Entrepreneurship on the Farm: Kentucky Grower Perceptions of Benefits and Barriers

Abstract

The popularity of buying local and the resurgence of farmers markets has increased the need for farmer product diversification. In Kentucky, legislation was passed to allow farmers to produce value-added horticulture products from their homes. Following specific food-safe guidelines, homebased processors (HBP) and microprocessors (HBM) could sell pre-determined value-added products at their local farmers markets. This study administered an online survey to HBP and HBM participants in order to achieve the following objectives: 1) Determine the perceived success of farmer produced value-added food products, 2) Identify which support programs farmers are aware of or use, 3) Discover the primary perceived barriers to developing value-added food products, and 4) Ascertain what factors influence the development of a value-added food product business. Participants felt their value-added products were successful but many felt they struggled to bring their products to market. The primary barriers to developing value-added products were lack of time, funding, and legal knowledge. The primary barriers to using pre-existing program resources were not having enough time, being unaware of the services offered, and programs being held in locations too far away from their farm. The information gathered by this study can be used to determine the addressable farmer needs in product diversification. It can also assist programs in making their services more available and applicable to farm entrepreneurs.