Hiring the Right Web Developer for Your Business's Website, Part 2

My last post focused on some of the terminology used to describe different types of web developers including website designer, website programmer, graphic designer, and internet marketing consultant.  It is important to know what each of these people does and how they can help you build a great site for your business.  (Hopefully you can find a web developer who has skills in more than one of these job descriptions.)

As I discussed before, the article "How to Choose a Web Designer" by Karyn Greenstreet has some great tips on hiring the right web developer for your agricultural business website.  Below, I've highlighted some of these great pointers.

• Pay attention to how much they ask you about your business. They should want to get to know you and your business intimately. How else can they design a site that reflects you, your brand, and your business, unless they spend time to get to know you?

• Look at sites they've designed to see if you like their style. Is there a certain feel to ALL their sites, or are they flexible in their designs?

• Ask them if they did the actual graphic and layout design of the site, or if they just did the programming. If they don't do the graphic work themselves, can they recommend a graphic artist?

• Ask them what they know about internet marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). Be sure that they're creating a site for you that meets your larger marketing and business goals. (A pretty site is no good to you unless it generates revenue and prospects.)

• Ask the designer for their fees and what is the estimated cost for the site you want. They may not be able to give you a good estimate until you discuss content and features of the site. Expect to pay between $60 - $125 an hour, depending on their skill and their location. A quality website with good graphic design and layout will cost around $2,500 - $5,000 for a simple business website. If you add a blog, newsletter, shopping cart, autoresponders, email address setup, SEO, membership site, or logo design (or if you have many page on your site), expect the price to be higher.

More tips to follow in Part 3!

Starting a Farm? Get Prepared!

by Lynn Kime, Sr. Extension Associate

When beginning any new enterprise, many decisions need to be made prior to planting or purchasing the first animal.  These decisions require research and developing an enterprise budget to be sure the venture will be profitable.  Depending on the scope of the enterprise, a business plan will assist with the decision making process, especially if this is your first venture into production agriculture.  To make the transition easier, think about what you have a passion to do.  Having a passion for the production makes the entire process more enjoyable.  A list of topics to consider prior to beginning include:

• Marketing
• Production
• Harvesting and storage
• Risk management
• Environmental regulations
• Where to find information

 Before beginning any production, you need to know if there is a market for what you plan to produce and where that market may be.  Another marketing decision is whether you are going to market wholesale or retail.  Wholesale marketing may be the easiest, but may not provide enough income to sustain your enterprise.  Retail marketing will take more time to develop as you will need to develop relationships with potential customers or find a farmers' market that has enough traffic to market you production.  One recommendation is to start small and grow into your market.

There are usually several production options for any livestock or crop you plan to produce.  For example, if considering producing beef cattle, will you raise grass-fed or a more conventional grain and hay program?  For horticultural crops, will you use plasticulture or be organically certified?

Do you have the time to produce and harvest what you plan to produce?  Even one acre of some crops requires 30-40 hours to harvest and many more to produce.  The production will need to integrate into your proposed schedule.  Also, will you need to store a portion of the crop prior to marketing and do you have these facilities?

Any production contains risk.  You are at the mercy of the weather, markets, and inputs that you cannot control.  There are insurance products you can take advantage of to help alleviate some of these concerns.

All municipalities have regulations that may impact your plans and production.  The first step for you is to contact your local municipality to determine if what you are planning fits into their regulations.  Another place to visit is your local Conservation District office to see if there are any environmental regulations that will impact your plans.

Penn State's Agricultural Alternatives publication series is an excellent place to start your research into a new venture.  There are now 64 publications in the series and we cover many topics targeting the small-scale and part-time farming community.  These publications are between four and twelve pages long and any topic covering production of livestock or crops has a budget included.  The publications are not in-depth production guides, as indicated by the length, but are designed to allow the reader to make a better informed decision about the potential of the enterprise.

