Archives for the 'Notes from the Field' Category
June ERS Reports: Opportunities & Constraints to Local and Alternative Production Systems
Friday, June 25th, 2010
This June the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) published reports identifying the opportunities and constraints facing both local food supply chains and grass-fed livestock production systems.
In response to the exploding demand for local foods the ERS published, “Comparing the Size, Structure and Performance of Local and Mainstream Food Supply Chains.” The report looks at the determinants of structure and size for local food supply chains and compares the social, environmental and economic performance of local vs. mainstream supply chains.
The report is one of the outcomes of a 2008 Farm Bill effort by Senators Feingold, Menendez, and Harkin, supported by NSAC, to foster greater research into local and regional food systems.
Using case study analysis, the report focuses on 5 products from 5 urban areas; blueberries in Portland, Oregon; leafy greens in Sacramento, California; apples in Syracuse, New York; beef in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and fluid milk in Washington D.C. Click here to read about the case studies in detail.
The case studies followed each product along 3 supply chains; local, inter-mediated and mainstream. Local supply chains relied on direct marketing from producer to consumer, defining “local” as produced within a 400 mile radius or within the state, a definition that NSAC helped develop for use in the Farm Bill. Inter-mediated supply chains refers to producers who grow/ raise food locally but then employ a marketing intermediary to reach consumers.
Key findings from the report include:
- Direct marketing comprises a very small portion of the total sales for each product but producers using local food supply chains receive higher revenues per unit and receive a larger share of the retail dollar. Farmers selling into inter-mediated supply chains also receive a larger share relative to the mainstream supply chains.
- Economic benefits from local supply chains accrue locally, but mainstream supply chains can also contribute to local economies.
- Local food systems generate greater social capital and civic engagement.
- Local food supply chains often rely on a more diversified portfolio of market outlets such as farmers markets, CSAs, buying clubs, restaurants, Internet sales, etc.
- Costs associated with mainstream processing and distribution often block small to mid- sized producers from opportunities to scale-up.
In their monthly publication, “Livestock, Poultry and Dairy Outlook,” the ERS published another report in response to growing consumer demand for grass-fed meat.
Most cattle spend the first half of their lives grazing on pasture. However, in conventional production systems, cattle are confined into concentrated into feedlots and finished on grain feed. In addition to providing a large market for abundant gran supplies, the grain feed also results in more tender meat with a shorter production time.
Alternatively, many ranchers are returning to production systems that finish the livestock on high-quality grasses and forages. The resulting meat is leaner and also provides a healthier fat profile with more Omega-3 fatty acids. Producers can also differentiate their products as “grass-fed” or “grass-finished” as a marketing niche. According to this ERS report, grass-fed or finished cattle comprise about 3% of the industry, growing at about 20% per year.
This ERS report explains that although grass-fed beef is a commercially viable alternative to conventional systems, as demand for grass-fed meat expands, foraged based production systems will face increasing constraints. Specifically, the ERS cites the higher costs associated with relying on feeds that are in shorter supply (particularly in winter months), potential land shortages, and the greater production time required to fatten cattle on forages. The report also addressed the need for more processing facilities in local areas to handle the increasing demand.
Click here to read this report.
Help for Farmers in Accessing CSP
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Thirty more days remain before the June 11th deadline for applications to the 2010 round of the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). A number of NSAC member groups have resources to help producers sign up for CSP (with more to follow soon):
- ATTRA recently posted an updated step-by-step guide to the CSP application process to their which includes links to the self-screening checklist and other relevant forms and background information. Producers are also invited to call the ATTRA toll free hot-line number at 1-800-346-9140 (English) and 1-800-411-3222 (Spanish) for additional help or further information. Click here to visit the ATTRA guide to Accessing CSP.
- The Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF), has a set of frequently asked questions about CSP, specific to organic producers. Click here to access the OFRF FAQ about CSP
- The Center for Rural Affairs‘ Farm Bill Helpline can offer direct assistance to farmers and ranchers. Call 402-687-2100 and ask for the Farm Bill Helpline.
