The Business of Agriculture: Agribusiness Topics

Toward Sustainable Agriculture graphic

Farm Business Skills Training

CTAHR Agribusiness Incubator Program: The Agribusiness Incubator Program (AIP) seeks to provide business consulting services to agriculture-related businesses throughout the State of Hawaii, maximizing their chance of business viability and success, in order to grow the State’s diversified agriculture industry.

Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network offers introductory business planning workshops statewide. Annually they offer NxLevel Training specifically for Agricultural Entrepreneurs. For more information, contact their training center nearest to you.

Building a Sustainable Business: A Guide to Developing a Business Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses is an online business planning guide by the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA).

Marketing: General Information

Toward Sustainable Agriculture: A Guide for Hawaii's Farmers (downloadable .pdf): General Introduction to sustainable agriculture for Hawai'i.

Opportunities in Agriculture: Marketing Strategies for Farmers and Ranchers: USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN). This newly revised bulletin offers practical tips on how to get started in alternative marketing enterprises, and includes examples of people using such strategies in the field. Hawaii's 12 Trees tropical fruit marketing project is included in this update.

North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association is an organization exclusively dedicated to promoting farm direct marketing. They offer publications, conferences, trade shows, newsletters, and a special website (The Back Forty) for members only.

ATTRA- Marketing, Business & Risk Management website offers downloadable publications and links on direct marketing. For an introduction and overview of direct marketing, check ATTRA Direct Marketing Business Management Series (available as Adobe PDF as well).

This Hawaii Product went to Market (pdf ordering information) is a CTAHR publication for the produce, floral, seafood, livestock and processed-product industries in Hawaii and elsewhere ($16).

Western Profiles of Innovative Agricultural Marketing, available online and in print from the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, features case studies of three innovative Hawaii farmers.

Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) describes its website as a national information resource for value-added agriculture. It features articles and links about value-added agriculture, market and industry trends, and business skills.

USDA Farmer Direct Marketing Website features on-line publications, resources, links, and a farmers market directory.

Hawaii Cooperative of Organic Farmers (HICOF): PO Box 728, Waialua, HI 96791. Telephone: (808) 637-4555, email: info@hicof.org

Locally Grown

Buy Fresh * Buy Local - Island Fresh: Segments from KITV

FoodRoutes.org is a website devoted to assisting people to purchase locally grown produce.

Be a Local Hero: Buy Locally Grown by CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture) is a great website showing how to conduct a media campaign for purchasing locally grown produce.

Local Harvest supports sustainable and organic farmers by providing a website with a clickable map for consumers to link up with local food producers.

Farmers Markets * Market Gardening * Farm Stands

Hawaii's Farmers Markets, a list of current farmers markets by the Hawaii Dept. of Agriculture.

Hawaii Farm Bureau Farmers Markets: Held in seven locations.

Haleiwa Farmers Market Website

ATTRA Marketing Gardening: A Start Up Guide: This publication is a resource for those who want to organize a farmers' market or to sell at one.

The New Farmer's Market: Farm-Fresh Ideas for Producers, Managers and Communities by Eric Gibson. 2001. 272 p. $24.95 (ordering information). Learn about the "hottest" products to grow and sell as well as how best to display and merchandise your products, set prices and run a friendly, profitable business.

ATTRA Farmers Markets Marketing and Business Guide

"Farmers' Markets Rules, Regulations, and Opportunities" by Neil D. Hamilton. The goal of this article is to provide a resource that will be valuable for farmers considering a farmers' market, to vendors now selling at farmers' markets, to the organizers and managers who run markets, and to those thinking about creating new markets. Downloadable Adobe Acrobat document.

Growing for Market Magazine, is a national monthly newsletter for direct market farmers. It is a source of information about growing and marketing produce, herbs and cut flowers.

Market Farming.Net: List-serve discussion group about market farming topics.

Pick Your Own

Should I grow fruits and vegetables? Pick Your Own Markets, Cooperative Extension Service, Division of Agriculture, Oklahoma State University, OSU Extension Facts, No. 184.

Entertainment Farming * AgriTourism

Hawaii AgriTourism Association Website: Email: info@hiagtourism.org

Ag Tourism in Hawaii: From Farmer to Visitor: CTAHR’s website about Hawaii agritourism, conferences, links and resources.

ATTRA Entertainment Farming and Agri-Tourism: On-line article about agri-entertainment. Includes tips and ideas from successful entertainment farming enterprises and techniques (farm recreation and hospitality businesses). Also available as downloadable Adobe PDF file.

Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) features publications, resources and links for information on agritourism, nature-based tourism, rural weddings and wine tours.

Restaurant Sales

Nalo Farms: Servicing High-End Restaurants (pdf case study available on-line) by Stuart T. Nakamoto, Western Profiles of Innovative Agricultural Marketing: Examples from Direct Farm Marketing and Agri-Tourism Enterprises

Selling Produce to Restaurants, by Diane Green of Greentree Naturals (ordering information).

CTAHR's Mealani "A Taste of the Hawaiian Range: Agriculture Festival

Farm to School

National Farm to School Website

Marketing Cooperatives

Collaborative Marketing: A Roadmap and Resource Guide for Farmers, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture

Internet * Mail Order

How to Direct Market Farm Products on the Internet (large pdf file) is available on line from the USDA Ag Marketing Service.

E-Commerce Learning Center for Farm Cooperatives provides a comprehensive on-line tutorial on how to market ag products on the internet.

Local Harvest supports sustainable and organic farmers by providing a website with a clickable map for consumers to link up with local food producers.

Eat Well Guide hosts a listing of sustainable farms, stores and restaurants.

Adding Value * Processing

ATTRA Adding Value to Farm Products: An Overview: available only as Adobe PDF file, is an introductory article about value-added farm products, starting a food processing business, and additional resources.

Agricultural Marketing Resource Center (AgMRC) describes its website as a national information resource for value-added agriculture.

New Farm Options from the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension has information and links on starting a value-added farm food business.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) * Subscription Farming

Sharing the Harvest, by Elizabeth Henderson with Robyn Van En. (Publisher: Chelsea Green. 1999) This manual provides an overview and step-by-step description of Community Supported Agriculture, including how to start and operate a CSA, management and production issues, sample documents from working CSA farms, pitfalls, and extensive resource and materials list.

ATTRA Community Supported Agriculture Business Management Series

Marketing Organic Products

The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is a membership based business association for the organic industry in North America.

WSARE logo

These webpages were originally generated under a grant program from Western SARE entitled "New Farmers: Choosing the Road Less Traveled" EW03-002 (2004-2006). Toward Sustainable Agriculture (downloadable .pdf)