Just as its name suggests, industry analysis is a process by which you may determine important characteristics about the industry in which you operate. To understand your industry, you need to know:

• how big it is,
• how it has changed,
• how it is expected to change,
• who the primary suppliers and buyers are, and
• if it will remain viable enough to support your business.

Before answering those questions, you must define your industry. This is largely up to you. If you make value-added food products such as jams, jellies, cheese, or pasture-raised beef, you might say you are in the food industry. That may not be specific enough, however. As a beef producer, are you really in the same industry as a cheese producer? Probably not. However, you may be in the same industry as pork or poultry producers. So you need to be sure that your analysis includes the relevant groups.

Once you define the scope of your industry, you can then begin to collect data. Before jumping on your computer and searching frantically, you ought to have a plan. What do you already know? What do you need to know? Where might you be able to find new information? This little bit of preparation will help you to filter your keywords, leading to a more efficient search.

If you are already in the industry, you probably know a lot about it. You may only need to search for information on industry trends and how experts view your industry's future. But where do you start to find that stuff? You should start with any relevant industry groups or associations, many of which have websites. If you know the association's name, a web search should quickly locate their website. If not, use keywords such as “beef association,” “dairy heifer growers association,” or “organic dairy association” to find pertinent information. If you aren't in the industry, simply talking with folks who are will help you to hone your search scope. Ask them about professional associations and their own views about the industry. With just a little bit of knowledge, you'll be able to efficiently search for the information you need.

Once you reach an association's website, you may find additional industry information in the form of press releases, association reports, presentations made to members, etc. If that does not exist or if you need more information, then use the contact information provided on the site to request any information that they may have. They may either have data or reports to send or they may be able to direct you to other web resources. If nothing else, you've made one more contact within your industry.

There may be other websites that provide reports or data of the type you need. University and government researchers may provide industry analyses on their websites. These are frequently detailed and national in scope, although some may include regional- or state-level reports. A careful web search may lead you quickly to the reports you are looking for. For agricultural producers, the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center's (AgMRC) website is a fantastic starting point for finding information about a specific industry as well as consumer trends or other important marketing information.