We have an extensive listing of livestock, fruits, vegetables, and farm management publications.  The farm management publications cover business start-up, business planning, marketing, and risk management topics.  These should be viewed first when considering a new farming venture.  The information contained in these publications is necessary when starting a business.  They will guide you through the process of the new venture and provide the information to allow you to become successful.  There is also a section covering where to find much more in-depth information into the topic covered.

You can access these publications here.  There is a link to a PDF file for easy printing on the web pages that do not link directly to a PDF.  I encourage you to check out the website and discover what the project has to offer.  By using these publications and the included budgets you will be better informed about the time, capital, and equipment needed for the enterprise; all issues you need to consider when starting a new venture or enterprise.

Using PA MarketMaker to Market Your Business (part 3)

Continuing on in the MarketMaker series, today I'm going to talk about using PA MarketMaker to search for a business or product. This is an important feature for both consumers and food business owners. For example, a consumer can find a pumpkin patch in their area and a cattle rancher could find a processor for his beef.

1. To search for a product or business, click on a business type from the dropdown box under the Farmers, Fisheries, and Businesses section of the Pennsylvania MarketMaker homepage, located in the center of the page. Then, choose a search distance of “PA” or a mileage range from a specific zip code. Click “Search” to continue.

2. On the Results page, you will see businesses matching your criteria on the right and can view their location on the map in the center of the page. If you are looking for more advanced search results, you can narrow your search by clicking on the available options in the “Select By,” “Select a Category,”and “Select a Subcategory” tabs.

3. To view the profiles of the businesses in your search, either click on the business name in the Results section or the orange and blue dots on the map.

4. To start a new business search, simply click on the “Begin New Business Search” button located in the upper middle of the page.

That's it! Now you can perform a search for a business or product anytime you need. In the my next post, I'll write about how to use the Buy & Sell Forum.

Using PA MarketMaker to Market Your Business (part 2)

In my last post, I wrote an overview on the ways you can use PA MarketMaker to market your food business. If you are interested in signing up, below is a easy "how to" guide for setting up your profile.

Creating a profile on Pennsylvania MarketMaker

1. Go to PAMarketMaker.com and click on the “Register” button in the upper right of the page.

2. Select a business type. If you have more than one type of business (for example, you have a corn maze and therefore are Agritourism and you also have a café which would be an Eating & Drinking Place) you may add other business types later in the profile creation process.

3. Once you choose a business type, you will be given a page full of different checkboxes that may or may not apply to your business (for example, Agritourism has options like air conditioning, group discounts, picnic areas, wedding parties, etc). Choose all that apply to you. Don't forget to explore the tabs above the checkboxes. They will lead you to more options. Also, if you see a small diamond shape next to a selection (like this ◊), that indicates that there are further choices in that category (for example, once you check the box for "Milk", you have the options to select "Goat", "Cow", or "Sheep").

4. As mentioned in Step 2, you may select the “Save & Add Another Profile” at the bottom of the page if you have multiple business ventures. If not, click “Continue”.

5. On the Upload Image page, you are welcome to upload an image of your business or your product/service, but it is not a necessary step in the registration process. Don’t have a photo yet? You can always update your profile at any time! Click “Continue” to proceed.

6. The next page is for general business information. MarketMaker website users will be able to view this information and use it for contacting you. Don’t forget to add your Twitter and Facebook information if you have it!

7. After clicking “Continue”, you will be directed to the Contact Information page. Please list contact information for the person in charge of handling customer calls. Multiple contacts may be added by selecting the “Save & Add Another Contact” button. To proceed, click “Continue”.

8. Are you affiliated with any Pennsylvania food or farm agencies or associations? The Affiliations page allows you to choose the agencies or associations you are affiliated with and their badge will appear on your profile. Click “Continue” after you have selected all of your affiliations.

9. The last page of registration allows you to preview your profile before submission. If you need to make a change, click on the “Edit” button next to that mistake. If you are satisfied, click “Submit”.

