About CPA — Cooperative Efforts

The Center for Profitable Agriculture is pleased to have established cooperative efforts with other agencies and services throughout the state and the Southeast.

	Agribusiness Workshops
	Appalachian Spring Cooperative
	Clinch Powell Community Kitchens (CPCK)
	Delta Enterprise Network
	Developing Tennessee's Value – Added Industry
	Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program
	Kentucky Center for Cooperative Development (KCCD)
	Made in Tennessee
	Marketing Development for Value-Added Wood Products
	Marketplace for Ideas in Agriculture
	SERA-TF11
	Specialty Food Industry Survey
	Southern Rural Development Center
	Tennessee Department of Agriculture – Market Development
	Tennessee Land Stewardship Association
	Value-Added Pork Team

Below is a summary of some of our cooperative efforts.

Agribusiness Workshops: In cooperation with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, the CPA conducts agribusiness and entrepreneur workshops across the state. These workshops provide potential and existing entrepreneurs with an introduction to value-added marketing, financial and technical concepts, considerations and principles.

The Appalachian Spring Cooperative (ASC) is a member-owned association of family farmers and food & herbal product manufacturers utilizing the Clinch-Powell Community Kitchens to produce specialty foods and herbal products for commercial markets. Faculty of the CPA have participated in educational programs and market development activities to enhance the success of the ASC mission. The goals of the ASC include promoting the development of economically sustainable family farms and agricultural practices in the Southern Appalachian region, and providing the public with outstanding gourmet & specialty foods and organic herbal products made from locally-grown ingredients. The ASC Web site can be visited at http://www.apspringcoop.com/

The Clinch-Powell Community Kitchens (CPCK) is an inspected (FDA Standards) food product processing kitchen capable of producing 2000 jars per day of vegetable or fruit products for legal commercial sale. Faculty of the CPA have assisted with educational programs for farmers and entrepreneurs that use the inspected kitchen facilities for the preparation of commercial food products. Staff from the CPCK projects have also assisted in the development of educational programs spearheaded by the CPA. The CPCK is located in Upper East Tennessee and contains state-of-the-art equipment for preparing, cooking, filling, labeling, flash freezing and cooling of acid food products. Full-time staff on-site provide assistance with development of recipes and production processes for the most delicious and cost-effective food production. For more information on CPCK, the services offered, the rates, and photos of their kitchen, visit their Web site at http://www.clinchkitchens.org/

Delta Enterprise Network (DEN): A variety of programs and projects have been developed and are being developed between the CPA and the Delta Enterprise Network. The DEN is an evolving group of farmers, entrepreneurs and others interested in creating new business ventures and cooperatives in the Delta regions of seven states including Tennessee. For more information on the network, visit their Web site at http://deltanetwork.org/

Developing Tennessee's Value-Added Industry: The CPA has embarked on a series of regular meetings with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture for the purpose of regularly updating and planning the status and direction of Tennessee's value-added agriculture industry.To learn more about Tennessee products, visit the Web site at http://www.picktnproducts.state.tn.us/




During 1999 and 2000, as part of an 18-month cooperative Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, United States Department of Agriculture and The University of Tennessee Agricultural Development Center conducted case studies for four value-added agri-businesses in Tennessee and conducted specific market development studies for the industries these case studies represent. A documentation of the case study reports has been published as "Using Case Studies to Enhance Success: Analyzing and Developing Market Strategies for Tennessee's Value-Added Agriculture," and is available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. A published form of the market development studies will be available upon completion.

Kentucky Center for Cooperative Development (KCCP)The Center for Profitable Agriculture is working with the Kentucky Center for Cooperative Development to accelerate educational program efforts regarding cooperative business considerations.

