You might be an entrepreneur or business owner in the fast-growing heritage red meat or poultry sector. You might be the CEO of a multinational energy conglomerate seeking strategic input on navigating global crude shifts to boost your soybean portfolio. Or you might be the Executive Director of a regional economic development organization in the Midwest seeking to coordinate workforce development institutions and city zoning efforts to preserve your communities ag sector amid rapid technological shifts or rapid urbanization. If any of these situations resonate with your situation, CAS in uniquely skilled to help you face these challenges.

No matter your situation, we can find ways to carve out more profit and create more value for your consumers or clients. We bring dozens of years of ag-centered business experience across a range of models from family-owned small business to R&D-heavy biotech commodities and trade enterprises. We are also intimately aware of the political and regulatory contexts affecting agribusinesses from local to federal agencies and strategies for navigating them.

In a knowledge-driven economy, people are our most important commodity. Yet, at the strategic planning level, the people you need often exist outside your organization—they are a new link in the supply chain, members of an association advocating for the industry, thought leaders or influencers in a target market. It is challenging to build and cultivate a network while focusing on internal operations in an ever-changing landscape.

Every link in our network is invaluable to the meeting the needs of our varied, diverse clientele and we’ve built our entire portfolio on the power of relationships! That’s right, 100% of our business is built on good, old fashioned, word-of-mouth referrals. We know when to get a uniquely skilled expert on the line and we have the number to call, whether they be of the public or private sector.

We are also highly skilled at linking strategy to marketing and public relations efforts to ensure the right messages trickle down and out to produce predictable outcomes. With today’s highly-informed, inquisitive consumers increasing requests for more transparency and values-driven brands, we can guide you through how to make thoughtful decisions on messaging, design, and forms of outreach.

If people and their knowledge are the lifeblood of the modern economy, communities must invest in the habitats to attract and retain them. The agriculture and ag-related sectors are all facing a looming combination of demographic challenges: the average age of the American farmer is 57, and those aged approx. 20-35 are asset-poor but generally skills-rich, yet they are so far not replacing the retiring farmers at necessary rates. The largest cohorts impacting the American economy, those over 60 and those between 20-35 are also highly mobile and often prioritizing where they want to live and work above the salary, job, or business opportunities available to them.

Placing people first requires a rethinking and retooling of the traditional “jobs and wages”-driven approach of foregone eras. We engage community leaders and place-based organizations in ways to make their markets more attractive to a talented workforce across all education and skill levels.