- The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute will be hosting two CSP Info sessions in Wisconsin. For more information on these two sessions, contact Bridget Holcomb, MFAI’s Associate Policy Director, at bridget(at)michaelfieldsaginst.org or call 608-256-1859.
- Wednesday, May 19th, 1-3 pm in Tomahawk, WI at Treehaven, W2540 Pickerel Creek Road, 715-453-4106.
- Monday, May 24th, 1-3pm in Oshkosh at the NRCS office, 625 E. County Rd. Y, 920-424-0329 x310.
- The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) offers a series of farmer fact sheets on CSP, available on their CSP page. LSP is also interested to hear about producers’ experience with the CSP application process at their local NRCS office. Contact Policy Program organizer Adam Warthesen at 612-722-6377 or adamw(at)landstewardshipproject.org.
Anti-CAFO Activist Wins Goldman Environmental Prize
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
NSAC offers heartfelt congratulations to Lynn Henning, a southern Michigan farmer who has been awarded the 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize for U.S. grassroots environmental activism. The Prize is recognition of Lynn’s unstinting work in exposing the impacts of pollution from large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), especially mega-dairies, in her southern Michigan community and across the upper Midwest.
Lynn’s activism began in 2000 when she joined with neighbors to form the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan (ECCSCM) and began to take water samples and photographs to document CAFO environmental violations that threaten the environment and public health. As with many local activists fighting powerful interests, Lynn and her family have been personally threatened and harassed. In addition to dead animals left on her porch and the bombing of her mailbox, Lynn has also been run off the road while taking water samples in publicly accessible locations and equipment on her family farm has been damaged.
Lynn volunteered with the Water Sentinel Program of the Sierra Club’s Michigan Chapter and became a staff member with the Chapter in 2005. Her work with Sierra Club and the ECCSM has produced a better record of CAFO violations than that of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). She has since expanded her work in Michigan to help form a statewide committee made up of representatives of the departments of agriculture and health, the DEQ, and Michigan citizens groups. The Committee is charged with conducting a first-ever assessment state level of the environmental impacts of CAFOs on public health. Lynn also assists other communities in challenging CAFOs. Some of her investigation techniques have been incorporated into EPA investigations of CAFOs.
On April 19, Lynn was joined in San Francisco by five other grassroots activists receiving a Goldman prize as leaders of grassroots activism in their countries. A smaller award ceremony will be held on Wednesday, April 21 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC.
Op-Ed in SF Chronicle urges investment in beginning farmers
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
We are excited to share this op-ed by beginning farmer, Rebecca King, who participated in the NSAC beginning farmer fly-in earlier this month. The article addresses the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account program, which would provide matched savings accounts and financial training to beginning farmers to help them get started. Click here for more information on what you can do to support this program. Access the original article here at the San Francisco Chronicle Online.
Open Forum: Invest in the next generation of farmers
By Rebecca King
As a fledgling 30-something female sheep farmer, I rack up more than my share of Little Bo Peep jokes. In reality, I haven’t lost my sheep.I know exactly where to find them because they’re the key to my successful cheese-making start-up enterprise and my farm outside Watsonville.
But the success of my venture — and those of thousands of beginning farmers across the country — relies on support from federal Farm Bill programs that Congress needs to prioritize in the upcoming fiscal year 2011 budget recommendations, efforts like the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account Program.
Left to right: Brett Malone (ALBA), Eleazar Juarez (Farmer), Devin Rhinerson (Sen. Feinstein - CA), Steve Schwartz (CA Farmlink), and Rebecca King (Farmer) meeting in Sen Feinstein's office on March 3 to talk about beginning farmer issues.
The program is based on “Individual Development Accounts,” a competitive savings plan that matches funds saved by individual farmers. California FarmLink independently administers an individual development account program in which farmers like me commit to saving a set amount every month for two years. This program matched my contribution 3 to 1: every $100 I saved each month equaled $300 in my account. The money saved can be used after two years toward specific business investments, such as a farm down payment or to purchase farm equipment.
To further ensure long-term business success, as a program participant I was required to complete financial training programs such as business planning and market development as well as develop a savings and business plan before the funds could be used. At the end of two years I received back almost $10,000 in capital as well as a strong foundation for my business fiscal success.
