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Polls Show Wide Support for
Targeted Farm Programs
Over three-quarters of Americans support
the targeting of farm income support payments to family farms.
Most Americans support small family farms, and their views on the key farm
policy issues mirror the views of farmers, according to a new PIPA/Knowledge
Networks poll.
Seventy-seven percent of Americans support farm program payments to small
farms. But only 31 percent support payments to large farms. Those views
are similar to the views of farmers. A 27-state Extension Service/Farm
Foundation poll of farmers in 2001 found that 81 percent favor targeting
farm income support payments to small farms.
Had the poll asked, I suspect Americans would have expressed similar views
on small business. A poll of rural Nebraskans found a strong preference
for a rural economy dominated by small business rather than large
corporations. |
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Outreach in Minnesota on Federal Agriculture and Rural Policy
Center policy analyst Kim Leval is scheduling a series of town hall
meetings in western Minnesota focused on agriculture and rural policy.
Rural community and economic development, family farming/ranching,
value-added agriculture, and natural resource stewardship are among topics
that will be open for discussion.
Kim is working with Representative Collin Peterson’s staff, citizens, and
organizations in western Minnesota to schedule a town hall meeting in
Crookston on April 13. Others are in the works for June and beyond.
If you are interested in helping or attending, contact Kim at
kimleval@qwest.net or
541.687.1490.
Graduate Position Combines MBA and Sustainable Agriculture
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the ISU Graduate
Program in Sustainable Agriculture, in partnership with the Iowa State
College of Business, is offering a graduate position to earn an MBA with a
minor in Sustainable Agriculture.
The assistantship is offered through the Value Chain Partnerships in
Sustainable Agriculture project, funded in part by the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation. Available for the fall semester of 2004, the assistantship
will provide support for up to two years. Find out more at
www.iowastatemba.com
Interested candidates should contact Gretchen Zdorkowski,
gretzdor@iastate.edu or
515.294.6061. |
Yet today we are getting the opposite of what most people want – ever
greater concentration of economic power in large corporate entities, fewer
family farms, and fewer small retail businesses.
We are a democracy. Public policy should reflect the values and aspirations of
our citizens. But today it does not. Deliberate policy choices are
facilitating the concentration of economic power and reshaping America for the
worse.
Wealth naturally concentrates in a private economy unless government takes
strong steps to counter that tendency. Those with an initial advantage of
wealth use that to gain ever greater wealth until opportunity is foreclosed to
all but a few and free enterprise – with open opportunity for all and
dispersion of economic power – is destroyed.
In recent decades government has shifted from countering the tendency toward
economic concentration to reinforcing it. Farm programs subsidize the largest
farms to drive their neighbors out of business. Publicly funded agricultural
research programs focus on developing technology to enable big farms to get
bigger.
Economic development programs throw money at corporate job relocation while
giving crumbs to small business development. The courts and the administrative
branch refuse to enforce anti-trust prohibitions on price discrimination
against small business and family farms.
Our democracy is dysfunctional. It is producing the opposite of what citizens
want – for a variety of reasons. Too many citizen organizations have been
overtaken by a self-serving elite. The electoral system is dominated by money.
And too many citizens have withdrawn from the process, just when they most
need to engage.
But the news is not all bad. I sense the beginnings of a reawakening of
citizenship and the responsibilities it places on us. Across the country I see
small but growing numbers of citizens and elected officials stepping forward
to force the growing concentration of economic power to the center of the
agenda and work for genuine opportunity for all Americans.
It’s no time to give up. We have the support of most Americans. And we are
just getting started.
Agree or Disagree? Send your opinion to
Chuck Hassebrook, chuckh@cfra.org or
402.687.2100 x 1018.
Payment
Limitation Successful in Senate, Problematic in House
Senate supports meaningful farm program payment
limitations in their vote to approve the Budget Resolution bill.
With the Congressional budget process nearing completion – the Senate has
passed their budget resolution and the House debate was on-going at press time
– payment limitation reform was again successful and provides for funds to be
redirected to vital programs that are threatened by cuts.
