VALUE ADDED ACTIVITIES

Value-added activities entail adding something new or different to your business activity that increases your revenue stream.  In agriculture, it could involve modifying an agricultural product into something new through a change in your production, such as packaging, processing, cooling, drying, extracting or any other type of process that changes the product from the original raw commodity.  It also could mean adding a complementary process  like bee hives and local honey sales attached to a vegetable prduction operation dependent on pollination, or adding a farm stand or community supported agriculture subscription box.  

Other examples of value added agricultural products include garlic braids, local jams, artisan bread, or lavender soaps. Adding value to an existing agricultural operation is a useful business consideration if it generates higher returns, new markets or a longer marketing season. Increasingly in the "go-local" movement, value-added products allow agriculture producers to take advantage of high-demand product niches.  Sometimes, the value added activity extends into the bew fieds, as with Ag Tourism or Eco Tourism