Completed Project Report


Building a Foundation to Support Direct Farm-to-Market Business Sustainability

  • Award Amount: $49,865
  • Regional Center: North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center
  • Grant Program: 2021 Education Projects
  • Project Director: Deb Ihm
  • Email: dihm@swtc.edu
  • Organization: Southwest Wisconsin Technical College

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Project Overview

Southwest Tech has focused on creating a free resource webpage (https://www.swtc.edu/academics/farm-to-market) to help producers add value to their land base or operations by beginning, or converting, production and marketing systems to pursue new markets.  Topics focused on include exploring direct farm-to-market businesses, business analysis and risk management, understanding your product market and marketing, licensing and regulations, recordkeeping, budget planning, financial management, and building a business plan. The primary audience to benefit from this free resource webpage are producers, likely of small farms in southwest Wisconsin, but not limited to, interested in selling food products directly to consumers. An online resource provides the opportunity to reach a larger audience throughout the state of Wisconsin and tri-state area including Illinois and Iowa.  This project has concluded with different end-results than originally planned because of unforeseen changes at our college. While not meeting the original project goals, we do feel confident this resource page highlights the major starting points for a producer looking to add value to their land base or operations. An emphasized focus was used to consider resources that will provide direct or simplified guidance to minimize the stress of exploring a new entrepreneurial business.     

Number of Participants: 13

Outcomes

Project Steps

PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

There are no promotional materials available for this project.

EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS

There are no educational materials available for this project.

REPORTS & EVALUATIONS

There are no reports or evaluations available for this project.

DELIVERY AREA

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INDIVIDUAL STORIES / EXAMPLES OF SUCCESS / QUOTES