Based on the analyses below, develop strategic recommendations toward the following goals for your client company considering a $3-$to$-5-$year timeline:

c$.$ Recommend a set of changes toward designing a more efficient$/$effective value chain activities $($along production, marketing, distribution, office work, etc.$)$ for your client. Address your response all questions $($whether$,$ what, when, how, where$)$ that the client may need to figure out in order to adopt and implement your recommendation.

d$.$ Technology can be a great equalizer. Recommend a lost$-$cost$,$ frugal innovation related technology strategy for your client to pursue toward improving its relationships with its key stakeholders $($pick at least two of the following: customers, investors, marketers, distributors, etc.$).$

$$ Biggest challenge: Competitors are beginning to offer similar products and due to their infrastructure have more funds to invest in technology and labor and human capital costs.

o Risky industry $>$ risky switch to $$sustainable farming$$

$$ Supporting data and examples:

o Competition:

$$ You can now buy organic crops and grassfed beef at your local Walmart, Costco and Whole Foods

$$ But what Holt Farms has that they don$$t is the fact that Holt Farms is local!

$$ Industry is stagnant often due to passage of land between family members

o High Costs:

$$ Dagny Holt is the CEO of her company, but also is the only employee who takes care of the land

$$ Lack of infrastructure to store crops

$$ Little career path known within the farming$/$agriculture industry $$ can be costly to find succession plans

$$ Biggest opportunity: Adoption of technology to help create efficient, sustainable practices to meet consumer demands while also diversifying offerings to enter niche markets like organic or specialty crops

o Get worse before it gets better $$ the investment will pay off

$$ Supporting data and examples:

o Technology:

$$ Traditional$/$old$-$school farmers are often resistant to new technology, which isn$$t the case for Dagny$/$Holt Farms

$$ New ways of marketing for the company to gain interest from niche markets

o Diversification and Niche Market:

$$ Product diversification $($dairy$,$ meat, grains, veggies, etc.$)$ and different income streams $($sharecrop $$ access to land, house rentals on property, grass fed beef operation, co$-$op with similar farmers$).$

$$ Stats: Only $10\%$ of corn grown in the US is for human food, the rest is animal feed and that is $15\%$ for soy

Value Chain

Holt Brothers is currently a soy and corn cash crop farm with land rental in Wisconsin. The owner wants to transition to regenerative agriculture. Primary goals are grass fed beef and food quality grains. The owner is looking for sustainability in operations, and a succession plan. Value chain analysis demonstrates the following items to consider:

$1.$ Supply $($least$?$ Very manual$)$

a$.$ Holt Brothers requires seeds that are adapted to regenerative practices and are amenable to short$-$ or long$-$term storage.

b$.$ Cattle $($Belted Galloway$)$ are adapted to forage only production, but they produce different beef than traditional Angus cattle so would need to be directly marketed to consumers.

c$.$ Soil amendments would include compost and other organic fertilizers and cover crops and crop rotations.

d$.$ Tools and equipment suited for regenerative practices including no$-$till seeders and precision irrigation systems would be purchased.

$2.$ Production $($most$?)$

a$.$ Land preparation such as minimal tillage, cover cropping and crop rotation to encourage biodiversity

b$.$ Pest and weed management including biological control, crop diversification and habitat management

c$.$ Irrigation and water management including drip irrigation, rainwater collection systems, and soil moisture monitoring.

d$.$ Livestock management including rotational grazing and holistic management techniques

$3.$ Harvesting $($least$?$ Very manual$)$

a$.$ Timed harvests to minimize waste and impact on the environment.

b$.$ Gentle handling of crops and livestock

$4.$ Distribution

a$.$ Direct sales to consumers through farmer$$s markets, community$-$supported agriculture $($CSA$),$ or farm stands.

b$.$ Wholesale distribution to retailers, restaurants, and institutions committed to sustainable agriculture

c$.$ Online direct to consumer sales

$5.$ Marketing and sales $($most$)$

a$.$ Storytelling and branding that emphasizes benefits of regenerative farming

b$.$ Educating consumers about ecological benefits of supporting regenerative farming

c$.$ Partnerships with like$-$minded organizations

$6.$ Consumption

a$.$ Customer satisfaction and feedback surveys to better inform future crop decisions

b$.$ Education on preparation and minimizing waste

$7.$ Waste management

a$.$ Emphasizing composting of food waste and other agricultural residues to minimize environmental impact

b$.$ Recycling or reusing packaging to limit waste generation.

$8.$ Employees

a$.$ Employees are involved in various stages of the val