Food Security for Arizona and the Free Trade Area of the Americas Region - Business Plan Example

Arizona Hydroponics Farm Business Plan Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Objectives 5 Mission 5 Keys to Success 6 Company Description 6 Personnel 7 Products 10 i.Vegetables 11 ii.Research and Development 11 iii.Future product plans 11 International Market Analysis 12 i.Global Hydroponic and Vegetable Industry 12 ii.Competitors 13 iii.Customers 15 iv.Suppliers 16 Marketing Strategy 16 a.Advertising and promotion 17 b.Customers 18 c.Distribution of the products 19 d.Cost Analysis 19 Risk Factors and SWOT Analysis 20 Financial Plan 21 a.Start-up Funding 21 b.Projected Profit and Loss 22 c.Pro Forma Profit and Loss 24 Summary 25 Executive Summary Arizona Hydroponics Farm is particularly focused and will offer a trail of success and prosperity for the people in Arizona and the FTAA region. This farm is grounded on conservative sales figures and the actual sales figures are expected to be higher. The forecast contained in this plan are authentic and will be employed as the budget for the establishment of the agribusiness venture. Arizona Hydroponics Farm is anticipated to increase the production of long life tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and potatoes. Tomatoes will be grown on five greenhouses, 100 by 50 meters, and cucumbers on three greenhouses, beans on 4 greenhouses and potatoes on four greenhouses. Each of the greenhouses will accommodate five thousand plants. The farm is projected to yield 3.5 million kilograms of tomatoes, 2 million kilograms of cucumbers, 1.5 million kilograms of potatoes and one million kilograms of beans annually. These products will assist in increasing food security in the FTAA and Arizona region. The establishment of the Arizona Hydroponic Farm was to assist in reducing the commercialization of agricultural products. This venture is anticipated to offer employment to numerous people and increase the income of the people which has plummeted over the past few years. This company will be a combination of advanced, efficient and high quality food technology and production. Additionally, Arizona Hydroponic Farm is committed to enhancing the taste and quality of vegetables and the products produced and their nutritional value. These are some of the basics to attaining food security within the region. Arizona Hydroponic Farm is anticipated to increase the quantity and the supply of produce. Additionally, the company will offer education, expertise and research in hydroponic area. Although hydroponic is a new venture that has not been widely accepted and adopted across the FTAA region, the Arizona Hydroponic Farm is anticipated to encourage people to venture to it. This will be assisted by the farm’s consultant. The project will supply the vegetables and the beans to both the domestic and international market. Arizona Hydroponics Farm will be located in Arizona. The business will be privately owned with the owners living next to them to offer security, and allow for proper planning and supervision of the activities within the farm. The company will require a starting capital of $1, 350, 000. The owners’ family will offer labor to the farms for the first initial two months then after that the company will employ other workers. This implies that the owners will be present at the farm on daily basis. The five states that border Arizona are estimated to have a high demand for vegetables and beans. It is estimated that, for instance, Utah State has a population of six million people who are vegetarians. It is projected that after the start of operations, the products will be exported to the Free trade area region of America. The company is estimated to obtain a market share of 3% since there are numerous agribusiness ventures within the region. The company is anticipated to face rigid rivalry from the established corporations both within Arizona and the neighboring states. The numerous multinationals that will offer stiff competition to Arizona Hydroponics include DiGiorgio Corporation, Dole Fodd Company, Organically Grown Company and Wayne Farms. The marketing strategy and research outlined in this business plan will yield profits $2, 250,000 annually. However, it is projected that the business will make $1, 500, 000 in profits for the first year. Since the owner’s savings are not adequate to wholly fund the company, Arizona Hydroponics Farm will seek both short and long-term capital funding for the purchase of new farm land and equipment and cater for the development costs of the farm. The project is estimated to start operations within the first 7 months after the start of the construction of water tunnel. Objectives There are six primary objectives through which the success of Arizona Hydroponics Farm will be traced. These include: Establish an intensive farm that produces high quality products for both national and international market Sustain100% of customer base through consistent customer service Offer employment to at least 2% of the neighborhood population Attain sustainable profits by the second year of production Improve the standards of living of the people Improve and increase food security in the region. Mission Arizona Hydroponics Farm is a family owned company committed to offering the people with high quality agricultural products on the market. The company will offer its customers a direct personal experience. The company’s dedication towards the satisfaction of the needs of the customers assures them an outstanding experience. Additionally, the company is committed towards improving the food security status within Arizona and the FTAA region