This fact sheet provides information for you to consider in assessing whether to add value to your farm products and, if this makes sense, tips on how to develop a successful vertically integrated business.
Beyond Fresh and Direct fact sheets are part of a project exploring the opportunities and challenges small and medium-size farms encounter when they seek to enter the rapidly-growing specialty food marketplace as either ingredient suppliers or manufacturers themselves. The project included:
- A survey of specialty food manufacturers in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin in 2015, and
- Interviews with selected manufacturers and farmers who supply manufacturers in four broad food categories: dairy; grain and baked goods; processed meats; and processed fruit, vegetables, nuts, and herbs
Continue reading:
Value Added: Should You Produce Your Own Specialty Food Products? (PDF)
Project Team:
Larry Lev, Oregon State University, Project Director
Gail Feenstra, University of California-Davis
Shermain Hardesty, University of California-Davis
Laurie Houston, Oregon State University
Jan Joannides, Renewing the Countryside
Robert P. King, University of Minnesota
This project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2015-68006-22906 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
