Lesson 4: Business planning

Overview

 

A formal business plan is a critical road map to your success in organic farming. I hear groans, but it isn't so bad once you get started.
 
A summary of the Organic System Plan you’ve already worked on is part of what will go into your business plan; a summary of your marketing plan is another. The budget and financial plans are a third component.  
 
Even if you don't have a business plan, you've surely thought about many of these things as you started or grew your business. The business plan will serve you much like your Organic System Plan, keeping you focused, organized and thinking about the logical sequence of your strategies. It's a good tool and exercise for you, but it also serves to inform others—such as potential lenders or partners—who may not know a whole lot about the organic marketplace. (See the New Farm Profile at right.)
 
If you need some more personal assistance to kick this thing off, don't be afraid to reach out for business-planning help in your locality, economic development region or state. Learning how to put a business plan together, if you've never done one, is an important skill that will serve you well.
 
This lesson describes the elements within a business plan, strategic ways to use the plan, and how to incorporate your marketing plan into your overall business.
 
  

 

New Farm Profile

Joe Reuter, of the Vernon County Farm Services Agency loan office in southwestern Wisconsin, has found organic producers to be "fantastic" candidates for the agency's loan program, which has given not only single loans but in some cases multiple loans to organic farm enterprises, if they're on target with their business plans.