Value Added

Bringing the business planning process alive, Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses helps today's alternative and sustainable agriculture entrepreneurs transform farm-grown inspiration into profitable enterprises.

The Imperial Stock Ranch, which began in 1871, faces a new and serious challenge to its very survival: how to create new markets for its products.

Jeanne Carver describes the importance of listening to customers when developing new value-added markets for your farm products.

This course covers planning and business development, marketing opportunities and strategies for farm/ranch businesses, and managing the farm/ranch business for long-term success.

The sustainability of a dairy farm relates to many factors revolving around farm management, use of resources, and quality of life. NCR-SARE has supported research and education opportunities in a wide variety of dairy topics including organic dairying, value-added dairy options, pasture productivity, animal management, milk marketing, small ruminant dairies, and farm energy.

In Canistota, SD, a group of family farmers have been experimenting with methods for adding value to their products and income to their operations.

Tom and Ruth Neuberger were traditional livestock farmers in ‘70’s. During the credit crunch of early 80’s they found themselves in debt “up to their ears.” They sold off their livestock to pay off debt, and then had to devise a new business plan. 

They turned to poultry. 

To help it survive in challenging economic times, the Imperial Stock Ranch has increased profits by adopting direct, value-added marketing of wool products.

This farmer-created, consumer-oriented website lists hundreds of farms and ranches around the country that offer accommodations.

This report and video summarizes a comprehensive investigation of the chemical and physical properties of pasture-based milk when made into cheese, butter or other products, and describes strategies for producing, marketing and positioning pasture-based dairy products to earn premium value from them.

This guide details the steps taken by Mohawk Harvest Cooperative Market to successfully establish their cooperative in upstate, NY. Information on planning for and running a cooperative can be found in this handbook. 

Just off of Highway 77, running north from El Dorado, Kansas, runs seventy three acres of agritourism property which is a part of Carroll and Becky Walters’ family farm and pumpkin patch, Walters’ Pumpkin Patch. 

Working in an extension office, co-owner of Dakota Family Mill, Adrian Biewer, became aware of the health needs that wholegrain products could address. Developing a better tasting wholegrain product made practical sense.

In 2006, the farm families of Dakota Family Mill, Duane and Jean Smith, Bob and Debra Evenson, and Adrian and Anne Biewer, submitted a proposal to the NCR-SARE Farmer Rancher Grant program, and were selected for funding.

Marketing is an essential component of any successful composting operation, along with best practices and a commitment to quality.

This 20-page bulletin offers snapshots of the many alternatives to marketing commodities through conventional channels.

A regional toolkit of strategies to support the evolution of a sustainable Portland Metropolitan Foodshed. Toolkits are for farmers, ranchers, policymakers and consumers.

Beach plum (Prunus maritima Marsh) is one of several shrubby plums native to North America. The jams produced from this fruit command premium prices at farm stands and specialty markets, even in comparison with jam made from other locally grown fruit. However, the wild-collected supply of fruit does not meet this niche market’s demand.

For decades, John Allen has helped farmers develop business skills and strategies, improving their profitability and helping to revitalize rural communities.

The San Joaquin Valley of California is one of the most productive and diverse agricultural areas in the country. However, Daniel O’Connell of the Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT), along with local producers, gathered data that identified challenges in building a healthier regional food system.  These challenges, similar those many other regions face, included  lack of infrastructure to provide for adequate distribution channels, minimal awareness by consumers about where and how to access product in the region,  land use decisions on the urban-rural edge that impacted farmers with pressures that drove up land and production costs, and the Valley’s disconnect from broader, statewide food systems thought, policy changes and economic benefits from localized trends like value-added processing.

The Organic Seed Grower is a comprehensive manual for the serious vegetable grower who is interested in growing high-quality seeds using organic farming practices.