"Making Small Farms into Big Businesses"

I recently read the South Carolina Department of Agriculture's "Making Small Farms into Big Business". The report outlined the steps to rapidly rebuilding South Carolina's agriculture industry, a process which Hugh Lane claimed to be potentially dangerous if South Carolinians do so without closely monitoring the supply and demand.
We can only hope for such rapid development in South Carolinian agriculture. Many believe that it is possible with the goals expressed in this report, being the push for the establishment of more statewide food nodes and food hubs, the push for more grants for farmer development, the extension of programs such as the Dirt Works Incubator farm for new and beginning farmers, and more.
I would like to devote this blog to the clarification of 3 particular terms that were highlighted in this report, terms that I believe will become much more common due to the rapidly changing world of agriculture.

What is a small farm?
"A small farm cannot be defined simply by either its acreage or the amount of food it sells. A small farm is one that participates directly in efforts that create new, relational commerce, and strategic partnerships trading locally produced food."

What is a food production node?
A food production node is "a cluster of farms in close proximity to each other, working in collaboration and using common food production infrastructure."

What is a food hub?
"A food hub is more of a regional facility that focuses on aggregation and distribution of local foods for larger markets, such as restaurants, grocery stores, educational institutions, or wholesalers."

GrowFood Carolina Open House Visit

I attended an open house at the GrowFood Carolina warehouse two weeks ago, eager to learn more about the organization. I constantly hear good things around town about this organization, and their image is everywhere. In Whole Foods Market, you might have seen “Find the Fork” icons in the produce section, marking the local produce options that GrowFood has brought to the grocery store from the farmer. You also might have passed the mural on the side of its warehouse on Morrison Drive.

GrowFood Carolina is a food hub, and it connects the farmer with the restaurant and the grocery store. Although still in its beginning, the organization is highly successful in the sense that it already does business with around 60 South Carolinian farmers.

At this event, we toured the warehouse and listened to Sara Clow, the director, talk about the business as a whole. Many asked if she only seeks relationships with organic farmers. Clow explained that while GrowFood does encourage sustainable practices, not every farmer she does business with is necessarily organic. In addition, I learned that GrowFood returns 80% of the profit to the farmer, which means that this is an incredibly profitable business for farmers. On average, the “middle man” keeps a much higher percentage of the profit, because it is extremely costly to store, package, and transport mass produce to restaurants and grocery stores.

GrowFood is partnered with the Costal Conservation League, which is an incubating organization for the company. The mission of the Costal Conservation League is to protect our environment, and by encouraging the local agriculture, the League is being proactive in saving our costal lands from development.

I learned that GrowFood Carolina is one of the most profitable organizations in our area that local farmers have access to. I look forward to seeing GrowFood grow over the next couple of years, easing the transition of food from the farm to the table.