Missouri’s new Agriculture, Food and Forestry Innovation Center is designed to help farmers and ranchers develop value-added products for the retail market.
It is supported by a two-year, $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and draws on the experience of experts from the University of Missouri and Missouri Agriculture and Small Business Development Authority.
The center’s co-directors are Mallory Rahe and Joe Horner. Rahe is part of the faculty with MU Extension. Horner is an agricultural economist at Extension.
“Our hub is really a hub when a producer is considering entering the value-added market,” Rahe said in a phone interview. “You go from selling a live animal at the market to selling a packaged cut of meat at a retail store. It’s a very tangible way to add value. You also take on additional risk. “
The center will help the producer solve these problems, Rahe said.
Understanding the consumer and listening to the consumer is important, she said.
“In this process, it can be really difficult to understand the cost of production,” Rahe said. “Your profit margin could be lost.”
Understanding the cost structure at each stage of the process is important, she said, adding that it can be difficult, but sometimes necessary, to advise people to adjust their prices.
The center works with individual entrepreneurs and helps them test their plan.
“We don’t have all the answers, but entrepreneurship can be a lonely space,” Rahe said.
The center will help individuals understand all the pros and cons of farming.
“The easiest thing is to keep doing what you’ve always done,” Rahe said.
Entrepreneurship may not be the best fit for every farmer or rancher, but the center is a network of people working across the state, she said.
Since opening in early January, the center has worked with 65 small business owners, including those developing wood products, farm-packed meat, and honey and elderberry products.
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Categories: Missouri, Business