both directly and indirectly. Direct improvement will be seen through the provision of food to the population while indirect improvement will be observed through the provision of employment, incomes and improvement of the standards of living. However, Arizona Hydroponics Farm’s is a sustainable company whose mission can be identified as two-fold; To produce high quality, flavorful, nutritional vegetables and grains that will be consumed both locally and internationally within the FTAA region. Offer opportunities for leadership and an extremely industrious cooperation and collaboration for the local people to work on the farm. The people employed on the farm will be clustered into work groups, with each of the workers being paid inducements on production and performances in order to motivate them. This will be paid in addition to the basic standard salary. Keys to Success Arizona Hydroponics Farm will abide by five keys that will be instrumental in is success. These include; Efficient production that utilizes greenhouses A highly trained and qualified hydroponics consultant Constant research of the industry to be knowledgeable of the needs of the customers Constant analysis of the strengths and weaknesses within the environment and the company and necessary changes made as warranted An efficient management that will ensure timely delivery of products, customer service and management of budgets Company Description Arizona Hydroponics Farm is a cross-border agribusiness firm that is committed to offering its customers professional services and high quality agricultural products. Arizona Farm only provides the best high quality vegetable products in the industry. Because of the decreased levels of food security in the FTAA region, the company seeks to improve the people’s revenue and standards of living that will boost their food security. The company produces and offers products that are fresh and always available in the market. The company centers on ensuring that its clients are satisfied. The company will have a knowledgeable staff team that will assist in propelling the company to greater heights. Arizona Hydroponics will be a sole proprietorship venture that will develop a small farm to a highly industrious hydroponics project. Hydroponics refers to the growing of high-quality vegetables in high technologies and multi-span green houses. The products will be grown in 10 liter bags with a medium used to hold the plant root system. The plants will then be fed automatically and directly with nutrients through irrigation systems. The crops will be grown in the most appropriate conditions for growth, allowing the crops to produce their maximum fruit possible. This shows that the system will not use soil for plant growth and development. The farm will focus on the production of vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes and beans. Personnel For the first two months, Arizona Hydroponics Farm will consist of a management team of the owner and his wife, David and Helga Svala. David has a bachelor’s degree from Minnesota Business School in agribusiness management and trade. David has an extensive experience in agribusiness ventures and companies where he has worked as head operations manager and farm manager. It was during this period that he was exposed to many agribusiness and agricultural projects and developed an interest in agribusiness farm. He had been responsible for the success of numerous agribusiness and agricultural ventures within the Arizona region. On the other hand, Helga is a biologist and a horticulture specialist. She attained her master’s degree from the University of Oregon in plant biology. Her master level thesis touched on the effectiveness and potential of hydroponics in United States. In the thesis, she also sought to determine the correlation between the control of temperatures and nutrients in a greenhouse under hydroponics. She chose these topics as a motivation towards her future profession as a grower. Both David and Helga are expected to work 75 hours in a week for the first two months of the project. As the business expands and numerous marketing plans adopted, the project will increase its operations and more employees will be required. However, after the two months, the two owners will be supervising and monitoring the operations of the farm. After expansion of operations, the company will require an accountant, a consultant, growers, laborers. David will deal with the business operations of the company while Helga deals with the farming operations and sales. Personnel plan Title Responsibilities David (Owner) Responsible for the commercial processes of the farm such as finance, vendor relations, customer relations and marketing Helga (Owner) Responsible for the farming operations in the farm. She will be the head grower, where she will be responsible for monitoring, planning plant planting and growing, cutting schedules, fertilizer application, pest control and the irrigation system development, controlling temperature and the application and mixture of nutrients in the crop tunnels and the storage tank. Consultant Will be accountable for the maintenance and enhancement of the hydroponic equipment and facilities Accountant He or she will be accountable for keeping the books of accounts of the farm and advising the owners on costs and expenditure. Growers They will assist Helga with planting, and growing of the crops. Laborers These will be contracted to offer manual labor in pruning, harvesting, and collection of the produce. The table below illustrates the wages to be given to ach of the workers in the farm. Title First Two Months$ Year 1 $ Year 2 $ David 2,500 