New Opportunities in Value Added Agriculture

RESOURCE GUIDE

AUGUST 2011

The goal of this project is to make it easier for agricultural and food production businesses to innovate, add value to their products and services, and to connect with experts and resources who can assist them in doing so. The ultimate desired outcome is that these businesses are more competitive, profitable, and sustainable.

Funding for the NOVAA project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). In Nova Scotia, this program is delivered by Agri-Futures Nova Scotia. The Canadian Agricultural competitive. CAAP provides an industry-led innovative and cooperative approach to funding projects at the national, multiregional and regional levels. Find out more about the CAAP program online at www.agr.gc.ca/caap.

Table of Contents
A Message from the Project Lead (ACSBE) Introduction to New Opportunities in Value Added Agriculture What is Value-Added Agriculture? Some Value Added Ideas for Small Farm Businesses 11 Useful Resources on Value Adding The Changing Agriculture Landscape Trends That Are Impacting Agriculture TOP 10 Global Consumer Food Trends Ten Biggest Mistakes Made by New Value Adders Organizations that can help you value add Farm entrepreneurs who shared their insights, wisdom, & knowledge with the project Value Added Glossary Am I a Value Adder? Developing a Mentoring or Advisory Team Over to You Photo Gallery 1 2 3 3 6 7 8 10 10 11 14 20 24 25 26 27

A Message from the Project Lead (ACSBE)

August 31, 2011 To all entrepreneurs who continue to advance Nova Scotias agriculture and agri-food sectors;

say that shrinking commodity prices, fewer wholesale opportunities, and ever-tighter margins are collectively squeezing farmers out of the industry. Some might even argue theres no future in farming here in Nova Scotia. These arguments, of course, are not without merit. The pressure these changes have placed on our farmers is very real, and shouldnt be minimized. However, this project New Opportunities in Value Added Agriculture

enjoyed in the past, we choose to believe the future of agriculture remains very bright here in our province. If we didnt believe that, we would never have led this project. The vision behind this program was simple: that working together we will make it easier for our farm-based name of creating a more entrepreneurial culture, where entrepreneurs can grow their businesses in alignment with their passions, personal vision, values, and goals. Over the past ten months, the NOVAA project has put the spotlight squarely on some of our most innovative farm and food-based businesses. Particularly, we focused on those who are succeeding through value adding. Entrepreneurs who participated in this program (which included a conference, a skills development program, and a series of webinars) discovered a great blend of inspirational success stories along with the tips, tools, contacts, and expert advice they need to grow and thrive. What you are about to read is a short resource guide that captures some (though, in reality, only a fraction) of the ideas and success stories that resulted from this project. We hope you enjoy it, and that you can use these resources to get more of whatever it is you want from your business. Sincerely,

Joel Stoddart Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship (www.acsbe.com)

Introduction to New Opportunities in Value Added Agriculture

New Opportunities in Value Added Agriculture was an 8-month business development project sponsored by AgriFutures Nova Scotia, the Eastern Kings Chamber of Commerce, and Morton Horticultural Associates. It was managed by the Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship. The goal of this project is to enable agricultural and food production businesses to explore, develop and implement a growth strategy for Value Added Agriculture through: Assisting agricultural producers in identifying new value-added product opportunities, and new markets to which their products could be sold. Providing producers with business and feasibility planning skills necessary to move forward with 2. 2011) aimed at assisting agricultural producers in developing new skills in value-adding. These focused on: current trends in value-adding and generating new ideas, ing new markets, building strategic alliances in the Linking the producers with private sector businesses and public sector agencies who could support the producer as they navigate through an otherwise complex process. Encouraging the producers to adopt new facilitate new markets. 4. The resource that you are reading right now. 3. These 45 minute webinars provided additional information on value-added trends around Canada, as well as tips and tactics to advance value added strategies. raising capital & risk taking, and understanding the role of technology in the value-adding process. 1. A one-day value-added summit (November 2010) which brought the agricultural sector together to exchange ideas, learn from successful entrepreneurs within the sector, identify new approaches, network, and renew their spirit for the industry. The project consisted of:

This project has resulted in extremely positive feedback from agriculture and agri-food sector participants from across Nova Scotia. To review the full project evaluation, please visit www.acsbe.com/valueadded.

What is Value-Added Agriculture?

