Farm Business Plan

As the food we eat every day connects us to a vast web of farmers, traders, food manufacturers, retailers – that we do even stop to think while indulging in the deliciousness – this global food system continues to thrive regardless of the economic environment. Farming is one of the most feasible businesses as food serves as the basic necessity of human survival – more so, in a country like India, where farming serves as the backbone of the country.

With the rise of e-commerce across the world, home delivery grocery stores have resulted in a surge in demand for organic food produce from local farms. This has provided an opportunity for agriculture enthusiasts to start their own farms. Moreover, the growing popularity of organic produce has garnered greater value in the market. Farming covers numerous vertices within it, to name a few: poultry farming, dairy farming, goat farming, fish farming, agri farming and also ancillary businesses like farm equipment manufacturing, nursery, etc. However, starting a farming business is not as easy as it sounds. It is not just a matter of acquiring farmland and growing your own produce. There is a lot of learning that needs to be done and trial and error that is messy, time-consuming and even costly. However, with farming, the process is inevitable. Farmers must meet the changing needs of the planet along with consumers, regulators, food processors and retailers. Adding to that, there is increasing pressure from soil erosion, climate change and consumers changing tastes in food and concerns about how it is produced. More often than farming, farmers must consider business planning, finding land, securing financing, marketing, production knowledge, securing equipment, developing or securing infrastructure, and their vision for their farm, a product of their values, knowledge and experience. This is where you will need a business plan. For farming business various business plans can be prepared like farm business plan, agriculture business plan, poultry farming business plan, fish farming business plan, dairy business plan, poultry egg farming business plan, chicken business plan, and vegetable business plan. For each business different business plan is needed. As each has different business needs.

A business plan is a formal document that serves as a decision-making tool through the business journey. It states your business goals, how you are convinced that you can achieve them and lays out your plan to achieve them. The process of writing a business plan may seem overwhelming; however the key is to break them into components that are easy to manage. During the writing of a farm business plan, you will think through and clarify the vision and mission of your business, short term and long term goals and set the direction for your business in the years to come. Systematic review of the business plan helps the owners and other employees to look at the business as a whole and make new informed decisions to suit the changing needs and demands of the environment.

Purpose of a Farming Business Plan

1. Articulate Farm strategy

Defining your farm strategy is where you will exactly begin to look forward with your business. A business plan will force you to do considerable research on the target market, competitors, suppliers and consumers. This information can then be translated into a detailed action plan projecting how you plan to stand out from your competitors and how to address potential problems. You must spend considerable time delving into a thorough research of the market, investigate and analyze industry trends, identify competitors and define buyers before formulating an informed decision in this regard.

2. Plan for Economic Sustainability

While writing a business plan, you will be forced to assess the impact that uncertainty may have on future business outcomes. Since the farming business operates in a very volatile environment influenced by a multitude of factors, mostly unpredictable, it will be good to think through all the worst case scenarios and plan mitigation plans accordingly to save any future surprises. Estimated production levels combined with estimated pricing can be combined to give an overall idea of profit margins. Although there are many relative variables associated with these figures, analyzing the estimations can give an idea of where the business is heading to and whether it will be able to achieve its goals in the short term or long term future. A solid business plan will enable you to manage risks through diversification, financial management planning, and preparing the business to withstand a couple of bad years through early isolation of risks. Performing the SWOT analysis helps in identification of strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities and from a deep understanding of the business among members of the business team.

3. Garner Strong Supplier Network

Managing suppliers can be one of the biggest challenges for farm operators. Hence it becomes crucial for farm operators to formulate and follow a business plan to best make use of the scarce supplier resources to develop and profitable operations. If you are unable to receive inputs sufficiently, you will be unable to deliver products to market and your business will suffer. While curating agriculture business plan you may be able to think of ways to network with other suppliers who align with your visions and best suit your needs.

