Coming Up at CAIC: Get Ready for AgriBiz Hub!

To make a long story short, we created AgriBiz Hub to help bring the experience and benefits of our core programs to a wider audience. 

1. Networking and community. Starting with the first course CAIC launched nearly two years ago, we’ve consistently noticed something in our participants’ post-program feedback: Along with the actual course content, attendees almost always mentioned how much they’d appreciated the networking opportunities that they’d found. It’s no secret that building a business can be isolating, as can farming itself, and our participants frequently commented that it had been helpful to connect with other producers at similar growth stages. Some of them have even collaborated with each other since meeting in our programs, and we wondered how we might be able to create other opportunities to build these kinds of meaningful connections.   

2. Flexible learning opportunities. We also know that (to state the very obvious) most farmers and producers have busy and unpredictable schedules, especially when they’re working to grow a business. As we found that there were some prospective participants who were unable to fit our longer-term programs into their schedules, we started thinking about ways to make our course content available to a wider audience—so that busy producers could develop the skills they’re interested in learning on their own time.  

That’s how AgriBiz Hub—a virtual learning and networking space specifically for the region’s farmers, producers, and food and beverage manufacturers—was born. Since then, we’ve been conducting focus groups with Delmarva farmers and producers of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels. These sessions have given us phenomenal insights into prospective users’ needs and preferences, as well as some of the resources—from farmers markets to community groups—that have been helpful to them. And all of the feedback has helped us shape the platform we’re building.