South Carolina Living

The recent edition of South Carolina Living was full of good farming advice and farmer success stories. Its article on Walters farm expresses that young farmers bring fresh energy and ideas to SC agriculture. Steven Walters is a farmer in Dorchester County. He has learned many of his farming practices on his own through trial and error and has many innovative ideas. He is building a CSA program and a line of natural baby foods called “Ginger Baby.” He has been working with GrowFood Carolina and local restaurants, through which he has been marketing interesting varieties of crops, such as the Chioggia beet, which is striped like a candy cane. I remember Sara Clow, the director of GrowFood Carolina, told me that crop planning is one of the most difficult tasks of a farmer. You have to grow something that is very marketable. Growing interesting varieties such as the Chioggia beet is important in helping a farmer’s products stand out among others and sell. There are many upbeat success stories that new generation SC farmers have to tell. This edition also included a story on Eric McClam, who left a budding career in architecture to form City Roots, which is one of the only urban gardens in Columbia.

I also learned more about blueberry production through this edition. I learned that fertilization is “a double-edged sword” through a piece on building better blueberry bushes. You need good fertilization for blueberries to grow, but over-fertilization can also result in excessive flower growth and limited berry growth.  It is also effective to cut off one or two of the eldest stems in the center of the plant. This will yield more light for the plant’s growth. Make sure your plant doesn't grow too big- you must trim your stems, otherwise your plant will grow too big and your yields will decrease. It is recommended that you remove up to one third of your stems in a year. These stems are easy to spot- they are very tall and barren looking. 

chioggia beets...yummm 

"A Day in the Life of a Farmer" Event

This past Saturday Slow Food YCAC plus a few visited the Dirt Works Incubator Farm for my "Day in the life of a Farmer" event. I was so pleased with the turnout and the enthusiasm that everyone put into their participation. We primarily worked with Gina Perez on Fiddle Farms. We worked with a few other farmers that were working on their plots during the day as well.
My day started at 8:00 am. It was rather chilly and rainy outside, but I hopped out of my car with Grayson at the farm. Pretty soon there were a handful of us there, so we all helped Gina pull out some tools from the tool shed (pitchfork, etc.) Afterwards a few others arrived, we walked down to her plot with our tools in hand. We started by spreading out a pile of mulch compost on her plot. It was quite the work out... and surprisingly fun! We were in groups for the rest of the day, doing different tasks with different farmers. We changed groups after each task was finished. I did some seeding, weeding around the inside of a greenhouse, weeding of a couple of row crops, and wheelbarrow-ing of compost through out the day. I had so much fun and was so happy to see others having fun as well. At the end of the day we all took turns in Gina's car to have a tour around the Incubator Farm and Rosebanks Farms. Rosebanks Farms is the neighboring farm from which Lowcountry First leases its land.
We truly experienced what it is like to work on a farm. I have a better sense now of the daily struggles that farmers face. I also can finally wrap my mind around how farming is truly a 24/7 job- the work never ends!
Here is a picture of some of us who were involved-

Oh... and great news! I was offered an apprenticeship on the Dirt Works Incubator Farm for over the summer! 

"Farm to School"

"Farm to School" is a whole new market open to farmers everywhere. In some areas of the country, public school systems have already created relationships with farmers. It is more viable for private schools to create partnerships with farmers since these schools are independent from the state. This publication convinced me that there is a lot of potential in creating food plans between farmers and schools. When you think about it, this situation would be similar to a CSA program, in that the schools agree to pay in advance and receive whatever he or she grows. There are copious benefits for the school and the farmer. The "Farm to School" relationship is strong for a couple of reasons; it encourages local producers and processors, long- term relationships with farmers, transparent prices, and clear policies. 

The document concluded with some basic tips for farmers when establishing excellent farm to school programs. It suggested the following...

1. Celebrate the small steps, it is a slow process

2. Don't "bad mouth" school meals when advertising local meal plans to schools

3. Keep everything as local as possible for the greatest benefits

4. Involve everyone in the community 

5. Help consumers understand that the food isn't cheap

6. Keep raising the bar

7. Insist that food sourcing is transparent so that consumers know where it comes from

8. Promote what you are trying to accomplish in the community 

9. Work to change policies for big steps 

http://www.hcfs.org/resources/FarmToSchool_20131023.pdf 

"Selecting Profitable Enterprises to Ensure Economic Sustainability"

