Top Concerns When Drafting Your Farm’s Business Plan

You’re passionate about growing good food and helping other people eat healthily, so you’re beginning plans for a farm. As you look for small business loans or funds from private investors, you need to have a business plan. When you write this document, make sure to include these elements.

Transportation

How will you get your produce from your farm to your customers? Having your own farm stand solves part of this problem, but you probably also need a few restaurants or grocery stores to serve as dedicated buyers. If these customers are more than a few hours away, you need to secure large trucks for transportation and methods for keeping your truck freight Benicia CA cold. Don’t forget to recruit a few employees to drive your trucks while you handle the logistics.

Fertilizer

There are many kinds of fertilizers, from natural sources such as manure to artificial nitrogen-based ones. If you’re running an organic farm, you must only use natural fertilizers that don’t harm the environment. If you’re not, consider using natural options as much as possible to save money and protect your soil’s health.

Products

What plants are you going to grow? Perhaps you want to grow as many products as possible, with a small orchard, rows of vegetables, and a few fields of wheat. Perhaps you want to focus on one crop to avoid keeping track of different seasons and care methods. Double-check with farmers in your area to find out which plants are native to your area and which ones require the most care. Also, ask if they’re willing to sell you seeds or graft some of their fruit trees onto yours to make your farm even more locally-based.

By determining your approach to these issues, you prioritize the most important practical concerns for your farm and prepare to meet with investors.