A business plan for each individual farm or agricultural business should be custom made to provide a road map for the direction of your business and provide justification for securing funds.
The main parts of a business plan are:
* summary page of business plan,
* mission/vision statement,
* business goals and objectives with a time line,
* business description,
* market analysis and summary,
* financial plan,
* management structure,
* contingency plan, and
* other supporting documents.
Your local Cooperative Extension office may be able to refer you to workshops and courses in your area that will help you complete a business plan. You might also take a look at the following documents.
Ohio State University offers an excellent fact sheet on the basics of a business plan. It can be found at: ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/1101.html
North Carolina State University offers helpful PowerPoint presentations on developing a business plan for value-added and alternative agriculture at www.cals.ncsu.edu/value-added/Developing_Business_Plan.ppt.
