Business planning can be a long and tedious process, but it doesn’t have to be. The process can be much more rewarding if you take time to focus your thoughts and ideas.

We’ve put together a guide just for you. Here are 7 steps to starting an Agricultural Business in the Great State of South Carolina.

Business agreements can be complicated, but they don’t have to be. This workbook will walk you through the business agreement process step-by-step at your own pace.

Often, farm transfer decisions can be complicated, but they don’t have to be. This workbook takes you through the farm transfer process step-by-step at your own pace.

Whether you’re transferring ownership of business assets, transferring management decision making or transferring control of business assets, this workbook takes you through the farm transfer process step-by-step at your own pace.

Farm retirement decisions can be complicated, but they don’t have to be. This workbook takes you through some options, step-by-step, at your own pace, or with the help of a trained business consultant.

Estate planning is planning for what happens if somebody dies. The estate plan is not for the benefit of the deceased. Instead, it is for the benefit of those left behind. A well-planned estate can encourage family harmony and the continuation of the family business.

Focused on enabling new and beginning farmers to be successful, productive, and innovative members of their local agricultural community by providing them with the tools, knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in South Carolina.

Every year thousands of small business owners turn to the SC SBDC for private consulting, business training and access to other resources. Click below for some resources that may help.

ACRE is bringing South Carolina’s premier researchers together to assist in developing cutting edge, new technologies for the food, feed and agribusiness world.

A business cannot succeed without a plan! This workbook will help you understand and develop the key elements of your business strategy.

The cooperative structure is an established community entity with solid roots in agriculture. As cooperative members, producers can better negotiate and agree on a price for their product, giving them more leverage with buyers.

As the local foods movement has gained momentum, local food cooperatives have become increasingly vital to linking farmers to the local supply chain. The value chain for a cooperative consists of many layers between the producer and final consumer.

Cooperatives can help farmers succeed by uniting members, providing scale, coordination, and improved marketing. The cooperative structure is an established community entity with strong roots in agriculture.

A helpful collection of Presentations, Publications and Technical Assistance Resources about Cooperative Development in the Ag-Business.

This workbook focuses on Local Retail/Wholesale Meat Marketing , Local Meat Processing – Challenges and Opportunities, Opportunity for a Regional Cooperative or Collaboratively-owned, Cooperatives vs. Other Business Ownership Models and Grants and Other Financial Assistance Options.

Before engaging with any grant writers or consultants, there are a couple of preliminary steps to help you determine if you are ready to pursue a grant opportunity. Remember, the grant should be the tool to help you accomplish your goals, not the end goal.

The Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant Program provides grants to food processors, distributors, farmers markets, and producers to respond to coronavirus, including for measures to protect workers against COVID-19.

The Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program helps agricultural producers enter value-added activities to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and increase producer income.

Grant and matching funds can be used for planning activities or for working capital expenses related to producing and marketing a value-added agricultural product.