Grow Your Small Market Farm (GYSMF) Business Planning Program

The GYSMF Program is a one-year program for small specialty producers who are seeking help in writing their farm business plan, practicing the skills learned in the program and receiving hands-on support implementing their business plan. The program has been in operation since 2001; it has received Leopold Center support for the past three years. A total of 102 businesses from across Iowa have participated in the program. The program has three phases:
Phase I: January 21-April 15, 2006 attend class on Saturday for three hours to learn and write a personal business plan.
Phase II: During the summer and early fall, the instructor visits each farm to better understand the business and assist with a small project.
Phase III: The class returns for one final class in the fall to present their business plan.

Data show that small farm enterprises have a good potential for growth. From 1982-97, the USDA Economic Research Service identified over 5,000 small, part-time farm enterprises with limited sales and tracked them over time. In 1982, these farms had less than $10,000/annually in sales but produced relatively high-value products, generating at least $500 of sales per acre in 1997. By 1997, 644 of these farms had grown into commercial operations with annual sales of $100,000 or more and 97 of them had greater than $500,000 in sales.

These operations had several characteristics: 61 percent of the operators were young to middle-aged (under age 44), most were sole proprietorships, and over time 20 percent moved to partnerships or were incorporated. Three commodity groups - grape vineyards, nursery and tree products, vegetable and melon farming - accounted for 41 percent of sales, while 23 percent of sales were in floriculture, other non-citrus fruit and tree nut farming.

Penny Brown-Huber
Phone: 515.289.0238
Email: brownpennyl@aol.com