MarketReady Travels to Indiana

In December of 2024, Savannah Columbia and Dr. Timothy Woods traveled to Franklin and Danville, Indiana for a two-day program to train Purdue Extension technical assistance providers on the MarketReady Producer Training Program material and to facilitate a MarketReady Producer Training for growers and producers. 

This two-day program, often referred to as "Train the Trainer" is a way for us to expand our Kentucky-based Extension programming into other states. Upon completion of the training, technical assistance providers receive the knowledge, tools, and support to facilitate the MarketReady Producer Training Program in their Purdue Extension programming. Four Purdue Extension technical assistance providers were trained at the Purdue Extension Johnson County office in Franklin, Indiana. This is Day One of our two-day training program. 

As part of the Train the Trainer education, Savannah Columbia and Dr. Timothy Woods also facilitate a MarketReady Producer Training for growers and producers in the local area. This is Day Two of our two-day training program. Twenty-nine growers and producers were educated through the MarketReady Producer Training Program. These growers and producers included fruit and vegetable growers, pasture-raised and freezer meat producers, and value-added producers (such as gluten and dairy-free products, hot and BBQ sauces, savory pastries, etc.).    

There were 33 total attendees over the two-day MarketReady Train-the-Trainer program. MarketReady continues to train producers in Kentucky and will expand their training to West Virginia in the spring of 2025. If you would like more information about this program, check out our Is Your State MarketReady? tab.