Initiative 1
When you’re trying something new, it helps to be able to speak to someone who has done it before. That, in a nutshell, is the idea behind two networks linking rural businesses having the shared objective of building viable agriculture- and food-related enterprises.
Established and nurtured with Agricultural Policy Framework funding, the Learn Agri-Food Network based in the Peace Region and the Country Roads Network centred in Camrose have become popular with dozens of growing businesses.
“We think of these groups as the Chamber of Commerce for rural entrepreneurs,” says Goad. “Learn Agri-Food and Country Roads use a number of strategies, such as meetings, extension activities and media promotion to link their members with services and information on production, marketing and many other issues.”
The networks typically hold two-hour meetings up to five times per year. Elaine Stenbraaten, an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development New Venture Business Specialist in Fairview has taken part in a number of gatherings of the Learn Agri-Food network in the Peace Region. She has noticed that once a member introduces a topic of concern, the rest quickly recognize common ground and begin to discuss the best approach to deal with it.
“Some people have specialized knowledge that others can benefit from,” says Stenbraaten. “Someone might ask, for example, how to price a product. Someone else might want to know the best way to design a retail sign. There are often questions about packaging. When you're working alone, these kinds of logistical issues can be a real barrier to success and the meetings help people get past them.”
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While the two networks have much in common, there are also differences between them, partly determined by market proximity. Members of the Camrose group do most of their selling in the greater Edmonton area. The Peace Region group, having a smaller local market, tends to sell throughout a wider swath of territory. In some cases from the Peace Region to as far south as Calgary.
Stenbraaten is often impressed by the willingness of rural entrepreneurs to share what they know. At one meeting, a member asked how to determine the nutritional composition of a food product, vital information that’s seen on every food label. It turns out another member had recently purchased a nutritional analysis software program. This meant others in the group could take advantage of the member’s research and product evaluation before purchasing their own program.
The networks also help people build their own team of advisors, with bookkeeping services, lawyers and insurance brokers being frequently recommended from member to member.
If you’re marketing farm-made jam, and someone down the road is marketing farm-packaged honey, aren’t the two of you competitors? Wouldn’t it be wiser to hoard your hard-won knowledge, rather than giving the other guy a leg up?
Cindy Cuthbert, Grande Prairie-based Project Coordinator with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, reports that network members don’t see it that way. They’ve generously taken the view that, by openly sharing important information, everyone ultimately comes out ahead.
“One of the benefits of both networks is the connection that these rural agri-preneurs make with each other, not as business partners, but as allies who support each other,” says Cuthbert. |