Organic Transitions: A Business Planner for Farmers, Ranchers, and Food Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Organic food is a booming business. The profit potential—along with other rewards—has farmers, ranchers and food business owners across the country considering the switch to organic production. But successfully managing your business through the multi-year transition process requires careful planning. What are your long-term business goals? What organic market opportunities are you in a position to exploit? How will you acquire the resources you need to make the transition? How will you anticipate and deal with challenges as they arise? These are just a few of the critical questions you should be thinking about as you plan, and Organic Transition: A Business Planner for Farmers, Ranchers and Food Entrepreneurs can help. While not a comprehensive guide to becoming certified, the Organic Transition Planner will help you explore organic transition strategies and decide whether going organic makes sense for your farm or business. The Organic Transition Planner contains explanations of key concepts, real-life examples from transitioning farmers and detailed worksheets covering farm operations, marketing, human resources and finances. After working through the Organic Transition Planner you will be ready to develop an actionable business plan suitable for yourself, your management team or a lender. (Back cover)