Budget Resolutions are a non-binding blueprint for fiscal year spending.
Although they are non-binding, they set precedent for which programs could be
on the chopping block as appropriators begin their work on the Fiscal Year
2005 appropriations bill.
During Senate Budget Committee debate, Senator Nickles (R-OK), who chairs the
committee, established an assumption that severe cuts would be made to two
vital programs: the Value-Added Producer Grants Program (VAPG) and the
Conservation Security Program (CSP).
To restore those cuts, Senators Grassley (R-IA), Conrad (D-ND), Hollings
(D-SC), and Johnson (D-SD) introduced an amendment to cap farm program
payments at $300,000. This amendment had overwhelming bi-partisan support and
passed 16-6 in committee. This freed up $1.2 billion to fully fund the VAPG
and the CSP, as well as other conservation, child nutrition, and welfare
reform programs. The full Senate voted and passed the Budget Resolution bill
without any changes to this provision.
This is one more step in the right direction to achieving meaningful and
transparent payment limitations. There are good reasons for the growing
support for payment limitations.
Farmers are not well served by current law. It imposes no real limit on
marketing loans gains, and its loopholes ensure that limits on direct and
counter-cyclical payments affect few who spend money on a good lawyer. Thus,
it subsidizes the nation’s largest farms to drive their neighbors out of
business by bidding land away from them.
An effective payment limitation, like the Senate Budget Resolution bill is
calling for, would slow consolidation and keep more farmers on the land. This
is also good for rural communities because there would be more farmers to
patronize local businesses, support churches, provide leadership, and send
children to schools.
At this writing, the House Budget Resolution bill was still being debated in
committee. Representative Nussle (R-IA) presented instructions called
“reconciliation instructions” for the House Agriculture Committee to cut
mandatory spending by $110 million for Fiscal Year 2005. The Senate bill does
not contain such instructions.
At the end of the day, if Congress does have to cut mandatory spending levels,
they would be wise to follow the path established by the Senate Budget
Committee.
Contact: Traci Bruckner,
tracib@cfra.org or
402.687.2100 x 1016.
Corporate Farming Notes
Heartland Pork wants out; Smuckers wants more;
and a parting Cargill quote.
In the beginning, Heartland Pork Enterprises, Inc. became one of the
fastest-growing hog producers in the United States by using more than $30
million from investors in New York, North Carolina, and Canada. The company used
that investor interest to secure a $91.6 million line of credit from Farm Credit
Services of Illinois.
Now, Iowa’s second largest hog producer is for sale.
Heartland is struggling financially and its operations in Iowa, Illinois, and
Indiana, its 500 employees and 54,000 sows, await a buyer. A financial summary
shows that last year Heartland lost $23.2 million.
Heartland sells all of its hogs to Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., and Tyson is a
minority stockholder with a representative on Heartland’s board of directors,
which unanimously approved plans to sell the company.
Associated Press
The J.M. Smucker Co. is acquiring Minneapolis-based International
Multifoods Corp., the maker of Pillsbury, Hungry Jack, and other food brands in
a $500 million deal. Smucker’s would assume about $340 million of Multifoods’
debt. The purchase also will give Smucker the Canadian brands Robin Hood baking
mixes and Bick’s condiments.
Combined sales of the companies are expected to exceed $2.3 billion annually.
The purchase will strengthen the company’s position to buy other brands in the
future, said Tim Smucker, chairman and chief executive.
Multifoods acquired the Pillsbury desserts and specialty products businesses
from General Mills in 2001 for $304.5 million. Ledger-Enquirer
Mr. [Warren] Staley [chief executive of Cargill] remains critical of
the direction of U.S. agricultural policy, and says that although Cargill will
go on investing in the U.S., it expects the country’s overall share of
investment spending will continue to shrink.
“Over 20 years you have fewer farms and the government is clearly involved in
agriculture, otherwise why did you have declining commodity prices until just
recently, and ever-increasing land prices? We sit here as a company and say
that’s probably not the healthiest investment climate for us.