(excerpt from Value Plus: A Quest for New Farm Value, Gary Morton, 2010) Many people speak about value adding as though its an obvious or intuitive concept. After all, most people understand what value is, and most people also understand what adding is. But the reality is that value adding can

Value-Added Agriculture: Value added agriculture describes any process used by farmers or agri-food producers way to make outputs more valuable to target markets. Examples include direct marketing: farmer ownership of processing facilities: and producing farm products with a higher intrinsic value (such as identity-preserved grains, organic produce, free-range chickens: etc.), for which buyers are willing to pay a higher price than for more traditional farm commodities. The concept of value-adding continues to gain currency in the small farm policy debate, in response to the concern that the farms share of the consumer food dollar continues to decrease.

Some Value Added Ideas for Small Farm Businesses

Its time to kick-start your value-adding creativity! The following are some of the methods businesses commonly use to add value to products. Remember that your product doesnt have to appeal to everyone. Not everyone will

Change the Distribution System: This most often involves by-passing some of the traditional middlemen, brokers, distributors and retailers and taking products & services directly to the consumer. Farm markets, farm stands, farmers. markets, retail outlets, garden centres, mail order, and e-commerce are some common direct marketing options used by farm/ranch businesses.

Change the Product: Add to or change the form of an existing product. While this method usually involves new investment into further processing and ultimately give producers more control over their end products. It also could be used as a method of value adding lower quality products that previously did not make the grade for the premium market.

Change the Packaging or Labelling: Try changing the products packaging or labelling to appeal to a new market segment. Unique colourful labels are your silent sales force, and can implant your brand in the consumer.s mind. Using standard industry packaging creates a commodity product vision with the customer and tends to potential.

Niche or Specialty Markets: Produce for and focus on a specialty niche market specialty value added ethnic markets, local food, live food, or a sales theme that targets the needs of a particular segment of consumers that others are not serving well.

Branding Products: Product branding is a growing value adding tool being used in all the areas of agriculture as producers recognize that the consumers are respond to

Grading: service you can create extra value and target standard good grade product or service, this is our better grade, and this one is our best and premium grade.

Diversify into a new value added enterprise to expand and new brands that create new consumer excitement and additional sales.

Value Add a Service: What kind of service could be added to a product free delivery, product guarantees or warrantees, personalized service, and quality information are service options that can add new value to old product lines.

Agri-Tourism: Agri-tourism is a value added business strategy used by owners to generate income from the activities involved around visiting a commercial farm business or agricultural related facility for the purposes of enjoyment, education, entertainment, recreation, holidays, hospitality services, or direct farm sales.

Internet: The Internet allows you to value add your business right into your customers homes. The Internet has a two-way function where you can sell products to customers via mail-order or e-commerce, or you can use it to draw them to your business and direct sell right from your doorstep. You can value add services, such as on line advice, promotional coupons, electronic newsletters, direct to your customers. The Internet is becoming a tool of consumer choice.

Organic: The opportunity to produce organic products is a growth sector and organics is appealing to a growing segment of the consuming population. Organic production is a value added option that may open up new markets or entry into preferred markets. Many of the organic markets are undersupplied and supermarket chains are having necessary volumes.

Marketing Partnerships and Alliances: Partnerships and alliances are becoming more important and necessary to gain access into markets as the retail industry consolidates and moves to central distribution. A partnership of growers may be able to capture and service a much bigger portion of a market than any individual producer is capable of achieving on their own. Alliances developed with growers in other provinces or countries may allow you to service and supply your markets year round. Producers may join forces to develop new products or to achieve the scales of economies necessary to enter into new markets.