10. A password will be emailed to you. Use it to update your profile at any time.

Congratulations! Your business is now listed on Pennsylvania MarketMaker. In my next post, I'll talk about using MarketMaker to search for a product or business.

Preparing to Do Business With "The Big Guys"

As a small agricultural business owner, your client-base is probably mainly made up of other small businesses and individual consumers. But what if you have your sights set on a larger client? I recently read an article on TheGlobeAndMail.com that discusses this topic. Below are some tips.

1. Believe in your business. Don't be intimidated by a large company. If they want your products, then they need you just as much as you need them.
2. Do a trial run of the ordering and delivery process. In doing so, the client can see how efficiently your business runs and help alleviate any concerns the larger company may have with using you as a supplier.
3. Look professional. Evaluate your website, business cards, information package, etc. Are they older or out-of-date looking? Jazz them up with new, professional looking materials. It's also important to test your communication devices. Do you take orders via phone? You may need an extra phone line to handle the extra call volume.































Look at the above 2 informational folder examples.  The one on the left just has a sticker slapped on a plain envelope (leaves much to be desired).  On the right, this folder looks skillfully designed and conveys a professional message.

4. The devil is in the details. Are your invoices coordinated with your bank account?  Are all of your insurance policies up-to-date? Are you willing to show past financial statements to the client?

As an ag business owner, have you successfully landed a big client? What tips do you have for other ag entrepreneurs? How is working with a big client different from other clients?

Don't Become an Entrepreneurial Burnout

Let's face it, being an entrepreneur is HARD. You need drive, dedication, and perseverance-- not only when you first start developing your business, but throughout your business's life. These are daunting tasks and unfortunately lead to some entrepreneurs burning out.

(photo from Microsoft Word Clipart)

It's much easier to prepare yourself now with some tips for avoiding burnout as compared to trying to bounce back after burnout has occurred. Forbes.com recently posted a great article about avoiding burnout. Below are just a few of the Forbes.com tips:

-Entrepreneurship is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself, respect your limits, and keep the whole “race” in mind.
-Good things take time. Establish fair expectations when you do forecasting, project planning, and goal setting.
-Avoid "always working". Set clear boundaries—no one else can do this for you. Off means off. On means on.
-Plan to take some legitimate time off. An escape from your enterprise allows you to get out and gain perspective on the business—even if you don’t explicitly think about work. Taking time off also forces you to put systems in place so the business can continuing running in your absence—a critical component of a successful and sustainable business.

Always remember-- YOU are in charge. It is up to you to set these "burnout free" goals and adhere to them!

As an ag entrepreneur, what do you do to prevent burnout? Do you know of other ag entrepreneurs who have experienced burnout? Did their business ever recover?

How has the pink slime backlash affected the beef industry?

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about one of agriculture's hottest topics-- pink slime. The stir from consumers over pink slime (also known as lean, finely textured beef or LFTB) created quite a backlash in the retail and foodservice industry to the point that many are racing to eliminate it from their ground beef. Large chains like Safeway, Kroger, and ShopRite are advertising "pink slime-free beef" to attract customers who have showed concern about the filler.

After such a controversy, where does the ground beef industry go from here? The Lempert Report discusses some of the things we may be seeing in the near future. Most certainly, it will mean higher prices because there isn't a filler. Also, we may see a rise in food borne illnesses because LFTB is treated with ammonia gas to kill pathogens. On a positive note, butchers may make a return to the supermarket or neighborhood shop. While a butcher grinding meat on demand for customers is not pathogen-free, it may help customers regain faith in ground beef.


Photo from about.com

As an ag business owner, how has this pink slime backlash affected you? Are your customers asking for pink slime-free beef? How much extra will it cost to produce pink slime-free beef?

What's All This Talk About "Pink Slime"?