“At the same time Brazil has very free markets. They have internal
infrastructure challenges that can only improve. So Cargill makes a choice. Are
we going to put a whole lot more money and grain and agriculture processing in
the U.S., or in Brazil, Argentina or Russia or China?”
Financial Times
Contact: Brad Redlin,
bradr@cfra.org or 402.687.2100 x 1010.
Administration’s Budget Would Cut
Key Micro Business Programs
Loss of the Small Business Association (SBA)
Microloan and PRIME programs would be a critical threat to entrepreneurs in
small businesses and communities across the country. These programs represent a
real chance for some of our most disadvantaged.
Despite the proven success of the SBA Microloan and SBA PRIME Programs, the
President has requested that Congress discontinue funding for these programs in
Fiscal Year 2005.
The potential loss of these vital federal funding sources represents a critical
threat to the future of the American microenterprise industry and
microentrepreneurs across the nation. (A microenterprise is defined as a
businesses with five or fewer employees).
While federal funding for microenterprise has decreased steadily over the past 3
years, microenterprises – the nation’s smallest businesses – have played an
increasingly large role in our nation’s economy. Across the United States, over
27 million micro-entrepreneurs account for 17 percent of all private employment.
The Microloan Program is the nation’s largest funder – public or private – of
microenterprise capital and technical assistance. For many very low and
moderate-income entrepreneurs, these programs represent the only opportunity
they have to receive business training, a business loan, and a real chance at
success through self-employment.
For over 10 years, the SBA Microloan Program has been successful in serving
communities across America, specifically in those areas suffering from a lack of
credit due to economic downturn. In 2003, the Microloan program provided over
2400 loans.
These are individuals who, despite facing challenges to successful business
ownership, strike out to make better lives for themselves, their families, and
their communities. These borrowers are unique to the Microloan program, and are
not adequately served by alternate government programs, as suggested in the
Administration’s 2005 Budget Proposal.
The PRIME Program is also unique in that it provides business technical
assistance to low- and very-low income entrepreneurs across the country. The
PRIME Program provides business training regardless of whether or not trainees
seek business capital.
The Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) was started by the Center for
Rural Affairs in 1990 to meet the needs of self employed people in the rural
Midwest. REAP is Nebraska’s largest microenterprise program and operates on a
statewide, rural basis through regionally based Business Specialists. In fact,
REAP is the nation’s largest statewide rural microenterprise program.
REAP provides lending, training, networking, and technical assistance
opportunities for startup and existing small businesses and has provided
development services to over 3000 micro businesses. REAP recently reached the
two million lending plateau for the history of the program and has been an SBA
Microloan Intermediary since the program began in 1992. REAP is also very proud
to operate Nebraska’s only SBA Women’s Business Center. (See
REAP website)
Contact: REAP Program Director Jeff
Reynolds, 402.656.3091 or jeffr@alltel.net
for more information.
Center Chosen for a New
National Microenterprise Policy
Group
The Center was recently honored with a selection by the Association for
Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) to be part of the national learning cluster focused
on rural policy and microenterprise development.
According to AEO, the Center was selected because it has exhibited consistent
leadership in rural microenterprise development. The Rural Enterprise Assistance
Project (REAP) – the Center’s microenterprise development program – has assisted
the startup and development of nearly 3,000 businesses in rural Nebraska since
1990, including over $2 million in loans to new and existing businesses.
Other members of the group represent microenterprise programs in Iowa, Vermont,
Ohio, Texas, and California. The group will exchange ideas on public policy
issues related to microenterprise development and on how to raise public
awareness of the value of supporting locally-owned small businesses, and share
those ideas with AEO’s national membership of over 460 organizations.
Jon Bailey, Director of the Center’s Rural Research and Analysis Program, will
be the Center’s representative in this group. Information on REAP can be
obtained by contacting REAP Director Jeff Reynolds at 402.656.3091 or
jeffr@alltel.net . View REAP on the web at
www.cfra.org/reap
AEO was founded in 1991 and remains the only national member-based association
dedicated to microenterprise development. AEO provides its members with a forum,
information, and a voice to promote enterprise opportunity for people and
communities with limited access to economic resources. Learn more about AEO at
www.microenterpriseworks.org
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Feature article:
Completing the Rural Community Development
Puzzle
For a puzzle to be complete, every piece must be
in place. Community development is a process that requires multiple pieces, and
economic development is but one. Many people equate economic development with
community development, but the two are distinctly different. In terms of logic,
community development is not a part of economic development, but economic
development is a part of community development.
