OFMN Continuing Education Program

To view our list of Eligible Events and Activities, click here!

Certification

Initial certification is earned through the participation and completion of the Michigan Farmers Market Association (MIFMA) Market Manager Certificate Program (MMCP). This program consists of 3 in-person sessions and 7 webinars for a total of 32 educational hours.

Once certified, Certified Farmers Market Managers (CFMM) can maintain their certification by earning 10 Continuing Education (CE) hours per year, starting in March and concluding in February.

Market Manager Certificate Program

Like any other professional, we believe a farmers market manager should be paid for his/her/their work. And like other professionals, market managers should commit themselves to continuously learning and advancing their careers through educational and networking opportunities such as webinars, conferences and volunteering.

To that end, the Ohio Farmers Market Network is proud to introduce its Market Manager Certificate Program!

It wouldn’t be unusual if we pointed to the fact that like most things, farmers markets could be analyzed and approached like a venn diagram, showing “logical relations between a finite collection of different sets.”

We believe the shape of a farmers market venn diagram is a star, with each point representing an integral part of a successful farmers market.

The Market Manager Certificate Program (MMCP) was designed for individuals with some experience in farmers market management. While not required for participation, students may find the content more advanced than topics covered in the annual Ohio Farmers Market Conference, such as mission, vision and values, events and entertainment, and food assistance programs.

The 2020 MMCP will include presentations on the following topics:

Conflict Management - Understand what conflict is (and isn’t) and manage it.
Licenses, Permits and Regulation - Wouldn’t it be great to have a checklist for this?
Vendor Engagement and Support - How can (or should) you support your vendors?
Vendor Inspections - What to know and how to conduct a successful inspection.
Marketing - You need a plan! The nuts and bolts of an annual marketing plan.
How to Express Market Value - Do you know your value and how to express it?
Data Collection and Use - Let’s collect AND use data.
Building a Sponsorship Program - It’s not just building it - it’s managing, too.
Community Outreach and Development - Let your community work for you.
Customer Identification - Who are your customers and find more of them.
Finding, Developing and Managing Volunteers - Let’s delegate!

Given the investment of time and money, this program may be of more value to those seeking to advance their career in market management, those with ownership interests in a farmers market, or those invested in developing a strong, sustainable market in their community. Again, while experience is not required for participation, the benefits exist for individuals committed to this field of study.

The Market Manager Certificate Program includes the following:

11-12 webinars hosted live every Tuesday beginning February 4, 2020
Templates, worksheets and other supplemental documentation to support your learning
Q & A with speakers during live webinar presentations
Access to professionals and colleagues with knowledge and experience

Students are encouraged to participate during live webinars, but this is not required. All webinars will be available after the live production via a Google drive along with all documents shared during the webinar.

OFMN wishes to recognize and reward farmers market managers who commit to certification and professional development, and those markets who hire and support certified market managers. As such, OFMN will:

Recognize graduates of the MMCP on OFMN website with his/her/their picture, name and market association, and;
Recognize farmers markets on OFMN website with their logo and website, and;
Provide a $20 discount to Certified Farmers Market Managers (CFMM) for the Ohio Farmers Market Conference hosted by OFMN, and;
Provide a printed form of recognition such as a certificate, ID card and pin;
Recognize CFMMs at the Ohio Farmers Market Conference.

We hope you’ll join us in our pursuit to advance our markets, our vendors and the glue that binds it all together - our market managers!

Continuing Education

The OFMN Continuing Education program is designed for CFMMs who have completed the MMCP and wish to pursue additional educational and advancement opportunities in the field of farmers market management.

Like any other professional, a farmers market manager should be paid for his/her/their work. But like other professionals, market managers should commit themselves to continuously learning and advancing their careers through educational and networking opportunities such as webinars, conferences and volunteering.

Certified Farmers Market Managers must earn 10 points annually, from March 1 through February 28/29. Points must be earned in a minimum of 3 categories: conferences, meetings, webinars, trainings and volunteering. The cost to recertify is $20 annually.

Each year, OFMN will provide a list of pre-approved activities that qualify for CE points. Each activity has been evaluated on the basis of its relevance to farmers markets, general industries that are useful to market managers such as marketing and food safety, and other “locally” focused and food related events.

A current list of pre-approved activities and their attributed points can be found here.

If an event is not listed on the pre-approved list of activities, a market manager may petition OFMN to add an event or to simply award points for participation. Each event will be evaluated based on the following information:

What event did you attend?
How many hours did you spend at said event?
What did you learn that will be useful in market management?

Did you attend an event you think is worthy of CE points?
Click here to submit your request.

What happens if you’re not in good standing?
(ie: you don’t get your 10 hours in a year)

We know that life happens and sometimes, it’s not the way we plan it. As such, OFMN will handle all instances of missed hours on a case-by-case basis. However, our general policy will be as follows:

Market manager will lose certification after 2 years of less than 10 CE points, and;

If a market manager does not recertify after the second year, he/she/they must take MMCP again, and;

Each year remains individual in terms of points (ie: points missed from year one does not have to be made up in year 2, year 2 requires only 10 points).

Recognition

OFMN wishes to recognize and reward farmers market managers who commit to certification and professional development, and those markets who hire and support CFMMs. As such, OFMN will:

Recognize CFMMs on OFMN website with his/her/their picture, name and market association, and;
Recognize farmers markets on OFMN website with their logo and website, and;
Provide a $20 discount to CFMMs for the Ohio Farmers Market Conference hosted by OFMN, and;
Provide a printed form of recognition such as a certificate, ID card and pin
Recognize CFMMs at the Ohio Farmers Market Conference.

PLEASE NOTE: This program is being launched immediately with a “Launch & Learn” in 2019 with market managers who graduated from the MIFMA MMCP in February 2019. Managers will participate in the CE program as designed, and asked for feedback throughout the year.

Let's Connect in Real Life!

Our work strengthens farmers markets throughout Ohio, but has greater impact where markets collaborate with one another, their farmers and food producers, and stakeholders within their communities. As such, the Ohio Farmers Market Network hosts regional meetings and moderates a list-serv for each region.

While regions are loosely designated, we encourage our members to join a region that feels appropriate to their market. Please review the map/list below for general regional designations.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s connect!