Sustainable, Locally-Grown Food

Dave in GA · Feb 3, 2010

I work in foodservice. The biggest trend in the industry is a push to sourcing and purchasing our produce, meats, dairy from local farms. The push is also for these goods to be organic if possible, antibiotic-free, and other health-conscious considerations. The colleges and universities are big on this campaign right now, almost to a hysteria. We are so accustomed to buying that vast majority of our produce from California and Florida for so many years, that trying to find locally grown food is a real challenge. Not many farmers in GA grow crops other than peanuts, hay, onions, cotton, etc. People involved in the locally-grown movement are going out to the farms, speaking with farmers, and trying to generate interest in farmers to grow produce and raise cattle and chickens for the regional restaurants, grocery stores, schools and institutions. Even the local grocers are promoting some locally-grown foods when they"re available. The concept is a lot like in the old days when our food came from local farms in our communities, instead of being trucked across the country, and from South America. Granted, we"re never going to grow bananas in Georgia (unless Al Gore is right).

I"m wondering if this trend is sweeping across other parts of the USA also, and if any of you rural folks and farmers on this site have been approached by people in their communities asking them if they"d be interested in growing certain crops, or raising livestock (like grass-fed beef) for the local, regional consumers. There is a growing number of farmers and ranchers in GA who are getting on the bandwagon since a demand is starting to take off. It"s a reversal of the big, corporate farms that have dominated the scene for the last 40 or so years.

larry@stinescorner · Feb 3, 2010

I am reading a book right now titled At Natures Pace by Gene Logsdon You should read this book its probably in your local library I think you will enjoy it It is just what you are talking about.

paul · Feb 3, 2010

I grow corn, soybeans, bit of oats & cattle in the upper midwest on a small family farm.

I see that as a sad fad that will end up hurting many farmers in the long run.

People have voted, and they want cheap food. They want to spend their money on big screen TVs and Blueray. Not on food.

As you mention, it is the universities & some media - not real people - who are all pushy pushy on this topic.

A few farmers will invest in it, which takes almost a decade to recoup the investment.

When interest is lost in it, and the universities catch the next fad dropping this one, those small farmers who invested in this 'new' idea will be left high & dry.

It's hard to get non-gmo contracts on corn & soybeans - in this ecconomy real people don't have real money to spend on 'special' food that is the equal of any other food. That is how the average person buying food is going to feel.

For those that make organic work for them, and have built up a customer base - good for them. Applaud them.

This media push by universities and Holleywood media is a false god that will overwhem and harm you in the long run.

Katie Cuoric (sp?) is going to fire up some news for you all this week, and feed the fires.

Beware the fad.

--->Paul

larry@stinescorner · Feb 3, 2010

I think you may be right you bring up some very interesting points . thanks

Eric in IL · Feb 3, 2010

Would this "Sustainable, Locally-Grown Food" demand a premium price at the consumer level?

If so, who would realize this premium? The Growers?

How would the consuming public really know if the food is as advertised ?

Thanks, but I will continue to grow the majority of my own food.

flying belgian · Feb 3, 2010

Very simple answer. Farmers will follow the money. If we can make more net money by selling organic or local that's what we will do. If not then we won't. It's all about the money.

Zachary Hoyt · Feb 3, 2010

We grow most of our own meat, milk, fruits and vegetables and I think that the hardest thing about the local food movement is that people have become accustomed to eating whatever they want whenever they want it. Here in northern NY we eat a lot of vegetables spring through fall, depending what is coming in, but in the winter we get a lot less of them, mostly canned from the summer. It makes me appreciate particular foods more when they come into season, but for those who don't want to eat asparagus every day in May and June it is a tough sell.
Zach

gitrib · Feb 3, 2010

I have been there and done that. It is great till the government regulators get involved. To them it is all about getting a dollar for them. How about a average of three of them nosing around twice month. Never found any thing wrong , was just a bother.
gitrib

Anonymous-0 · Feb 3, 2010

Here is what I have observed about organic farming having helped a neighbor friend who went that route.
The ground has to be conventionally plowed and tilled in the spring then the crops cultivated a couple of times to keep weeds from taking over. No artificial fertilizer may be used. No weed or bug spray either. The bottom line is much more fuel burned to produce 2/3 to 3/4 of the yield of none organic methods. The conventional tillage results in more soil erosion just as in the old days. How this is sustainable is a mystery to me. If as the proponents wish all agriculture went this route, the reduction in yields would result in a lot of starvation somewhere in the world.

