Value Added

“Value-added agriculture” is a broad term encompassing many practices that increase the value of farm products.

Defining Value-added

According to the USDA definition, value-added agricultural products are characterized by one or more of the following criteria: a change in the physical state or form of the product; the production of a product in a manner that enhances its value, as demonstrated through a business plan; the physical segregation of a commodity or product in a manner that results in the enhancement of the value of that commodity.

Understanding the Value Chain

Wine is an example of a value-added product

Another way of defining value-added crop production is to simply state that adding value is the “process of changing or transforming a product from its original state to a more valuable state.” The term used to describe the movement of crops or other products from an original to a more valuable state is “value chain.” A value chain is a way of thinking about how a crop begins a value transformation after it leaves its place of production. There are four major ways that value is added to crops along the value chain: product transformation, distribution, storage, and added service.

Resources

The FSIC offers numerous services to value added producers including, Consumer, Sensory and Demand Studies, Food Chemistry Testing, Nutritional Labeling, Microbiological testing as well as other Analytical services.