Regional Local Food page by page FINAL v2.pdf · using customized training 33%), and, using...
Transcript of Regional Local Food page by page FINAL v2.pdf · using customized training 33%), and, using...
Regional Local Food
Business Retention + Expansion
Results and Recommendations Northumberland County 2011-2012
Respondents perceived the
following factors as barriers to
expansion of existing businesses or
development of new businesses in
the community:
approval processes (38%)
business taxes (38%)
availability of skilled and
unskilled labour (both 32%)
and,
availability of financing and
information technology
capacity (both 30%).
Participants were asked to rate
their level of satisfaction with the
services provided by a number of
provincial, federal and business
organizations. Satisfaction levels
with the Business Self-
Help/Enterprise Centre/COBSC
were as follows:
satisfied (14%)
dissatisfied (7%) and,
no contact (79%).
Most businesses (90%) responding
to the survey indicated that
Northumberland County was
either an “Excellent” or a “Good”
place in which to do business.
Asked if their opinion on business
climate had changed in the last
three years, 31% of responding
businesses said it had, and of
those, 55% indicated their attitude
is now more positive. Many
businesses noted that there is a
good support network in the area,
and some indicated local food
programs have led to the
expansion of their business. Some
commented on challenges
connected to a limited local labour
pool, gas prices and the slow
economy.
Satisfaction levels with the
Community Futures Development
Corporation (CFDC) were noted as
follows:
satisfied (33%)
dissatisfied (4%) and,
no contact (63%).
. . .
. . .
Satisfaction levels with services
were as follows:
38% of businesses were
satisfied with business or
economic development
corporations while 54% had
no contact
52% of businesses were
satisfied with planning,
engineering, zoning and
building permits, and
61% were satisfied with street
repairs.
The “Future Plans” section survey
responses suggest the local food
sector is a growth industry. When
asked what businesses plan to
undertake on their business site
within the next three years, 32
businesses responded, some
selecting more than one option,
including:
expand (51%)
remain the same (44%)
relocate (7%)
downsize (5%), and
close (3%).
It is important to note that the
relocating companies indicated
that they plan to stay in the
county.
Planned business expansions are
expected to lead to an increase in
work force, and additional product
lines and process improvements.
Expanding businesses (41%) are
experiencing difficulties with
expansion plans, including:
financing (71%)
developing a business plan
(36%)
water Infrastructure (36%)
local by-laws (36%), and
trucking & distribution,
electrical supply and highway
and roadside signs (29%).
Of the expanding businesses, 90%
are planning to invest in new
equipment and 76% said their
expansion plan is based on
innovation.
The structure of businesses
surveyed in Northumberland
County is varied as noted here:
sole proprietorship (41%)
partnership (27%)
corporation (27%), and
a combination of committees
and non-profit corporations
(5%).
Responses suggest the local food
sector in Northumberland County
is growing. Of the 75 businesses
that answered the question about
years of operation, responses were
as follows:
over 25 years (41%)
1-4 years (9%), and
4 – 25 years (49%).
It is worth noting that while 91%
of the businesses are family
owned, most do not have:
succession plans (65%)
a business plan (47%), and
a marketing plan (41%).
Employment levels are as follows:
1-4 people (29%)
5-9 people (20%), and
10 - 19 people (11%).
. . .
Survey results suggest there is a
keen interest in solar and some
interest in biomass/wood for
energy. When asked why they are
not using the type of energy they
prefer, barriers identified cost of
installation, not available at my
site, price and not available in my
community.
Businesses (65%) have concerns
with respect to energy supply,
management or efficiency and,
50% of responding businesses
suggested that they would benefit
from engineering or technical
support with respect to energy
conservation and efficiency.
Respondents were asked to
provide insight into the use and
importance of IT in their business.
Respondents (68) said they access
the Internet as follows:
dial-up (16%)
high speed DSL (25%)
high speed wireless (52%),
and,
internet ready device such as a
Blackberry (24%).
Local food business respondents
(97%) indicated they were
“Satisfied” (completely or
somewhat) with their current
business site within the
community.
Of those businesses “Unsatisfied”
with their site, the challenges they
identified included:
location is inconvenient for
customers (52%), and
no opportunity for expansion
(36%).
When asked about the use of other
IT technologies in their business,
71 companies responded as
follows:
96% use email
78% are on others’ websites,
66% use IT for marketing.
. . .
Just more than half (55%) use IT
for their own website, finance and
accounting (58%) and for
customer service (56%). As well,
39% of businesses participate in e-
commerce (online business/
marketing) and 49% for
government reporting/payments.
Businesses identified the following
factors as fundamental for ensuring
their business remains competitive
over the next three years:
market development, locally
(95%)
energy costs (95%)
product research and
development (89%),
workforce health and safety
(83%)
strategic marketing (81%), and
improved customer service
(79%).
