Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
Practices
- Education and Training: extension, workshop, technical assistance
- Farm Business Management: whole farm planning, new enterprise development
- Production Systems: holistic management
- Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, sustainability measures
Proposal abstract:
The long-term outcomes of this project will be educators and producers developing and presenting professional, holistic business plans that communicate the validity of sustainable and alternative agricultural activities. Conventional and sustainable producers will use sample business plans from sustainable farms as guides for business planning.
Intermediate outcomes will be educators who know how to effectively deliver business planning workshops for alternative enterprises and business activities to producers. Educators will specifically help small and mid-sized farmers explore sustainable business practices through the development of business plans.
In the short term, educators will understand the importance of a business plan for innovative farming alternatives and will learn how to lead a workshop on developing a business plan using the FINPACK Business Plan software and the Building a Sustainable Business guidebook. Educators will have the tools to actually help producers develop a business plan.
Outputs and activities will include four train-the-trainer workshops in Minnesota that will train educators how to teach a business planning workshop using the software and guidebook. There will also be one North Central workshop to equip educators throughout the region to conduct train-the-trainer workshops and producer workshops. An instructor’s guide for teaching the FINPACK Business Plan software to groups of producers using sustainable case farms will be developed. A link between the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture’s Building a Sustainable Business guidebook and the FINPACK Business Plan software will be developed so they can be used together in training sessions.
Project objectives from proposal:
Short-Term Outcomes:
Educators will understand the importance of a business plan for innovative farming alternatives. Extension agriculture educator and producer trainers will be able to lead a workshop on how to develop a business plan.
Intermediate Outcomes:
Educators will deliver 40 to producers on how to develop professional business plans that communicate and present alternative enterprises and business activities. Educators will specifically help small and mid-sized farmers explore sustainable business practices through the development of business plans.
Long-Term Outcomes:
Educators and producers develop and present professional, holistic business plans that communicate the validity of sustainable and alternative agricultural activities. Sample business plans will be used by conventional producers.