Original text

I can help you start, run, and grow your agricultural or food business. One of my major areas of experience is working with farmers who want to add value – make more consumer ready food products. As a former educator in agricultural entrepreneurship with Penn State Extension, I developed and taught a food business start-up workshop that led me to work with several 1,000 people as they determined whether food businesses would be the right fit for them, and I assisted them individually in determining the registrations, special training and resources that they would need to have to launch successfully. I also have assisted several 100 farmers in developing a usable, simple record system to determine their business’s current financial health and to plan for better money management. I can coach as you write a business plan to use as a daily management tool, or as the document needed for a loan application or a grant proposal. I would like to help you to achieve your goals by making good business decisions. Mentoring topics include:
• Starting and managing your farm as a business
• Business feasibility analysis
• Business planning and strategic planning
• Farm financial analysis
• Value-added product development
• Compliance with state and Federal food safety laws and regulations
My experience includes:
1990 to 2018: Penn State Extension Educator, providing one to one assistance and group (in-person/online) classes related to food business development, farm and food business planning, feasibility studies for starting to farm, farm financial analysis and production management, adding value by dehydrating produce, BMPs for shared kitchen incubators, and introduction to the Food Safety Modernization Act for new and growing food producers.