Introduction
A
s farmers struggle to find ways to
increase farm income, interest in “adding value” to raw agricultural products
has grown tremendously.
The value of farm
products can be increased in endless ways:
by cleaning and cooling, packaging,...
More
Introduction
A
s farmers struggle to find ways to
increase farm income, interest in “adding value” to raw agricultural products
has grown tremendously.
The value of farm
products can be increased in endless ways:
by cleaning and cooling, packaging, processing, distributing, cooking, combining, churning, culturing, grinding, hulling, extracting,
drying, smoking, handcrafting, spinning,
weaving, labeling, or packaging.
(1) Today,
more than ever, adding value means “selling
the sizzle, not the steak.
” The “sizzle” comes
from information, education, entertainment,
image, and other intangible attributes.
Because of the many regulations involved
with food processing, some people may
choose to add value in other ways.
On a
larger scale, producer-controlled processing for energy, fiber, and other non-food
uses are options.
On a smaller scale, items
such as flower arrangements, garlic braids,
grapevine wreaths, willow baskets, wheat
straw weavings, sheep and goat milk soaps,
and wool mulch a
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