The Knoxville Entrepreneur Center with the Center for Profitable Agriculture, AgLaunch Engine, and others is hosting a virtual training for farmers in the East Tennessee Development District who want to increase farm income through expanding into or improving their current value-added enterprise. The East Tennessee Development District includes Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hamblen, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Monroe, Morgan, Roane, Scott, Sevier and Union counties. Producers in these counties are invited to apply for the opportunity to participate in this training.

Topics to be addressed in the training include:
• Building a business model
• Marketing and branding for value-added products
• Financial planning and funding opportunities
• Regulation surrounding value-added production
• Developing a go-to-market strategy and pricing
• Value-added production and consumer packaged goods

The cost of the training is $50. Producers may apply for a scholarship to offset this fee. Space is limited to a cohort of approximately 10 producers. Sessions will be on Mondays and Thursdays, January 30 through March 2, from 5:30 to 7 pm Eastern. Monday sessions will be informational about specific topics and Thursday sessions will allow participants to ask questions about issues and challenges relative to those topics. Thursday sessions are optional.

Attending all five Monday sessions fulfills one Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP) educational requirement in the following Producer Diversification sectors: Value-Added, Fruit and Vegetable and Agritourism. For questions about TAEP program requirements, contact Grant Pulse with Tennessee Department of Agriculture at (615) 837-5347 or email grant.pulse@tn.gov.

Participants who plan to submit a USDA Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) application for more than $50,000 and who need to complete the business planning process before applying may request assistance (up to $500 per VAPG application) to pay a consultant to help with business planning.

Current and prospective value-added producers are encouraged to apply for the opportunity to attend as soon as possible at knoxec.com/what-we-do/small-town-entrepreneurship/valueag/. Questions? Contact Delaney Boyd with Knoxville Entrepreneur Center at delaney@knoxec.net.

This program is made possible thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Knoxville Entrepreneur Center provides equal opportunities in all programs and employment.