11 Useful Resources on Value Adding

Value Plus: A Quest for New Organic Farm Value (Gary Morton, 2010): www.acornorganic.org/pdf/valueplus.pdf Nova Scotia Food Processors Directory (Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, 2011): www.gov.ns.ca/agri/marketing/proddev/foodproc.shtml The Canadian Consumer: Behaviour, Attitudes, and Perceptions Towards Food Products (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2010): www.windmillwebworks.sytes.net/canadianswine/newsitems/Canada%20Consumer%20Report_EN.pdf Diversifying Your Agriculture Sales Mix (Brooks, Emily, 2010): www.ediblesadvocatealliance.org/local-food-ture---agriculbusiness-blog/bid/59462/Diversifying-Your-Agricultural -Sales-Mix?utm_campaign=False-Security-of-Farm-Markets%2C-blog-%232 Maximizing All Direct Retail Sales Opportunities for Farmers (Brooks, Emily, 2010): www.ediblesadvocatealliance.org/ local-food---agriculture-usiness-blog/bid/59458/Maximizing-all-Direct-Retail-Sales-Opportunities-for-Farmers Why Value Added Agriculture is Important (Professor Mike Boland, 2009): www.agmrc.org/business_development/getting_prepared/valueadded_agriculture/articles/why_value_added_ agriculture_is_important_.cfm Submission Guidelines for the Acceptability of Novel Packaging Materials (Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 2011): www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/protra/packnove.shtml CASE STUDY: Branding in Agriculture: Milk Gets a Makeover (Dr. Michael McDermott and Aidan Connolly): www.brandchannel.com/papers_review.asp?sp_id=420 Value Added Agriculture Is It Right for Me? (Evans, Edward A, 2009):

Developing a Business Plan for Value-Added Agricultural Products (Rodney B. Holcomb, Glenn Muske, and Phil Kenkel, 2010): www.pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-981/F-909web.pdf Literature Review of Canadian Food Consumer Attitudes and Perceptions (Dr. Louise A. Heslop, 2007): www4.agr.gc.ca/resources/prod/doc/agr/pdf/domestic_marketing_literature_review-complete_e.pdf
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The Changing Agriculture Landscape

The agriculture market landscape is constantly evolving. It is important to monitor the paradigm shifts and general trends when looking for new value added opportunity.

Old Paradigm
Pesticides are an acceptable aspect of food production Produce a product and someone will buy it (Production driven focus)

New Paradigm
Pesticides are not environmentally friendly

The market demand pulls products through the market place not the supply (Market driven focus) We want guaranteed food chain safety

We trust others for the security of our food supply Corporate faceless giants produce our food Mono-crop production and a wholesale market focus Reliance on others to create markets

Who produces our food? Purring the face of the farmer back on food Direct marketing to the end consumer

Sustainability and farm security comes from developing our own markets Silver foxes

Baby boomers

Snail mail, Telephone, Fax

Computers, Internet, Personal communication devices

Trends That Are Impacting Agriculture

(Gary Morton: http://www.acornorganic.org/pdf/valueplus.pdf) Food Safety and Food Security: How could your business turn this into a market advantage? Technology Changes (Internet, GPS, Cell, Computers, Weather Forecasting): how could your business use new technology to create new customer value? Consumer Demographics: What might the changing demographic segments of the population want that you could produce for them? Global Warming (Production Aids):

Increase in Consumer Leisure Time: How could you turn the isolation of rural farming/ranching into a leisure opportunity for others?

How could you make your farm/ranch a consumer destination? How could your business appeal to the growing desire for farm nostalgia? Time to Prepare a Meal, Demand for Healthy Convenience Foods: How could you change your product to be more convenient? Live Food Movement/ Slow Food Movement: Does this trend have opportunity for you? Buy Local / Put Face of Farmer on Food: How could you better connect with local customers Direct Sales: Farmers Markets, Roadside Markets: What would make direct sales a good strategic move for your business? Distribution Channels: Food Service VS. Retail: are there other market channels that you should be targeting?

Value Added Processing: How could you add new value to your products through further processing? Specialty & Niche Markets: What do you really do well that a select target market group would value? Organic Foods:

Renewed Interest in Horses:

USA Homeland Security Program (Access to food from or through the USA.): How can this be turned around into an opportunity or market advantage for your business? Product Branding/ Private Labelling:

Increased Regulations: What niche markets in other parts of the world could you supply? How can you turn regulations into a market advantage? Export Markets: disposable income and the demand for specialized consumer goods?