Media platforms (TV, radio, twitter, search engines, etc) across the country have been teeming with talk about "pink slime". As explained by Edward Mills, associate professor of dairy and animal science at Penn State, "pink slime" (also known as lean, finely textured beef or LFTB) is the lean meat that remains on fat trimmings removed from beef carcasses and that cannot be reclaimed with a knife cost effectively. This remaining meat is separated from fat in a mechanical process that involves heating minced trimmings only to about body temperature (100 degrees) then centrifuging to separate lean from fat. Because the trimmings may harbor dangerous pathogens that can cause foodborne illness, they are decontaminated with either ammonia gas or citric acid.

(Photo from http://live.psu.edu/story/58528#nw4)

The reason LFTB has turned into such a hot topic in recent weeks is that the U.S. government plans to buy LFTB beef and use it in the national school lunch program. The words "ammonia" and "school lunch" together are creating a huge debate on the safety of the use of LFTB. According to Professor Mills, "This issue really has been elevated in social media. Claims made that this product is not safe are blatantly untrue. From a microbial-pathogen point of view, the product has a better reputation than straight ground beef."

To read more about LFTB, please read the article "Expert: 'Pink slime' may be unappetizing, but it's safe, genuine beef".

Whether people are basing their views of the use of LFTB on facts or emotions, either way, I'm guessing this will remain a hot topic (and affect sales) in the beef industry for awhile.

If you are a beef producer, has this controversy affected your sales? Do you use LFTB? Would you voluntarily label your products as to if they do/do not contain LFTB? What do you think is the best way to educate consumers on LFTB?

As a consumer, how do you feel about the use of LFTB? Do you think products should be labeled as to if they do/do not contain LFTB?

Leading Employees With Your Personal Values

Being a small business owner is no easy task. If you have employees, they will automatically look to you for guidance and support in their working environment (whether you give it or not). So how do you foster your employees' success? Inspire them!

In the article "Why Great Leaders Inspire Others" by John Baldoni, he describes how to be a great leader. "Followers want to believe that their leader stands for something, and, to an extent, may be better than anyone else at the job. Such a conviction defines why followers defer willingly to leaders." As the leader of your business, it is critical to your success that you develop this inspiration in your employees.

Baldoni also describes what kind of people are seen as inspiring. "The world needs men and women in management who are competent and caring leaders. These folks may run their businesses according to their bottom line—but they do not run their lives that way. Instead, they are engaged in their communities as well as with employees. One thing I note in family owned businesses is the personal commitment that people at the top feel for people who work with them."

What not to do: Be a boss that constantly yells and doesn't facilitate an "inspirational" workplace.


What to do: Work alongside your employees. Develop that "family atmosphere" and inspire them with your personal values!


As an ag entrepreneur, do you think of yourself as a person who leads with your personal values? Are you engaged with your community? Are you engaged in the development of successful employees? Do you create a working environment that facilitates a "family" environment?

What is Crowd Funding and Does It Really Work?

One of the major challenges of starting a small business is finding financing. Banks are giving out fewer and fewer loans in this economy, so where is an entrepreneur supposed to get startup money? You may need to get creative and try alternative financing options like crowd funding.

According to Wikipedia, crowd funding is "the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. Crowd funding occurs for any variety of purposes,from disaster relief to citizen journalism to artists seeking support from fans, to political campaigns, to funding a startup company or small business or creating free software."

In a July 2011 post, I described a Pittsburgh brewery that was using crowd funding to fund their expansion into a larger facility. Below is a video of a New Jersey woman who recently used crowd funding to open a storefront for her baking business.



Is this type of funding right for you? As I've said many times before about trying a new idea, DO YOUR RESEARCH! Every business is different and you must weigh the pros and cons to tell if this is right for you. In the near future, I'll write a post about different kinds of crowd funding websites.

If you are an ag entrepreneur and have tried crowd funding, how was your experience? What kind of promotion did you do? What kind of advice would you give others thinking about trying crowd funding?

