A34-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 12, 2003 IS ADDING VALUE FOR ME? “Value-added production” seems to be a popular buzz phrase in agriculture these days. Many agriculturalists are promoting the benefits of adding value to raw commodities. What does that mean? Perhaps it is best defined by providing some examples. Value added could include local pro cessing, packaging, or marketing of any food or fiber product. It could include supplemental ac tivity on the farm, such as a bed and breakfast or hunting/fishing privileges. Or it could include a combination of the products, packaging, and marketing. So how do you determine if value-added is for you? Even if you have a good idea and prod uct that looks like a natural fit in the existing marketplace, getting into that market is not always easy. Competition in the. market place needs to be carefully evalu ated. If you are new to the mar ket, convincing retailers or customers that you have the abil ity to deliver a reliable supply of LEAD New York Announces 2003-2005 Class ITHACA, N.Y. LEAD New York, a nationally recognized leadership program for members of New York state’s food and ag riculture industries, recently an nounced the selection of partici pants for the 2003-2005 class. The two-year program consists of a curriculum that includes field trips, workshops, and semi nars. The individuals of the food and agricultural industries who have been selected to participate are: Ellen Abend, Cornell Ag Health and Safety Program; Greg Albrecht, Cornell Nutrient Man agement SPEAR Program; Brian Brandes, a Wellsville, N.Y. Dairy Farmer; Karin Bump, Cazenovia College, Equine Professor; Karen Cartier, Dairylea Cooperative, Inc., Loan Officer; Dean Casey, Ziehm Family Farm, Parlor Manager Jessica Chittenden, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, Director of Com munications. Also, Joseph Daniels, Cargill Animal Nutrition, Territory Sales Manager; Mark Dennis, USDA Farm Services Agency, Public Af fairs Specialist; James Doan, Doan Family Farms, Beekeeper; Mike Fargione, Cornell Hudson Valley Regional Fruit Program; Martha Goodsell, Fallow Hollow Deer Farm and Director of NY- Farms; Mariah Hadler, Pharma cia Animal Health, Dairy Sales Consultant; Paul Hadler, Agway Feed and Nutrition, Dairy Nutri tion Specialist; Claire Hebbard, NY Farm Net, Assistant Director; Jim Joy, Grape Grower and Na tional Grape Cooperative Field Rep; Charles Kyle, Kyle Farms, Owner; Russell Marquart, NYS Fair, Ag Manag er; Linda McCandless, NYS Ag Experiment Station, Director of Communication Serv- ices Also, Richard McClenning, Premier Dairy Service, LLC, General Manager; New Farmers, New Generation Marion Bowlan Pennsylvania Farm Link quality goods may be your big gest hurdle to overcome. Persistence is key to bringing new products into fruition. New product ideas are generally not readily accepted, even though they may eventually have broad appeal to consumers. For exam ple, Coleman Beef of Colorado wanted to market a “natural beef’ grown without hormones, feed additives, confinement or vaccinations. Growth of the com pany was almost nonexistent for the first 15 years and the compa ny didn’t operate in the black until the mid-19905. Today, their beef can be found nationwide. Persistence paid off for them be cause they identified a product with growth potential and estab lished a solid distribution net work for their products by pro ving they could deliver a consistent supply of quality prod ucts. Penetrating .a new market is filled with uncertainty you don’t really know for sure how the consumer is going to respond. Key questions you need to ask in clude: Brian Monckton, Farm Credit of Western N.Y., VP Credit Prod ucts; Dana Palmer, Cornell Ani mal Science Department, Exten sion Associate; Amy Phelps, Edgewood Farm, LLC, Owner; Mike Riner, CY Farms, Vege table Crop Manager; Cheryl Ann Rogowski, W. Rogowski Farm, Manager/Co-Owner; John Rusz kiewicz, Ruszkiewicz Farms; Jes sica Skinner, Agricultural Con sulting Services, Inc., Agricultural Engineer; Dean Smith, Wells Fargo Financial Leasing, Business Development Manager; Velma Smith, Wells Fargo Financial Leasing, Busi ness Development Manager; and Cynthia Stiglitz, First Pioneer Farm Credit, Loan Officer. LEAD New York’s first-year program for the class of 2003-2005 begins this September in Oswegatchie, N.Y., where the class will participate in a three day team building re- treat. Over the course of the next six months, the group will visit cities across Central New York in addition to making trips to the York New City/Long Island re- gion and • How does my product differ from others in the marketplace? • How difficult is my identi fied market to penetrate? • Have I identified the proper contacts and distribution chan nels, and how does my product sell with them? • What is the growth potential of new customers and related products? • How does my business ven ture fit in with the community? All of these questions are im portant to evaluate when starting a value-added enterprise. It only takes one weak link in the chain to fail. Entering the market takes more than just a competitive price it also takes a careful as sessment of the above mention factors. If you are interested in value added production, consider at tending Pennsylvania Farm Link’s next marketing workshop at Meadow View Farm in Kutz town on Sept. 13 from 9 a.m.