TOP 10 Global Consumer Food Trends

1. 2. Drive-and-go: more of us are ordering take-out from full-service restaurants 3. Inherently healthy: consumers are increasing choosing natural, healthy foods 4. Fancy: people are choosing premium, gourmet foods 5. Farm-friendly: organic and natural are hot, and so is fair trade 6. 7. Grazing: healthier snacks 8. Low, No, and Less: low fat, low carbs, no trans fats, low calorie products 9. Doctoring through Diet: manage or treat a condition through diet. Expect more functional foods to appear 10. Global gangbusters: health and convenience issues are global issues; not just North American issues

Ten Biggest Mistakes Made by New Value Adders

(Gary Morton: http://www.acornorganic.org/pdf/valueplus.pdf) No.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Not promoting the product or service Falling in love with their idea and losing objectivity Not using programs and resources available for development assistance

Question
Shooting from the hip with no plan (DIdint create a business plan) Didnt throuoghly research and validate the market opportunity Not building a value added support system Not realistic evaluating their value adding skills Re-inventing the wheel (No mentors) Under valuing or under pricing their products & services

Guilty

Not Guilty

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Organizations that can help you value add

(or know someone who can)
If you are considering value-adding as a business growth strategy, there are many highly capable people and organizations that can help. Here below are some of the people who contributed to this project, and who would be very happy to hear from you.

Contact
Joel Stoddart

Business/Organization
Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship Morton Horticultural Associates

Contact information
Joel.stoddart@acadiau.ca or 585.1603 (www.acsbe.com) mha@accesswave.ca or 679.1467

Gary Morton

Judy Rafuse

Eastern Kings Chamber of Commerce

executivedirector@ekcc.ca or 678.4634 (www.ekcc.ca) kyla@agri-futures.ns.ca or 895.4454 (www.agri-futures.ns.ca) Donna.sears@acadiau.ca or 585.1404 (http://business.acadiau.ca) craig@futurvue.com

Kyla Pierik

Agri-Futures Nova Scotia

Donna Sears

Acadia University School of Business

Craig Place

FuturVue Communications

Peter Chapman

GPS Business Solutions

pchapman@gpsbusiness.ca (http://gpsbusiness.ca) macculbc@gov.ns.ca or 679.6006 (http://www.gov.ns.ca/agri/) whamilton@nsfa-fane.ca or 893.2293 (http://www.nsfa-fane.ca) Peggy.Crawford@acadiau.ca or 585.1762 (http://ice.acadiau.ca) Leigh.Huestis@acadiau.ca or 585.1425 (http://ice.acadiau.ca) Steven.owen@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca or 426.2445 (http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/index.html)

Brian MacCulloch

NS Dept. of Agriculture Resource Coordinator NS Federation of Agriculture

Wanda Hamilton

Peggy Crawford

Acadia University Research and Innovation Coordinator

Leigh Huestis

and Community Engagement National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program

Steve Owen

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Contact
Derrick Brooks

Business/Organization
NS Dept. of Agriculture Product Quality Development NS Dept. of Agriculture Business Programs and Risk Management

Contact information
brooksda@gov.ns.ca or 424.0344 (www.gov.ns.ca/agri/marketing/proddev/) robichll@gov.ns.ca or 893.7534 (http://www.gov.ns.ca/agri/prm/)

Loretta Robichaud

Chris Bavis

MacDonald Chisholm Trask Insurance

Chris.Bavis@mcti.ca or 678.6277 (http://www.mcti.ca)

Cris Shirritt

Muttart Tufts DeWolfe and Coyle

cshirritt@mtdc.ns.ca or 678.2157 (http://www.mtdc.ns.ca)

Paul Richards

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

Paul.richards@acoa-apeca.gc.ca or 679.5356 (http://www.acoa-apeca.gc.ca)

Joe McGrath

Royal Bank of Canada

Joe.mcgrath@rbc.com (www.rbc.com)

Samantha Lacey

Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board

laceysc@gov.ns.ca or 679.6008 (http://www.gov.ns.ca/agri/farmlb/)

Colby Clarke

Kings Regional Development Agency

cclarke@kingsrda.ca or 678.2298 (www.kingsrda.ca) connie.foote@acadiau.ca or 585.1367 (http://nutrition.acadiau.ca/ sensory-research-of-food.html) manager@wolfvillefarmersmarket.ca (http://www.wolfvillefarmersmarket.ca) hortns@ns.sympatico.ca or 678.9335 (http://www.hortns.com/index.html)

Connie Foote

Acadia University Centre for the Sensory Research of Food

Wolfville Farmers Market

Horticulture Nova Scotia

Stephanie Rogers

Nova Scotia Agricultural College

srogers@nsac.ca or 893.7247 (http://nsac.ca/)

