Turns Out you Can Grow Money - The Basics of Value-added Agriculture Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1: You can Have your Hobby and Make Money, Too Chapter 2: The Rules of the Game Chapter 3: How to Get Started Chapter 4: Let’s Brainstorm Chapter 5: Let’s Talk Business Chapter 6: Helpful Resources Conclusion Author Bio Introduction Nearly fifteen years ago, co-author, Darla Noble, had some free time at an agricultural/farming expo she was participating in. As she meandered through the other exhibits, she happened onto a short seminar that was just beginning. The name of the seminar, Making Value-added Agriculture Work for You, intrigued her because she wasn’t quite sure what it was. Within minutes of taking her seat, however, Darla knew she wanted to hear everything Joan Benjamin had to say. The concept of value-added agriculture (VAA) is quite simple, really. It means using what you grow for more than one purpose; increasing its value and your earning potential. Darla knew, almost immediately, that value-added agriculture was something she could do to make her family’s farm even more profitable. So, that’s exactly what she did. And guess what…so can you!

`This is a "must read" for anyone interested in value chain finance.---Kenneth Shwedel, Agricultural Economist --Book Jacket.

The Marketing Alliances Project, a market-oriented program that rewards environ'l. stewardship, improves opportunities for family farms and small bus., and revitalizes rural communities by supporting efforts to provide wholesome, healthy food produced under environmentally sound practices is profiled. Discusses rural communities suffering from lack of farming opportunities, reforms in livestock markets, opportunities and barriers to value-added processing and market enterprises, products with greatest market potential, consumer interests, market develop., coop. relationships among agricultural enterprises, and fostering family farms.

This book documents frontier knowledge on the drivers of agriculture productivity to derive pragmatic policy advice for governments and development partners on reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. The analysis describes global trends and long-term sources of total factor productivity growth, along with broad trends in partial factor productivity for land and labor, revisiting the question of scale economies in farming. Technology is central to growth in agricultural productivity, yet across many parts of the developing world, readily available technology is never taken up. We investigate demand-side constraints of the technology equation to analyze factors that might influence producers, particularly poor producers, to adopt modern technology. Agriculture and food systems are rapidly transforming, characterized by shifting food preferences, the rise and growing sophistication of value chains, the increasing globalization of agriculture, and the expanding role of the public and private sectors in bringing about efficient and more rapid productivity growth. In light of this transformation, the analysis focuses on the supply side of the technology equation, exploring how the enabling environment and regulations related to trade and intellectual property rights stimulate Research and Development to raise productivity. The book also discusses emerging developments in modern value chains that contribute to rising productivity. This book is the fourth volume of the World Bank Productivity Project, which seeks to bring frontier thinking on the measurement and determinants of productivity to global policy makers.

This comprehensive overview of local food systems explores alternative definitions of local food, estimates market size and reach, describes the characteristics of local consumers and producers, and examines early indications of the economic and health impacts of local food systems. Defining ¿local¿ based on marketing arrangements, such as farmers selling directly to consumers at regional farmers¿ markets or to schools, is well recognized. Statistics suggest that local food markets account for a small, but growing, share of U.S. agricultural production. For smaller farms, direct marketing to consumers accounts for a higher percentage of their sales than for larger farms. Charts and tables.

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