Ag Opportunities Volume 17, Number 10 October 2006 Quality is the Key Determinant for Chestnut Sales: Demand Exceeds Supply The University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry conducts the nation’s most comprehensive program for developing the Chinese chestnut-an emerging and potentially highly productive nut tree crop for Missouri and the Midwest-into a profitable orchard crop. Primary crop research is conducted at three field studies, a repository with 55 cultivars, a cultivar trial and a nut production orchard at the Center’s Horticulture and Agroforesty Research Center (HARC) farm in New Franklin, MO. Market evaluation studies and consumer research toward chestnuts is also conducted by the Center. The Center’s long term objective is to create a thriving domestic chestnut industry, focusing its efforts on three key areas: national market research, production techniques/orchard management and increasing consumer demand and awareness. The outcome of this effort will be an active program that reaches out to potential producers and establishes a multi-million dollar chestnut industry within MO and surrounding states. Through national market surveys sent to producers and businesses active in the chestnut market in 2003, 2004, and 2005, the Center reported most consumers are unfamiliar with chestnuts, though interested in exploring them as a new food. Quality and nutrition were consistently important attributes influencing the decision to buy chestnuts. The following is an excerpt from the survey results. The entire report is published as the Chestnut market Analysis and Producers’ Directory and is available at www.centerforagroforestry.org. Articles based on these findings were published in 2004, 2005 and 2006 in the journal HortTechnology. Article citations are available on the Center’s website. General information about the respondents and the industry *Demand for fresh chestnuts is expected to continue to increase by 10% - 25% in the next 5 years. *Current production volume is less than 1.5 million pounds nationwide. *Most production operations are small, with less than 10 acres. With 50 trees per acre, commercial production (at least 10 pounds/tree) can be reached in 6-9 years after grafted tree is planted. *Grower retail prices range from .75 to $6 per pound at farmers’ markets; $1.50 to $6 a pound at on-farm sales; and $2 to $7 per pound at restaurants, retail grocers and health food stores. *Producers who grow chestnuts from cultivars, organically, or sell under a brand name, achieve the highest prices. Market outlets *The majority of respondents sell their chestnuts locally, 38% sell regionally and 21% sell nationally. *38% sell chestnuts on-farm. *34% of respondents sell to farmers markets. *23% sell fresh chestnuts to restaurants. *Less than 20% sell to retail locations; eg. ethnic stores (19%), upscale grocery store, (18%), health and natural food stores (17%), national chain grocery stores (11%), or wholesalers (12%). Today, chestnuts are experiencing a surge in consumer popularity in many European countries, Australia, New Zealand and the US, and an increase in production in Asia. World chestnut exports in 2004 were 107,130 metric tons. The US imported 5,396 metric tons in 2004 and 4,479 metric tons in 2005. For our respondents, the most often declared competitive advantage was quality (68%), followed by customer service (37%) and market knowledge (20%). In conjunction with research and market study objectives, the Center hosts the annual Missouri Chestnut Roast. This year’s event is Sat, Oct 14, from 10 am to 4 pm at the HARC farm, New Franklin. The event features fresh-roasted chestnut samples; guided tours of the research farm; samples of Missouri cheeses, wines and specialty products; and tours of the 1819 Hickman House, recently listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Join us for music from the Ironweed Bluegrass band, cooking demonstrations with chestnuts, informational agricultural booths and exhibits, children’s activities (including cockroach races!) and beautiful River Hills scenery. Free admission; all exhibits in tents for comfort, rain or shine. Visit www.centerforagroforesgtry.org for the day’s schedule of demonstrations and driving directions. ********************************************************************** Managing People Risks by Bob Kelly Ag Business Specialist University of MO Extension Buchanan County Managing people (i.e. hired labor) in an agricultural business operation is becoming more of an occurrence on Missouri farms than in the past. The smaller farms of today cannot fully support what used to be called the "family farm" so many of today’s farms require the use of seasonal hired labor. The following article is part of a series pertaining to risk management by Joanna Green at Cornell University. What is "human resources risk?" If you or your spouse were to develop a life-threatening illness tomorrow, would your farm business be at risk of collapsing? What if your most valuable employee were to walk off the job? What if you can’t come to an agreement with your son who is interested in taking over the farm? These situations illustrate some of the people risks, or "human resource risks," inherent in farming. People are a great source of risk to the stability and success of any business. We get sick, we have accidents, we leave for other