When asked if they participated in
a product and/or service buyer-
supplier network, a majority of the
respondents (67%) said no,
however when asked if one would
be of benefit to their business,
63% said yes. Responding
businesses (37%) said that there
was a concentration of firms in the
area that could provide
complementary products or
services.
These responses suggest there is an
opportunity for further research
and development by
Northumberland County
stakeholders.
Businesses (42%) indicated that
the competition in their market
was increasing and 55% said their
market share was also increasing.
Interest in working or collaborating
with others is high amongst
respondents:
69% of businesses expressed
an interest in pursuing
collaborations, networking, or
information sharing
64% of businesses indicated an
interest in joint marketing
initiatives, and
45% indicated an interest in
joint product purchasing.
Local food businesses most
commonly identify their customer’s
needs through informal customer
contact (92%) and complaints
(70%). Across the region, these two
methods were selected most often;
however in Northumberland, 60%
of businesses use electronic
communication (web pages).
The most widespread way
Northumberland’s Local Food
companies market their products or
services within Ontario are with
business cards, the internet,
flyers/brochures and , sponsorship
of events. Some businesses also
market through general
publications, trade show
attendance, and word of mouth.
Within the past three years, Banks
were the most frequent lending
source investigated; secured;
currently used for operations; and
or used for expansion by
respondents. The following
represents the number of
respondents who looked into
various funding sources over the
last three years:
banks (55)
private funds (20)
Community Futures
Development Corporation (15)
Credit Union (8)
Business Development Bank of
Canada (6), and
Trust Companies (6).
When asked how far in advance
businesses plan in their financial
performance, respondents said:
yearly (39%)
monthly (14%), and
not at all (9%).
Respondents said they review their
financial plan against their
business performance as follows:
monthly (32%)
yearly (24%)
weekly (17%), and
not at all (7%).
In terms of providing employment
in Northumberland County over
the last three years,
24% of the respondents
increased the number of
people they employed,
65% held steady and,
11% decreased staff numbers.
In a question about workforce
availability, 50% of businesses
said it was “Excellent or Good.”
In the comments from this section
of the survey, many respondents
spoke negatively of the workforce,
observing low interest in sector
employment, poor work ethics, the
need for skilled/unskilled labour
and a lack of traditional farm
knowledge.
Businesses were also asked to
share any workforce skills they
believe need improvement.
Responding businesses identified:
(see “workforce skills in need of
improvement” )
Factors identified as contributing to
employment changes included:
increase or decrease in sales
(57%)
renovation or expansion (32%)
new products or services
introduced (25%)
management effectiveness (21%)
corporate decision or policies
(21%), and
new market entry (18%).
Training in most Northumberland
Local Food businesses is
completed as follows:
in-house (90%), and,
using customized training
33%), and,
using training from the local
community college (28%).
Barriers preventing most
employers from offering employee
training include:
cost (40%)
availability of training locally
(38%)
loss of productivity during
training period (31%), and
awareness of existing training
programs (31%).
(reference: Future jobs connected to
Northumberland Local Food) Reasons
cited for planned changes in the
three years ahead include:
increase or decrease in sales
(61%), and
introduction of new products
or services (42%).
Survey results rating the workforce
in Northumberland County are
mixed with responding businesses
indicating that the workforce is
“Fair” or “Poor” when it comes to
quality (50%), and stability (48%).
Other challenges included:
distance to training facility,
relevant training is not offered a
community college, awareness of
training support programs and
unable to release employees.
Results suggest there may be an
opportunity to use mentoring to
support local workforce
development:
53% of respondents identified
mentoring as a way of meeting
and working with other
businesses to learn new skills
50 companies indicated areas
where they could benefit from
a mentoring program, and
35 companies indicated areas
they could provide mentorship.
These responses suggest there is
room for improvement.
A number of respondents are
willing to participate in business
and economic development
initiatives, as follows:
50% of business respondents in
Northumberland were
interested in participating in a
Business Ambassador program,
and
73% were aware of the
economic development plan
for the community.
When asked to share their view of
the Municipality’s role in area
business and economic
development, several responses
included comments about positive
efforts by County Economic
Development, Chamber of
Commerce initiatives, good
communication, however there
were also comments about the
overall need for outreach to small
businesses county-wide.
In Northumberland County,
businesses list the advantages of
doing business in the County as
proximity to urban centres/
logistics/ 401 access, scenery/
tourists, and a generally affable
community.
Access to markets/ customers/
clients was found to be excellent
or good by 68% of businesses.
Local food companies identified
the following disadvantages:
perception of high taxes/fees
over regulated
small labour & customer pools,
and
parking challenges.
When rating the services of the
area, responses included:
Municipal taxes: “Fair or Poor”
(72%)
transportation costs: “Fair or
Poor” (73%)
land costs: “Fair or Poor”
(59%)
access to suppliers: “Good or
Excellent” (69%)
availability of appropriately
zoned land: “Good or
Excellent” (58%), and
access to training facilities:
“Excellent or Good” (41%).