Missing the Big Picture
Traditional economic development strategy rests heavily on business recruitment
and marketing. Support for entrepreneurship is a distant third. This approach
doesn’t work well for small rural communities. Why not?
Most economic development strategies fail to see the whole picture. Let’s use
the tree as an illustration. Single branches often receive credit for holding up
the tree, for example, the school, the hospital, or the downtown community.
But the real strength comes from the community itself. All the other components
– community ownership, schools, churches, leadership, and succession – are
supporting branches of the community.
A business recruitment-only strategy leaves these other branches out. Normally
the first question asked in economic development is “What will the community do
for the business?” A better question to pose is “What will the business do for
the community?”
Industry Comes, Industry Goes
It is not uncommon for a recruited business to up and leave a community for more
lucrative grounds. For example, Leprino Foods established cheese plants in
Hartington and Dodge, Neb. Both plants were closed when the company decided to
pursue a more economically viable prospect in another state. This was clearly a
corporate decision made outside the local communities, but that didn’t make it
any easier for the employees who were laid off.
A traditional economic development strategy would dictate these communities
replace the Leprino Foods business with another like it. A solid community
strategy would yield much greater rewards and would strengthen the ownership by
the community in solving its own problem.
In the book, Rural Communities, Dr. Cornelia Flora examines the role of human
capital in community. She believes rural poverty contributes to decay in human
capital.
Rather than bringing another outside cheese processing plant into the
communities mentioned above and having the cycle repeat itself, investing time
and dollars in education and skills training would have a better, longer lasting
impact.
Incentives Drain Resources
Another problem inherent with industrial recruitment is the use of incentives to
lure businesses to the community. Incentives drain local economic development
groups and pit communities against each other in an intense struggle to attract
business.
Today, we need to look at regionalism as a strategy to strengthen our resources
and economy. Incentives are by their very nature competitive and do not
strengthen the community structure.
Communities use marketing and entrepreneurial efforts to stand apart from one
another. Marketing a community is an important piece of the community
development puzzle. But if the whole picture is not put together correctly,
marketing becomes hollow, much like selling an empty container. It is what goes
inside that makes the community special.
Entrepreneurial efforts have become the focus of several economic development
groups and individuals. Small business and entrepreneurial enterprises are the
lifeblood of small communities and their economic well being. But too many
developers consider this secondary to business recruitment, and individuals
don’t get the attention they need.
Uncovering a Community’s Legacy
What are all the parts of the rural community development puzzle and where do we
find them? In Project HOPE, the Center’s community economic revitalization
program, we look to the community for the answer to these questions. Each
community has slightly different needs, and cookie cutter approaches won’t work
the same way in each one.
The first question to ask of all communities is why do they exist? A community
must have a purpose for existence. These questions are part of understanding the
region and the community. Asking about the legacy of each community begins the
process of understanding the social climate that will drive development in the
future.
We assess the community by letting the people tell us what they need. Ernesto
Sirolli, renowned community and economic developer and author of Ripples from
the Zambezi, tells all developers that it is up to the community to determine
what they want. How dare we as resource providers have the arrogance to believe
that we know what they want?
Sirolli also believes the only development that could occur in any region would
have to begin from the inside out. Through Project HOPE, we send surveys to the
communities we work with to help determine what they may need. One of the
strengths of this approach is that we listen to the needs before we act.
Imagine the Future, Build New Leaders
The next action is to determine a vision for the community. Many small rural
communities develop comprehensive plans to identify some of the needs of the
town, but these don’t address a vision for the future.
We bring citizens together to imagine what the future could look like. Through
focus groups, the community looks ahead 10, 20, or even 30 years.