Getting people to "see" your brand on Twitter

If you have used Twitter, you know that there is a very small amount of space for you to post (only 140 characters). To show a picture, you must include a link or use a third-party photo app like Instagram, Twitpic, or yfrog. To get people to click on your picture, you need to create a description that catches readers' attention, all in 140 characters or less. Sounds a little daunting, but it can be done!

Some tips on creating a better visual of your brand from an article posted on OpenForum.com with examples created for my fake business "DJM428 Cheesesteaks":

1. Twitter voice should be consistent and relevant. Try to keep the same person as the main Tweeter so that your Twitter account has the same style and voice. When composing tweets, they should be descriptive and relevant. Explain as much about the product (in 140 characters or less) and then add a picture.



2. Favor native images. As I mentioned above, third-party photo apps allow you to attach a picture right in your tweet. The reader just needs to click on the embedded link and the picture will show up in the feed. This is much more useful than just adding a link because it doesn't force your users to open another screen to see the picture (which might deter some readers). Research the different photo apps and how they work on mobile devices. Some work differently than others in how they display images.




3. Pageviews are paramount. As always, you want readers to visit your website. Be sure to frequently link back to your website so that readers can see all that you have going on. In doing so, don't be vague. Links with little or no description discourage readers from clicking.

What to do:



What not to do:



As an ag business owner, how do you use Twitter? How many followers do you have? How do your customers respond to your tweets? What advice would you give another ag business owner who is thinking about tweeting?

UK institutes gluten-free labeling regulations; could the US be next?

In June of last year, I wrote a post about gluten-free products and it was the most read post so far. Since this seems to be a trending topic, I thought I would continue giving our readers more info about gluten-free products.


Starting this year, the UK has developed new regulations in the labeling of gluten-free foods. The labels will include 3 categories (as reported by SupermarketGuru.com):
1. Gluten-free: applies only to food which has 20 parts per million (ppm) or less of gluten.
2. Very low gluten: applies to foods which have between 21 and 100 parts per million (ppm) of gluten.
3. No gluten-containing ingredients: this is not covered by the law and is for foods that are made with ingredients that don’t contain gluten and where cross-contamination controls are in place. These foods will have very low levels of gluten but have not been tested to the same extent as those labeled gluten-free or very low gluten unless otherwise stated on the label.

Is the US next in instituting such regulations? The FDA took steps in 2007 to develop gluten-free labeling (products with less than 20ppm of gluten could use the term "gluten-free"). There was a lull in the FDA's development of gluten-free labeling, but the case was re-opened in 2011.

As a food business owner, what do you think? Will these regulations help or hurt the gluten-free industry? Do you currently make gluten-free products? Do you have customers asking for gluten-free?

Small Investments, Big Returns

In the article "10 Examples Of Great (Small) Investments For Small Business" by Annie Mueller, she describes some relatively cheap ways to help your business from staffing to marketing.



*Administrative help- "One of the most important investments that I've made was setting a budget to have office help. Although it was challenging to spend resources on hiring an administrator, the move turned out to be vital to the company's functioning. We have been more organized, more productive and I have had the time to think beyond the daily operations."

– Alexandra Mayler, founder of Thinking Caps Tutoring and author of "Tutor in a Book"

*Smart sponsorships- "I agreed to sponsor the state-wide gathering of the MCEEA (Michigan Career Educators and Employer Alliance). The price was right—only $300 for a Silver Sponsorship plus attendance and one year membership in the organization. It was a great investment! Not only was my name on the literature and all the PowerPoint presentations, but also I met great employers and candidate referrers at the conference."

– Adam Kaplan, Big Tent Jobs, LLC

*Tailor-made training- "We decided to invest in a more streamlined training program for our new employees. We created twenty 10-minute videos describing the different parts of our company, our procedures, and our history. The videos have been a big hit— our new hires love them, they save us time, and they guarantee that nothing slips through the cracks in our training program."

