The Business, Agriculture, and Rural Development Technical Assistance Training Program at the University of Maine Maine School of Business received a $292,000 award from the Small Business Administration.
The BARD program was founded by Stephanie Welker, Professor of Business Administration at Maine Business School, and Erin Percival Carter, Assistant Professor of Marketing, to bridge the gap between modern business education and agriculture in the region.
The program begins by recruiting students interested in business and sustainable agriculture through a competitive application process, equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to begin a career working with agricultural producers and processors. Provide training to students to develop. Students will focus on working directly with small, sustainable agribusinesses to provide sector-tailored business consulting services, including data management, pricing, financial and strategic forecasting, and market segmentation. Complete a semester-long training and research program. Product development, market intelligence, consumer research.
The first round of the BARD program, completed in 2020, partnered with the Maine Cheese Guild and Maine Farmland Trust to work directly with Maine’s artisan cheese industry.
“Despite the fact that COVID hit midway through the semester, the results were absolutely incredible,” says Percival Carter. “These students, working closely with their farmer clients and with the incredible assistance of their industry advisors, developed and presented a full analysis and proposal at the end of the semester. The need for such advice exists in many of Maine’s agricultural industries, and students crave the opportunity to do something concrete and meaningful.”
This year’s program will focus on the textile industry, including wool, alpaca, linen, hemp, and other plant- and animal-based fibers, as well as state and local textile producers and value-added processors. Maine’s textile producers and processors recognize the general market and interest in their products, but how they manage production, how they price their products to ensure profitability, and how consumers suffers from a lack of information and guidance on how to place products that effectively differentiate them in their minds.
The BARD program connects enthusiastic students with textile farmers, mills, dyehouses, retailers, designers, artists, and experts in climate sustainability, business and sustainable agriculture to help Maine’s textile industry grow. Sustainable textile production.
SBA’s funding will help the BARD program expand and expand its process to develop a sustainable pipeline of agricultural service providers across the state. This requires the education and experience necessary to effectively support the agricultural sector and provide quality business advisory services, especially for agricultural producers, to promote rural development. They operate on a small scale or are focused on producing more niche products.
“I know farming has a romantic side to it that attracts students, but as the semester progresses, I’ve learned not only about the less romantic aspects, but also about helping people manage the complexities of doing business in an incredibly challenging industry. We begin to recognize the critical need for,” says Percival Carter.
“I hope that at the end of the experience, more students will consider future career opportunities in agriculture, especially in Maine. We know they have this experience of using things to reinforce what really matters,” she said.
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