Another outcome in the process of Project HOPE is to identify leaders of the
community. This has two purposes. First, it helps to identify the “gatekeepers”
of the town. These are the people in the community that help or hinder
development. They are easy to identify and spot as they are usually the most
vocal and visible in the community. Second, it helps to attract new leaders that
may not have had the opportunity to come forward before.
Luther Snow, author and developer of asset-based community development,
recognizes relationships and “gatekeepers” as the strength and weakness of most
small rural communities. Project HOPE hosts leadership workshops to seek out new
community leaders.
In Plainview, Wausa, and Bloomfield, Neb., nine leadership workshops were held
during 2003. These included transformational leadership, servant-leadership,
hidden leadership, and personality assessment.
Mobilize with a Core Group
The next step is to bring a core group together to begin mobilizing efforts in
town. Michael Kinsley, who directs the Rocky Mountain Institute, uses an
Economic Renewal process that we embrace. Once a core group is together, it is
possible to begin an action plan to select projects to undertake.
In Hartington, Neb. a core group of the region formed with people from the
Chamber of Commerce, the local economic development group, and the city council.
It was the first time these groups came together to discuss issues.
Another example of the success of forming a core group is the emergence of the
St. James Marketplace. A core group of women in the St. James, Neb. region
formed an entrepreneurial effort to market their local products and provide
supplemental income to help them remain on their farms and attract their sons
and daughters home to live.
Listing Community Assets
One of the strong points of the HOPE process is the use of asset mapping and
looking for assets in the community. John Kretzman, founder of Asset Based
Community Development, refers to the analogy of looking at the cup as being half
full rather than half empty. Each community we work with is asked to present a
list of their assets. By far the top asset that all communities identify is
their youth.
Plainview, Neb. also recognized a good park system and school system as worthy
of particular pride. Cedar County acknowledged several beautiful churches in
their region.
Wausa and Oakland, Neb. demonstrated pride in their ethnic heritage. Both are
Swedish and celebrate that fact. Lyons, Neb. holds an annual bluegrass festival
to draw attention to their pride as the “Sod Capital” of Nebraska.
A Holistic Approach
HOPE uses a holistic approach to community development. We don’t focus on one
piece of the puzzle. We have helped communities with: annual festivals, swimming
pools, running tracks, beautification efforts, value-added agricultural
development, e-commerce trainings, athletic sports complex, comprehensive
planning, policy awareness, alternative agricultural practices, entrepreneurial
workshops and growth, coop development, information technology, agri-tourism,
housing, intergenerational dialogue (bringing different age groups together to
communicate), youth programs, church community organizing, and leadership
development
These are only a small sample of the projects that have been undertaken. We see
enormous potential in using Project HOPE to become a clearinghouse for community
development. Through partnerships with other resource providers, we will be able
to package development services to small rural communities. Community
development ought to be able to do this for any community that needs assistance
and asks for it.
Contact: Michael L. Holton,
michaellh@cfra.org or 402.687.2100, ext.
1015 for more information on Project HOPE, our community development package.
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I-300 Task
Force Bill Amended, Advances, Still Is Bad
LB 1086, a bill that proposes to create a gubernatorial-appointed task force
to determine ways to “modify” Nebraska’s restrictions on corporate farming
(Initiative 300), was advanced by the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee.
The Committee made some amendments to the bill, but we believe the effect is the
same. Initiative 300 is still the only policy or policy issue specifically
mentioned in the bill, thus making it the only identified target for the task
force.
Governor Johanns – who has already stated that I-300 does beginning farmers and
ranchers and family farmers and ranchers more harm than good – still gets to
appoint the task force.
And a phony amendment directs the Task Force to operate by consensus, unless
they don’t agree – then recommendations are made by majority vote of a task
force appointed by someone who has let his views on I-300 be known.
It’s not unreasonable to believe that a majority of the task force members will
hold similar views, and will be able to push through any recommended change to
I-300.
We still believe LB 1086 – no matter how bright a bow its proponents want to put
on it for appearances – is a dreadful and unwanted offering for Nebraska’s
family farmers and ranchers and rural communities and for the long-term best
interests of the state.
