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Know Your Product and Brand is part of the Maryland Retail Products Producer Program. This section will provide information about packaging, USDA/FDA label and nutritional label requirements, and Allergen notification requirements.

Sales and Marketing Tools is part of the Maryland Retail Products Producer Program. This section will provide resources on marketing channels and tools to sell your retail products.

Product Development and Production is part of the Maryland Retail Products Producer Program. This section provides information on product development and production practices.

Specialty vegetables, of course, don’t have to be weird, odd-shaped, or off-colored cousins of their traditional counterparts. More often than not, they are not weird at all, but are simply vegetables that are not available or grown on a large scale for traditional market outlets. They may be vegetables that are grown quite commonly in other parts of the world, but are not yet known as a traditional staple crop here (ethnic specialty vegetables). They may simply be miniature versions of full-sized fruit (baby or miniature vegetables) that are available at a time when they are traditionally not in season (early or late season extension) or are an unusual or different variety (heirloom, local cultural favorites, etc.).

Organic produce has become very popular in the last 10 years. U.S. organic fovod sales have grown between 17 and 21 percent each year since 1997. This is compared to conventionally grown food sales that have grown only 2 to 4 percent a year for the same time period. Organic food sales now represent approximately 2 percent of U.S. food sales (Greene and Dimitri).

The popularity of craft beer and micro-breweries combined with the growing awareness of buying locally-produced agricultural products provides Maryland farmers with an emerging crop production opportunity: hops. Research the possibilities of producing this high-value crop right here in Maryland. Maryland and surrounding states have a good market for locally-grown hops.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service website, Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) threatens the health of honeybees across the nation, the issue exacerbating in the 1980s with the increase of new pathogens & pests. Since a great number of agricultural crops we grow in Maryland depend on honeybee pollination, the honeybee decline threatens our food industry.

Interested in raising animals but looking for something different than the conventional sheep, cattle, or laying hens? Then you might be interested in raising some type of alternative livestock. Examples of alternative livestock include antelope, elk, buffalo, alpacas, llamas, miniature horses, donkeys, zebra, camels, guardian dogs, ratites, game birds, ducks, wallabies, and more. Broadly defined, alternative livestock can be any non-traditional animal raised on your farm or property.

In November, I had the opportunity to give a presentation through the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ (AGNR) new Agricultural Careers and Entrepreneurship (ACE) Virtual Center webinar series. The presentation was titled, Entrepreneurs-Born or Made?

Packaging is more than just a way to get your product from A to B — it’s also an incredibly valuable customer touchpoint. In today’s age of “Social Media” moments and You Tube videos, your product packaging is an additional way to get extra marketing mileage for your “brand”. A product's packaging communicates many things, from what the product can do for your customers to your company's values. It is important to take some time deciding exactly what you want to accomplish by packaging your item, because for most food products, almost a quarter of the cost per unit that is realized comes from the price paid for packaging.