Reserve your spot on the EXPO Farm Market Bus Tour

The Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO is near, which means it’s time to register for the annual Farm Market Bus Tour.

Six educational stops await tour participants on Monday, Dec. 5, the day before the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable & Farm Market EXPO. Tour sponsors Fruit Growers News and Vegetable Growers News have chosen a variety of locations to provide a cross-section of farm marketers who will provide insight on how they market their products.

The stops are:

• Dairy Discovery (Swisslane Farms) – Committed to educating visitors about the integrity of production practices and benefits of technology use in the dairy industry, Swisslane Farms exposes them to daily life on a large and modern farm.
• Jones’ Farm Market – A custom butchering and processing operation with a full-service retail store with a deli counter.
• Red Barn Market – A farm store stocked with fresh produce, jams, salsas, dressings, ice cream and other local food and products, with a barnyard and petting zoo.
• Hanulcik Farm Market & Orchard – Apples, baked goods, fall produce, cider, maple syrup and more are featured at this market and working orchard.
• Heidi’s Farmstand & Bakery – Baked goods made fresh every day, fresh-picked produce, corn maze and a school field trip program.
• Denny Farms – Pies and other fresh bakery items, asparagus, local honey and asparagus, apples and other fall produce, including pumpkins.

The tour offers many opportunities to network with farm marketers and learn about their unique marketing strategies, as well as interactive discussions moderated by Michigan State University Extension educators on the bus between stops.

The cost of the tour is $175 per person, and includes lunch and snacks. If you register after Nov. 15, the cost is $200 and subject to availability. Registration is limited.

Buses depart from the Amway Grand Plaza/Convention Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan; check-in is from 7 to 8:15 a.m. in the Welsh Lobby of DeVos Place, at the Lyon Street entrance. The first bus leaves at 7:30 a.m.; the second leaves at 8:30 a.m.

For more information about registration, contact Olivia Hagerman at ohagerman@glexpo.com,  or call 734-239-8027.