Visit our I-300 information and
Friends of the Constitution for updated
information on LB 1086 and Initiative 300.
Contact: Jon Bailey,
jonb@cfra.org or 402.687.2100, ext. 1013 for more information. Our
weekly legislative update
is available free by email. Contact us to be added to the list.
Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Training
The Nebraska LEAD program is accepting applications for its 24th class. LEAD
provides an intensive two-year course of training and domestic and international
travel for active agricultural producers and people in related businesses and
organizations – ages 25 -50. The trainings are largely based on weekend seminars
to allow people to work them in around the demands of farming and other
occupations.
LEAD graduates have been prominent in an array of leadership positions in
Nebraska including the legislature, check-off boards, and agricultural
organizations. It provides skills and an impressive network of contacts for
people aspiring to leadership positions in Nebraska agriculture. It’s an
important opportunity for people who care about family farming and sustainable
agriculture to prepare for positions through which they can shape the future of
agriculture. For more information, contact LEAD at
ablezek1@unl.edu or 402.472.6810 or
visit www.ianr.unl.edu/lead/
Applications are due by June 15.
Communications and Development Program Change
Center Communications and Development Program Director Greg Finzen is leaving
the Center this month to pursue opportunities closer to his home in Sioux City,
Iowa. He will be missed.
Greg brought important changes to the Center’s communications and funding base.
A new logo, revamped website, and redesigned newsletter are only a few of the
imprints Greg leaves on the Center. He also spearheaded a capital campaign for
our new building and oversaw all facets of the construction project.
The Center’s donations, newsletter readership, and prominence in the media have
grown substantially under his leadership. He has been lauded for his effective
team building and leadership style. We wish him the best in his new efforts.
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Profitable Practices Series: Buttering Up Your Customers
A group of grass-based dairy farmers in
southeastern Minnesota market and distribute premium quality, specialty dairy
products.
Grass-based dairy farmers Dan and Muriel French began management-intensive
grazing 15 years ago to cut costs and improve profits. Like most dairy farmers,
they were prisoners of market price. Even very efficient farmers watched their
profits drive off the farm with the milk truck.
A group of six grass-based dairy farmers, including Dan, decided to take control
of processing, distribution, and marketing. They formed a co-op, PastureLand
Farms, that focuses on getting profits to the farmers rather than building
equity for the organization.
The group chose to start with cheese and butter. PastureLand focused on the
high-end specialty market. They wanted to move beyond organic to pioneer the
next step in quality food.
Grass Is Better
Milk from ruminants that graze fresh grass is rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA),
as much as five times that of milk from grain-fed animals. Research suggests CLA
can reduce cancerous tumors and help to decrease obesity and heart-attack rates.
The health benefits of CLA make PastureLand products unique in a crowded
specialty market. Customers told Dan there was something different about
PastureLand cheese; those with milk and cheese allergies can digest PastureLand
with no problems.
Dan says, “The biggest problem most start-up businesses have is not figuring a
large enough profit.” Grants from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and
other organizations helped with start-up costs and organizational development.
Every Silver Lining Has a Dark Cloud
Since the industry moves to a larger scale all the time, the cost to process
small volumes is high. Volume is also a problem in making butter. The co-op
provided one truckload a week – half the capacity of the churn. Costs per pound
were expected to decrease as the volume of production increased.
Many processors don’t want to handle small volumes, and maintaining brand
identity is critical, but packaging can be expensive. The farmers realized it
didn’t make sense to ask premium prices for generically-wrapped products, so
they spent nine months developing their own packaging.
Dan says the first step in direct marketing any product is to evaluate your
resources. Have the support system you need to get your product to market, and
find a market that can bear the expenses you need covered.
Success is dependent on the people involved. Dan says, “It takes people with
passion and vision to get something like this started, but without someone who
can organize to minimize costs and fill orders, it is not going to succeed.”
