About two years ago, Giles County Extension Leader James Dennis Taylor asked one of his farmers, "How are things going?"

Ed Rollins, poultry and beef farmer and agri-entrepreneur, replied that he was considering bagging his poultry-waste compost and selling it.

Taylor asked about his product stability, packaging and marketing, and Rollins said he could use help in those areas. Taylor mentioned Extension's new Agricultural Development center (ADC), and Rollins quickly submitted an application to the ADC for assistance with his value-added farm product.

Specialists from the ADC made an on-site visit with the Rollins family and studied the compost facility and procedures. They discussed the volume of the product that could be produced and the compost product attributes.

Then ADC specialists worked on developing a "market-preferred" package and determining all regulations and requirements for developing the product. They conducted a customer survey for package preferences, they investigated organic regulations; they analyzed the composting procedure to minimize orders; they obtained certification for use in organic production.

Today Ed Rollins' R-GROW organic soil conditioner sells in more than 35 farm, garden and landscaping stores in 30 counties. Packaged in an attractive 22-pound bag, R_GROW prominently displays the "Pick Tennessee Products" logo. According to Rollins, the product "exemplifies the ultimate example of a value-added product for it takes farm waste and turns it into a $300 per ton revenue-generating enterprise."

Since its opening in the spring of 1998, the ADC has evaluated 33 producer-initated projects. ADC analyses for 15 of these projects indicated the potential for generating more than #3.1 million in annual gross revenue from the development of value-added products.

About half of the evaluated projects have a value-added product available on the market, and eight have made major enhancements as a result of the ADC. These eight projects were positioned to generate in excess of $500,000 in 1999.

Examples of value-added agricultural products and services that the ADC has assisted in developing include SLAWSA, Honey Jelly, Sweetwater Valley Cheese, Jones Orchard Products, Hillcrest Orchard's Apple Butter, Merritt-Pop Popcorn, Grainger County Salsa, Old Mill Pumpkin Patch and Williams Creek Resort. These products are leading the way for a growing value-added agricultural industry in Tennessee.