Dela Erith

Nova Scotia Fruit Growers Association

derith@nsapples.com or 678.1093 (http://www.nsapples.com)

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Contact
Rowena Hopkins

Business/Organization
Farmers Markets of Nova Scotia Cooperative

Contact information
FMNS@farmersmarketsnovascotia.ca or 425.9776 (http://farmersmarketsnovascotia.ca) anne.boswall@fcc-fac.ca (http://www.fcc-fac.ca/en/index.asp)

Anne Boswall

Farm Credit Canada

Heather Watson

Farm Business Management Council

heather.watson@cfbmc.com or 613.237.9060 ext. 31 (http://www.farmcentre.com/Home.aspx) managingdirector@winesofnovascotia.ca or 492.9291 ext. 111 (http://www.winesofnovascotia.ca) rdonald@nsac.ca or 893.6036 (http://www.agrapoint.ca)

Janice Ruddock

Winery Association of Nova Scotia

Richard Donald

AgraPoint

Savior Joseph

Colour Marketing

savior@colour.ca or 722.3235 (http://www.colour.ca)

Clara LeBlanc

Agriculture (Agri-tourism)

clara.leblanc@gnb.ca or 506.856.2648 (http://www.gnb.ca/0027/Agr/index-e.asp)

Emily Haynes

Taste of Nova Scotia

membership@tasteofnovascotia.com or 492.9291 (http://www.tasteofnovascotia.com/)

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Farm entrepreneurs who shared their insights, wisdom, & knowledge with the project
In addition to the many support organizations seen above, there are many entrepreneurs who are living the valueadded process each and every day. Their stories may provide you just the inspiration youve been looking for.

Presenter/speaker /panelist
Brian Allaway Jeanita Rand Evelyn Ernst John Henry

Business
Acadian Maple Products Fox Hill Cheese Terra Beata Farms WOW! Food Systems and NSAC

Website URL
www.acadianmaple.com www.foxhillcheesehouse.com www.cranberryfarm.ca www.linkedin.com/pub/ john-henry/28/695/8a www.peachpitfarmmarket.com www.taprootfarms.ca www.gallopingcows.com/cgi-bin /commerce.cgi?display=home www.vandykblueberries.ca

Blomidon Farms Limited Patricia Bishop Joanne Schmidt Taproot Farms Galloping Cows Fine Foods

Casey Van Dyk & Randy MacDonald

Van Dyks Health Juice Products

Stonehame Chalets Utopia Farms

www.stonehamechalets.com www.magnetichillwinery.com

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Acadian Maple Products

Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia www.acadianmaple.com Brian Allaway info@acadianmaple.com

Acadian Maple Products is a wild crafted gourmet food producer and distributor. Its specialty is pure Nova Scotia

of the world quality wild crafted gourmet foods for over 20 years. Started as a hobby, Acadian Maple has grown to Bay area of Halifax, NS. Its packaging and processing facility is located in the Wentworth Valley, Nova Scotia.

Fox Hill Cheese House

Port Williams, Nova Scotia www.foxhillcheesehouse.com Richard and Jeanita Rand webmaster@foxhillcheesehouse.com or 542.3599

Run by Richard and Jeanita Rand as well as their daughter Melissa and son Patrick, Fox Hill Cheese House creates unique value added dairy products from the milk produced on the family dairy farm. These products include 20 types of specialty cheeses, yogurt, gelato ice cream, and pasteurized non-homogenized milk packaged in glass bottles. Fox Hill Cheese has year-round retail outlets at the farm in Port Williams and at the Halifax and Wolfville Farmers Markets. The farm takes pride in being accredited with Quality Milk Program, a federal criteria for dairy farmers in Canada. Environmentally, the family works continually to improve the land by using only their own nutrients. Their animals are housed in a ventilated, loose housing barn during the colder months of the year and pasture-fed during the spring and late fall seasons.