I’m not alone. Participants in IDA programs designed to start up small enterprises across various business categories are 84 percent more likely to become profitable business owners than those who have not participated. Funding such entrepreneurial programs means the cost of other line items, like unemployment benefits, goes down as well.
The Farm Bill created the first ever IDA program specifically for farmers, called the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account Program. Unfortunately, Congress did not appropriate funds for the program in last year’s budget. We can start fresh right now for the 2011 fiscal year.
Our nation looks to California for its vision on how best to cultivate healthy, sustainable farms to feed future generations. Our California delegation, particularly with the leadership of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) and Representative Sam Farr, D-Carmel, stand in a strong position to recommend $5 million in beginning farmer funding. If funded at this level for the remaining four years of this farm bill, this program could still assist approximately 3,200 new farmers like me to establish farming livelihoods across the country.
Yes, we live in a time of extreme budgetary pressures. But no, we can’t short-change the future of our children or the sustainability of our food system. It’s a matter of reinvesting in the long-term viability of vibrant agricultural enterprises and farms that feed our nation.
Congress: Invest in and grow the next generation of farmers like me and you won’t be lost like Bo Peep. Instead we’ll be eating cheese, meat and other locally raised, healthy food made with pride by America’s farmers.
Rebecca King is a dairy sheep farmer and cheese-maker in northern Monterey County. She sells raw milk sheep cheese through farmers markets, specialty shops and restaurants.
Clean Water Network’s “March Madness” DC Gathering
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
The Clean Water Network, a coalition of over 1,000 organizations working together to protect the nation’s waters, held a “March Madness” fly-in in Washington D.C. on March 14-16. NSAC and many of our member organizations are Network members.
Key fly-in events had an agricultural focus. A congressional briefing on March 15, entitled “The Mississippi – The River Left Behind,” addressed nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the River which ultimately contributes to a hypoxic dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Much of this pollution results from agricultural activity in states bordering the Mississippi River, as well as Ohio and Indiana where farms contribute to pollution in the Ohio River, a major tributary of the Mississippi River.
The briefing addressed the sources and consequences of nutrient pollution, the work of the Mississippi River Collaborative – funded by the McKnight Foundation to seek solutions to nutrient loading throughout the River Basin, and a report summarizing federal government resources available to deal with Mississippi River Basin pollution. At the close of the briefing, Sierra Club Water Sentinels Tom Guilfoyle and Hank Graddy spoke about their petition to EPA urging that the agency establish numeric Clean Water Act nutrient standards for the Mississippi River. The Sierra Club gathered almost 42,000 signatures on this petition. The EPA’s Office of Inspector General issued a report in 2009 that focused on the need for numeric water quality standards for nutrients.
On March 16, March Madness participants met with EPA officials to discuss nutrient standards and a wide array of agricultural issues. This meeting was the first in a series of Clean Water Network in-depth dialogues with EPA to address specific Clean Water Act issues. Albert Ettinger of the Environmental Law and Policy Center led a discussion on numeric nutrient standards, which included the official presentation of the Sierra Club’s petition with 42,000 signatures to EPA. NSAC staff member, Martha Noble, led the discussion with EPA Agricultural Counselor Larry Elworth and EPA staff on agricultural issues.
Topics covered included urging EPA to revise and strengthen the Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) regulation, which was issued in 2008 and immediately challenged in court by environmentalists for being too lax. The Network wants EPA to eliminate a provision that allows CAFOs to self-certify that they will not discharge pollutants without any public review or sufficient regulatory oversight. Participants also urged EPA to strengthen CAFO pollution controls, especially controls on bacteria, heavy metals and other pollutants that are not covered by a CAFO nutrient management plan.
EPA staff announced at the meeting that EPA will be reviewing its guidance for the Clean Water Act Section 319 program which provides funds for projects to deal with non-point source pollution.
The agency is also noted it is working on proposed regulation to address pesticide drift that ends up in lakes, streams, rivers and other water bodies. The regulation was required by the ruling of the Federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeal in the case National Cotton Council v. EPA. The court disapproved an EPA regulation that exempted permit requirements for pesticide applications into water bodies or applications near water bodies that resulted in the pesticides getting into the water, if the pesticide application complied with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act. Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Petitions for Certiorari from Croplife and the American Farm Bureau Federation to review the lower court decision.
