pride of dakota newsletter july 2011
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Pride of Dakota newsTRANSCRIPT
NewsJuly 2011
Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring
Business Development DirectorChuck Fleming
Marketing SpecialistsSara KelschDana PritschetStephanie Sinner
For more information on programs, visit:www.prideofdakota.com
Pride of Dakota at the Fair
Social Networking Training
Canadian Market
Export Helpline
Featured Company:North Prairie Signature
Featured Store:RSVP Dakota Store
Dickinson Showcase
Pride of Dakota Day
In This Issue
Pride of Dakota News
Pride of Dakota Events at North Dakota State Fair Canceled
All Pride of Dakota events at the 2011 ND State Fair have been canceled. If you have any questions regarding Pride of Dakota events at the Fair, please call or email Sara at [email protected] or 701-328-4766. Please see article below for details about the fair cancellation.
The North Dakota State Fair Board decided in an emergency meeting Saturday afternoon to cancel the 2011 North Dakota State Fair due to the continuing Mouse (Souris) River flood situation.
Fair and city officials reviewed the revised hydrograph from the National Weather Service, which has now forecasted slower than expected receding flood waters of the Mouse River.
Last Friday’s significant rain event compounded the city’s ongoing flood flight also causing water to not recede as expected.
“Our situation has changed dramatically since just two weeks ago when we initially reviewed the National Weather Service hydrograph,” says Renae Korslien, State Fair manager. “When we were working with the earlier charts, we were certain we could hold a State Fair. But with our already tight timeline, the revised forecast and Friday’s downpour now make that an impossibility.”
“We did everything we could to make this year’s Fair a reality. Sadly, the circumstances have changed. We are left with no choice,” adds Korslien.
Water remains on the State Fairgrounds. However, Korslien reports that the State Fair Center and the new Fair Grandstand remain dry. Fair employees have been working around the clock to protect these facilities throughout the flood. State Fair staff will now focus on getting the facilities ready for Motor Magic, Norsk Hostfest, Y’s Men’s Rodeo, and other community events.
For more information on the North Dakota State Fair, visit their website at www.ndstatefair.com.
The Pride of Dakota Harvest Showcase will be held, September 18-19, at the Dickinson Recreation Center. Times are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Last year shoppers from across western North Dakota were eager to shop from 95 Pride of Dakota vendors. Attendance was great with more than 3,000 people.
The Pride of Dakota staff is working hard to promote the showcase using local media advertising and social networking sites.
Registration forms for the Dickinson Harvest Showcase will be sent out soon. For more information, contact Sara Kelsch at 701-328-4766 or [email protected].
Dickinson Harvest Showcase
The objective of the Pride of Dakota Trade Show Assistance Program is to help Pride of Dakota companies develop exist-ing markets through trade show exhibiting.
The program enables all Pride of Dakota members to receive finan-cial asssistance for attending either a wholesale or a retail trade show outside North Dakota. Each company may qualify for up to $1,000 per fiscal year.
The Trade Show Assistance Program cannot be used in conjunction with the ND Department of Agriculture’s MAP program (Market Access Program).
You can learn about the details on this program and get an application on our website at www.prideofdakota.nd.gov/MembersCorner/Tradeshowassistanceprogram.html.
If you have questions, please contact Sara Kelsch at 701-328-4766 or email [email protected]
Trade Show Assistance Program
Ten Pride of Dakota members spent two days in June learning from one of the best in Social Media, Scott Wild. Scott has 12 years of experience and is also a Pride of Dakota consultant.
On the first day members set up new Social Media accounts or polished up their existing ones. Day one also brought information about understanding the im-portance of Social Media and how to maximize all of its uses. After a night to rest their information packed brains it was time for day two. This day taught attendees how to effectively use the social media sites. Members at the class also created blog topics.
The 13 members at the second day class are now active on Facebook, Twitter, Hootsuite and Wordpress. These four sites are proven to help grow businesses and the class participants now have many more outlets to reach their customers.
For more information or advice on Social Media contact Sara Kelsch at 328-4766 or email [email protected].
Social Networking Class a Success
This store is run completely by volunteers and is happy to serve tourists and locals alike. Frontier Village is also home to the World’s Largest Buffalo Monument and The Buffalo Museum. Tourists worldwide who wander into Dakota Store are able to experience North Dakota products first hand.
Whether you are looking for unique food and gifts or travel information in Jamestown, find Dakota Store to lend you a helping hand. Dakota Store is located in Jamestown Frontier Village in the red Depot. Store hours are 9-5 Monday through Saturday and 11-5 on Sundays.
Pride of Dakota Featured Company: North Prairie Signature
Pride of Dakota Featured Company: The Little German House
The RSVP mission is to provide meaningful volun-teer service opportunities to people of all ages. But in Jamestown they do more than help the community, they are supporting North Dakota businesses through their retail outlet called Dakota Store.
Much like any nonprofit organization financial sup-port has to come from somewhere and this group does it through a retail enterprise. This enterprise allows Jamestown RSVP to support Pride of Dakota members through selling Dakota made products at their seasonal store.
Dakota Store is located in the old west style Frontier Village in Jamestown. Among the antiques and arti-facts you can find North Dakota’s best from jelly to a “North Dakota Original” t-shirts. Nestled in the red Depot, Dakota Store proudly fills the shelves with nearly all North Dakota made products from 54 differ-ent ND companies.