Made In Tennessee: The Made In Tennessee retail store and gift basket company has agreed to cooperate with the Center as a real "test market" for qualifying products. It is expected that many of the Center's projects will involve some type of special-recipe, value-added food. Made In Tennessee has agreed to provide shelf space for products evaluated by the Center and provide information concerning market acceptance and buying trends. To learn more about this test-market effort, visit their Web site at http://www.angelfire.com/nb/abaskettoremember/tennessee.html

Market Development for Value-Added Wood Products: The CPA is currently working with Dr. Michael Best of Berea College and President of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Center (SMAC) to identify viable direct-to-consumer marketing channels for value-added wood products. This collaborative effort will focus on direct marketing of hardwood products to hobbyist woodworkers, craftsmen, artisans, small-home builders and other markets. The CPA will work in conjunction with Dr. Best and SMAC to investigate direct-marketing opportunities for hardwood products.

The second annual "Marketplace for Ideas in Agriculture" will be held on the U.T. Martin campus on January 2 - 3, 2003 and will showcase a variety of trade and educational exhibits as well as numerous educational and panel-discussion sessions pertaining to value-added and alternative agriculture. The "Marketplace" mission is "An agriculturally diversified conference to provide rural/farm families with potentially profitable ideas to produce, market and use agricultural resources and products wisely, to assist in supplementing income." The CPA is pleased to be involved in the planning of this premier event and we look forward to assisting with the ongoing educational program that the Marketplace concept provides.

SERA-TF11: The Extension and Experiment Station directors established a task force (SERA-TF11) to link all of the value-added or development centers in the southern region by Internet. The search engine is managed by Mississippi State University. This link promotes cooperation and sharing of resources among the participating universities in their efforts to assist agricultural businesses. Future efforts will be directed toward identifying an area of need for the entire region and seeking funds that would address that specific need. Visit http://msucares.com for more information.

Specialty Food Industry Survey: The CPA is cooperating with Dr. Carol Costello and Dr. Ann Fairhurst of the College of Human Ecology, Division of Hotel and Restaurant Administrations and Retail and Consumer Sciences, in a survey to measure the impact of Tennessee specialty food producers on the state's economy. This study will also identify where these producers are selling their products. The second stage of this research is designed to measure the buying habits and preferences of tourists. The results of this study will provide very useful information for entrepreneurs who are considering marketing value-added agriculture products to tourists. To learn more, visit the Web site at http://picktnproducts.org/ptp/index.html

The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC): The CPA is involved with The Southern Rural Development Center in exploring e-commerce and its impact on rural southerners. The Southern Rural Development Center is exploring the possibility of developing an e-commerce curriculum to educate businesses, consumers and local governing bodies. The curriculum plans to address the role of e-commerce on rural businesses, local governments and residents. To learn more about SRDC's efforts, visit their Web site at http://ext.msstate.edu/srdc/

Tennessee Department of Agriculture – Market Development
The CPA is pleased to cooperate with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) on a variety of projects. Through a written Memorandum of Agreement, the Center has a formal agreement with the Division of Market Development outlining our cooperative efforts in market development, market research, the development of value-added agriculture in Tennessee, and the Pick Tennessee Products program. The Center has a strong working relationship with TDA marketing specialists and develops numerous team-teaching and service-oriented programs on an on-going basis. The TDA Web site can be visited at http://www.picktnproducts.org/

Tennessee Land Stewardship Association: The CPA has enjoyed building relations with the Tennessee Land Stewardship Association. The TLSA is a private organization that provides certification for "organic" farmers and processors in the southeast. Many value-added opportunities exist through organic and sustainable products and practices and the CPA is proud to cooperate with the efforts and programs of the TLSA.

Value-Added Pork Team: The ADC is working with Glenn Conatser and Tennessee pork producers to estimate the Hispanic market potential for fresh pork. The pork team is currently identifying Hispanic food markets across the state and is developing an in-depth questionnaire to determine how many markets are currently selling fresh pork, Hispanic markets preferences for meat cuts, and their likelihood of purchasing fresh Tennessee pork. The project is scheduled to be implemented in May of 2000.