The day after the fly-in, EPA announced a web discussion forum where the public can submit comments for a two-week period on specific issues including Managing Pollutants from Nutrients, in preparation for a Coming Together for Clean Water conference in April. At the conference, the agency will engage approximately 100 leaders on the agency’s clean water agenda. The control of nutrient pollution is one of the highest priority issues.
10 Days of Sustainable Ag Advocacy: An Intern’s Perspective
Monday, March 15th, 2010
by Kara Slaughter, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute
“With reference to individual or national welfare, agriculture is of primary importance.” -George Washington
So reads one of the three quotations at the top of the stone edifice at the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters in Washington, D.C. Part of what prompted me to quit my “real job” in January and become a policy intern with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute is the belief that if a nation can get our nation’s food system right, then other positive outcomes – environmental, social, political, economic – will follow. So it has been a privilege for me to spend two weeks of my internship shadowing and learning from the NSAC staff, who are working to hold onto past gains and bring about new reforms to the nation’s agricultural policies. Here are some of the lessons I learned:
Day 1: when pounding the pavement for sustainable agriculture, wear comfortable shoes.
One of my first tasks in D.C. was to hand-deliver a copy of a Climate Change sign-on letter to the offices of every U.S. Senator. Yup, that’s 100 offices, spread over 3 buildings. The task took about three and a half hours. Since the Anthrax scare in 2001, all mail to Congressional offices goes through a lengthy screening process that can delay delivery for weeks, so getting information in the hands of decision-makers in a timely fashion actually requires hand-delivery. NSAC itself disseminates several sign-on letters similar to the ones I delivered each year, and also delivers similar letters for member organizations who do not have any other contact “on the ground” in DC. “Next time we’ll have you deliver letters to the House side,” Ferd said. I stop worrying about letting my gym membership lapse.
Day 3: If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.
It is appropriations season in Washington, and that means Senate and House office buildings are teeming with delegations from all over the country, all asking for the same thing: money. I see groups of veterans, teachers, television broadcasters, defense contractors, bicycle commuting enthusiasts, and potato growers, all angling for their piece of the federal pie. Joining the chorus on Wednesday, March 3 was a delegation of beginning farmers and ranchers, organized by NSAC to make the case for NSAC member organizations’ appropriations priorities to their Senators and Representatives. March 9th and 10th, NSAC organized another grassroots fly-in to address the food safety legislation currently pending before the Senate. I’m gathering that these fly-ins are a big deal in Washington. It seems that even in today’s world of technology, sending a powerful message in Washington still requires a personal touch.
The second quotation at the USDA reads: “No other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought as agriculture.” -Abraham Lincoln
Day 4: There’s no such thing as a free lunch (at least if you’re a political appointee.)
I attend The Atlantic Food Summit, hosted by Atlantic Monthly magazine. The purpose of Atlantic forums such as this one is to foster informed discussion on pertinent policy issues. I am tickled by this only-in-Washington disclaimer on the registration page: “This educational event is intended for career federal employees and not for political appointees because lunch will be served for program participants. If you are a political appointee, STOP NOW – do not continue with the registration process.”
To read my more substantive observations about the Food Forum, click here.
Day 10: Seize the teachable moment.
I tag along with policy associate Ariane Lotti to her meeting with Senator Byron Dorgan’s legislative assistant for agriculture. The purpose of the visit is to advocate for NSAC’s appropriations priorities, and to ask for Senator Dorgan to sign on to a Dear Colleague letter encouraging colleges to vote for those appropriation levels. Ariane does a lot of educating during the meeting – Dorgan’s LA is not familiar with the Beginning Farmer-Rancher Individual Development Account or the Value-Added Producer Grant, and so Ariane fills him in on the benefits of these programs. I start to see how much legislative staffers, who are responsible for huge swaths of work, rely on lobbyists to educate them about programs that are important to people in the home district. I’m glad that this staffer is getting his information from NSAC.
