Cornell's Study on the Economic Impacts of Food Hubs

The USDA Agriculture Marketing Survey and The National Institute for Food and Agriculture recently funded a Cornell project to conduct a comprehensive study on the economic effects of food hubs. I read about this study from an article titled Study: Food Hubs' Support for Local Economy is Mixed from The Cornell Chronicle.  
Cornell found that food hubs provide a wide variety of crops to their local population. In addition to ameliorating the diet of local consumers, food hubs also promote local farm aggregation and and distribution businesses. Food hubs have somewhat of a "multiplier" impact. For every dollar that is spent on a food hub, more money stays and is re-spent in the local economy.
Other businesses, however, do suffer. Research shows that businesses that sell substitute products suffer a 10% decrease in sales.
Lastly, Cornell's research also showed that middle- sized farms are the ones that benefit most from food hubs. This makes sense because these are the farms that have outgrown sales at a street stand market but are too small to be distributed by large corporations such as Walmart.
Customer survey results from Cornell's study revealed room for improvement in the food hub sector in terms of logistics; specifically a need for lower minimum order sizes and increased frequency of deliveries.
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/01/study-food-hubs-support-local-economy-mixed

News for a Positive Change in Organic Crop Insurance

ATTRA linked me to an article called Organic Crop Insurance Is Growing in New Ways! It is great news that RMA (Risk Management Agency) is changing its policies for 2014 organic crop growers. 

As of 2014, the following changes will be implemented:

1. Organic crop farmers will no longer be changed an additional 5% subcharge on premiums for their insurance. Their premiums will instead be based off of production history. 

2. There are new crop insurance opportunities specific to the type of organic crop. 

3. There will be a "Contact Price" option, which will be available to organic farmers who receive a contract price for their crop. This allows farmers under certain circumstances to base their crop insurance price on what they are receiving from their market contract. 

http://blogs.usda.gov/2014/02/04/organic-crop-insurance-is-growing-in-new-ways/ 

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