35,000 38, 000 Helga 2,500 35,000 38, 000 Consultant 15,000 18, 000 Accountant 12,000 15, 000 Growers 22, 000 23, 000 Laborers 30,000 42, 000 Total Employees 2 21 32 Total 169, 000 174, 000 Products Hydroponics is the act of producing vegetables and agricultural products in temperature moderated, advanced and high-tech, and multi-span tunnels. The structures to be used will be richelle multi-spans that will come together with automated temperature moderators and sensors, automated opening and closing vents and automatic temperature moderated fans that light up to reduce the temperature within the greenhouse. This method uses mineral nutrient solutions mixed in water and does not need to use soil as a medium. The plants are supported and their roots dipped into the solutions where they will obtain minerals directly from the solution. Soil will not be used in this form of farming because soil only plays the role of supporting the plant and is not in any other way essential for plant growth. In this farm, the crops will be grown in tunnels of continuous flow solution culture. In this method, the nutrients will slowly and controllably flow through the tunnels past the roots of the plants. This automated flow of the solution will allow the temperatures within the greenhouse be controlled from a central storage tanks that have the potential to serve more than four thousand plants each. In this system, a shallow stream of water will be circulated within the tunnels and will contain essential minerals and nutrients necessary for the growth of the crops. Additionally, the roots of the plants will also be supplied with adequate amounts of oxygen. This system will ensure that the crops are exposed to adequate supply of nutrients and oxygen. These will reduce any chances of excess or deficient supply of nutrient that may hamper plant growth. The flow rates of the water from the storage tanks will be one liter per minute. The flow rate will be monitored to avoid any nutritional issues that may trigger depressed growth of the crops. The advantages that Arizona Hydroponics Farm will gain from the use of this system include: Longer and faster growth of crops Reduced labor harvest by 60% Reduced harvest time that decreases the loss in weight gain and weight loss from shock Reduced waste of water as the water stays win the system and can be reused Controlled nutrition levels within the system High yields Reduced pest and diseases because of the lack of use of soil Healthier plants i. Vegetables Arizona Hydroponics Farm’s line of production will be potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber and beans. The farm will have sufficient ability to produce in excess of 4 million kilograms of vegetables annually. ii. Research and Development Arizona Hydroponics Farm will establish links with local and international corporations in order to obtain novel hybrid varieties of vegetables that grow faster in controlled temperatures. Additionally, it will partner with other high-tech corporations to boost its technological ability by seeking new and better production technologies. Furthermore, the farm will partner and seek contact with researchers and universities involved in the horticulture and greenhouse technologies. iii. Future product plans In the future, the company expects to venture into the production of flowers and animal feeds. Arizona Hydroponics believes that the two products are highly productive and profitable, which, if successful, would become the company’s future endeavor. The company will also consider the production of capsicum. Currently, there is a high demand for capsicum and the selling price of this commodity has been above average for the past one year. International Market Analysis In the present period of big-box food stores, where a small number of grocery stores dominate the purchase of vegetables, the establishment of open air markets has emerged from nowhere, offering consumers an opportunity to buy fresh farm products. Such open air markets include the retailers such as Veg Express and Veg. Arizona Hydroponics will, therefore, not only supply its vegetable products to grocery stores but also to the open air markets. With these inclinations, Arizona Hydroponics Farm will also focus on wholesale vegetables markets that sell fresh agricultural produce and export to adjacent states and international markets. i. Global Hydroponic and Vegetable Industry The hydroponic industry is still new in United States and the global market, in the context of the number of developed farms and research. One notable point about hydroponic industry is the fact that it is resilient to the global economic downturns. This is because its revenues have been on the rise for the past five years. This can be credited to the reliable high demand for organic and healthy products. This shows that hydroponics is quite different from the other industries in the agricultural sector. Hydroponic industry has also grown by 18% attributed to the extreme weather conditions that damaged fresh crops of farmers grown in open fields. As a result of the damage, grocery stores and other markets turned to the hydroponic industry to meet the high demand. The industry is expected to grow exponentially because of the high demand for organic products and local cuisines. The annual revenue in the industry is anticipated to grow by 10% from 2011 to 2015 because of the rising prices of vegetables. The primary consumers of hydroponic products are the aging and the health-conscious population that has heightened its concentration on healthy dietary. The hydroponic industry is married to the vegetable industry. In this case, one is reliant on the