Fourteen farmers in the Southern U.S. were interviewed for a project funded, in part, by the USDA’s Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SARE) Program.
This publication discusses the concept of adding value to farm products, the differences between creating and capturing value, and the implications for value-added enterprises. It describes some different approaches to adding value, including starting a food processing business, with a brief look at nonfood products.
Agri-entertainment and -tourism—new, highly consumer-focused types of agriculture—may offer additional options for diversification and adding stability to farm incomes. Farmers have invented a wide variety of “entertainment farming” options.
Integrating trees and shrubs with other enterprises on a farm can create additional sources of income,spread farm labor throughout the year, and increase the productivity of those other enterprises—all while protecting soil, water, and wildlife.