Popular suggestions for ways
business associations and
economic development offices
could assist the local food sector
included:
joint advertising and marketing
(72%),
trade shows (69%)
marketing seminars (66%),
business networking sessions
(63%), and
attraction of related supply and
service businesses, and website
development (both 58%).
Businesses surveyed are located as
follows:
countryside (67%)
downtown (16%)
village or hamlet (12%), and
highway or commercial area
(5%).
Almost all survey participants
(99%) indicated that the quality of
life in Northumberland County is
“Excellent” or “Good.” Responses
suggest businesses feel they have
positive support from a variety of
sources, including:
local residents (71%)
other local business (69%), and
the Municipality (52%).
Results suggest there may be an
opportunity to increase sales to
tourists from outside the county.
Respondents (72%) indicated that
less than one quarter of their sales
are to tourists, and 14% of
respondents indicated that more
than half of their sales are to
tourists.
The time of year Local Food
businesses are open is varied:
Summer (96%)
Autumn (95%)
Spring (91%), and
Winter (80%).
Respondents identified “ local
food” as coming from the
following areas:
“My Region” (27%)
“My County” (25%)
Ontario (23%)
“My Municipality/Township”
(22%), and
“Canada (3%).
Responses suggest that Local Food
is most frequently sourced from
“My town/village/hamlet” (68%):
respondents (81%) agree the
community has easy access to
local food, and
most agree that Seasonal
Availability is the biggest
barrier for local food
businesses (82%).
Additional barriers include: (see
Barrier)
When participants were asked to
identify three things they believed
would help the local food sector in
the area grow, the most popular
answers included:
Increasing Consumer
Education/Awareness
Marketing and Events
Distribution Systems
Working together
Farmers’ Markets
The grassroots nature of this
project has ensured opportunities
for stakeholder input throughout
the process, including:
A Local Steering Team
comprised of stakeholders
A survey process
encouraging participants to
share both information and
opinions
An opportunity for feedback
from the Steering Team to
validate or dispute the data
and findings
A facilitated session for the
Steering Team to develop
their own recommendations
A facilitated brainstorming
session to encourage
actionable ideas from
stakeholders.
The results presented in this
report reflect the candid
responses provided by local food
business owners combined with
the valuable input from
stakeholders throughout the
project. All recommendations
were developed by the local
Steering Team, reflecting their
dedication, leadership and vision
for local food in the community.
Results also suggest businesses are
using the web as a business
support tool, possibly to reach a
broader, tourism-based market.
37% use social media
including Facebook, E-
newsletters, LinkedIn, and
blogs, and
only 18% sell their product on-
line.
Barriers to the expansion of local
food businesses most frequently
identified by respondents include:
seasonality
access to financing
legislation
taxation
regulations
trained staff, and
land zoning/taxation.
To be more competitive,
businesses expressed interest in the
following skills workshops: (see
Workshop)
Facilitate opportunities to increase online presence of local
food in Northumberland. Examples may include: facilitating
training opportunities for social media and online marketing,
promoting the use of QR codes in marketing, facilitating
workshops for website development and online sales.
Facilitate a multi-media marketing campaign to increase
awareness of opportunities to enjoy local food. Examples may
include: developing hockey cards’ for producers, encouraging
local food resellers to utilize QR codes to promote partnerships
with producers, increasing Proudly Northumberland brand
awareness and initiatives, facilitating online access to market
research.
Work with stakeholders to address the needs expressed through
the Local Food BR+E to support local food businesses.
Examples may include: creating an inventory of funding
available to local food businesses, exploring micro-financing
availability and opportunities, developing a business case to
assist local food businesses with “value-added” processing,
developing a agri-food incubator, facilitating grant-writing
seminars for local food businesses.
Explore opportunities for policy reform. Examples may include:
compiling policy issues presented in the Local Food BR+E and
advocating for reform or revision on behalf of the sector,
working with stakeholders and local policy makers to eliminate
or diminish barriers for local food businesses wherever
possible.
Work with stakeholders to communicate “good news stories”
about local food and agriculture in Northumberland. Examples
may include: working with Chambers Northumberland to
create a local food award, facilitating networking sessions for
local food businesses.
Facilitate outreach opportunities for local support agencies to
connect with local food sector businesses. Examples may
include: encouraging local food businesses to join their local
chamber of commerce, exploring cross-membership
opportunities, encouraging strategic partnerships, exploring
opportunities for Proudly Northumberland signage, facilitating
succession planning programming.
Facilitate workshops to address the skills and training gaps
identified by local food sector businesses. Examples may
include: delivering succession planning programs, facilitating
local workshops/training/certification programs.
Work with local food stakeholders to facilitate industry “best
practices” to help ensure a sustainable local food value chain.
Examples may include: facilitating skills and
product inventories to address market needs, facilitating
networking and information sharing opportunities to support
the value chain
Facilitate and promote local food education initiatives.
Examples may include: using social media to promote local
food use, facilitating farm tours and taste education, promoting
local food education projects, encouraging consumers to
experience local food.