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Terra Beata Cranberry Farm

Heckman's Island, Nova Scotia www.cranberryfarm.ca Evelyn Ernst Evelyn@cranberryfarm.ca or 634.4435
Evelyn Ernst and her husband David operate the Terra Beata Farm, a cranberry growing and processing business near Lunenburg. Beginning with a tree covered bog, over the last 12 years the farm has gradually expanded to 15 acres of cranberries. The processing side of the business cleans and freezes the crop from the farm as well as from other growers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Some of these berries are processed into preserves, juices, and dried cranberries; these are then sold through outlets across Atlantic Canada and beyond. In addition, some berries are packed for export by the container to various industrial customers in Europe. Originally a high school successfully. It has received the Lunenburg County Exporter of the Year and the Nova Scotia New Exporter of the Canada in 2010

WOW! Food Systems Incorporated

Truro, Nova Scotia www.linkedin.com/pub/john-henry/28/695/8a John Henry jhenry@eastlink.ca or 899.0413

WOW! Food Systems Incorporated is a turnaround company that targets operationally stressed food service enterprises. A skilled consultant, facilitator, and the owner of the company, John Henry has extensive domestic and international experience in activities related to agriculture, business development, community economic development, small business capitalization, marketing, and partnership development. John is also a lecturer at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College where he delivers courses in International Business, Financial Management, Consumer Behaviour, and Managing Food Value Chains. His work as an agricultural consultant has taken him around the globe, including Europe, Latin America and Africa.

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Peach Pit Farm Market

Dempseys Corner, Nova Scotia www.peachpitfarmmarket.com Jeff and Jodi Hennigar blomidon@ns.sympatico.ca or 847.0872
Blomindon Farms is the largest peach producer in Nova Scotia and use their farm-based Peach Pit Farm Market/ Bakery Outlet to create an interesting agri-tourism destination, adding value to their products and to the end the Annapolis Valley), pure homemade jams, jellies, and pickles. They also believe in supporting the local farming community while supplying their customers with the best possible products. Besides a variety of fruits and vegetables, they also carry locally produced honey, vinegars, ciders, and dried beans

TapRoot Farms
Port Williams, Nova Scotia www.taprootfarms.ca Patricia Bishop pbishop@nogginsfarm.ca or 542.3277
Patricia Bishop is an eighth-generation Annapolis Valley farmer and the cofounder of Taproot Farms, a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) Farm that delivers nutritious and ethically-produced foods. In recent years, Patricias work to promote locally-grown foods and preserve agricultural lands has built awareness concerning local farms. Patricia holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, and a Bachelor of Education from Acadia University. Raised in Greenwich, NS, Patricia is also active in Noggins Corner Farm.

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Galloping Cows Fine Foods

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia www.gallopingcows.come Joanne and Ron Schmidt joanne@gallopingcows.com or 787.3484
At Galloping Cows Fine Foods, a warm country kitchen nestled in the Cape Breton Highlands, Joanne and Ron Schmidt prepare all their sauces and jellies the old-fashioned way. They use only the freshest produce and the turned their dreams into reality in 1994 when they founded the operations. They began small, selling their delightful sauces and preserves around their home base in Nova Scotia. Years of hard work and dedication have

Van Dyks Health Juice Products Ltd

Caledonia, Nova Scotia www.vandykblueberries.ca Casey Van Dyk and Randy MacDonald randymacdonald@vandykblueberries.ca or 682-2474

Beginning as a dream in his late sixties, Casey Van Dyk set out to develop a high value 100% pure wild blueberry juice targeting the high-end consumer in the nutraceutical marketplace. Since then, his family has been harvesting Wild Blueberries in Nova Scotia for almost 40 years. Today his product is distributed and sold across Canada, into the USA, China, Taiwan, and Korea. Van Dyk was the 2005 winner of the Best New Juice Innovation award at the World Juice Congress, in Madrid, Spain. Casey and his wife Henrica have 9 children, 19 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild.

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Stonehame Lodge and Chalets

Scotsburn, Nova Scotia www.stonehamechalets.com Jeff Gunn jeff@stonehamechalets.com or 485-3468

successful year round agri-tourism business based on farm visitation, accommodations, local food, and fabulous hospitality and service. Located on the top of Fitzpatrick Mountain in Scotsburn, visitors have a view of three counties, PEI, and the Northumberland Strait. The company provides a year-round, four star vacation retreat with ten log chalets or cottages and 17 private guest rooms.

Utopia Farms/Magnetic Hill Winery

Moncton, New Brunswick www.magnetichillwinery.com Jeff and Janet Everett info@magnetichillwinery.com or 384-946

Moncton, NB and decided that they needed to value-add their fruit products by turning them into fruit wines. They bought a historic farm property overlooking Moncton near the Magnetic Hill and over a period of 5 years, with a lot of hard work and sweat equity, developed the successful Magnetic Hill Winery and B&B.

