Shannon will teach us how to use social media to create a market for our products, farms, farmers' markets.

Paul Douglas is Minnesota’s first American Meteorology Society (AMS) Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, with a 40-year on-air career in television, radio, print and online.  Douglas is Founder and Senior Meteorologist at Praedictix, which focuses on media, corporate briefings and forensic meteorology.  In 2011 his companies helped to launch “WeatherNation TV”, a new national 24-7 weather channel.

"...The climate is changing, it’s us – and there are solutions. Climate volatility and weather disruption will continue to increase. Everything we create will have to be more resilient, storm-resistant, flood-tolerant and drought-proof; from how we design our cities, build our homes, repair our roads to how we grow our crops. There will be dislocation, but Minnesota will make out considerably better than most of the United States, for a variety of reasons. Solutions won’t come from Big Government, but from the markets - entrepreneurs inventing new, carbon-free ways to keep the lights on, the economy powered up and people employed. The world isn’t ending, it’s warming. That brings benefits and risk, threats and opportunities. There’s no time for gloom and doom. The situation isn’t hopeless – and we aren’t helpless..." 

Kim Olson's path to her Grandma's Gourmets company began back in 1977 - making jam and showing it at her county fair. Most of her recipes started with "Grandma's recipe" and then Kim made them her own. She sold from her home kitchen under the old "Pickle Bill" and now has her own warehouse and sells direct, caters, and wholesales her many products. Her canned products have won the Good Food Awards, the Scovie Award, and was just awarded the Innovative Local Sourcing Award at FEAST! Local Foods Marketplace 2018. Come learn from a cottage foods producer who is now an award winning, licensed, wholesale food producer!

Hotel Info

Best Western Plus Kelly Inn, 100 4th Avenue South, St. Cloud MN 56301. Call (320) 253-0606 or click here for online booking. We have rooms reserved at a special conference rate of $98 (plus taxes) until January 1, 2019 - so book yours now!