Value-added Agriculture Products, then Biomass & Forestry Products in Tennessee

Value-added Agriculture Products Business Workshop
May 7th 9:30-12:00 Tennessee Career Center
130 Progress Center Plaza Centerville
(email vision21@hickmanco.com to register)
How to start and how to grow a business that adds value to agriculture products. Canning fruit preserves, processing timber products, making wine, creating decorative items from flowers, curing hams.... anything that adds value to something agricultural, food or fiber.

Representatives from the following are scheduled to provide information:

• Center for Profitable Agriculture
• UT Extension
• Tennessee Department of Agriculture
• Tennessee Farm Bureau
• USDA Rural Development
• Tennessee Economic & Community Development BERO
• South Central Tennessee Development District
• Hickman County Economic & Community Development Association

Biomass & Forestry Products in Tennessee
May 15th 6:00p.m. MLEC Conference Room Centerville

What Bio-fuels could mean to Hickman County. Dr. Adam Taylor Universtity of Tennessee Forest Products Extension Specialist will be the main speaker. Call 729.2404 to register.

East Hickman Chamber of Commerce

With the East Hickman (Lyles, Bon Aqua, Wrigley) area's fast commercial growth, an interest in a chamber of commerce group focused on that area has initiated meetings to explore the possibility of organizing. An active chamber of commerce chapter could focus on improving the business environment in that area of Hickman County. The next meeting will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday April 22nd at Kay's Restaurant on Highway 46.

Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course

The Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course will be held on May 12-16 in Nashville. This is accredited by IEDC and substitutes for the IEDC Introduction to Economic Development for those looking for a professional development opportunity. For more information, go to http://tnecd.gov/whatsnew.htm#tbedc .

Value-added Agriculture Entrepreneur Workshop

We are planning a free informational workshop for those with a value-added agriculture product business and for those thinking about starting one. Value-added agriculture products are any agricultural products that are processed somehow and sold. Some of the topics covered are financing options, available assistance, and legal requirements. It will be held May 7th at our office from 9:30 to about 11:30 with lunch to follow. Organized by UT Extension, Center for Profitable Agriculture, HCECDA, the workshop is available to anyone in the Middle Tennessee area. Please let us know if you plan to attend.

A Fertile Place to Grow Your Business

An example of Hickman County being a fertile place to grow:

MPS Trucklines
Nashville duo buys $7M trucking co.

Source: Nashville Business Journal April 4th by Jim Stinson

A $7 million trucking business has been sold to two Nashville-area businessmen and their silent partner.

The 40-employee company, MPS Truck Lines, delivers perishable foods to Murfreesboro, Nashville, the Southeast and Midwest.

The buyers are Chris Huskey of Brentwood and Mike Buttarazzi of Nashville. Huskey and Buttarazzi have a silent partner, attorney Mike Keeney of Memphis. The price was not disclosed.

MPS was created by Bruce Magoon, a Centerville farmer and retired Air Force pilot. Four years ago, he assembled 25 refrigerated trucks and began delivery of perishable foods.

"It was time to transition to someone who knew this industry well," says Magoon, who flew combat missions in the Persian Gulf.

For the complete article, read Nashville Business Journal

If you would like to discuss if Centerville, Bon Aqua, or Hickman County could be a place for your business, email me at vision21@hickmanco.com .

'Better' of both worlds...

With a 7.1% unemployment rate and 60% of the labor force fighting the commute to places like downtown Nashville, Hickman County, TN has a labor force with the rural work ethic that can be readily accessed. And, if you need professional personnel that tend to prefer to live and play in an urban environment, it doesn't take much more time for them to take the less than an hour scenic drive to Hickman County than it does to fight the rush hour traffic into downtown Nashville.

In addition, Hickman County is one of only 2 counties in the Nashville/Davidson County Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) that are eligible for the highest level of incentives under Governor Bredesen's and Tennessee Economic & Community Development's Rural Opportunity Initiative (ROI). Source: http://www.tennessee.gov/ecd/gov07/docs/ToolKit.pdf

Things Change or.. Economic Development Develops

Like everything else, economic development has changed. It dawned on me the other day that I do not use the fax machine as much as I once did. With scanners and email and the high speed connectivity, my fax is needed only for those who have yet to embrace the technology that some of us use extensively. With travel costs skyrocketing and travel budgets not, it is a good thing that I can do photos, videos, presentations, and reports from the community, the office in Centerville, or my office in Nashville. Response to requests for information from industrial prospects aren't limited to office hours.... or even to the office. So, if you are looking to locate in an area like Hickman County, drop me an email. You won't be left waiting at the squawking fax machine for a response.