticed online by building brands and being present in multiple lanes of social media, Ehrke says.

“There are no ‘get rich quick’ overnight schemes,” she explains. “You need to be in this game for a while and be in it for the long haul.” There are stories among Grow members where national news or sensational media has created demand for specific products very quickly. “Some wild things happen that are unbelievable,” Ehrke says.

“What I love about being online is that you can sell products to a majority of customers who live out of state,” she notes. “It means someone can live anywhere, and not be dependent upon a customer base that is within 75 miles. And with COVID, online shopping is more important now than ever.”

Grow Nebraska offers two free monthly training webinars on varied topics related to product development and marketing. “Training is on demand,” Ehrke says. “Most of the training sessions are on marketing, but we did a session on taking good photography with an iPhone. Sessions are available for free, as long as you sign up, and past training sessions are available too.”

In addition to training, Grow offers an annual marketing conference and one-on-one coaching. “No cookie-cutter program works for everyone,” Ehrke explains.

Small price to pay

Fees for membership are reasonable, at $350 per year for businesses with a product, and $200 per year for businesses advertising services. They also have membership scholarships widely available, so often membership fees can be reduced.

While the original Grow Nebraska organization was focused on in-person retail stores, today the group is guided by a statewide 12-member board of directors and is headquartered with offices and one Buy Nebraska Gift Store at Younes Campus in Kearney. They also operate a store at the Nebraska State Fair each year.

Whether it is popcorn, home-raised meat, flour or other farm products, Ehrke says that Grow Nebraska continues to help farmers and agriculture families reach for the marketing potential of their products and get those products into the hands of consumers.

Learn more online at grownebraska.org.