Starting & running your own small farm business: small-farm success stories

To help farmers position themselves well for the opportunities of today's market, Sarah Aubrey, a successful farm-based business owner, shares her years of research and first-hand experience in Starting & Running Your Own Small Farm Business. Here is everything you need to know to launch a small agricultural enterprise, from initial start-up to consumer marketing. Begin by fine-tuning your idea into a viable business plan, and then learn how to go out and sell it. Secure financing, work out the legalities, follow USDA guidelines — and a farming business is born. Aubrey explains every step of the process and even includes samples of the required forms.
Every small farmer must also become a skilled salesperson and marketing professional. Aubrey covers all sales venues — from rural farmstands to web sites to food service wholesalers — and explains the pros and cons of each. She also explains how to create and stick to an advertising budget, develop pricing strategies, and protect personal assets.
Aubrey brings her business advice to life with profiles of farmers who are successfully selling everything from small batches of wine to exotic animals, such as elk and alpacas. Their stories are mini-courses in successful farming, sure to inspire every reader.