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Thinking
Outside The Box
Reinvigorating rural
economies means finding new business opportunities. Chances of
success improve with careful preparation.  Encouraged by the results
of an area needs assessment, a Cooperative Extension agent in north
central Washington developed local partnerships to acquire
space and equipment for development of a commercial kitchen. The
facility has helped launch 12 specialty food businesses that produce
30 different products, from meat to salsa. Nine of the owners had
gross sales of $350,000 last year and employed 42 people. Colorado
and Utah also worked together to develop a kitchen incubator
program to link value-added product development with workforce skill
enhancement. Niche-market, special-label products were sold, food
processor trainees gained job skills and the kitchen created
entrepreneurial interest from vegetable growers, limited-resource
audiences, small-business networks and funding agencies.
 Residents in south
central Utah are trying to recharge their area economy by
establishing a large-scale farming operation. Cooperative Extension
economic development specialists and agents helped facilitate site
inspections, tours, permit gathering and community evaluations to
make way for a high-volume egg production facility. Community support
for the operation in Richfield, Utah, which produces 30 million-dozen
of eggs each year, paved the way for a $30 million construction
project that will provide the first phase of a major boost to the
area economy.
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