Farmers Group
Executive Summary
Problem & Solution
Problem Worth Solving
People want and need vegetables and related food with good taste and high nutritional quality. Our national diet is a disgrace. We have a huge problem of obesity.
Our Solution
We use present and future agricultural technology to produce organic, tasty, and nutritional vegetables. We start with an existing farm that has custom-innovated equipment. To that we add horticultural technology in the production of strawberries will allow double utilization of the climate controlled portion of the overhead.
Target Market
Competition
Current Alternatives
Alabama is one of the premier farming areas of the eastern United States. This creates an intensely competitive environment with a large number of industry participants. Since almost all of the produce is considered to be commodities, and large scale buyers are more consolidated than the farmers themselves, overall margins are small and rivalries for wholesaler contracts are strong. Competitive threats come from three main segments:
- Imported vegetables of lower quality.>
- Mississippi pound raised vegetables.
- Alabama vegetable producers.
Direct competition in the individual buyers market segment comes from three farms in the immediate area including the Anniston farm, Organics-To-You farm, and the Terrance Livingston vegetable farm. Each of these competitors has produce stands as well as selling to local farmers’ markets. However, with the exception of Organics-To-You Farm, none of the others focus on a niche market and depend heavily on federal subsidies.
Our Advantages
The Farmers Group strategy is to profitably and efficiently utilize present and future agricultural technology in the production of vegetables. The company, by acquiring an existing profitable vegetable farm with all the necessary custom-innovated equipment, will gain a significant industry advantage. Additional application and utilization of horticultural technology in the production of strawberries will allow double utilization of the climate controled portion of the overhead. Farmers Group hopes to consolidate considerable goodwill already created by exercising the option of not adding another high-production facility to the present supply-demand scenario.
The company’s goals in the first year are to:
- Prepare the future site.
- Relocate and expand Green Acres vegetable system and get it operational.
- Integrate greens culture into the system.
- Have the composting system in full production by early spring of the second year.
The company’s long-term plan is to phase out whichever products are least lucrative and replace them with products that are practical and cost efficient.
