value-added

Our Agricultural & Resource Law Program team is excited to be part of the new Northeast Ohio Ag Innovation Center (NEO-AIC), a center that targets farm-based value-added businesses in Northeast Ohio. Based at OSU's campus in Wooster, Ohio, the center offers individual assessment and assistance to farmers in the Northeast region of the state who want to add or expand their production of value-added food, fiber, or fuel products.  Ohio State's center is the newest of the USDA-funded Ag Innovation Centers, which includes seven other centers in Massachusetts, New York, Minnesota, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri and Indiana.

The center will focus on "value-added agriculture," which refers to enhancing an agricultural product by altering its physical state, production method, or marketing approach, ultimately broadening the customer base for the product. Examples include:

• Making a physical change, like milling wheat into flour or making strawberries into jam, that transforms the original product into something new.

• Changing your production method, which includes growing organically, shifts how the product is produced and makes it more appealing to a specific market.

• Adding marketing labels like “locally grown” or “Ohio Proud” which enhance their appeal by emphasizing local origins and can attract new customers. *

The NEO-AIC team will work with clients to assess and assist with their specific needs for developing or expanding value-added production.  The team will also coordinate connections with processors, markets, and distribution outlets throughout the region and identify new products and opportunities for farms. As the legal member of the team, I'll provide resources to help clients understand the laws and regulations that apply to their value-added production and their businesses.  Specific services the team will provide include:

• Technical assistance:  Help with legal and food safety questions and making connections to local service providers.
• Value chain coordination:  Help finding markets and distribution outlets for value-added products and strategic identification of new customer demands that can be filled by local farms.  
• Business development support:  Help with developing the plans necessary to start or expand a business, including legal and regulatory requirements, financing options, and connections to resources.

Thanks to the hard work and foresight of Dr. Shoshanah Inwood, OSU secured financial support for the new center from USDA Rural Development.  With additional assistance from Ohio State University Extension and The Ohio State University College of Food Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, NEO-AIC is able to offer its services free of charge to Northeast Ohio farms. 

Visit this link to learn more about the NEO-AIC.