opportunities- and of these situations can spell doom for the business that is not prepared to deal with them. On the other hand, people are also the most important resource the farm has for managing risk. One of the most important strategies for managing risk, therefore, is to do a good job in managing people. In a farm business this may involve family and non-family members; full-time and part-time employees; seasonal and year around helpers; ‘management" and "labor." Even if your farm is a family business with no outside employees, good people management skills are needed if the family is to work together as an effective team. We all know that one of the biggest human resource risks that farms face is the difficulty of finding and keeping good employees. Trying to run a farm with insufficient labor of poorly trained personnel increases risks in many areas. When you lose an employee, the cost is much higher than you might think. Unfortunately, many farm businesses have trouble attracting and keeping good employees. There are many reasons, some of which are out of the farmer’s control. What is under your control is the way you manage employees to bring out their best and to make it worth their while to stay. In today’s competitive business world, the old "command-and-control" style of managing people is being replaced by a "participatory management" approach that involves everyone setting goals, making decisions and being accountable. In this approach each player is part of a team, working together towards the success of the business. Workers who understand why and how decisions are made will see opportunities for the business and for themselves, including opportunities to seek out and implement risk-reducing strategies. Managing people more effectively includes: Building your team by involving all the players in planning and decision-making; Maintaining open communications; Continuously communicating the farm vision, mission and core values, and clearly articulating business policies; Establishing clear expectations for employee performance, and enabling everyone to know when individuals and the business are succeeding; Providing ongoing training and education; Evaluating employee performance and providing helpful feedback; Compensating employees adequately and fairly. The process of hiring new employees should include: A thorough job description; Recruiting and selecting the right person; Orienting the new employee to the farm business and how their job fits in; Providing step-by-step training and regular feed back as they learn their job. Every farm will eventually have new managers, or it will go out of business. "Management succession" is the process of making the transition to new management. It is the period of great risk for any business. However, the risks involved in succession can be reduced by carefully planning for a gradual, orderly transition to new management, and by sound estate planning. To be successful, a transition to new management should be guided by a "transition team" which includes your lender, a lawyer, an accountant, a financial planner, both spouses, and all partners. Developing the plan may take two to three years, but it is an investment that will greatly reduce the risk of business failure. Finally, estate planning is an important tool for reducing the risk disruption to the farm business in the event of the owner’s death. It allows you to decide how assets will be transferred to the next generations, and to minimize the family’s real estate tax liability. Like transition planning, estate planning takes time and effort but is a key part of managing the people risks in farming. ********************************************************************** Starting A Value-Added Enterprise Many of you may have an idea for a value-added enterprise, but are unsure where to start. The University of Missouri has resources to guide you through the process. The Missouri Value Added Center, located on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus, develops resources for Missourians ranging from organizing a value-added group and starting a business, to developing niche markets and enhancing business profitability. The Missouri Value Added Center website contains information related to the development and sustainability of value added ventures in Missouri. The website ishttp://valueadded.missouri.edu In addition, there are five Regional Agriculture Business Counselors (RABCs) that are available to work directly with you and assist in determining the feasibility of projects. Assistance is available in several areas: *Facilitate - Value added business endeavors *Feasibility Studies - Formal documents that detail necessary information used to educate investors or lenders of possibilities for success or failure of the new business. *Business Plans - Formal documents created by the business owners. RABCs can assist the owners to ensure the business plan represents their wants and needs and clearly presents the business to other investors and lenders. *Grants - Help business owners find grant opportunities. The Regional Agriculture Business Counselors are: *Karisha Devlin, North Region, devlink@missouri.edu *Mary Sobba, Central Region, sobbam@missouri.edu *Mick Gilliam, Southwest Region, gilliamm@missouri.edu *Van Ayers, Southeast Region, ayersv@missouri.edu *Wayne Prewitt, West Central