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Value Added Glossary

Branding: The process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the consumers' mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent

retains loyal customers ng.html).

Business Vision: An aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term or long-term future. It is intended to serves as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action statement.html).

Cost structure: A method to determine how much it will cost a company to manufacture a product and how much product st-structure.html).

Competitive advantage: A superiority gained by an organization when it can provide the same value as its competitors but at a lower price, or can charge higher prices by providing advantage results from matching core competencies to the opportunities titive-advantage.html).

Entrepreneurial mindset: An entrepreneurial mindset can be described as a group of personal dispositions, also known as entrepreneurial spirit, which lead to the innovative practice of identifying and/or creating opportunities, then acting to manifest those opportunities in a productive way (http://blog.prosperyourmind.com/2011/07/entrepr eneurial-mindset/).

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Growth Matrix : Strategic marketing planning tool that general strategic direction and presents four alternative growth strategies as a table(matrix). These strategies are seeking growth: (1) Market penetration: by pushing existing products in their currentmarket segments. (2) Market development: by developing new markets for the existing products. (3) Product development: by developing new products for the existing oping new products for new markets (http://www.businessdictionary.com/d

Market intelligence: Market intelligence is an intelligence discipline that exploits open-source information gathered from global markets. It relies solely on publicly available information such as market prices and Intelligence refers to the acquisition and aggregation of data from the global markets for purposes of sense making. Market Intelligence is not to be confused with Marketing Intelligence, which is concerned with assessing the marketplace for consumer products (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Intelligence_(MARKINT)).

Intellectual Property (IP): Knowledge, creative ideas, or expressions of human mind that have commercial value and are protectable under copyright, patent, service mark, trademark, or trade secret laws from imitation, infringement, and dilution. Intellectual property includes brand names, discoveries, formulas, inventions, knowledge, registered designs, software, and works of artistic, literary, or musical nature. It is one of the most readily tradable properties in the digital marketplace nition/intellectual-property.html). niche.html). satisfy them. See also market segmentation attention by a marketer. Market niches do not exist by themselves, but are created by identifying needs or wants that are not Market niche:

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Product driven versus market-driven: Product-driven companies are those companies whose management believes that technical superiority of their products is the key to their success in the marketplace. In such companies, the key decision makers are engineers, not marketing or sales types. On the other hand, market-driven companies are those companies whose decision makers come from within marketing and sales ranks. Such companies are driven more by an understanding of market forces than by technical achievement (http://www.polarisinc.com/index.php?action=resources.ArticleInfo&row id=27)

Marketing strategy: A strategy that integrates an organization's marketing goals into a cohesive whole. Ideally drawn from market research, it focuses on the ideal product mix to achieve

Strategic Alliance: Agreement for cooperation among two or more

alliance do not form a new entity to further their aims out in a marketing plan ing-strategy.html). but collaborate while remaining apart and distinct c-alliance.html).

New Product Development Process: Process of developing a new product or service for the market. This type of development is considered the preliminary step in product or service development and involves a number of steps that must be completed before the product can be introduced to the market. New product development may be done to develop an item to compete with a particular product/service or may be done to improvean already established product. New product development is essential to any business that must keep up with market trends and changes product-development.html).
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Succession planning: sors fork ey positions in an organization, through a systematic evaluation process and training. Unlike replacement planning (which grades an individual solely on the basis of his or her past performance) succession planning is largely predictive in judging an individual for a position he or she might never have been in ession-planning.html).

SWOT Analysis: Situation analysis in which internal strengths and weaknesses of an organization, and external opportunities and threats faced by it are closely examined to chart a strategy. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis.html).

