Who: I am a senior here at the University of Florida majoring in Food and Resource Economics. I have multiple experiences in the agricultural industry as I have grown up around it my whole life. I first started in a job that farms corn, cabbage, and beans and I am currently working at UF's Agronomy and Forage Research Unit. I would love to work in the industry after college, especially on the business side of it. If starting this business, it would play a tremendous role in my life as this industry is a tough one to keep up with. Farmers put in over 80 hours a week in order to maintain their farms and ensure that they are getting the most out of their crops in order to make profit. It would be very tough to start a farm due to competition and low prices in the industry.
What am I offering?: Starting a farm, I will be offering fresh crops to local consumers, whether they are conventional or organic, to ensure that my community gets the freshest and healthiest options on the market. While doing this, I will promote sustainable agriculture and show consumers that even though a product might not be labeled organic, these products are still just as safe and healthy as other products.
Who am I offering it to?: I will be offering this product to local consumers as well as people around the region around my farm. If I were to be opening up this business in the town that I am from, which is what I would plan on, this product would be offered to those that live there. It is a very small, rural town where the majority in the work force there works in the agricultural industry, so it would be fairly easy to market these products to those that live there because they like to support the industry.
Why do they care?: As I stated before, the consumers in this area are heavily focused on the agricultural industry and love to support the industry whenever they can. They would especially enjoy buying products from local producers because it would help the local economy in their town and the community there is very close. This would be a good business opportunity because consumers would rather buy local than to buy from somewhere else.
What are my core competencies?: I would offer local deals to the consumers in the area and I would offer free farm tours for anyone from the area. These farm tours would not only be appealing to the consumer, but it would offer insight as to what farmers do on a day-to-day basis and educate the average consumer on the sustainable practices that they use.
Hi Myles,
ReplyDeleteI liked your submission and think you did well with explaining each aspect of the five elements. I think you seem passionate about what you are offering and have the right background to succeed in what you're pursuing. In a world where more and more people are trying to be healthier while trying to be cost efficient, I think it is important people understand how non-organic products can still be healthy.