4. Set Realistic Goals

Most new farm entrepreneurs tend to assume that the business will succeed and focus more on the bigger picture. So they end up making unrealistic goals and expectations. Studying existing business for standards is crucial to draw upon goals that are measurable, achievable and moves the farm operation along the targeted path. Defining goals will also establish benchmarks that will help you measure the performance and progress further on.

5. Secure Investments

A sound farming business plan is a prerequisite to obtain investments and secure appropriate interest rates. It proves to the banks or lenders that your operation plan qualifies as a business to make profit. The business plan would include details of the current financial portfolio along with foreseeable future income and expenses. It should take into consideration drought and other market fluctuations, and course of action to maintain working capital as otherwise farmers might find themselves in a tight spot with bankers. With prior planning, creative solutions can be found to ease the financial strain during a crisis.

Writing a farm business plan requires an initial commitment for a period of time by the farm operator. However, the long term benefits to the business are worth the effort. IT serves as an invaluable management tool to keep the operator on track of where the farm business is heading to. With a solid business plan and an open mind to problem-solving and new opportunities, the farm business can weather the volatile storm of the agriculture industry. The satisfaction that comes from feeding a world is incomparable. Starting a farm business plan could be difficult for which you may need expertise. This could be served by a business consultant.

Why DFX to develop business plan for your farm and agriculture business?

Whether you need a good get-start to decode your farming business idea or have a plan that you are seeking to verify and validate, DFX can help in inculcating a business plan. DFX combines years of experience in developing farm and agriculture business development and financial expertise to uncover key elements to develop a fully customizable winning business plan.

Visioning

In the visioning exercise, the objective is to lend clarity and comprehension to the business idea under consideration. It often leads to discovery of potential bottlenecks as well as better ideas and inputs.

The idea behind conducting a SWOT analysis is to identify the existing strengths and weaknesses in the light of the business vision for formulating effective planning and strategies later on.

Business Strategy

Ecommerce business need to function and move ahead as one organized unit. In this module, our experts shall define the internal organisation structure of the proposed business entity. We will also map the scope of work and functioning of the external stakeholders (i.e. agencies, consultants, vendors, suppliers, etc.).

IT system strategy shall also be defined which shall cover the assessment of the IT and software requirements of the business spanning across various line and staff functions. The timeline for implementation of every software application shall also be done to ensure that business operations are initiated as per schedule.

Process Strategy shall be a part of business strategy wherein you will learn about how to make your startup business enterprise more process-driven and less people-dependent. You will uncover tools and strategies critical to achieve the same. The module will cover how business processes and operations are defined and how they can be improved and improvised in a planned and systematic manner.

Sales Strategy

Marketing begins with the idea of ecommerce business or a product/service itself. Everything that places a business enterprise in the right spot at the right time is mostly about marketing decisions and strategies. DFX experts shall work closely with your business and devise “Go-to-Market” and “Business Launch” marketing budgets and strategies so that your business starts off with the right note.

Your advertising and promotional efforts would be meaningless if you fail to generate the targeted sales levels, consistently and efficiently. Managing and controlling sales can cover a wide range of factors including data analysis, goal-setting, feedback and reporting, skill training, defining workflow, leaderships and monitoring, time management, incentives, etc. In this model, you will learn about formulating a robust sales operations strategy for your business.

Financial Strategy

It is important to let the ‘numbers’ validate your business model before taking a deep dive into it. In this section, DFX experts shall help you assess the financial requirements and commercial viability of your business project.

Good budgeting ensures that you are spending your investments and revenues judiciously. If you go spending unplanned, you are almost certain to deviate from your profitability goals. Budget allocation serves as a business’s expenditure roadmap. As a part of the business financial strategy, this module will cover the approaches and guidelines for effective budget allocation.

Action Plan

By determining the action plan, we arrive at the implementation plan with duration of the project. It maps the sequence of tasks that must be completed on time; otherwise the project will get delayed. In this module, you will learn to map the critical path that leads to the launch of your business on time. It will help you channelize your focus and efforts on priority basis and help you stay organized during the entire process.

Do’s & Don’ts are well-defined within implementation plan to avoid anticipated road-blocks during startup business setup