Value chain case studies profile mid-scale food enterprises

Case studies of four innovative enterprises—Country Natural Beef, CROPP/Organic Valley, Shepherd’s Grain and Red Tomato—offer models of how mid-sized farms and ranches can prosper through the construction of a “third tier” in the U.S. agri-food system. Known as “mid-scale food value chains,” these new business structures focus on strategic alliances that effectively operate at regional levels with significant volumes of high-quality, differentiated food products, and distribute profits equitably among the strategic partners.

Values-based food supply chains: Executive summary (PDF)

CROPP/Organic Valley is a 1,000-member, multi-regional farmer co-op marketing organic dairy, eggs, vegetables and other products. (PDF)

Country Natural Beef is a 100-member rancher cooperative in the northwestern United States. (PDF)

Shepherd's Grain is a 35-farmer LLC marketing sustainably grown and functionally specified flour in the northwestern United States. (PDF)

Red Tomato is a non-profit, market-oriented, fair-trade business supporting 35 fruit and vegetables farmers in the northeastern United States. (PDF)

Summaries of these case studies are available as CIAS Research Briefs:

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Country Natural Beef (PDF)

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Organic Valley (PDF)

Research Briefs summarizing the Red Tomato and Shepherd's Grain case studies will be available this winter.

New research reports from Ag of the Middle

The Agriculture of the Middle team has released drafts of three research reports, funded by the Rural Development/Cooperative Services program of the USDA. These reports include:

An Analysis of Food-Chain Demand for Differentiated Farm Commodities: Implications for the Farm Sector (final version)

Values-Based & Value-Added Value Chains in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and Pacific Northwest

Poultry of the Middle in the U.S.: Implications for Sustainable Producers & Scaling Up

For more information about these draft reports, please contact Steve Stevenson.

Ag of the Middle enters development phase

The Agriculture of the Middle project is entering a development phase with three strategic dimensions:

New business and marketing strategies will seek to create business networks or “value chains” that link farms/ranches-of-the-middle with food system partners to meet a growing demand for differentiated, high-quality food products. Currently operating as the Association of Family Farms.

Public policy changes. Included will be policy changes that can be secured in the relatively short term that directly affect middle market development, and more systemic policy changes over an extended period of time that will fully equalize economic environments for farms/ranches-of-the-middle.

Research and education support. Scientists associated with the initiative and with the land-grant university community will provide research and education support for the business and policy strategies, at both the regional and national levels.

If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact one of the task force members listed at the right.