– Sander Daniels, Co-Founder of website, Thumbtack.com

*Buzz-worthy giveaways- "I've conducted giveaways of all sorts of products from T-shirts to electronics and have realized that I get the most bang for my buck through these sweepstakes...The better the prize, the more exposure. I've also given away an Xbox 360 and that received over 11,000 views and thousands of entries."

– Ismail Humet, Co-Founder of MyFreebeez

These are just of a few of the suggestions given in the article. As an ag entrepreneur, what kind of small investments have you made that have netted large returns? Have you or will you consider some of the above ideas?

Get creative in financing your business expansion

Funding your business is no easy task. Banks are tighter than ever on loans, so how can you expand your business if you don't have the cash on hand to do so or you can't get a loan? Get creative! East End Brewing Co. in Pittsburgh, PA has started selling voucher books to gain capital for moving the brewery to a new facility.

Scott Smith, owner of East End Brewing, developed a program called the "Good Beer Investors". For $1000, you can buy $1000 worth of counterfeit-protected brewery vouchers which can be redeemed for beer and merchandise. With a goal of 100 investors, Smith had 54 investors as of July 7th.


To read more, click here.

As an ag entrepreneur, how difficult has it been to get financing? Would you ever try financing your business expansion with a program like "Good Beer Investors"?

Do consumers know where their produce is grown?

Over the past few months, I've been posting about research done at Penn State on mid-Atlantic consumers and their purchasing habits. One of the most interesting questions (by my own beliefs) was in regard to what produce is not grown in the mid-Atlantic.

Responses for participants who answered that they did purchase products from farmers’ markets were then compared to responses for participants who answered that they did NOT purchase from farmers' markets. Of the non-farmers' market shoppers, responses were compared pertaining to participants’ belief of what particular fruits and vegetables (bananas, lettuce, apples, lemons, tomatoes, mangoes, potatoes, grapes and avocados) are NOT grown in the mid-Atlantic region.

Figure 1 shows that more participants who shopped at farmers' markets were able to correctly identify which fruits and vegetables are NOT grown in the mid-Atlantic region and fewer of these participants incorrectly selected produce that IS grown in the mid-Atlantic region. For example, a greater percentage of participants who purchased from farmers’ markets (82%) correctly selected bananas as being NOT grown in the mid-Atlantic region compared to 74% of participants who reported not purchasing from farmers’ markets.



Read the full press release here.

Does this mean that people who shop at farmers' markets know what produce is grown in the mid-Atlantic because they see it at the farmers' market? This may be true, but approximately 20% of participants who shopped at farmers' markets indicated that fruits such as lemons, mangos, and avocados were grown in the mid-Atlantic region. It could be that they are attending farmers' markets that sell local and non-local items. This data may also mean that consumers simply don't know where their produce comes from. As an ag entrepreneur, this may be a great time to educate people as to what is fresh, local, and in season!

How can new and beginning farmers overcome overwhelming obstacles?

No one ever said farming was easy. Young and beginning farmers may face extra challenges too. These include high start up costs, availability of land, and cost of land, equipment, seed, livestock, feed, and fertilizer. Ben LaCross, 31, of Cedar, Michigan is a young farmer. He was interviewed by The Lempert Report on how he views these challenges. He states that, "The payout schedules for harvested crops can be spread out over the course of the following 12 months after harvest. That cash flow bottleneck makes it hard for anyone just to jump into farming."


Although these may seem like huge barriers, there are still opportunities for young and beginning farmer hopefuls to join the farming profession. Some young and beginning farmers are doing so by thinking of unique ways to solve these issues. Some examples:
-Working for a farm and gradually deferring salary for equity.
-Renting land and/or equipment from a retired farmer.
-Building a relationship with a farmer who is close to retirement and may be willing to sell you land at a fair price.
-Finding mentors to help you make difficult decisions and give advice.

If you are someone who has recently started farming, what barriers did you have to overcome to become a farmer? If you are someone who is a veteran farmer, what advice can you give to young and beginning farmers?

