A4O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 20, 1993
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MANAGEMENT
SELECTING A
FARMING ALTERNATIVE
Duane L. Stevenson, Jr.
Farm Management Agent
Northampton, Lehigh
Schuylkill, And
Part of
Berks Counties
Many of us are looking for a
way to get rich quick.
Maybe you can remember some
farm enterprise(s) or a business
venture that failed and was a big
drain on your other income.
Interest in alternative enter
prises have increased in recent
years among both farm and non
farm families. Many families are
looking for new ventures to gen
erate additional income from their
resources. Others are looking to
non-traditional enterprises (such
as llamas, ostriches, emus, buffalo,
pot-bellied pigs, elk, deer, goats,
sheep, and etc.) as a way to get
started in commercial farming to
help support a rural lifestyle.
This article is one of a series that
will aid you in evaluating business
options or alternatives.
There are many opportunities
A LESSON
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FARMING'S
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Phone:
717-394-3047
or
717-626-1164
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for farming entrepreneurs in Pen
nsylvania. Nearby metropolitan
areas offer vast and diverse mark
ets for farm products, as well as
opportunities for recreation and
tourism related businesses. Many
fanners have already developed
profitable, innovative enterprises
that capitalize on these markets.
Unfortunately, not all innova
tions are successful. Starting up a
new venture requires resources,
careful management, hard work,
and assumption of risk. Before
committing time and resources to
an idea, it is important to look at
the feasibility of the enterprise on
paper. A careful study of all factors
involved can greatly improve your
chances for success.
Here are some basic questions to
consider before jumping into a
new alternative as a means of mak
ing money.
• Have you gathered all the
necessary facts about the farming
or business alternative? (Weigh
advantages and disadvantages.)
• How much investment is
required to adequately start the
venture? (Financial feasibility)
• Do you have sufficient know
ledge and management ability to
start the business? .
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• Did you evaluate the market
potential of your new product?
• If you are entering a business,
is this venture based on a pyramid
structure which may have a short
life?
• Where do you want to be?
(Personal and family
considerations)
• Will you start the new enter
prise? (Making a decision)
• What are the possibilities?
(Identify all the alternatives)
Personal and
Family Considerations
Personal and family assess
ments are important when evaluat
ing alternative enterprises,
because the final decisions will
have a major impact on every
single family member. Each per
son has different expectations
regarding the new enterprise,
including the role he or she will
play, what management skills are
needed, and what results are
anticipated.
Sorting out personal and family
goals in advance will help prevent
confusion and perhaps even con
flict in the future, and will help you
develop specific criteria for eva
luating alternatives.
Certain personal qualities are
correlated with the ability to suc
ceed in an independent family bus
iness. Developing the personal
qualities needed to succeed in bus
iness is possible, but it is an addi
tional challenge. Some other fami
ly member may possess more of
the personal qualities that lead to
success in business. If so, consider
delegating management of the new
enterprise to that person.
The family is going to be
affected by whatever enterprise
changes are made. Farm bases and
natural resource-based businesses
PH. 717-299-2571
are usually managed and operated
by families, and the business often
shares yard and household space
with the family. Right now, many
of your family’s desires may be
satisfied by the current business or
job. To prevent family resentment,
a new business must satisfy more
of their needs and lifestyle prefer
ences than the present business or
occupation.
What will happen if you ignore
family members’ needs and prefer
ences? Many problems can be pre
vented if family member’s opin
ions are discussed before time and
money are committed to a new
enterprise. All family members
have strong opinions about their
own roles in a business.
In family operated businesses,
the main manager usually has a
more positive attitude toward the
business than do other family
members. Look for areas where
family members are either very
satisfied or dissatisfied. A family
member who is unhappy with fam
ily interactions is expressing a
need that may or may not be
fulfilled by a new enterprise. Keep
in mind that starting up a new
enterprise usually places addition
al stress on the family’s personal
interactions and finances.
What will happen if income
drops and there is less spending
money, which often occurs in a
new business? What if less time is
available for family? Can that be
tolerated for six months? Six
years? if family members like their
current roles in the business, will
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they be unhappy if the roles are
changed?
Fajnily members should discuss
these possibilities and determine
what limits to set, such as how
much income may be sacrificed for
how long? How heavy a workload
will be tolerated? These limits will
become part of your family’s per
sonal guidelines for evaluating dif
ferent enterprise options.
Mid-Atlantic
Alternative Animal
Conference
The Mid-Atlantic Alternative
Animal Conference is being spon
sored by Penn State Cooperative
Extension and Rutgers Coopera
tive Extension. This meeting may
help you gather some of the infor
mation needed in selecting and
evaluating an alternative enter
prise that I have discussed in this
column.
The theme of this conference is
"How to Win the Game!” This
conference is scheduled for March
12-13 at the Lehigh County Voca
tional Technical School,
Schnecksville, Pa., seven miles
north of Allentown. The alterna
tive animal species to be covered
in this meeting include: llamas,
elk, deer, ostriches, emu, rhea,
pygmy goats, game birds, fancy
fowl, angora rabbits, rabbits and
cavies, pot-bellied pigs, buffalo,
and Scottish Highlanders.
For more information on the
conference, call (215) 746-1970 or
write to the Northampton
Cooperative Extension Office, RR
4, Greystone Bldg., Nazareth, PA
18064-9212.