Allan Gray, Michael Boehlje, Craig, Dobbins, Cole Ehmke

Keywords: analysis, competitive advantage, potentials, capabilities

When facing the changing environment around your business and other competitors in the industry, have you wondered: what is my farm’s competitive advantage? Well this article might be a good start for you to identify the potential and capabilities of your business. Specifically, this article help you find out the resources, and core competencies of the business, which are all critical to the internal analysis of the business. This publication also introduces The Value Plate, which is used to provide a framework for identifying the activities the business conducts to create value.

Cole Ehmke, Joan Fulton, and Jay Akridge

Keywords: five forces, industry, analysis

Michael Porter’s five forces, which include bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and rivalry among competitors, are widely used to assess the structure of any industry. This article will help you determine the competitive rules and strategies for your business. This article provides detailed information on how the analysis of each force could be done and how to apply it to your business.

Joan Fulton

Keywords: producer alliance, investment, risks, five forces, strategic positioning, goals

More and more farmers are joining a producer alliance to move along the value chain and capture profits from other states. If you intend to join or already joined one, have you ever wondered about the following questions? Is the alliance a good business investment? Will the organizational structure work? Are there other goals for the alliance and do they compete with or complement the goal of business profitability? Porter’s Five Forces is used to help you approach these questions with clarity.