Vertical coordination: The process of ensuring that each successive stage in the production, processing, and marketing of a product is appropriately managed and interrelated to the next, so that decisions about what to produce, and how much, are communicated as producer. Agricultural economists believe that vertical coordination of markets is particularly important in the food industry because of its pate in one or more stages, and the relative perishability of the products involved. Vertical integration is a type of vertical coordination, but the latter does not necessarily require that a single organization own or control all of the stages. For example, the use of contracts and marketing agreements between buyers and sellers, and the availability of timely, accurate price and other market information are methods for achieving vertical coordination. (http://lugar.senate.gov/issues/ag/glossary/v.html)

Value-Added Agriculture: Value added agriculture describes any process used by farmers or agri-food producers to capture a larger share of the consumer food dollar for their business. Even outputs more valuable to target markets. Examples include direct marketing: farmer ownership of processing facilities: and producing farm products with a higher intrinsic value (such as identity-preserved grains, organic produce, free-range chickens: etc.), for which buyers are willing to pay a higher price than for more traditional farm commodities. The concept of value-adding continues to gain currency in the small farm policy debate, in response to the concern that the farms share of the consumer food dollar continues to decrease.

Vertical integration: The integrating of successive stages of the production and marketing functions under the ownership or control of a single management organization. For

Value-chains: A term denoting the increased vertical integration of agri-food production. Commodity supply-chains are evolving into value-chains to rigorously control integration and management of all phases of food manufacturing from the farm to the grocery shelf. Of central importance to a value-chain is the capacity to assure quality and traceability throughout the chain by users. (http://lugar.senate.gov/issues/ag/glossary/v.html)

example, much of the broiler industry is highly vertically integrated in that processing companies own or control the activities from production and hatching of eggs, through the growth and feeding of the chickens, to slaughter, processing, and wholesale marketing. Hog production during the 1990s and early 2000s also was rapidly moving toward vertical integration (or at least vertical coordination.) (http://lugar.senate.gov/issues/ag/glossary/v.html)

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Am I a Value Adder?
Being a value-adder is not rocket science, but it does require a certain set of skills and aptitudes. Take this short quiz to see how you measure up.

Does this describe me and/or my value added ideas?

The idea is something they really, really, really want to do I have patience and am willing to grow into the opportunity I believe I can develop a unique brand identity and unique market advantage I have assessed my personal skills and am prepared to hire people

Yes

No

My idea is market opportunity-driven rather than product-idea driven I have someone to champion this opportunity I am prepared to write a plan and strategy, and use it

I am able to look at old things in new ways I continually look to the future for new opportunities I am willing to get closer to the customer than the competition I am prepared to write a plan and strategy, and use it I know how to take action and persevere I am prepared to take calculated, not reckless, risks Do I as manager have the necessary value adding skills? Do any of my family members have the necessary value adding skills?

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Developing a Mentoring or Advisory Team

While experience is said to be the best teacher, advice from mentors is your second best help. It reduces the

One of the best and most comforting steps you can take when diversifying or value adding organic products or services is to develop a trusted team of advisors and mentors. They are especially valuable when you are moving into new and unknown territory. Individuals developing new opportunities have a habit of falling in love with their own ideas and will often become less than objective when making business decisions. An advisory team can help expertise and historical experiences, as well as get a bit of constructive criticism when necessary. They can be a formal or informal board of directors and should be objective and frank enough to point out short comings that you may have overlooked or pitfalls that you have not recognized. Build a group of advisors with varied skills and backgrounds, consisting of other business people, government, consultants, other entrepreneurs, neighbours, and family members. This group should help you develop a broad and holistic overview of production, processing, regulations, marketing, potential assistance, the consumer, and the marketplace big picture. They can your radar screen. Search out good competent advice, as you do get what you pay for. There are lots of organizations to help you on your value added journey; most communities have very helpful through it before and understands the risks and challenges, and can also help you see the rewards at the end of the tunnel. Every business requires skills in production and succession. If you are already in business you may have these skills. If not you will need to develop a strategy to learn them member or outside advisor that either has the necessary skills or can develop into the role. You cant do it all yourself.

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Over to You
In this short resource guide, weve attempted to provide you with useful tools, resources, and contacts that can help you take your agri-business to the next level. But nothing happens until you take action, and at the risk of sounding clichd the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For some, that will mean picking up the phone and calling someone from the contact list provided in this book, or just a few extra minutes to do some exploratory market research on a new idea youve been dreaming of. Whatever

In closing, whatever you do, please do it in alignment with your personal vision, your passion, and your core values. One thing weve learned about entrepreneurs here at ACSBE is that the truly successful ones the ones who experience true joy from their endeavors are the ones who took action because that action had the potential to give them exactly what they wanted out of life. See you along the way.

Joel Stoddart Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship (www.acsbe.com)

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Photo Gallery

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