High Tunnel Business Planning and Marketing Project Description

Objective: The purpose of this project is to apply all that you have learned from the High Tunnel Fruit and Vegetable Project unit. In groups of three to four, you will develop a business plan for a new high tunnel enterprise.

Assignment: You are designing a high tunnel enterprise. In small groups, you will utilize the steps to business planning to develop this enterprise. You have already completed the “Idea” step of the planning, and your notes from the final lesson of the unit will assist you in completing the rest of the process. You can choose to work together to plan a soil proprietorship for each individual in the group, a cooperative, or a general partnership.

Parameters:Research and develop responses to the questions on the handout “Business Planning and Marketing Worksheet” as well as the additional questions below. Type your responses using Times New Roman 12 pt. font with 1 inch margins. From these responses, develop a presentation to explain your high tunnel enterprise.

Questions to Address:
(Questions will be scored on thoroughness and quality of responses within the written business plan and incorporation into the presentation)

  • Adequately describe your business, business structure, products and business goals.
  • Handout “Business Planning and Marketing Worksheet” (pg. 102 – 104)
  • For more help responding to these questions, see notes on feasibility studies.
  • What sources for capital do you plan to seek? Why?
  • Briefly explain your plans for the high tunnel. What size will your tunnel be (dimensions)? What produce do you plan to grow? Why?

Scores Earned:

(See Back for Explanation of Score Expectations)

Component / Points Possible / Team
Score
Written Business Plan (Responses to Questions) / 25
Business Summary / 10
Local Economic Impact / 15
Marketing Plan / 20
Technical Resources / 5
Financial Projection / 10
Management / 15
Presentation Score: Overall Quality (See Next Page) / 50
TOTAL SCORE / 100

High Tunnel Business Planning and Marketing Project

Project Component / 10-9 / 8-6 / 5-3 / 2-0
Content
Did the presentation have valuable material? / Presentation had an exceptional amount of valuable material and was extremely beneficial to the class. / Presentation had a good amount of material and benefited the class. / Presentation had moments where valuable material was present but as a whole content was lacking. / Presentation contained little to no valuable material..
Collaboration
Did everyone contribute to the presentation?
Did everyone seem well versed in the material? / The teammates always worked from others’ ideas. It was evident that all of the group members contributed equally to the presentation. / The teammates worked from others’ ideas most of the time. And it seems like everyone did some work, but some people are carrying the presentation. / The teammates sometimes worked from others’ ideas. However, it seems as though certain people did not do as much work as others. / The teammates never worked from others’ ideas. It seems as though only one or two of the people worked on the presentation.
Organization
Was the presentation well organized and easy to follow? / The presentation was well organized, well prepared and easy to follow. / The presentation had organizing ideas but could have been much stronger with better preparation. / There were minimal signs of organization or preparation. / The presentation lacked organization and had little evidence of preparation.
Presentation
Did the presenters speak clearly? Did they engage the audience? Was it obvious the material had been rehearsed? / Presenters were all very confident in delivery and they did an excellent job of engaging the class. Preparation is very evident. / Presenters were occasionally confident with their presentation however the presentation was not as engaging as it could have been for the class. / Presenters were not consistent with the level of confidence/preparedness they showed the classroom but had some strong moments. / Presenters were unconfident and demonstrated little evidence of planning prior to presentation.
Overall Effect
Presentation accurately and directly answered all questions and met all listed requirements. / It was evident that students worked together to thoroughly address all assignment requirements. The group presented their work effectively and creatively. / The group worked together to address all assignment requirements, but some were not address thoroughly enough. A lack of preparation for the presentation was evident. / The group lacked cohesiveness and did not address all assignment requirements. The group lacked enthusiasm and did not properly prepare their presentation. / It was evident that the group considered the project an assignment. They lacked enthusiasm and preparation.