other. This is because the growth of one industry leads to the growth of the other. For instance, the world vegetable industry also experienced a growth because of health consciousness and led to the growth of the hydroponic industry. Health and social trends have greatly affected the vegetable industry. A huge percentage of the major players in the industry are American corporations that control a market share of almost 60%. Because of the control of the vegetable market by few large corporations, the industry leaves the small companies and farms bankrupt, making it impossible for start-up to join the industry. However, the industry is anticipated to grow at an annualized rate of 2.5% to 2017. However, it is essential to note that a company that wishes to export organic products within FTAA region will require organic certification. This certification ensures that the production process of the produce adheres to the set regional standards (Gibson 148-56). This project will sell its products to retail outlets and grocery stores because of their expected high quality. The Farm is also anticipated to supply its products all year round in order to survive. Most of the small agribusiness ventures had failed because they failed to provide a year round supply and, therefore, left the vegetable outlets disinterested in them. ii. Competitors Within the vegetable and farm supply industry, companies compete on quality, delivery, customer service and price. Customer service engrosses aspects such as the aptitude to produce a variety of quantities that can meet the needs of the customers. Despite the large number of established rival firms, Arizona Hydroponics Farm purposes to be one of the greatest hydroponics farms in Arizona and the FTAA region. Competition in the vegetable production industry is highly expected to be felt from the companies with a higher production capacity and large in size. The main competitors include Unifresh Produce Company, Folsom and Pine limited, Vanna Tropical, Dole Fodd Company, Organically Grown Company and Wayne Farms. Unifresh Produce Company is one of the oldest corporations in the vegetable production industry. This company sells its products both the American market and international market under the Unifresh. The company has a wide access to resources for growth and has a huge customer base. Additionally, the company has huge trucks of land which it uses to plant its assortment of vegetables. Additionally, it uses greenhouse technology where some of its vegetables are planted. The company also a wide range of management employees who are qualified and well trained. However, the company has not embraced hydroponics and thus hydroponics will give Arizona Hydroponics Farm a competitive edge over Unifresh Produce Company. On the other hand, Folsom and Pine limited produces and sells vegetable products from its farms. The business is famous for its quality services and products. Additionally, the corporation is known for its customer services. However, the company does not produce its products all year long. Arizona Hydroponics will maximize on this loophole and provide its services all year round. Vanna Tropical Company is one of the companies that have employed hydroponics in their production. However, their technologies are not as developed as Arizona’s. However, the company has small sized greenhouses that make it effective and efficient to manage the greenhouse and yield higher product volumes. Vanna Tropical was initially serving the American market but is now involved in exportation of vegetables to Europe and some parts of Asia and Africa. Conversely, the Dole Fodd Company is another rival company that produces exotic and indigenous vegetable varieties that have a high nutritional content in the market. The company is established and has a huge resource base. The company has extended its processes abroad and has subsidiary companies across continents. This makes the company one of the fiercest competitors within the industry. This company has advanced technologies and well trained staff. However, the company was once criticized for using GM seeds to plant its vegetables. Organically Grown Company is a company that grows vegetables using sustainable methods. The company has access to a wide resource base and well trained staff members that are significant to the progress of the company. The company commands a huge market share and is anticipated to intensify its reach in the next three years. However, Arizona Hydroponics Farm is anticipated to possess one of the most sought competitive edges in the vegetable and hydroponics industries. The company will have a unique hydroponic system that will be fully automated and will adapt the conditions of the greenhouses with changes in temperatures. This will offer an efficient production that uses greenhouses. This will make Arizona Hydroponics Farm the first company in the region to have such magnitude of technological advancement. iii. Customers Arizona Hydroponics Farm will target the health conscious group of consumers who include the elderly and the baby boomers generation. This will allow the company to serve their need for organic and healthy food. Additionally, the company will target the grocery stores and outlets who sell the vegetables to the population. These customers will be targeted through maintaining a complete line of fresh products which will be delivered on time and all year round. The company will also target women because they play a vivacious part in decision making on what to cook and eat in families. This is expected to boost the company’s sales. It is anticipated that targeting women will influence their decisions