This week I focused on particular marketing strategies through ATTRA's resources links. I read three comprehensive pdf files on marketing strategies. They are called "Alternative Agronomic Crops," "Evaluating a Farmer Enterprise," and "Moving Beyond Conventional Cash Cropping." The links to view these online are listed below:
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=84
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=277
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/summaries/summary.php?pub=104
1. I will briefly write about the take away messages that I learned from these files.
First of all, if you are a farmer looking for experience to work on a farm to gain experience prior to starting your own farm, apprenticeship opportunities are available through ATTRA. Follow this link to find an opportunity for you: https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/internships.
2. If you have experience working on a farm and are interested in purchasing land, it is suggested to find land purchasing opportunities through your local NRCS office.
3. Choose a centerpiece enterprise; something that will work well with your land based on soil quality and other similar contributing factors. Choose something that has infrastructure that could work well with other products. Pay attention to what farmers around you are growing. Try to tap into a market that hasn't been discovered yet. Along the lines of that, crop planning is one of the most important aspects of farm planning. It is important to study the markets (identify wholesalers, retailers, etc.), learn the specialty market standards required, learn about the equipment, read about your new enterprise, talk to others who are already doing it, and make your connections before you grow your crop.
4. Establish income goals for your farm. Ask yourself the following questions: Do you want farming to supply all of your income? Do you want your farm to supply enough income that you only work part time? Do you want your farm to support your family for a long- term (ie, retirement fund, college tuition?) Do you want to bring your children or other relatives in as business partners eventually? Do you want the farm to supply enough money for health insurance?
5. Once you have started your farm, it is important to not let your business growth get ahead of itself. Ask yourself periodically questions such as the following: How are my financial backing or resources? Do I currently have adequate access to equipment? If you find yourself to be lacking in some areas, it is important to take a step back and work on getting more experience, strengthening connections, finding resources, etc.
6. When considering farm profitability, add your costs from machinery repair, labor, and all other farm expenses to your desired profit to determine the amount needed to pay costs and profit (margin.)
7. A few things to consider when planning your enterprise as a successful farmer: Capacity (acreage, infrastructure), record keeping, certification, communication, and sales/ promotion.

South Carolina Regional Study

Recently I have been studying a lot about the different regions of South Carolina. Farmers are very limited to what they can grow due to the type of soil and other conditions that are controlled by their locations. I have learned that our state varies widely in terms of topography and other geographical conditions, which makes for an interesting array of farmers across the state.
Here are some interesting maps that display the regions of South Carolina.

Here are some significant marked areas in each region that influence agriculture in that area economically and geographically. 

Blue Ridge Region- Blue Ridge Mts, headwaters of Saluda River, Lake Keowee, Chattooga River area, Greenville, Pickens county, Oconee county

Piedmont Region- Catawba river, Old English District: York, Chester, Union, Fairfield, Lancaster, Kershaw, Chesterfield County

Sandhills Region- Congaree river, the Sandhills, Lake Murray, the Broad River, Saluda, Columbia

Coastal Plain Region- Pee Dee, Santee, Lake Marion, Lake Moultrie, Edisto River

Coastal Zone Region- Barrier Islands, Sea Islands, Ace Basin: Ashepoo, Combahee, South Edisto Rivers 

The Farm Incubator Toolkit

Exciting news! ATTRA's Sustainable Agriculture Weekly Harvest Newsletter recently posted a link to a new guide, called "The Farm Incubator Toolkit." It was developed by the National Incubator Farm Training Initiative (NIFTI), was published by the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, and was sponsored by Tufts University.

The definition of a incubator farm is "a farm that provides infrastructure and support to reduce the risks for new farmers launching their new farm businesses." The incubator farm is one of the most upcoming and progressive practices in the ag world. I see the potential for incubator farms to usher in new generations of farmers. I find it very exciting to see new documents such as the Farm Incubator Toolkit being created, because the more information that is out there, the more likely farmers will be inclined to go into agriculture.

This guide is a "manifestation of the collaboration of incubator projects coming together in a national community of practice where the knowledge and best practices can be shared with one another to the ultimate benefit of farmers and the food system as a whole." The end of this document includes many marketing and financial resources that apply to farmers specifically in the incubator farm business, as well as to farmers in general. I am investigating many of these resources for my own resource guide. Needless to say, I am very thankful for ATTRA connecting me to this new document!

http://nesfp.org/sites/default/files/uploads/nifti_toolkit_v2.pdf

Cotton, Cotton, Cotton

I adventured to Pleasant Hill, SC again and got the opportunity to see the cotton modules! Cotton is my favorite row crop, so this was quite exciting. Dr. Cribb talked to me about the cotton industry and walked me through how they pack the cotton into the modules. The machinery that packs the cotton is very similar to a combine. The machinery is called a "module builder." Use the link below to watch a video of a module builder in action if you are interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbp7tvDpaeQ
I also learned about the anatomy of cotton and how to pick it, which is the old-fashioned way. To pick it, you have to take the cotton out of the cotton boll and pick the seeds out of it. This is what they had to do before Eli Whitney's cotton gin was invented. Here is a picture of cotton in the cotton boll.

Lastly, I learned about the business and marketing behind cotton farming. Here are a few facts for you.

-Each cotton module weighs about 30,000 lbs., the equivalent to 15 tons

-Once cotton goes through the cotton gin, it will be about 7500-8500 lbs. of marketable cotton. The farmer can receive about $7500-8500 for this amount of cotton

-Farmers can also sell the cotton seeds for about $1500

Here are some photos of me with the cotton module! As you can see in the both images, there is a lot of cotton left of the ground. This is because the cotton module builder is quite ineffective. It is more cost efficient for farmers to use the cotton module builder than to hire field hands, so for this reason most farmers chose to use this machinery despite its inability to pick up all of the cotton on the field.