For more information on CLA and the benefits
of grass-based agriculture, go to
www.eatwild.com or read Why Grassfed Is Best! by Jo Robinson. This is
an excerpt in our series from the report, Profitable Practices and Strategies
for a New Generation, available on the web at
www.farmprofitability.org
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Farm
to Family Connection Radio Project Premieres in Siouxland
A new radio program shines the spotlight on family farmers in the Siouxland
corners of South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa who are direct marketing food and
farm products to area customers.
The Farm to Family Connection first aired in March on Yankton, S.D. FM radio
station KKYA. The initial show featured the Wilfred and Donna Tramp buffalo meat
operation, while the second show introduced the Sobotka family
community-supported agriculture garden. The show runs at prime commuter time to
catch people driving to work from Sioux Falls, S.D. to Norfolk, Neb. to Sioux
City, Iowa.
The shows are written and narrated by Crofton farmer Curt Arens. Each featured
farmer adds a line at the end of the two-minute program, driving home the
message to consumers about the quality of locally raised food. The programs not
only provide a voice for farmers who care for their land and customers, but they
offer narratives championing restaurants, caterers, lockers, and grocers who
feature locally grown food in their menus and on their shelves.
The goal of the show is to make area consumers more aware of the farmers who
offer local food products. But Farm to Family Connection also holds up family
farm success stories to the public, while giving young and beginning farmers
hope and other farmers food for thought on how they might improve their bottom
line by direct marketing new products.
A companion website, www.farmtofamily.net
helps consumers learn more about the featured families on the show and others
who offer meals and farm products. The show is sponsored by two local ag-based
businesses, the radio station, and the featured farms/businesses.
Contact: Curt Arens for information or to
participate in the program,
bowview@bloomnet.com
Expanding Specialty Markets for Family Farm-raised Livestock
Buyers from The Organic Meat Company, Wholesome
Harvest, and Niman Ranch Pork Company are looking for more suppliers.
Several buyers for family farm-raised livestock are now looking for more
supply. These companies service specialty markets that cater to consumers’
increasing interest in foods that they perceive to be healthier, safer, or are
produced with special care for animals or the environment. These consumers are
willing to pay more for these products, which usually means that the farmers get
higher prices for their livestock.
Specialty meat products, such as ‘natural’ or ‘certified organic’ are a rare
growth segment of the food industry. Sales of organics, for example, have
increased 20 percent per year nationally for the past 10 years. The products are
‘special’ in that they must conform to specific feed and management guidelines
and are often certified by an approved third-party organization.
The Organic Meat Company, owned by farmer cooperative Organic Valley, needs more
organic pork and beef. Organic Valley, based in Wisconsin, now has over 600
farmer-members in 17 states. Production standards are based on the USDA organic
standards, but are occasionally more stringent. Beef is sold primarily as ground
meat; Angus-based breeding is preferred.
Pork products are from 50 percent Berkshire breeding. Contact Peggy Leum for
membership information at
peggy.leum@organicvalley.com or 888.809.9297 or look at the company website
www.organicvalley.coop
Wholesome Harvest, a farmer-owned coalition, is seeking organic certified beef
and lamb. Wholesome Harvest buys meat from its members and suppliers and then
markets it to national grocers and distributors under the brand Wholesome
Harvest.
Organizer Wende Elliot says she is particularly interested in adding
farmers/ranchers to ‘pods’ in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Colorado. She also
wants to work with more organic certified processing facilities across the
region. Contact her at
welliott@wholesomeharvest.com or 641.377.7777 or see
www.wholesomeharvest.com for more
information.
Niman Ranch Pork Company, based in central Iowa, is recruiting farmers to farrow
and finish hogs. Niman meat products are produced without antibiotics and follow
animal welfare guidelines.
Manager Philip Kramer says that the company serves markets across the country
and demand is growing rapidly. He reports that in addition to its price premium
over commodity markets, the company recently increased its floor price and is
buying more animals from each participating farmer.
Trucking pools have been established in surrounding states to reduce shipping
costs to the Iowa processing plant. Contact Kramer for more information at
philipk@nimanranch.com or
641.998.2683 or see the website
www.nimanranch.com
Contact: Wyatt Fraas,
wyattf@cfra.org or 402.254.6893 for more
details.
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