Spook · Feb 3, 2010

It's getting pretty big around here, especially Ann Arbor. It has the potential to add some jobs, so I think it is a good thing.

Tom Yaz · Feb 3, 2010

I guess I have to disagree.

Dont think it is a fad. The economy has sucked the last 2+ years yet with the exception of dairy, organic is still holding it own. Sure its down a bit, but its still growing. So I think its here to stay. In my little combine biz I have a lot of organic producers getting parts, the business and numbers of customers are still growing these last couple years.

BCnT · Feb 3, 2010

we got nuthin but chain supermarkets left around here...they buy and truck produce and fruit from everywhere...i've asked produce managers if they interested in buying my excess and they claim they cant...mucky mucks and co lawyers say it has to go thru main offices...luckily we still got a local farmers market and i sell out everytime i haul a load in.

randallk · Feb 3, 2010

The absolute bottom line on this subject is that we cannot grow organic food and expect to get paid what you are now accustomed to paying. If you can wrap yourself around this idea, then it will work. You WILL pay more, or it won't be available. If you are comparing two apples, (one organic, one not) and one costs 50 cents and the other 20 cents, which one will the average consumer buy?

CLTX · Feb 3, 2010

Remember, one of the most terrifying/dangerous words one can hear is "I"m from the government and I"m here to help you!"

Also consider this. If the people pushing the universities/government/"experts" ideas are so profitable, why aren"t they in the business for themselves?

I have a degree in agriculture. (1960) One of the things that I remember some professors telling the students was to go out with our book knowledge, listen to the successful old-time farmers/ranchers and combine the best parts of both. I have a lot of respect for formal ecucation, but I have a lot of respect for "on the job" experience too. The "school of hard knocks" is hard to beat.

omahagreg · Feb 3, 2010

We had an organic truck farmer set up stand within eyesight of our house last summer. Bought 1 dozen sweet corn from him and decided to NEVER go back-it was as tasteless as a cardboard tube. IF it had been equal or better than the guy 3 miles from my house, I would have gone back. So, in my mind, this one guy has put a real 'black eye' on the organic guys here. Greg

ChrisinMO · Feb 3, 2010

As a rule, I don't like fads. I've seen so many of them in my lifetime. Things can change dramatically and quickly. I see this as a fad, plain and simple. If we're still talking locally grown ten years from now, I'll change my mind.

That being said, lots of the folks living here in the Ozarks have always been supportive of their neighbors. Whether food or something else, they want to give first opportunity to someone local. This is a good thing in general. It's the same idea as buying Made in USA.

Our experiences at the farmers markets around here have been very encouraging. We can pretty much sell for what the grocery stores sell for and make a good return on our labor. My wife is much more aggressive on pricing than I am, and regularly asks and gets prices greater than grocery store prices.

Christopher

tlak · Feb 3, 2010

Here's how some products can be labeled and what percentage organic. Isn't the last one all foods?

Guide to Organic Food Terms

When you buying organic foods, look for the “USDA Organic” label. Only foods in the categories “100% organic” and “organic” may display the USDA Organic Seal. Other foods with varying levels of organic ingredients may be labeled as follows:

“100% organic” - single ingredient such as a fruit, vegetable, meat, milk and cheese (excludes water and salt).

“Organic” - multiple ingredient foods which are 95 to 100% organic.

“Made with organic ingredients” - 70% of the ingredients are organic. Can appear on the front of package, naming the specific ingredients.

“Contains organic ingredients” - contains less than 70% organic ingredients.

steve_ne · Feb 3, 2010

I have been looking into this for the past 6 months. I have purchased a greenhouse; I am increasing my garden size too. I will also be using small hoop houses. I will be growing out of season items in the greenhouse during the winter and a wide range of vegetables in the summer. I haven’t decided if going organic is going to help. I have time to decide because I haven’t got the greenhouse up yet and we still have a foot of snow where it’s going. I’m planning on next winter.

The local dairy has gone hormone free and no antibiotics in their feed. They milk and pasteurize their own product. They’re doing well.
National Sustainable Agriculture Information Services.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 3, 2010

We have a greenhouse and do the truck farming on our property. Most people can not tell you what organic is or is not. It would be impossible to do organic farming in most areas unless you want to leave a buffer of your land out of crops. Most farmers will farm to the edge of their porperty so it will be up to you to have the buffer. Also the cost of having your land certified organic make it prohibitive. Just like climate change there is no way the prove organic vs. non-organic is any better for you. If you are doing this for your on peice of mind then try it. Other wise you'lll be putting in alot more effort with alot less of a yeild.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 3, 2010

This fad will go the same way the emu fad did.Boom then bust,glad i missed out on that one.

