CANTON -- Area farmers and business people in the food, beverage, and agricultural industries are invited to attend a free “Access to Capital” workshop on Thursday, Nov. 13 at SUNY Canton.

Sign in begins at 9 a.m. at the SUNY Canton Campus Center. The formal program will begin at 9:30 am, and end with the resource fair from 11:40 am to 12:30 pm. Light breakfast will be available.

The event will include panel discussions and networking opportunities to learn about available financial resources to start or expand a business. The workshop is sponsored by the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce and the St. Lawrence County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board, in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

“Capital is a critical aspect of being competitive in the marketplace, and is frequently a challenge to growth for our businesses” said Brooke Rouse, Executive Director of the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. I am thrilled that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York accepted our invitation to bring this valuable program to Canton. Having these tremendous resources under one roof for a morning of education is a real opportunity.”

Panel discussions will include an overview of how to seek and be competitive in obtaining funds for a variety of projects. Traditional resources of capital that are available for businesses and entrepreneurs will be discussed by the first panel, which includes Mike Haycook from Farm Credit East, Andrew Rice from Community Bank, Brian Bund from New York Business Development Corporation, Mollie Pulver from NBT Bank, Gary Pereira from USDA. This panel will be moderated by Michelle Collins of the SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center.

Emerging and alternative sources of funding will be addressed in the second panel, with speakers Brian Weiner from Bibby Financial Services (Midwest) Inc., Michelle Capone from the Development Authority of the North Country, Tom Plastino from the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency and Melinda Little from Point Positive, Inc. Angel investors, factoring and unique business development incentives will be explained with emphasis on how these types of capital may be appropriate to a project. The panel will be moderated by Kate Fish, Executive Director of the Adirondack North Country Association.

Panelists and additional business development partners will be available after the panel at a resource fair in the same location. Although the panel has a focus on agriculture, food and beverage – any business will benefit from the information provided.

Attendees are asked to register online at: www.tinyurl.com/SLCaccess or by calling the county chamber at 386-4000. A workshop agenda, campus map, and parking pass are available on the registration website.