A signature is a distinctive mark that distinguishes something. In the case of North Prairie Signature, it is the caring, family atmosphere of the North Prairie community that sets their products and their people apart. North Prairie Signature is a premier bison meat snack and food products producer and distributor. Stemming from the original North Prai-rie Bison Ranch, North Prairie Signa-ture produces quality bison meat snack products. They also produce other non-bison food products such as relishes and seasonings to compliment the bison.
If you’ve ever wondered where your food came from, you can rest easy when eating North Prairie Signature bison products. All the bison used in North Prairie Signature products are raised on the ranch and are free of antibiotics and growth hormones. All their products are USDA approved and MSG free, as well. North Prairie Signature products range from summer sausage to jerky to sweet tomato relish.
North Prairie Signature got its start in 2007 when the North Prairie Bison Ranch aka the Sexhus/Kakela Bison Ranch and the Sexhus family purchased the business. They have been in the bison industry since 1993 when they began raising bison.
The ranch/food processing combo makes for some interesting scenery at the office. North Prairie Signature employees and volunteers can watch bison from the office windows. And speaking of volunteers, this company carries on the family atmosphere of their community. Spouses, children and grandchildren all pitch in to help when it gets busy, like during show-case time!
For more information on North Prairie Signature, visit their website for a full product list or to place an order at www.northprairiesignature.com.
Thinking about selling overseas? The North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) can help you determine if international export is for you.
As a member of Food Export-Midwest, a non-profit organization of 12 state depart-ments of agriculture, NDDA can help even unexperienced companies successfully expand into international sales. To qualify for Food Export-Midwest programs, prod-ucts must be at least 50 percent U.S. materials, subtracting water and packaging.
A good starting point is the Food Export Helpline, a free, one-on-one service to an-swer exporters’ specific questions at any point through the export process. Whether you have a quick question or need extended assistance, the helpline is there. You also receive an analysis of the top 25 markets for your product to help you determine market potential.
NDDA staff is also ready to meet with you for a one-on-one consultation to discuss if exporting is a good fit for you and how to begin.
For more information contact NDDA Marketing Specialist Stephanie Sinner at 701-239-7211 or [email protected] or visit Food Export Midwest’s helpline page.
Export Helpline Available to Aid Export Readiness
Canadian MarketThe Canadian market for North Dakota companies is flourish-ing. Canada is already the largest importer of North Dakota goods, buying nearly $500 million of agriculture products in 2010. Those imports even include coffee – some $10,000 worth already this year. Sauce and condiment exports from North Dakota to Canada totaled $179,000 in 2010 and have already passed $60,000 in 2011. Nearly $6.6 million of consumer-oriented products such as pasta, mixes and dough and bottled water, were imported from North Dakota in 2010.
The North American Free Trade Agreement eliminated trade bar-riers between the U.S. and Canada, creating the world’s largest bilateral trade market. The similarity of Canadian consumers to their U.S. counterparts means opportunities for North Dakota prod-ucts, especially given our proximity to the border. Canadians are becoming much more health conscious with increased demand for healthy foods with fewer processed ingredients.
If you are interested in pursuing Canadian markets to help your company grow, contact Stephanie Sinner at 701-239-7211.
Information gathered from Euromonitor International and the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service.
Summer is finally here and it’s time to get the state’s best produce. The 2011 Local Foods Directories are now available at the Department of Agriculture. The directory is broken down into counties to easily find the farmers markets, CSAs, U-Pick farms, Roadside Stands, and produce distribu-tors in your area. It also includes a helpful harvest calendar to assist with your own gardening.
To get your free copy contact Bonnie at 701-328-2231.
Local Food Directories Ready
September 15 Pride of Dakota Day State Capitol
September 17-18 Pride of Dakota Harvest Showcase Dickinson
November 5-6 Grand Forks Holiday Showcase
November 12-13 Minot Holiday Showcase
November 18-20 Fargo Holiday Showcase
December 2-4 Bismarck Holiday Showcase
Upcoming Events
Tune in to North Dakota Now, our new weekly Internet radio show on your computer! It airs every Wednesday at 11 a.m. on the locally-owned Internet station, URL Radio.
The program’s website address is http://northdakotanow.podbean.com. The station’s website is www.urlradio.net. You can also listen through a link on the Pride of Dakota website – www.prideofdakota.com.
The weekly program includes a newscast, feature stories on Pride of Dakota member companies and more. North Dakota Now is produced in-house by NDDA’s Business Development Division. If you are interested in being a Pride of Dakota featured member, contact Sara Kelsch at [email protected]
North Dakota Now
Pride of Dakota Day The fifth Annual Pride of Dakota Day at the Capitol sponsored by the Council of State Employees (COSE) will be held September 15 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. This event is always a highlight during State Employees Rec-ognition Week because state employees, as well as people from surrounding communities, are able to shop from over 50 Pride of Dakota vendors throughout the day.
As in the past, the event will be held in the Legislative Hall, Memorial Hall and ground floor of the Capitol building. For Pride of Dakota members, this is an oppor-tunity to attend a show that receives a lot of traffic; state employees are loyal Pride of Dakota shoppers.
This event fills up quickly and there is a $25 fee to participate. Registration forms will be sent out soon. If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Sara at 701-328-4766 or [email protected].
Social NetworkingPride of Dakota has a Facebook© page, Twitter™ account, WordPress blog, and YouTube account. Our Face-book fan page reaches almost 4,700 people daily with feature stories about our members, status updates and feature videos. If you want your company to be featured on Facebook, please take the following steps:
1. Call or email us to be the featured company of the week. 2. Request and fill out the “Tell us about you” form and email, fax or mail it back to us.3. Let us know if your company has been in the news.
Email Sara at [email protected]. with qusetions.