Value-added farm enterprises are those which allow producers or growers to earn a greater portion of consumer expenditures by processing, packaging, or marketing crops, livestock, or other farm resources. Agritourism enterprises and direct marketing ventures are part of the value-added category.
Producers can add value to an agriculture commodity can by changing the physical state or form of the product (such as making cheese from milk, milling wheat into flour, making strawberries into jelly, or processing beef into steaks) or packaging a product in a way that makes it worth more to the consumer (such as bottling milk). Producers also can add value by direct marketing products in ways that allow the them to capture more of consumer expenditures.
Business development includes the planning, creation, and operation of businesses at the local level. Extension programs in this area focus on providing educational training that better prepares business owners to successfully operate a business that will create and maintain desirable jobs within communities.