Region, prewittw@missouri.edu ********************************************************************** Organic Farming Research Foundation Releases Request for Proposals The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) is resuming its grants program after taking time off from its regular grant making schedule to evaluate the impact of its grants on organic agriculture. The deadline for proposals is Dec 15, 2006. In reinstating the grants program, OFRF is releasing an open request for proposals in all subject areas, but particularly encourages proposals in the following topic areas: *organic livestock systems; *economic constraints and opportunities relevant to the viability of small- and medium-scale organic farms and ranches; projects that investigate the interactions between components of organic systems and that take a systems-management (rather than an input-substitution) approach to solving production problems. "I'm pleased that the OFRF Board of Directors has invested their time and expertise into reviewing our grant making program," commented OFRF Executive Director Bob Scowcroft. "The updated request for proposals is a reflection of what we learned and of the areas we think require the most research support in the future." OFRF encourages organic farmers and ranchers to apply for a grant. Many producers find that working with a small group, or with an extension educator or university-based researcher, can make it easier to design and carry out a research project. OFRF encourages applications from such partnerships, and will try to link interested farmers with research partners. Projects must involve farmers in both design and implementation and take place on working organic farms whenever possible. "We're looking forward to receiving many high-quality organic research proposals this winter," Scowcroft said. One finding of OFRF's evaluation of its grant making, presented in the report Investing in Organic Knowledge: Impacts of the First 13 Years of OFRF's Grant making Program, is that all farmer grant recipients interviewed for the evaluation said that their research findings had been of practical use to them and had resulted in their changing production practices on their farms. OFRF has funded the largest number of organic agriculture research projects of any foundation in the U.S. in its 13 years of grant making, disbursing $1.3 million to support 213 projects. To apply, eight copies of a proposal must be submitted to the OFRF office by Dec. 15, 2006. For more details, please refer to the updated request for proposals on the OFRF website at http://www.ofrf.org/research/application.html. Or contact Jane Sooby, technical program coordinator, at 831-426-6606, email jane@ofrf.org. Organic Listserv The Michigan organic farmer listserv is sponsored by the CS Mott Sustainable Food Systems Group at Michigan State University. It is intended to serve farmers and educators to interact and share information about farming and educational opportunities. Those who have information on upcoming events, fact sheets, resources and opportunities (such as a new market or coop), please feel free to post on this listserv.  Information that can be verified and may be useful in the future will be saved and placed on a web page (in progress). In the mean time, the listserv will serve as a running record of our organic farmers’ and promoters’ interactions through the archive. You may find the Michigan Organic listserv fits your needs. The list currently consists of primarily Michigan farmers and educators, but is open to all who may benefit or wish to contribute to aspects of organic production in USDA zones 4, 5, and 6. Membership consists of organic farmers as well as educators interested in organic agriculture. On a weekly basis, I compile news articles and events that are relevant to organic agriculture in the Midwest. All those registered for the listserv are encouraged to exchange questions, ideas and observations about organic agriculture production, market opportunities and soil building. The listserv is as much as the members make it, so this is your chance to build a network without great expense or trouble. Consider joining this listserv if these topics are of interest to you.  If you would like to subscribe, follow the directions below. If you have lists of persons whom you think would be interested, please share this information with them. Please, as with all listservs, be respectful of other’s opinions and ideas. Do not state a fact unless you are certain it is a fact (providing any reference is good, too) and if you are not certain about the statement PLEASE indicate you suspect or believe it to be the case. To subscribe to the list, send email to listserv@list.msu.edu with this command in the body of the email:  SUBSCRIBE MICH-ORGANIC YOUR NAME For example, if your name was Rob Clarke, you would type this command in the body of the email: SUBSCRIBE MICH-ORGANIC ROB CLARKE You will be sent a confirmation message, and will need to reply to that message according to the instructions in the message, in order to complete your subscription. Among other things, this ensures that the request really came from you and not from a hacker forging your address. To remove your subscription, use this command in the body of the email:  SIGNOFF MICH-ORGANIC Note that you give your name on the SUBSCRIBE command but not on the