Building and sustaining food and farm businesses that support profit, planet, and people is no small task. It requires vision, sound financial infrastructure, and a profitable business model. You need a remarkable amount of technical know-how, adaptable management, a great team, human resources, a marketing plan, knowing how to interpret a cash flow statement, approximately 10,000 cups of coffee, a little elbow grease, and a prayer. To name a few…
But you don’t have to figure this all out on your own. Check out below a library of useful resources on building and managing a profitable mission-driven food or farm business.
Featured Resources
| Title | Author | Description | Year | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problem Trees & Objective Trees | Wallace Center | Problem Tree Resource | 2023 | Management |
| Marketing Your Food Safety Certification | MI Food and Farming Systems and Fresh Systems, LCC | Food safety certification is no easy undertaking. While there are many reasons to go the … | 2021 | Business Operations, Food Safety and Quality |
| Running a Food Hub Volume 4: Learning from Food Hub Closures | USDA Rural Development | The goal of this study is to examine factors that have led food hubs to … | 2016 | Enterprise Development, Food Hubs |
| Milestone Example Budget | N/A | With sample project budget, income & expenditure budget, cashflow forecast, capital budget, and consolidated budget. | Business Operations, Finance, Nonprofit Management and Operations | |
| Finance and Related Matters Reference Book | MAF Europe | 2006 | Business Operations, Finance, Nonprofit Management and Operations | |
| Peer Coaching Group Process | Otto Scharmer and Peter Senge | Step by step guidance for conducting a peer coaching session | 2016 | Facilitation, Management, Systems Leadership |
| Overcoming Obstacles to Frozen Local Produce | Common Market | This case study traces Common Market’s exploratory process, product trials, and relationship building that ultimately … | 2014 | Business Operations, Distribution, Enterprise Development |
| Managing Cash Flow for a Low-Capital Food Hub Start-up | USDA | Managing Cash Flow for a Low-Capital Food Hub Start-up For food hubs, or businesses that … | 2015 | Business Operations, Food Hubs |
| Growing Local – A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems | N/A | Growing Local - A Community Guide to Planning for Agriculture and Food Systems This guide … | Community Economic Development, Enterprise Development, Farms, Policy | |
| Value Chain Strategies for Source-Identified Minimally Processed Produce for the School Market | Washington State Department of Agriculture | Value Chain Strategies for Source-Identified Minimally Processed Produce for the School Market WSDA analyzed minimally … | 2018 | Distribution, Enterprise Development, Farm To Institution, Processing, Supply Chain Logistics, Value Chain Coordination, Wholesale |