“The Husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits.” -St. Paul
This third quotation on the USDA headquarters building, which comes from Paul’s second letter to Timothy, is part of a longer passage that touches on notions of fairness and playing by the rules. I find this quotation the most thought-provoking of the three. What would our agricultural policy look like if farmers demanded the first share? For the last few weeks I’ve been toting around a flier from the National Farmer’s Union that shows the farmer’s share of the food dollar for a variety of familiar products. A farmer’s earnings from a $3.49 pound of boneless ham? 48 cents. The farmer’s share of a head of lettuce, retailing for $1.79? 25 cents. From a $2.99 loaf of bread? Ten cents.
A lot of NSAC organizations around the country are providing direct support to farmers who make the courageous decision to break out of the old model and start doing things differently. I’m struck by the fact that Paul did not say, “you must give the one who labors the first fruits.” To say it this way would suggest that the fruits belonged to someone else, and needed to be given back to the person doing the laboring. But no – Paul puts the onus on the farmer to keep what is rightfully his or hers. I hear Paul’s words as a call to action for farmers, to stand up and be counted, and to not give away what they have worked so hard to produce. I’ve seen farmers doing just that this week –participating on NSAC committees, making calls to their elected representatives, taking time away from work and family to fly in to Washington. As always, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. If you haven’t already done so, you can sign up for NSAC’s weekly roundup and action alerts here.
Individual Development Accounts to support Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Last week’s Drake Forum on America’s New Farmers addressed a myriad of opportunities and challenges that face the new generation of farmers and ranchers: big, small, and mid-sized, urban and rural, all across the country. In particular, access to land, access to capital, new market development, and education and training, particularly financial education, surfaced again and again in panel discussions.
While grassroots organizations across the country have been working for years to address these issues on the ground, the conference recognized the need for a concerted effort at the national level to shape programs and policies that will foster a vibrant, diverse, population of farmers and ranchers to feed the country over the next 50 years.
The conversation could be considered a first step towards developing a comprehensive Beginning Farmer Bill in preparation for the 2012 Farm Bill. But NSAC and its member groups also reminded participants of the opportunity for more immediate action, in particular, to support the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account (BFRIDA) Program. The BFRIDA Program would provide business education and matched savings accounts to beginning farmers of modest means. Created in the 2008 Farm Bill as a pilot program but never funded, BFRIDA has the potential to create thousands of new farm businesses.
What you can do to support IDAs
Call your Representatives and Senators today and urge them to ask for $5 million for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account program for Fiscal Year 2011. To find your Congressperson’s information, click here, enter your zip code, then click on your representative. Click on the tab for “contact.” When you reach the office, ask for the legislative aide that works on agriculture issues.
The Message is Simple: I am a constituent and am calling to urge Senator/Representative _________ to support funding of $5 million for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Account Program. BFRIDA will spark the creation of thousands of new farm businesses which translates into more jobs.
Report Your Call: Please take a moment to tell us a little about the results of your call. It is helpful for us to know if you are getting through to your legislator and how they are responding to your call. Click here to let us know how it went.
IDA Successes: “Full Steam Ahead”
John Tecklin and Angie Tomey are heading into their 13th year of operation at Mountain Bounty Farm. Located high on the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, their 300-member CSA produces a wide range of fruits and vegetables in an otherwise underserved, difficult to farm region.
John graduated from California FarmLink’s 2-year IDA program in 2008, with $9,600 to put toward a down payment on land. He explains that access to capital is the single biggest challenge for beginning farmers, and that IDA programs are valuable tools for addressing this problem while teaching important savings habits.
“The cash-flow planning training that FarmLink required was another important nudge along the way to professionalism,” John adds, 
emphasizing that he now has a much more sophisticated operation and carefully manages his finances.
Ultimately, John exclaims “Full-steam ahead!” when asked what he thinks about the BFRIDA program. His own IDA experience allowed him to purchase ten acres of land, ramp up production, and leverage a 5-year automatic renewal lease on a neighboring parcel—important steps that led to greater security, and allowed John and Angie to hire more seasonal staff to manage their thriving business.
