“Marketing Value-Added” was the theme of the South Dakota Value-Added Conference, held March 17, 2005, at the Brookings Inn.

Speakers discussed branded products, marketing community-based value-added, and building a national market.  The afternoon featured an agritourism workshop and breakout sessions on branded products and advertising.

The conference is organized annually by groups that include the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, South Dakota Department of Agriculture, The Value-Added Agriculture Development Center, South Dakota State University, SD Office of Tourism and SD Specialty Producers’ Association.

Other sponsors for the 2005 conference included SD Farmers Union, VeraSun Energy, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, East River Electric Power Cooperative, Enterprise Institute, SD Corn Utilization Council, Wunder Seeds, Inc., Farm Credit Services of America, Prairie Berry, LLC, SD Soybean Research & Promotion Council, and the SD State Fair.

Governor Rounds guest speaker at the Value-Added Conference

Gov. Mike Rounds was a special guest speaker at the 2005 South Dakota Value Added Conference.

Rounds spoke at 12 p.m. during the conference lunch. His talk was about the value of branding.

The morning included a talk on brand development for a changing value-added market by Mike Clary, president of the OAR Group, a business consulting organization that has assisted with several South Dakota start-up ventures.

Also in the morning was a presentation on marketing community-based value-added by Larry Swain of Swain and Associates, a strategic planning consulting firm that specializes in value-added agriculture for small family farms.

The afternoon was split into two separate workshops about marketing branded products and agritourism.

The marketing workshop included three breakout sessions. In the first session, Swain discussed personality and family relationships.
Session 2 was led by Clary and focused on branded products. “Brand development is more about keeping promises than it is about logo, brand name, and packaging,” Clary said.

“The foundation of brand success is how the product or service behind the brand fills the customers’ needs and expectations. Ultimately, customers are loyal to a brand because they’ve come to expect something important to them that’s associated with that brand. So when you develop a brand, your focus should start with what image you desire and your overall business strategy. That focus will lead you to the appropriate execution tactics.”

Session 3 dealt with advertising and marketing of branded products. It was led by Greg Guse and Kelly Bickel from Paulsen Marketing of Sioux Falls.

“The conference is relevant for ag producers, entrepreneurs, and anyone else with an interest in value-added agriculture,” said South Dakota State University microbiology professor Bill Gibbons.

Artists, producers, and value-added entrepreneurs were encouraged to come and explore their common goals in direct marketing and agritourism, SDSU Extension Horticulture Specialist Rhoda Burrows said.
Breakout sessions of the agritourism workshop discussed expanding the rural vision to include agritourism; developing networks to encompass all aspects of the rural experience such as arts, products, culture and social interactions; and identifying resources, resource gaps, possible solutions, and first steps toward agritourism development.

South Dakota arts leaders said agritourism can help showcase the strong connection between agriculture and the arts.

"Agritourism is a new venture for some artists but many art forms have roots in agricultural products, such as fiber arts and ceramics. Agritourism can expand markets for artists and some arts organizations," said South Dakota Arts Council Director Dennis Holub. "Representatives from the State Arts Council and South Dakotans for the Arts presented materials at the conference that are valuable to artists, visual arts organizations and agri-based businesses and organizations."

For more information on the annual Value Added Conference you may contact: Bill Gibbons, SDSU (605) 688-5499, or the Value Added Center at (605) 352-9177.