| PROJECT SUMMARY |
| Project will assist producers in two areas of Oregon with the creation of a strategic business plan for their farm/ranch. Producers will learn the business plan process by participating in 3 phases of education: a) workshops, seminars or classes to teach the fundamentals of financial analysis and planning, b) on-site visits from farm advisors who will assist producers with the collection of financial data and performing computerized financial analysis, and c) submitting their written plans for review by an expert panel which includes a lender, an accountant and a farm management advisor. The target audience will be farms and ranches in the Willamette Valley and Harney County. Workshops will consist of approximately 15 hours of instruction, broken up into varying lengths, depending on location. At the end of the program, participants will have written one complete business plan which will serve as a starting point for an ongoing planning process. Approximately 30 to 36 participants will achieve this result. We anticipate that a larger number of producers will only be interested in participating in the workshop component of the project and we will accomodate that by having a two-tiered fee structure. We estimate that an additional 50 producers will participate in the workshops but not complete business plans through the intensive on-site coaching of farm business advisors. |
| TOPICS COVERED |
| Product and enterprise diversification |
| Financial records, analysis, and bench-marking |
| Capital and financial assets |
| Credit |
| Business and strategic planning |
| Interpersonal, family and business relationships |
