Value-added workshop planned for area farmers

The Explorations in Value Added Enterprises project will conduct a step-by-step marketing plan workshop on Oct. 19 at the Curtis Office Building, Topeka. This workshop is directed at farmers and entrepreneurs who have developed or who are thinking about value-added agricultural products.

Vincent Amanor-Boadu, with the Kansas Agriculture Innovation Center, will present information on defining a business’ strategic direction.

Lawrence resident Karen Pendleton, farmer coordinator for the Explorations in Value Added Enterprises Project, will discuss ways to contact and communicate with customers.

Ruth Smerchek, director of the Land of Kansas promotional program with the Kansas Department of Commerce, Ag Marketing Division will facilitate the step-by-step planning process at the workshop.

Registration for the meeting is due Oct. 5. There is a fee of $15, which includes lunch. For more information or to register call Pendleton at (785) 843-1409.

Survey

Companies don’t see terrorism as major risk

Despite all the talk in the news, terrorism is not the main threat to a company’s finances, according to a survey that highlights divergent views of risk between corporate officers and the analysts who cover their companies.

Only 1 percent of chief financial officers, treasurers and risk managers cited “terrorism/sabotage” as a significant danger for their businesses. Most said property-related hazards such as fires, natural disasters, supply-chain disruptions and production problems were a “top hazard.”

But only about a fifth of investment professionals saw these issues as potential problems. Four of five analysts said they thought the greatest risk to a company was in pricing fluctuations, governmental/regulatory hazards and misconduct by employees and managers.

Motley Fool

Name that company

I was born in 1930, when a British soapmaker merged with a Dutch margarine producer. I bought Bestfoods and Ben & Jerry’s in 2000. My brands include Knorr soups noodles and meals, Birds Eye foods, Bertolli olive oils, sauces and dressings, Slim-Fast weight-loss aids, Pond’s skin cream, Dove and Lux soaps, Lipton teas, and Hellman’s mayonnaise. I’m the world’s largest ice cream producer, too. I employ nearly a quarter of a million people in some 100 nations. Around the world, someone chooses one of my products 150 million times a day. Who am I?