Resources

You can use the AgEI homepage to link with good entrepreneurship resources and view the entrepreneur videos.

Here are some public on-line sources that have information on agricultural markets and products as well as economic and demographic information.  

1.  The Regional Capacity Analysis Program (RECAP) compiles data from a number of different sources that can be used to construct demographic and economic profiles at the state and county level.

2. The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center is a website created through a Federal grant.  They have assembled a large data set related to value-added agriculture, markets, products and industries – plus some information on business development.

3. The Economic Research Service of the USDA maintains an excellent on-line source that they call “briefing rooms”.  The briefing rooms include articles, research papers and data sets organized by topic, commodity and country.

4. The Census has so much information is it almost overwhelming.  You should be able to use American FactFinder to locate demographic information as well as profiles of specific industries. 

5. The National Agricultural Statistical Service has census data for the agricultural and food sector.  The section with charts and maps is very helpful when you are trying to document trends or spatial changes in the industry.

6. You might also find Amber Waves or Choices to be of value in getting background information on specific topics.  Both of these are on-line publications written for the general public by industry analysts and agricultural economists.

7. Finally, don’t forget trade associations.  They often produce information on their industry or business.  Examples include the Renewable Fuels Association, The National Biodiesel Board,and the American Meat Association.

8. Library Indexes & Abstracts Links (Jeff Kushkowski, Parks Library)

  • ABI/Inform (ProQuest) has been a premier source of business information for more than 30 years. The database contains content from 1000+ journals that help researchers track business conditions, trends, management techniques, corporate strategies, and industry-specific topics worldwide.
  • The AGRICOLA database, produced by the National Agricultural Library (NAL), provides access to more than 3,300,000 citations in the agricultural literature including agricultural economics, animal culture and welfare, biotechnology, human ecology, soil science, and veterinary medicine.
  • Business and Company ASAP contains citations and many full-text articles on companies, products, markets, industries, economics, and management disciplines.
  • The Biological and Agricultural Index, (BIAG), produced by the H. W. Wilson Company, provides access to more than 490,000 citations in the agricultural and biological literature and related subjects such as ecology, food science, nutrition, and veterinary medicine.
  • The Marketline Business Information Center offers a comprehensive collection of reports, rankings and news, covering all of the major vertical industries and many more niche markets.

Poster Template

Links to Video Examples of Elevator Pitches

Links to Entrepreneurship Organizations

Kauffman Foundation

Small Business Adminstration