Last fall, Sweet Grown Alabama, the state’s new agricultural branding program, opened membership applications.
Alabama Agriculture Commissioner
Image courtesy of Rick Pate Campaign
“Gaining members is the first step in a cycle to bring fresh, local, high-quality products to Alabama consumers,” said Rick Pate, commissioner of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and Sweet Grown Alabama board president.
And while attending the Alabama Agribusiness Council (AAC) annual meeting this week in Orange Beach, Pate told Southeast AgNet’s Randall Weiseman they were not able to kick off the program quite the way they had hoped this spring due to COVID-19.
Membership is not exclusive to Alabama farmers and is open to value-added product makers who use at least 50% Alabama-grown ingredients. There is an associate category for restaurants, retailers, farmers markets, agritourism operations and businesses with a vested interest in Sweet Grown Alabama.
Annual dues are determined on a sliding scale based on farm or company annual sales. Dues range from $100 for a business making less than $50,000 a year to $4,800 for a business making over $10 million.
Learn more on the Sweet Grown Alabama website.