PB1710-Adding Value to Tennessee Agriculture through Commercial Food-Processing Enterprises

In addition to providing the Center project clients with the necessary overview of planning, evaluating, starting and operating a commercial, value-added food business, this publication has been developed to serve the interests of an even larger audience of farmers, agri- and home-based business entrepreneurs who are interested in a commercial food-processing business. One of the most important motivations for developing a value-added agricultural enterprise is to return profi ts to the farmer/entrepreneur who provides the investment. However, there are many obstacles that might be encountered as a business develops. Previous studies have shown that not obtaining accurate and timely business and industry information, along with not completely evaluating and planning production, marketing and the fi nancial details of a new business, are the leading factors associated with business failure.

This publication has been developed to document some of the essential concepts and principles for completely evaluating all phases and aspects of a legal, value-added food enterprise. While this document has been developed with a broad base of potential food commodities in mind, it cannot provide intricate detail for each and every potential commodity. Especially when it comes to regulatory concerns, this publication can not document every detail or concern. Rather, this publication is intended to provide a broad overview of concepts, limiting factors and common-place obstacles confronting average-type food businesses. The information in this publication will also be used in outreach training sessions conducted by the Center.