NY 986 · Feb 3, 2010

On the fertilizer I had the organic people tell me that certain forms of potassium and phosphorus can be utilized outside of animal waste products. They are supposed to be in the form the would be extracted from the earth as opposed to industrial product or by-products. Limestone tested for minimal natural Mercury is also acceptable. Chicken manure or fish meal are generally required for crops that require a high amount of nitrogen such as corn. There are now complete analysis' available of N-P-K that can be purchased but may not be cost effective with some crops.
Another limiting factor around here are the heavy soils. Some ground even with artificial drainage can be impassable after heavy rains. Cultivation HAS to be done on a TIMELY basis to keep weeds from over taking a crop. Even with conventional practices here it can be hard to maintain good weed control.
I am concerned with the extensive tillage severely degrading the organic content of the soil. Would have to rotate into hay/forage every few years. I have not seen where the organic hay market is anything close to consistent.
Maintaining proper field barriers would be a big problem as I run a lot of boundry line with the neighbors.
When I was at college the talk surrounding organic is that it is highly cyclical and very vulnerable in an economic down turn. I also think it is hard financially to endure the 3 year transition if you have a significant amount of debt to service. Don't know of many farms in this area that are "turn-key" ready to go organic.

Tom from Ontario · Feb 3, 2010

Local food movement is taking off in Ontario. Organics getting more popular. Big food companies(in spite of every food safety program under the sun) have had too many recalls. People are getting worried about how their food is grown and they like nothing better to get to know a real farmer. If you can provide good quality food to customers, take time to know them and answer their questions, they will cling to you like a barnacle AND pay your asking prices.
We go in our local store and there are 8 kinds of apples. Ridiculous. Strawberries in January?
Why? They are from 3000 miles away and probably sprayed with everything under the sun. I want to look forward to seasonal food. If all you want to do is grow corn,and beans and sit on your tractor, you are part of the problem.

Spook · Feb 3, 2010

There is a lot of chinese grown and packaged food for sale in US grocery stores. Do you trust that stuff?

John M · Feb 3, 2010

I grow a garden, but I buy alot of stuff too at the farmers market, most of which is within 100 miles of the market. Only problem is some of its seasonal, so I usually freeze or can alot of stuff for the winter. Have a couple of sources close by for meat. I might pay a few cents more for it, but I can taste the difference and its worth it to me.

J. Eaton · Feb 3, 2010

I think fuel usage in organic/sustainable systems is not much more if not less than conventional systems. Sure there is (usually) more intensive cultivation, however when you figure in how much fossil fuel it takes to make a lb of nitrogen fertilizer, or a qt. of Roundup, I bet the gap narrows pretty quick. There are problems with getting enough nutrients to the crop sustainably though, as legumes and green manures can only do so much but that"s no excuse to give up and say the only way to grow something is with a ton of triple super phosphate. I do not think that this is a passing fad. As fuel prices continue to increase, and consumers become more and more weary of large conglomerates and the government controlling what"s on their plate, I think small, organic (even without the costly certification) farms will still have a shot. Consumers seem to be driving this movement, not celebrities. I at least hope this is the case as it is currently allowing me to operate a small profitable hillside farm.
Just my 2 cents

J. Eaton

prawnfarmer · Feb 3, 2010

We grown freshwater prawns (hence "prawnfarmer") which are close kin to marine shrimp. We grow, process, freeze pack and sell whole or processed. Marketing is the big challenge. We have a state health department inspected mobile processing trailer and sell farm direct to the public. Our grow-out ponds are set up to raise prawns, catfish, crawdads, or even feedout trout during the cold winter months. Marketing is big the challenge. Unlike commodity shrimp, we use no anti-biotics or chemicals, but, we don't claim to be organic. I do tell folks "the prawns are grown "free range". Some get the joke and others think it is a good thing and nod approvingly.

