We’re here to help you
Our Missouri Agriculture, Food and Forestry Innovation Center (MAFFIC) counselors offer a full spectrum of services to Missouri value-added producers. The list below highlights the services available upon request.
To sign up for one-on-one business counseling services, complete the online request form. In the form, choose the services that meet your needs. Then, MAFFIC will pair you with a counselor who will schedule a time to work with you.
Funding from USDA Rural Development’s Agriculture Innovation Center grant program and the University of Missouri allows MAFFIC to offer its services at no charge to Missouri value-added producers.
Request form for Technical Assistance
Business planning and start-up
Chart a roadmap
Our business planning and start-up services will help you chart a roadmap for organizing your value-added concept into a viable business. You may request MAFFIC counselors to work with you on activities such as the following:
- Assess business readiness.
- Choose an appropriate business structure.
- Learn how to comply with local, state and federal regulations.
- Provide grant preparation support.
- Develop a feasibility study.
- Write a business plan.
- Determine pathways to optimize business profitability.
- Identify funding and financing opportunities.
Product and process development
Convert your idea into a product
When you request process and product development assistance, you’ll collaborate with a MAFFIC counselor to convert your value-added idea into a product using safe and appropriate methods. Our counseling services will help you with tasks such as these:
- Identify potential in-demand products.
- Conduct product concept testing.
- Create scale production assessments.
- Complete process validation.
- Provide food safety assistance.
- Prepare for HACCP and GAP certification.
- Run microbial risk assessments, including microbial analysis.
- Complete water activity and pH testing.
- Complete process authority review.
- Develop nutrition fact labeling.
Financial analysis
Crunch the numbers
We at MAFFIC want Missouri producers to succeed financially when they operate value-added businesses. By requesting financial analysis services, a MAFFIC counselor will help you crunch the numbers to create financial statements you can show to lenders and investors and analyze financial performance. Our financial analysis services include the following:
- Study cost of production scenarios.
- Develop financial statements.
- Analyze financial performance and benchmarks.
- Customize enterprise budgets.
Marketing
Develop a strategy
To market a value-added agricultural product, a producer needs a strategy. Our MAFFIC counselors will partner with you to think through marketing considerations — product, price, placement and promotion. In particular, you can request counseling services to accomplish marketing activities that help you accomplish activities such as the following:
- Study consumer demand preferences.
- Explore scale-appropriate marketing and sales opportunities.
- Evaluate packaging and labeling needs.
- Price products competitively.
Referral assistance
Get connected
If you have a business development question that our MAFFIC counselors can’t answer, then we’ll connect with other resources and professionals who can help. Our counselors can recommend the following types of professionals to provide further support to your business:
- Accountants
- Attorneys
- Buyers
- Co-packers
- Distributors
- Engineers
- Industry consultants