SIGNOFF command. ********************************************************************** 14th National Small Farm Conference and Trade Show Nov 2-4, 2006 Boone County Fairgrounds Columbia, MO Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 Short Courses Growing your herb business; hoophouses Seminars Native plants as cut flowers; Fruits, nuts & medicinal herbs; Crop diversification options; Forages for livestock and wildlife; Getting the most from the Missouri Alternative Products Marketplace; 10 Ways to make money from trees  Farmers Forum Sustainable solar irrigation system; Ethanol from waste fruit; Native plants as alternative crops; Finding your niche; Transportation issues; Grow Native on a diversified farm; Organic aronia berry; Native plants as buffer for organic gardening; Ideas for grants; Legal matters    Friday, Nov 3, 2006 Short Courses Cattle; Pasturing livestock  Seminars Self-employment; Raised beds with concrete blocks; Consumer trends in beef; Heirloom crops; Meat goats; Mechanical transplanters; Small farm hog marketing in the 21st Century; Low cost hoophouses from cattle panels Farmers Forum Renewable energy; Biosecurity; Meat goats; Nighttime feeding of livestock; How to sell to a chef; Plan a successful event; Field-to-market processes; Tilapia, trout & hybridstriped bass at a converted dairy to prawn farm; Strip cropping & poultry litter; Farm to cafeteria; Fresh gatherings: farm to college; Renewable energy    Saturday, Nov 4, 2006 Short Courses How to go from a backyard operation to a white collar salary; Make your own biodiesel  Seminars Aquaponic growing via photovoltaics; Heirloom vegetables; Meat goats; Raised beds with concrete blocks; Transition from dairy to medicinal herbs; Grafting and pruning; Profit from the chicken & the egg  Farmers Forum Selling lambs & goats to an ethnic market; Natural pork production; Organic marketing panel; Selecting sheep for parasite resistance; Tropical plants in non-tropics; Fertigation in high tunnels; USDA meat labeling claims; Converting a hog operation to freshwater fish  Registration is $8/1 day; $15/2 days and $20/3 days. Allows entrance to the entire show which includes, seminars, farmers forum, and trade show. Workshops cost $35 each plus registration. For more information or to register by phone, call 800-633-2535. ********************************************************************** ***IN THE NEWS*** Johnny’s Selected Seeds is being sold-to its employees. Over the next 10 years, the 100+ employees of Johnny’s will acquire the company through an employee stock purchase plan, with employees gaining majority shares by July 2009. The strategy will enable founder Rob Johnston Jr to cash out his equity in the business that he founded in 1973 while ensuring that its goals and location will remain the same. "While every privately owned company eventually changes hands," Johnston said, "this is selling out to with a twist: the employees are buying it. This settles the ownership question moving ahead and that benefits the whole Johnny’s community-customers, employees, supplier and research cooperators. This place has a life beyond me ant that life begins, now." (Growing for Market, Sept 2006) New recommendations for making compost tea are being offered, based on research conducted by USDA's Agricultural Research Service. Studies by ARS showed that additives sold for making compost tea-such as soluble kelp, fish hydrolysates, humic acid, rock dust and proprietary nutrient solutions-can spur the growth of bacteria. Ingredients commonly added to compost tea may promote growth of a variety of microbes, including pathogens that can cause illness in humans. Recommendations and guidelines for safe production and use of compost tea have been developed by the Compost Tea Task Force, formed by the National Organic Standards Board. ********************************************************************** ***IN PRINT/ON-LINE*** *Marketing to Enhance Farm Viability* a series of marketing tip sheets produced by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA). The tip sheets provide valuable information on a variety of topics for growers and agricultural businesses, including information from CISA's work with Local Hero members and the expertise of experienced farmers, including several active in the Women in Agriculture Network. See www.buylocalfood.com/TechnicalAssistance.htm *Selling Fruits and Vegetables* gives advice on growing and selling fresh produce. It warns that although it can be a profitable and satisfying family business; risks are involved. Before investing money, time and energy into any new business venture, it is advisable to first evaluate personal skills, market conditions, financial resources and overall project feasibility. To view the publication go to www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1887.pdf * Organic Production Guide* from Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) contains 10 chapters, each addressing a different topic important to organic production. Each chapter can be downloaded by clicking on the preferred file type following the chapter title at www.cefs.ncsu.edu/resources.htm  * Composting on Organic Farms * Cover Crops for Organic Farms * Crop Rotations on Organic Farms * Conservation Tillage on Organic Farms * Soil Quality Considerations * Soil Fertility on Organic Farms Coming soon: * Organic Weed Management * Organic Insect Management * Livestock Production on Organic Farms ********************************************************************** Oct 10-12-26th Annual Central States Forest Soils Workshop, Poplar Bluff, MO. Call 573-876-0907, dennis.porter@mo.usda.gov. Oct 14-Annual Chestnut Roast, New Franklin, MO. Call 573-882-3234. Oct, 17, 24, 31, Nov. 7, 14, 21-Annie’s Project, Lamar. MO. Call 417-682-3579. Oct 26-29-Assn of Specialty Cut Flower Growers Annual Conference, San Jose, CA. Call 440-774-2887, www.ascfg.org. Oct 27-28-MO State Beekeepers Assn Fall Meeting, Jefferson City. MO. Oct 30-From Recipe to Reality, Lincoln, NE. Call 402-472-2819. Oct 7-8-MO Botanical Garden’s Best of Missouri Market, St. Louis, MO. Oct 14-4th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast, New Franklin, MO. Call 573-882-3234, rhoadsj@missouri.edu; www.centerforagroforestry.org. Oct 27-28-MO State Beekeepers Assn Fall Meeting, Lake Ozark, MO. sgibbs314@earthlink.net. Nov 2-4-National Small Farm Conference and Trade Show, Columbia, MO Call 1-800-633-2535. Nov 7-9-Shortleaf Pine Symposium: Restoration and Ecology in the Ozarks, Springfield, MO. Call 573-882-9909 x 3320. Nov 7, 14, 21, 28, Dec 5, 12-Annie’s Project, Kirksville, MO. Call 660-947-2705. Nov 10-CSA Mini-School, Cadillac, MO. Call 877-526-1441. Nov 10-12-CSA Conference, Cadillac, MI. Call 877-526-1441. Dec 1-2-MO Livestock Symposium, Kirksville, MO. Call 660-665-9866 or http://missourilivestock.com. Dec 2-Feeding Kansas City Conference, Kansas City, MO. Call 913-488-1270 or http://growinggrowers.org. Dec 2-Rural Live Day 2006, Jefferson City, MO. Call 573-635-9127 x 225. Dec 6-7-A Recipe for Success: Organic Production and Consumer Driven Marketing for the Farmer Entrepreneur, Bloomington, IL. Call 217-333-1588 , aslan@uiuc.edu Dec 10-13-3rd National Conference on Grazing Lands, St Louis, MO. Call 303-986-3309, www.glci.org/3NCGLindex.htm. Jan 9,16, 23-Farm & Small Business Estate Planning Workshop, Kirksville, MO. Call 660-947-2705. Jan 12-13-Landscape Design with Missouri in Mind, Springfield, MO. Call 573-522-4170. Jan 23-25-Mid-America Fruit Growers Meeting, Excelsior Springs, MO. Call 573-882-9632. Jan 27-28-Beginning Beekeeping Class, Columbia, MO. Call 573-474-8837. Feb 3-4-MO Nut Growers Assn Evaluation & Show, Nevada, MO. Call 417-436-2351. Feb 3-5-Midwest Wine & Grape Conference, Tan-Tar-A, MO. Call 1-800-392-WINE. Feb 12-14-Missouri Small Fruit & Vegetable Conference, Springfield, MO. MU Ag Experiment Station Field Days Oct. 5-Wurdack Farm Field Day, Cook Station, MO. Call 573-882-4450. Oct. 14-Chestnut Roast, Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New Franklin, MO. Call 573-882-3234. Nov 10-12-Raising Vegetables and Civic Values :  CSA in the 21st Century, Tustin, MI. Call 877-526-1441, or www.csafarms.org. Green Hills Farm Project 2006 Farm Walk Schedule Oct 19-4 pm, Doug & Diane Peterson, Ridgeway, MO, 660-824-4276. Doug and Diane raise cattle and use MIG methods. "We have a cattle only operation at this time. We have expanded quite a bit in the last few years and are still trying to get everything figured out. We will try and look at one or two different grazing systems. One will be fairly large with 200 cows being run together as one herd. This large of a herd have some very unique benefits and problems. Because we expanded our grass base faster than we wanted to purchase cows we run a combination of our own cows plus some contract cows for other people. We have also started selling a limited amount of grass fed all natural beef to customers in the KC/STJ area. We are a family operation." Bring lawn chairs and covered dish. Nov-Workshop/Seminar will be announced 2006 Market Gardening Workshops Growing Growers Program For more information on each of these workshops, call 913-488-1270, growers@ksu.edu Oct 21-Business Management for Small Farms, Olathe, KS. Missouri Beekeeping Club Meetings Jefferson County Beekeepers Assn 2nd Tuesday of each month, 7:30 pm, Jefferson County Extension Center, Hwy B & 21, Hillsboro, Contact Scott Moser 636-285-7295 Midwestern Beekeepers Assn Third Wednesday of each month 7:00 pm, YMCA, 10301 E. 350 Hwy, Raytown, Contact President Bob Justice, 816-358-3893 Eastern Missouri Beekeepers Assn 1st Thursday of each month at 7:30 pm, Kirkwood Community Center, 111 Geyer Rd, Kirkwood, Contact President Steve Harris, 636-946-5520 Beekeeper’s Assn of the Ozarks 4th Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm, The Library Center, 4653 S. Campbell, Springfield, www.ozarkbees.org South Central Missouri Beekeepers Assn Contact President May Schmitt, 417-256-9447 Missouri Valley Beekeepers Assn 3rd Monday of each month, 7:00 pm, Scenic Regional Library, Union, Contact Rodney Angell 573-764-2922, or bee143@fidnet.com Boone Regional Beekeepers Assn 3rd Sunday of every odd months, 1:00 pm, University Outreach & Extension Office, Rt. UU, Columbia, Contact: Art Gelder 573-474-8837 Jackson Area Beekeepers 4th Tuesday of each month, 7:00 pm, First Pres. Church of Jackson, 206 E. Washington, Contact: Grant Gillard 573-243-6568, or gillard5@charter.net Southwest Beekeepers Assn 1st Tuesday of each month, Neosho High School FFA Building, Contact: Herb Spencer 417-472-7743, Joplin Area Beekeepers Last Tuesday of each month, SW MO Bank Annex, (7th and Duquesne), Contact: Gene Foley 417-624-6831