Wesley Stephens · Feb 3, 2010

We are not organic, but we sell beef, poultry, and pork direct to customers. We have it processed at inspected plants and we don't use preventive antibiotics or growth promoters. I tell my customers that I don't keep my animals on antibiotics, but I'm not going to lose a 1200 dollar beef because I won't treat an illness. So far, all of them have seen that as reasonable. Our customers say our quality is much better than commercially available meat and we have been financially successful. Our biggest problem is that we are still building production capacity and cannot meet current demand, especially for beef. Locally produced food seems to be a viable idea. We cut out a lot of middle men, so we make more than we would selling on the commodities markets and we can offer products at a competitive price.

Dieselbreath · Feb 3, 2010

I thought organic would really take off after all the problems were discovered with Chinese foods and products. I read the can labels to make sure what I buy is not made in China.
I still think all it would take is a discovery of an adverse effect caused by non-organic practices, then Hello, organic.

RodinNS · Feb 3, 2010

'Local' food isn't going to take off in any great way until people are forced into it for economic reasons. There's certainly an element in the population today that shops at farm markets and that type of thing who are looking for local grown food but I'd hardly call that widespread. It would roughly coincide with the 'organic' crowd...

However, I do think that when the price of energy starts reflecting it's real cost and it starts bringing our transportation network to it's knees, then you're going to see 'local' food IF there's any of us left farming who can produce local food. Otherwise... there's gonna be a riot....

Rod

NW Ohio Tim · Feb 4, 2010

We are not organic, but we sell beef, poultry, and pork direct to customers. We have it processed at inspected plants and we don't use preventive antibiotics or growth promoters. I tell my customers that I don't keep my animals on antibiotics, but I'm not going to lose a 1200 dollar beef because I won't treat an illness. So far, all of them have seen that as reasonable. Our customers say our quality is much better than commercially available meat and we have been financially successful. Our biggest problem is that we are still building production capacity and cannot meet current demand, especially for beef. Locally produced food seems to be a viable idea. We cut out a lot of middle men, so we make more than we would selling on the commodities markets and we can offer products at a competitive price.

We only feed/sell hogs, but we are in the same boat as Wesley. There will always be a good local market if you are willing to provide a good service/product.

I don't think you can base your business plan on the whims of a university..... I'd rather sell 30 hogs as halves, to 60 people, than count on a large customer to buy all of them when they are finished out.

There's a market out there if you are willing to work for it. The premium makes it worthwhile for us.

Tim K in NW Ohio ~ Proud supplier of pork & pork by-porducts.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 4, 2010

AND IF Aldi sets up there you will have.

Pineapple from Phillipines
Corn from Thailand [ allthough nothing on tin to indicate non gm]
Apricots from Sth Africa
Peaches from Greece.
Dried Apricots from Turkey
Peanut butter from China and USA.
Tinned mushrooms from China.
Asparagus from Peru.
and on & on. All, of course because they are cheaper and a better bottom line can be achieved.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 4, 2010

People are lazy and like to shop where they can get every thing in one place.They may have to cross a 10 acre parking lot and wander all over a 5 acre store to get what they need.I sell some sweet corn road side.Sweet corn has got to be fresh.

Wesley Stephens · Feb 4, 2010

Tim, I have found that the key is in the marketing also. I use the Internet and word of mouth a lot. There will always be a market for cheap food, but there has always been a strong market for local, high-quality products. You just have to do the legwork to sell it. It pays off in the end, though. One of my beef customers from last year got some people together and bought 3 whole beeves. Last year's product did this year's selling for those. I have not sold halves of hogs, only sausage. Would you mind telling me how you price it? I've got folks wanting barbecue hogs and I have a few that are just the right size.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 4, 2010

If you sell a quality, fresh product then you'll have customers. Taste and freshen will bring customers back. You'll have a few ask if your produce is organic most will just want fresh home grown produce. During corn season we'll pick through out the day so our corn does not sit on the stand or in in a cooler for days on end. We have a few neighbors that will pick and fill there truck bed and sell it all week long, at the end of the week they feed about half to their cattle.

NW Ohio Tim · Feb 4, 2010

Wesley,

Shoot me an email, I'll be happy to talk about pricing, out of the spotlight.

rgf98 @ hotmail.com

I will say, we've been selling based on market price. I think we may change and charge a flat price... I just hate to do that, because some people like to follow the market and like getting a better deal when the markets are low.

We left the barn empty this winter and we have been discussing prices. We are pretty good friends with the guy that runs the shop that does most of our processing. He suggests we go to a carcass price.... I just don't know......

Tim K in NW Ohio ~ Sometimes confused about pricing.....

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