on what to consumer and from whom to buy the vegetables. Another category of customers is restaurants and hotels. Restaurants and hotels across the world have a high consumption rate of vegetables. This is because all meals have to be served with salads or have to be cooked with vegetables. This makes vegetables essential in the functioning of their operations. The last category of customers is educational institutions. Just like restaurants, institutions such as schools and police training camps require healthy meals that need to be prepared with vegetables and the beans produced. As a result, such institutions will be potential customers to our products both within Arizona and across nations. iv. Suppliers The primary supplies that Arizona Hydroponics will require are the crop seeds, farm equipment, mineral nutrients, gutters and pipes and a tank. The crop seeds will be obtained from the American Seed Company, farm equipment from John Deere Corporation and nutrients from American Hydroponics. Marketing Strategy Arizona Hydroponics Farm will formulate a marketing strategy that will create awareness and visibility of its products and their ability to produce high quality vegetable products. The strategy will rely on numerous communications. The communications that is anticipated to impact on the consumers greatly is publicity, followed by customer testimonial and recommendations from friends and relatives. Additionally, advertising is anticipated to yield good results. a. Advertising and promotion The company’s promotions and advertising will revolve around six key approaches, which include customer relations, press advertising, public relations, internet web site and event marketing. i. Public Relations Arizona Hydroponics Farm will make significant efforts to prepare and disseminate a continuous flow of information to the public through the press. The information passed to the press will be stories on the sustainable production processes at the greenhouses and the staff members who work to ensure that the public get the commodities (Gibson 160). ii. Customer Relations The company will keep a record of every sale transaction and contract. Information on the customer’s needs, previous purchase, contact details, and health consciousness will be obtained. By having information on the customers, the company will offer better quality products that will touch on every aspect of their needs (Gibson 161). The obtained data will be used to connect with the customers to establish their satisfaction levels with the company products and encourage them to recommend the company products to their friends, employers, companies and relatives. iii. Advertising Arizona Hydroponics Farm will undertake press advertising in order to communicate to customers and sustain its public relations activity. The company will undertake both audiovisual and print media advertising (Gibson 164). Audiovisual advertising will involve extensive advertising on radios and international television channels and broadcasts such as CNN and CNBC. The corporation will also engage print media such as newspapers, billboards, fliers and coupons. iv. Internet Web page Marketing The internet is a fast moving and effective marketing channel and has increased in significance over time. Arizona Hydroponics Farm will have a company website that will be used to offer customers and potential customers up-to-date information on the products offered, events, special sales and any other announcements to the public (Gibson 165). The website will also be used to sell the vegetable products from the farm. An e-store will be embedded on the website design, permitting customers to place orders on the vegetables they desire right on the website. This will allow fast and immediate processing of credit card orders. Additionally, the customers will still have an opportunity to pay by cash and check as well. b. Customers Arizona Hydroponics Farm will target the health conscious and elderly consumers. Additionally, the company will target the grocery stores and outlets that sell vegetables to the population. These customers will be targeted through maintaining a complete line of fresh products which will be delivered on time and all year round. The company will also target women because they play a vital role in decision making on what to cook and eat in families. This is expected to boost the company’s sales. It is anticipated that targeting women will influence their decisions on what to consumer and from whom to buy the vegetables. Another category of customers will be restaurants and hotels. Restaurants and hotels across the world have a high consumption rate of vegetables. The last category of customers is educational institutions. Just like restaurants, institutions such as schools and police training camps require healthy meals that need to be prepared with vegetables and the beans produced. c. Distribution of the products Arizona Hydroponics Farm will distribute its products through its vegetable trucks that will be distributed across the state and the FTAA region. The trucks will deliver the products to the restaurants, institutions, outlets and grocery stores. Special trucks will also be sued to deliver vegetables across cities to homesteads. The trucks will first be used in Arizona and the neighboring states. Once a customer places an order, the orders are packed and delivered to the customer. The company will provide phone numbers through which the customers can contact the company to know the state of their orders. After receiving orders, they will have to be processed and delivered to the client within an hour after request. d. Cost Analysis The total costs of