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More information:
- Learn more about Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts
- Read another farmer profile
- Learn more about the appropriations process.
- Learn more about NSAC’s other appropriation’s priorities for 2011.
The Atlantic Forum Tackles Food Safety
Monday, March 8th, 2010
Has the FDA’s experiment with self-policing failed? This was the question posed by Marc Ambinder, Politics Editor at The Atlantic, at the Food Summit hosted by The Atlantic Monthly on March 4. Ambinder noted that until the spinach, pet food, and baby formula scares in 2006, 2007, and 2008, funding for the FDA during the Bush era remained flat, on the theory that companies could and would ensure the safety of food products on their own.
Attendees may have sensed a shift towards more regulation from FDA officials who spoke at the Forum. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg cited food safety as one of the top issues on the agency’s agenda, and lauded the food safety legislation currently before Congress. Hamburg noted that the legislation would give the FDA some powerful new regulatory tools such as traceback requirements and mandatory recall authority. Another indication of change: just one day before Hamburg’s appearance at the Food Forum, the FDA issued warnings threatening legal action to 17 manufacturers about 22 food labels that the agency deemed false or misleading.
But if large food manufacturers are feeling more regulatory heat, they didn’t let on at the Food Forum. General Mills’ Vice President of Quality and Regulatory Operations Elizabeth Westring said the food industry “has enjoyed a great relationship with regulators” and said General Mills was “fully supportive” of FDA having mandatory recall authority. Westring and McCormick & Company President and CEO Alan Wilson both praised the proposed food safety bill, and downplayed the impact that the legislation could have on small producers and processors. When pressed on this point by Ambinder, who asked if holding everyone to the same standard without giving small companies the resources to do so was just “favoring the big guys,” Westring replied, “Food safety is the price of admission. If you’re going to play in this space, you have to have a basic standard that everyone complies with.”
While panelists did not tread into the details of what such a standard would look like, Director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Stephen Sundlof did acknowledge that the FDA was mindful of the lessons learned from the California leafy greens marketing agreement. He stated that because of this experience, the legislation pending in Congress requires the agency to consider the impact of any regulation on small and organic producers.
NSAC will continue to work with the USDA, the FDA, and members of Congress to educate and provide guidance so that new legislation does not undermine the administration’s efforts to develop more robust local and regional food systems or undermine conservation measures on the part of producers. To stay informed of NSAC’s work, sign up for our weekly roundup and action alerts.
With regard to the threat of antibiotic resistance due to sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics in animals, Hamburg acknowledged that the issue was “a pressing concern, and one that the FDA has not addressed even though we understand it.” Hamburg’s own experience includes researching the problem of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis in humans.
Erik Olson, Director of Food and Consumer Product Safety at the Pew Health Group/Pew Charitable Trusts, noted that “there is pending legislation that would address this issue, but it is very controversial.”
For more information on solutions to the problem of antibiotic resistance, go to the wise antibiotics page of the Food and Agriculture Program of the Union of Concerned Scientists, an NSAC member organization.
Peterson and Vilsack endorse local and regional food at Home Grown
Friday, February 19th, 2010
More than 200 people braved chilling western Minnesota February weather on Monday and Tuesday to hear House Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Collin Peterson and USDA Secretary Vilsack speak about the need to develop better local food systems at the Home Grown Economy conference at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall. At least another 100 participants joined by video conference from four additional sites. Both the Secretary and the Chairman emphasized the opportunities that increasing food production for local markets offers rural communities and how USDA programs can help support their development. (See Dave Swenson’s recent study on the potential in similar SW Iowa region.)
Chairman Peterson opened the conference with an endorsement of the First Lady’s new Let’s Move initiative to reduce childhood obesity and his support for the idea that US agriculture can help by increasing, in particular, the volume of fruits and vegetables produced, and increasing their availability in underserved areas. He emphasized that any federal support for developing new market relationships will have to happen within the context of fiscal crisis and that he anticipates the possibility of agricultural budget cuts next year, including possible cuts to farm programs, via a congressional budget reconciliation process.
