Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
New small businesses, including farms, traditionally have high failure
rates. One commonly quoted estimate is that 80 percent of small businesses
fail within the first 5 years. I believe two of the main reasons they go under
is that the owners fail to adequately address marketing planning and busi-
ness planning. All too often a new commercial farmer will say that her or
his operation is too small to worry about doing market research or prepare
a business plan. The farmer drifts along for a while, hoping that something
good will happen. “Once I get well established,” he or she thinks, “then I'll put
together a professional business plan and really market my product.” The
problem is that the farmer usually continues to drift along, putting in much
hard work for small or no returns.
If at all possible, the best time to prepare a business plan is before you
buy your farm site. For those of you who have already established your orch-
ard, take time to develop a business plan before expanding your orchard or
continuing sales.
After deciding on a product and market, put together a business plan that
will direct your efforts and resources so that you earn the best possible re-
turn for your investments of time and money. A solid, well-designed business
plan written for your specific products and market will give you the direction
you need for success. You will invest — not spend — your time and resources
by putting them into profitable activities that will help you attain your goals.
A full treatment of orchard business planning is beyond the scope of this
book. Many topics, commercial software, and online resources are available,
however, that provide detailed guidance on developing business plans for
commercial orchards.
The goal of this topic has been to help you grow organic orchard fruits ef-
fectively and in ways that are environmentally sound and sustainable. If you
are a commercial fruit grower, hopefully you will have gained knowledge and
ideas that will prove profitable. For all readers, whether you have a tree or
two in your yard or thousands of trees in a commercial orchard, I hope that