operations are estimated to be $180, 000. This will include insurance, maintenance, labor, property tax, legal fees and advertising. It is, therefore, important that the company make $200, 000 from its produce in order to break even. The company is expected to succeed and offer handsome returns to its owners. The table below shows an estimate of the break-even point. Monthly Revenue Break-Even 200,000 Assumptions Average Percent Variable cost 11% Estimate Monthly Fixed Cost 180, 000 Margins are challenging to assume. Arizona Hydroponics Farm’s margin is anticipated to be 111.2% in the first year. It is projected to increase in the corresponding years. One kilogram of tomatoes will cost the customer $5, cucumber $4, potatoes $6 and beans $4. Risk Factors and SWOT Analysis This is an extremely significant part of this business plan. This is because it will assist in understanding and evaluating the company’s position and future direction. Some of the risk factors identified include political unrests in other foreign countries that may lead to economic sanctions on importers of United States farm produce. This will directly affect the exports of Arizona Hydroponics Farm to that country. The second risk factor is government policies that may adopt a Farm Bill that alter the payments to agricultural manufacturers and producers. However, the United States government does not support the liberalization of international trade. On the other hand, access to water is another risk factor. The shortage of water has been attributed to the increasing cropping of cities near farms. Additionally, most biotechnological breakthroughs are patented and this will make it impossible for the company to access adequate information and technology for its future growth. On the other hand, a SWOT analysis will reveal the company’s expected strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths include access to biotechnological and agribusiness information and techniques through the owners who have specialised in the fields, availability of labour from the neighbouring communities, low cost of production, strongly motivated owners, and the availability to extensive market both in Arizona and across border . The weaknesses include high costs involved in starting up the venture, lack of adequate finances required for the growth and expansion of the company and delay or shortage of farm supplies. The opportunities include government support through favourable government policies, new affordable technologies, and availability of land or expansion (Gibson 176). Finally, the threats include increasing rise of GMOs, market threat due to food miles, threat of global recession, and patent right problems. Financial Plan Arizona Hydroponics requires $1, 350, 000 in capital to start. With initial owner savings, construction of hydroponics facilities can begin. However, this will come after land has been purchased. a. Start-up Funding Arizona Hydroponics Farm requires funding in order to start up. The owners will provide their savings, and are looking for a long-term fund that will use the venture as its collateral. START-UP FUNDING Start-up Expense to Fund 250, 000 Start-up Assets to Fund 1,050, 000 Total Funding Required 1,350, 000 Assets Non-cash Assets from start-up 950, 000 Cash Requirements from Start-up 100, 000 Total Assets 1, 050, 000 b. Projected Profit and Loss The charts illustrate the company’s projected profits and loss statement. Monthly profits Yearly Profits c. Pro Forma Profit and Loss Year 1 ($) Year 2($) Year 3($) Year 4($) Sales 5,400,000 8,255,000 11,630,000 12,690,000 Direct Cost of Sales 2,170,000 2,583,500 2,267,000 3,293,000 Other Costs of Sales 0 0 0 0 Total Cost of Sales 2,170,000 2,583,500 2,267,000 3,293,000 Gross Margin 3,230,000 5,671,500 7,363,000 8,397,000 Gross Margin % 53.24% 62.39% 70.33% 80.41% Expenses Payroll 169,000 174,000 174,000 174,000 Marketing/Promotion 10,000 10,500 11,025 11,907 Depreciation 66,660 66,700 66,700 66,700 Fuel 10,000 15,000 11,250 15,726 maintenance 10,000 11,000 12,050 13,153 Other 9,000 9,000 8,000 8,000 Total Operating Expenses 274,660 286,200 283,025 289,486 Profit Before Interest and Taxes 2,955,340 5,385,300 7,079,975 8,107,514 Interest Expense 159,750 163,000 150,500 113,000 Taxes Incurred 68,077 73,810 68,922 73,278 Net Profit 2,727,513 5,148,490 6,860,553 7,921,236 Net Profit/Sales 50.53% 62.4% 58.99% 62.4% Summary Arizona Hydroponics Farm is a company that will offer high quality vegetable products to the people in Arizona and the FTAA region. The primary products to be grown will be tomatoes, cucumbers, beans and potatoes. Tomatoes will be grown on five greenhouses, 100 by 50 meters, and cucumbers on three greenhouses, beans on 4 greenhouses and potatoes on four greenhouses. Arizona Hydroponics Farm will be located in Arizona and will be privately owned. The company will require a starting capital of $1, 350, 000. The company is expected to face stiff competition from DiGiorgio Corporation, Dole Fodd Company, Organically Grown Company and Wayne Farms. The marketing strategy and research outlined in this business plan will yield profits $5,250, 000 annually. However, it is estimated that the company will make $2, 700, 000 in profits for the first year. Since the owner’s savings are not adequate to wholly fund the company, Arizona Hydroponics Farm will seek both short and long-term capital funding for the purchase of new farm land and equipment and cater for the development costs of the farm. Works Cited Gibson, Jerry D. Agribusiness: Management, Marketing, Human Resource Development, Communication, and Technology. Danville, Ill: Interstate Publishers, 2001. Print. Read More