Secretary Vilsack expanded on the theme of using local agriculture to address health, energy, and economic development challenges in rural areas and offered existing USDA Rural Development and Marketing programs to build the supply and capacity to meet local food demand. He decried the past use of Business and Industry Loan Guarantees (B&I) to fund convenience stores and hotels that “subsidized people driving through rural communities” and pledged that B&I will now be used to help “create good lives in rural America” through investments in businesses, including grocery stores, that can be keystones of sustainable local development. Data indicates that B&I now has 188 active loans for convenience stores totaling $279,818,036 and only 53 grocery store loan projects totaling $59,677,072.
Secretary Vilsack offered several USDA programs as key to building regional food economies, all programs very familiar to NSAC members. The five percent set aside in the B&I program for local and regional food enterprises, increased funding for Value-Added Producer Grant including a special funding set-aside for mid-tier value chain development, the creation of the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program, and doubling farm bill mandatory funding in 2011 for the Farmers Market Promotion Program were all NSAC-led campaigns in the 2008 Farm Bill.
For a quick-guide to these and other Farm Bill programs and grants, click here.
Linking Nutrition and Local Food
An interesting new emphasis of the Secretary’s was on the potential that USDA’s nutrition programs offer to stimulate local food production, processing, retailing, and consumption. Secretary Vilsack repeatedly mentioned the as-yet unfunded Farm to School program. In addition, with reference to SNAP (formerly food stamps), he mentioned possible new grants to create incentives for SNAP participants to purchase local food. (He may have been referring to the proposed $4 million for EBT connections for farmers markets included in the FY2011 budget. NSAC will stay tuned and let you know as we learn more. Click here to sign up to receive news from NSAC.)
Over $4 million of SNAP purchases are made in farmers markets annually, accounting for only 0.04% of SNAP food purchases, so there is clearly room for growth. Vilsack pointed out the every SNAP dollar spent generates $1.84 in economic activity. If SNAP is used to purchase local or regional food products the economic stimulus to the area will be even greater.
The Secretary also mentioned the WIC program. NSAC submitted comments on the new WIC program fresh fruit and vegetable vouchers encouraging the Department to have all states certify farmers markets as vendors and encourage participants’ access to markets.
B&I Loan for Regional Food System Development
In a related development on Tuesday, USDA announced a $450,000 B&I Loan Guarantee to Organic Renaissance, LLC in Athol, MA to lease a building to facilitate the cost-effective aggregation and distribution of food products grown in MA, southern N.H., southern VT and northern CT to restaurants, retailers and others in the region. This is the first example NSAC has seen of a B&I loan guarantee for an enterprise designed to build the regional food system.
“Where the Future is Planted”
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
By Ariane Lotti, NSAC
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| Credit: California Farmlink — Rebecca King is a beginning farmer in northern California. She owns and operates Monkey Flower Ranch |
When USDA Deputy Secretary Merrigan addressed the crowd at the Ecological Farming Association’s 30th Anniversary EcoFarm Conference last week, she was talking to a crowd of seasoned organic pioneers as well as the current and next generations of organic and sustainable farmers.
Aptly named “Where the Future is Planted,” the conference was teeming with young, beginning, and aspiring farmers who flock to this conference and other farmer winter gatherings (PASA’s Farming for the Future Conference, MOSES’ Organic Farming Conference, and Southern SAWG’s annual conference, just to name a few) to share ideas and learn tricks of the trade, get up-to-speed on new technologies and methodologies, and connect with the many faces of the alternative agriculture movement, from social justice and healthy food to organic farming and land stewardship.
Despite the multiple barriers that beginning farmers face — including access to land and credit, they have the ear of USDA. In her address, Merrigan highlighted USDA activities that aim to create a future for farmers in America, including programs to re-establish local and regional food systems. She described a recent visit to a mobile slaughterhouse and the challenges in re-establishing the infrastructure to meet the market demands for local and regional food systems, and the opportunities in those food systems for new farmers to make a living off of the land.
NSAC has a policy platform on beginning farmers and ranchers that specifically addresses the challenges and barriers that these farmers face. Looking ahead to 2010, actions on the docket are the correct implementation of the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and full funding — $5 million — for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Accounts Program.