Horse Progress Days

The 18th Annual Horse Progress Days 2011 was held on July 1 & 2 in Kinzers, Lancaster County, PA, home of the highest concentration of horse drawn manufacturers and horse farmers in the world. For the first time, the event featured two full days of produce equipment demonstrations, and seminars about successfully growing and caring for produce. Penn State Educators played a vital role in the educational programming including Tim Elkner on “Diagnosing Plant Problems,” Steve Bogash on Use of Tissue Testing for Fertilizing,” and Jeff Graybill on “No Till Farming.”



The heart and soul of Horse Progress Days is the equipment demonstrations. Over the past several years the no-till movement has caught on within many of the plain communities. This is especially true of the Amish dairy and tobacco farmers. This trend has primarily seen growth in row crops such and corn and soybeans, but also alfalfa. Penn State Extension in Lancaster County was awarded a grant in 2007 to build a prototype no-till transplanter. The planter was designed and built by the Agronomy educator with input from several local Amish farmers. To date, three planters of this type have been constructed with approximately 300 acres of mostly tobacco, but also pumpkins, broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower have been planted no-till. The original unit was on display and demonstrated at Horse progress day.

Horse Progress Days’ Mission Statement is “To encourage and promote the combination of animal power and the latest equipment innovations in an effort to support sustainable small scale farming and land stewardship. To show draft animal power is possible, practical and profitable.”

Agricultural and Penn State Extension Direct Marketing Specialists, Peggy Fogarty-Harnish and John Berry conducted two panels for folks interested in sustainable, local foods marketing as new opportunities arise for increasing farm profits. A Co-op Growers Panel on Friday afternoon featured three local cooperatives, Lancaster Vegetable Growers Cooperative, Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative and the newly formed Oasis at Bird-in-Hand all of which have provided new opportunities for produce growers in the county over the past few years. Saturday’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Grower’s Panel discussed ways for consumers to buy seasonal food directly from a farmer throughout the season by purchasing a weekly share. Experienced producers and managers shared their knowledge, discussed logistics and answered questions. Other Penn State displays included Farm Food Safety and Food Preservation.

In keeping with the theme of “Something for Everyone,” the event was one to bring the whole family. Children were especially happy to see the playground area and the petting zoo. Kay Moyer, Penn State Extension Farm Safety Specialist hosted a child safety area which was very busy with approximately 4,500 people visiting the hands-on activity stations. About 3,000 “I visited the Safety Area and Petting Zoo at Horse Progress Days” safety activity books were given to the children who attended. This twelve page culturally appropriate Anabaptist activity book was created to reinforce the education provided at the children safety area and included: machine safety, animal safety, Poison safety, and 911/emergency safety. The event was a great success with over 10,000 people attending each day. In 2012, the event will be held in Michigan.

Written by Peggy Fogarty-Harnish (pfogharn@psu.edu)

Craft brew- Is it right for you?

Beer industry sales as a whole dropped 2.2% in 2009 and 1% in 2010, but craft brewer sales are up 12% (as reported by the Brewers Association). What exactly is a "craft brewer"? The Brewers Association describes a craft brew as "small, independent and traditional. Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less. Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to the rules of alternating proprietorships. Flavored malt beverages are not considered beer for purposes of this definition. Independent: Less than 25% of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by an alcoholic beverage industry member who is not themselves a craft brewer. Traditional: A brewer who has either an all malt flagship (the beer which represents the greatest volume among that brewers brands) or has at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor."



Some facts about the craft brew industry:
-Growth of the craft brewing industry in 2010 was 11% by volume and 12% by dollars compared to growth in 2009 of 7.2% by volume and 10.3% by dollars.
-1,759 craft-breweries were in existence in 2010 (up by 100+ since the previous year) and over 600 are being planned.
-Craft brewers sold an estimated 9,951,956 barrels of beer in 2010, up from 8,934,446 in 2009 (11% increase).

