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Missouri Department of Agriculture

Ag Business Development

Information for economic developers and other professionals

Value-added agriculture can be an important economic development strategy for rural areas. In addition to creating jobs, producer-owned ventures help keep money locally. One popular example is Renville, Minnesota, widely-known as the “U.S. cooperative capital” because of the many new generation cooperatives in the area.

• For information, examples, and contacts for value-added projects involving specific commodities, see our New Uses, New Opportunities section.

Other resources:

• GETTING FROM IDEA TO IMPLEMENTATION: A Checklist For Producers Starting A New Value-Added Agriculture Business (232kb pdf). This Ag Innovation Guide will help you as you assist producers in starting a value-added agriculture business.
• Two farmer-owned ethanol plants in Missouri have created substantial economic benefits for farmers and communities. See the Missouri Corn Growers Association study which measured the economic impacts of these two new plants: “Results Of Missouri Ethanol Economic Impact Study Released” (Missouri Corn Growers Association, February 7, 2002)
• “Co-op Fever”: A Rural Developer’s Guide to Forming Cooperatives” (by Bill Patrie for USDA/Rural Development) (HTML or PDF)
• Center for Rural America, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank
• “The New U.S. Meat Industry” (pdf) (by Allen Barkema, Mark Drabenstott, and Nancy Novack, Center for Rural America)
• “Where Have All the Packing Plants Gone? The New Meat Geography” (pdf) (by Allen Barkema, Mark Henry and Kristin Mitchell)
• Entrepreneurship and Community Development (Kauffman Foundation, Raymond W. Smilor, Ph.D.)
• “Generating Progress: The Impact of New Generation Cooperatives on their Communities” (pdf) (USDA/Rural Development)