- 11:30 a.m. Owner James Weaver added value to his farm’s fruit and vegetable production by of fering jams and jellies made from fruit and peppers grown on his farm. He produces more than 100 varieties of peppers and hot pep pers and markets them in part through the farm’s annual hot pepper festival that attracts more than 1,000 visitors annually. The farm also offers gifts, crafts, and canned goods. Meadow View Farm is located two miles south of Kutztown on Bowers Road. To learn more about value added agriculture or to attend the value-added marketing work shop, contact Pennsylvania Farm Link at (717) 664-7077. Philadelphia.ln its second year, the program begins by focusing on how governmental issues af fect the food and agriculture in dustries. The group will travel north to Ottawa in November of 2004 to study the Canadian gov ernment and agriculture system, and then spend four days in Washington, D.C. the following month. The second year is high lighted by an eight-day trip in February 2005. In years past LEAD New York has organized study trips to places such as Mex ico, England, and the Nether lands. Since 1985, more than 250 alumni have graduated from LEAD New York. Pa, *Simply Delicious’ Sweet Com Is Coming HARRISBURG (Dauphin Co.) Lancaster County sweet com grower Fred Funk said “Consumers will need patience this season.” While some growers will be harvesting some early “Simply Delicious” Pennsylvania sweet com soon, many growers say their sweet com is running at least two weeks behind schedule because of the cool, wet weather this spring. Few growers were able to plant their com on a regular schedule this spring. Consequently the supply of sweet com is likely to be uneven throughout the sum mer. Assuming summer weather is here to stay, however, Pennsyl vanians can expect to enjoy the delightful taste of fresh “Simply Delicious” Pennsylvania sweet com dripping with butter this summer as usual. Most growers expect to begin harvesting sweet com grown without plastic mulch about the third or fourth week of July. Growers who covered their sweet corn with clear plastic mulch that captures the sun’s energy and warms the soil by the greenhouse effect are ready to harvest their com now. The warm moist envi ronment under the clear plastic mulch is ideal for rapid seed ger mination and seedling develop ment in cool April days. Planting under the plastic mulch repre sents a greater investment for the grower in terms of time, equip ment, and supplies, but enables the grower to hit the early mar ket. The main challenge for grow ers this spring was finding fields dry enough to plant between the numerous rainy days. Growers usually aim to plant patches of sweet corn every 7 to 10 days to insure a continuous harvest throughout the season. Since few if any growers were able to main tain a regular planting schedule, most of them may have periods of time in the summer when they have no com ripe. Growers can compensate somewhat for irregu lar schedules by planting com va rieties that mature at different times. Weather throughtout the growing season ultimately de termines how rapidly each vari ety grows, so it remains to be seen how even the supply is this sum mer. lrrigation has been unneces sary in most parts of the state so far this season, but com has a critical need for adequate mois ture during the period of silking Randall G. Renninger Certified Public Accountant Specializing in agriculture and construction industries “We help business people discover ways to cut costs, save taxes, and be more profitable” Call about our FREE seminars 535 W. Orange Street, Lancaster, PA 17603 (717)299-6480 ♦ Fax (717) 299-6390 Hot Air Circulator (Needs NO Electricity) • Special top-vents create a natural draft • Bums coal • Cast Iron Doors & Grate • Exterior handle for clean shake-down D.S* Machine Shop Stoves Chimneys 2388 Old Leacock Rd., Gordonville, PA 17529 717-768-3853 and ear development. For most of the state’s com crop, that peri od is during July and August when dry conditions often pre vail. More and more growers are using trickle irrigation for their sweet com. With this method of irrigation, a plastic tube with tiny emitters is laid down between every other row of com. Water, and oftentimes fertilizer, is pumped into the tubes and trick les out to the roots of the sweet com crop. It is the most water-ef ficient method of irrigation avail able. The key to good sweet com is freshness. The sugar in sweet com rapidly begins turning to starch within hours after being harvested. About 40 percent of the sugar can be lost in six hours at room temperature. Refrigera tion slows this process, but the sooner corn is eaten after har vesting, the better. Many growers are growing sugar-enhanced or super-sweet varieties that genetically have more sugar in the kernels. Some of these early sugar-enhanced va rieties were developed at Penn State University. Because they have more sugar to begin with, they can be stored for longer peri ods and still have acceptable sweetness. However, standard sweet com varieties, when pur chased freshly harvested, will still have a delicious, traditional com flavor, and sweetness. According to growers across the state, most Pennsylvanians prefer bi-color com, traditionally known as Butter and Sugar. However, in south central and southeastern Pennsylvania, white is the preferred com. Certain lo calities and clienteles still like their com to be yellow so many growers also grow some yellow varieties. Regardless of sweet com color, Pennsylvanians can expect to enjoy an abundant supply each year. It is the leading vegetable crop in the commonwealth with about 22,000 acres grown annual ly. More than 95 percent of this sweet com acreage is grown for fresh market sales. As a result, Pennsylvania ranks as the 11th largest fresh-market sweet com producing state in the nation. Fresh com will be available from July into October. About 600 acres of the sweet com acre age are grown to be processed into frozen, dried, or canned com products available year around. Rt. 3, Box 367 Williamsport, PA 17701 570-745-2391
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