Is this an industry for you? As always, DO YOUR RESEARCH! The Brewers Association website offers some great materials on getting started in this industry. Their business help includes marketing tools (press releases, a media list program, sell sheets, etc), an export development program, and label approval guidance for the Tax and Trade Bureau. Some other things to think about if you are considering entering the craft brew industry:
-What type(s) of beer do you want to offer (stout, lager, porter, etc)?
-What ingredients do you need and how easy/difficult is it to obtain these ingredients?
-What training do you need in beer-making?
-What supplies do you need(bottles, tanks, boxes, etc)?
-What are your state's laws on producing and selling alcohol?

The above points are just a glimpse at the many, many questions you will need to answer before entering this or any industry. As always, Penn State Extension is here to help you in this process!

Surveys of mid-Atlantic consumers conducted by Penn State researchers part 10

Are you curious as to why people buy organic produce? Continuing with the research conducted by Penn State on consumer purchasing behaviors, reasons why people buy organics was specifically studied.

A series of questions asked participants to indicate their certified-organic purchasing behaviors including whether or not they purchased certified-organic fruits and vegetables. Participants who responded “Yes” to this question (34.2%) were then prompted to answer two additional questions: a) how frequently they purchased certified-organic fruits and vegetables and b) for what reasons they decided to purchase certified-organic, as opposed to purchasing conventional options. The majority of participants who reported purchasing certified-organic fruits and vegetables either made these purchases 2 to 3 times per month (30.7%) or once per week (29%).

Additionally, when participants who reported purchasing certified-organic produce were asked if a given “concern” encouraged them to purchase such produce, as opposed to purchasing conventionally-grown produce, a variety of concerns appeared to impact their purchasing decision. For each of the concerns presented, participants responded that they “Agree” to “Somewhat Agree” that the individual concern positively influenced their decision to purchase certified-organic fruits and vegetables. For example, participants responded that when making a fruit or vegetable purchasing decision, they “Agreed” that the “impact of pesticides on the environment” concerned them (see graph below).



To read more about this topic, please visit midatlanticspecialtycrops.com.

As an ag entrepreneur (selling conventional produce), what does this information mean to you? If you are selling organics, how does this information align with what you hear from your customers?

Making the Most of Your Domain Name

If you've decided to start a website for your business, you must first buy a domain name (aka a web address like www.psu.edu). A quick google search for hosting companies will bring back hundreds of companies that sell domain names. Choose one that has good reviews and the payment options you prefer.

Once you've decided on a hosting company, you need to choose what you want your domain name to be. In the article "Do's and Don'ts of Securing a Domain Name" on Entrepreneur.com, author Jane Porter describes some important things to consider when choosing a domain name.

1. Include a location or keywords in your domain name, if you can. When Mikalai Krivenko needed a domain for his painting business in Hoboken, N.J. in 2009, he chose hobokenpainter.com, which shows up at the top of keyword searches that include "Hoboken" and "painter." Whether it's location, or what your company does, Krivenko advises: "Put the most important keyword for your industry in the domain name."

2. Register yourself as the owner of the domain name. "It's just like a piece of property. If you don't own the property, you can't sell an existing business," says Jean Bedord, a Silicon Valley-based search consultant and author of the book I've Got a Domain Name--Now What???.

3. Remember to renew your domain name registration. If you lapse in renewing your registration, another company can buy your domain name and then you are out the domain name you have been using. Customers might lose touch with you because they can't find your website.

4. Don't use dashes, abbreviations or numbers in your domain name. "You get much more word-of-mouth if it's a name you can easily say without having to spell out," says Fan Bi, owner of clothing line Blank Label. His website traffic rose 25% when he changed from blank-label.com to blanklabel.com.

5. Don't waste money on extensions other than .com. "The reality is you have to pay for every one of those. The value is really in the .com," says Bedford.

6. Don't buy a domain without checking into its past. Even available domains can be exposed to legal trouble if the name is too similar to another company's trademark.

As an ag entrepreneur, do you have a website? How did you choose your web address?