Sample Press Release

The following is a sample press release, written in an engaging style while using the traditional press release conventions.

STORY IDEA AND CALENDAR LISTING

For immediate release

CONTACT:

Susan Johnson
250 Main Street
Hamilton, MA
413-555-5555
sjohnson@johnsonfarm.com

Johnson Farm reopens farm stand

Five years of progress allows for expanded offerings of grass-feed beef, eggs, produce, local groceries

HAMILTON, MA (June 27, 2009) – Five years ago, Johnson Farm was a tangled mess of overgrown invasive plants and rocky, infertile land. The farm had been abandoned since 1999, and included a burned-down house, overgrown fields, a rickety barn, and fields filled with trash. After purchasing the land in 2004, farm owner Susan Johnson and her family began clearing the invasive plants, restoring the land and its buildings and returning the farm to health. “Our first thought, though, was ‘What did we get ourselves into?’” said Tom Johnson, Susan’s father and farmhand. And after five years of steady progress, Johnson Farm will reopen its farm stand on July 5, 2009. The stand will be open from 9 a.m.
to 6 p.m. Fridays through Sundays throughout the summer and fall.

The first farm stand in 2004 was simple – vegetables sold on the front lawn, under a tent. This year, the farm’s general-store style stand, with its solid wood construction and wraparound porch, will offer expanded grass-feed beef, produce, and local groceries. Rocking chairs rock lazily on the porch, while Tom Johnson sells antiques in a nearby barn. “Once the farm stand here opens for the season, I don’t do my grocery shopping anywhere else,” said Eleanor Kohn of Hamilton.

Johnson Farm has expanded its vegetables, cattle herd and flock of chickens, for more eggs, grass-fed beef, veggies, fruits, herbs and flowers. They also make their own cider donuts, muffins, cookies and brownies. All local salad dressings, salsas, honey and syrup also fill the farm stand shelves. “We only want to carry local food,” Susan Johnson said. “We want everything to come from New England, and the closer, the better. We seek out local vendors.”

Additionally, a new greenhouse will allow for an expanded tomato season. “It’s our goal to extend deep into autumn and early winter with our vegetables this year,” Susan Johnson said. “We’re growing winter veggies like salads, lettuce mixes, spinach, kale – things that can be grown later in the year.”
Johnson Farm practices sustainable, organically based agriculture. They use organic practices and use no synthetic chemicals, herbicides or pesticides. “People come in, they see our grass-fed beef, and they see how we raise our chickens,” Susan Johnson said. “That’s what keeps people coming back. We want people to be part of our community as well as enjoy our food.”

Johnson Farm is a small, chemical-free family farm that raises a diversity of farm products and believes in the humane treatment of animals. Animals are free-range and grass-fed, and are always humanely treated. More information can be found at www.johnsonfarmexample.com.

This material is based upon work supported by USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2010-49200-06201.

In accordance with Federal law and US Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).