Teaching the Entrepreneurial Process

Teaching the Entrepreneurial Process

Summary

This NE-SARE project is focused on enhancing the ability of agricultural professionals to teach business skills.

The pace of change in agriculture is expected to accelerate. The key to long-term sustainability centers on effective business planning and business management. Active needs assessment research highlighted the lack of expertise in the broad area of business planning among the core adult ag education groups in the region.

A unique agricultural entrepreneurship curriculum has been developed, tested and modified by the University of Colorado and the University of Nebraska, with partial SARE funding, over the past few years. This material requires instructor certification before local class room delivery. Certified instructors then deliver the 12 week – 36 hour class. These farmer classes emphasize the importance of using feasibility studies, developing a business plan, using market research, and developing a marketing plan

This project delivers the certification training, provides administrative assistance and initiates state-wide project support. The instructor certification is held in Pennsylvania, but participants throughout the northeast are recruited. Administrative assistance originates in the Lehigh county Cooperative Extension office. State-wide support has been achieved as a Penn State University, Ag Economics faculty member has picked up this excellent program as a major part of their work plan.

Objectives/Performance Targets

• Sixteen extension educators, and other agricultural professionals, trained as a result of this project will understand and support producers, and prospective producers, in working through the entrepreneurial process.Evaluation of instructor training session

  Telephone survey of instructors
  Was new material learned
  Comfort level with subject area
  Unmet professional development needs
  Promotional partnerships established
  Number of producer trainings held

Accomplishments/Milestones

As previously reported, a Penn State Agricultural Entrepreneurship list serve was started and is in regular use. Certified instructors, and others, use this method to ask subject matter questions and to communicate on state-wide program standardization. During this year of the project (year 2 of 3 year grant) the media promotion went very well. The major trade press in Pennsylvania, and the wider northeast region, ran several articles on this business training program. This not only stimulated instructor interest and enthusiasm, it also helped recruit local class participants. Table top displays with promotional materials were at the PSU “Ag Progress Days”, the Pennsylvania Farm Link annual conference, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture annual conference, and several regional Cooperative Extension conferences. Presentations describing the project were delivered at the Pennsylvania Ag Lenders Conference.

The 2003 Instructor Certification training had 20 participants. Organizations represented include:

Delaware
University of Delaware Cooperative Extension

Maine
Finance Authority of Maine
State of Maine

Maryland
Garrett County Maryland Economic Development
University of Maryland
Howard County Economic Development Authority
Farmers Market Nutrition Manager, Maryland Department of Agriculture

Massachusetts
Small Business Administration, Business Information Center

New Jersey
Cumberland County One Stop Career Center System

New York
Cornell University - Emerging Markets Program

Pennsylvania
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Small Business Development Center
University of Pittsburgh
Northern Tier Regional Planning & Development Commission
American Business Valuation Services, Inc.

Rhode Island
Rhode Island MicroEnterprise Association
Enterprise Institute of Rhode Island, Inc.

Vermont
UVM Extension Specialist, Community Economic Development and Director,
Women's Ag Network

Virginia
Center for Entrepreneurial Development
Small Business Development Center
Hispanic Counselor & Trainer, Community Business Partnership

Training evaluations indicate the high quality of the Master Trainer, their subject matter knowledge and ability to encourage educators. 50% of the participants indicated they “strongly agreed”, and 45% “agreed”, that the training prepared them to teach this ag entrepreneurship class. One participant stated they took the training as a “refresher”. Having been certified previously but intimidated by the material and time commitment required to deliver a local class.

As an added session during this instructor certification training best practices were described for local program management and delivery. A CD-ROM of 10 sets over heads, as Power Point slides, was distributed to all instructors. The development and production of this CD was not anticipated in the original proposal for this project.

A formal evaluation tool developed during year one was utilized with the 2002 grower participants.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture provided financial support for local programs. The department has targeted business education as a state-wide need and is grateful to have an up-and-running effort they can enhance.

The budget showed some dollars might not be spent by the end of this proposal. After contact with NE-SARE, Dr. David Kohl was scheduled to deliver an additional business skills professional development component as a part of this project. Dr. Kohl presented a full day business skills seminar on the “Megaforces of Agriculture, Best Management Practices of Agriculture” and “the Seven Business Models for 21st Century Agriculture”, “Tools and Rules of the Road for Borrowing and Investing”, and “Ten Golden Rules of Management and Marketing.” This seminar was highly rated by the thirty-seven participants.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

• Year one and two of this project has returned 38 certified instructors.Main campus faculty member has taken on the role of program leader for a state-wide agricultural entrepreneurship program.

  At least ten local producer classes are currently taking place, with at least eighty-six total participants across three states.

  Measuring local impact from this project, results of a post participation evaluation from the 2002, 12-week curriculum participants include:

  - “tools learned” would be used to – start a business, evaluate a business, expand a business and reinvent a business.

  - 20% of participants had written a business plan, and 65% intended to finish writing a business plan.

  - Indications of how an individual business plan would be used – obtain financing, make marketing decisions, explore business expansion, and share ideas with partners.

  - Satisfaction with the class was rated as – 30% “very valuable” and 55% “extremely valuable”

  Penn State’s initial match has been amplified by the increasing involvement of county educators and main campus leadership for this program.

  Business Skills training and material delivered to Educators beyond the initial goal of this project (supplemental in-services, Business Skills Seminar).

  State Department of Agriculture is now a real partner in ag entrepreneurship education.