Hispanic-Rural Business Center Finishes Second Year of Operation
Outreach to Nebraska’s rural Hispanic entrepreneurs increased four-fold in the Center’s small business development program
The Center’s Rural Enterprise Assistance Project recently completed its second year operating the REAP Hispanic-Rural Business Center. The Hispanic business center focused on four Nebraska communities during phase two: Schuyler, South Sioux City, Crete, and Madison. We anticipated phase two would impact 25 Hispanic startup and existing entrepreneurs, but the impact was actually much greater.
Highlights of the year included:
- Over 100 Hispanic entrepreneurs received substantial technical assistance or training from REAP staff during the project year.
- All of the pilot communities formed REAP Rural Business Roundtable groups that will provide a vehicle for continued training and
networking.
- All of the communities completed the five-session REAP Basic Business Training course in Spanish.
 |
Ligia Majano, pictured at the REAP Hispanic Basic Business Plan training held in Crete, Nebraska. The course took place in March and April. |
Business owners expressed gratitude for having access to services in their own language.
Martha Martinez of South Sioux City said, “It meant a lot to have a program with a reputation as good as REAP’s supporting you within your needs in my own language.”
REAP Business Specialist Adriana Dungan implemented the Hispanic work in northeast Nebraska. Adriana noted, “It was nice getting a lot of response from business owners and the public in general; it speaks volumes of the need to have Spanish services.”
The pilot communities were chosen due to their high population rate of Hispanics. According to the 2000 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Schuyler (located in Colfax County) has a population of 5,371, with an Hispanic population of 2,464 or 45.9 percent of Schuyler’s overall population base. Crete (located in Saline County) has a population of 5,989, with an Hispanic population of 828 or 13.7 percent of Crete’s overall population base.
South Sioux City (located in Dakota County) has a population of 11,925, with an Hispanic population of 2,976 or 25 percent of South Sioux City’s overall population base. Madison (located in Madison County) has a population of 2,369, with an Hispanic population of 825 or 34.8 percent of Madison’s overall population base.
REAP has applied for funding to further expand outreach to Hispanic entrepreneurs. If approved, phase three will include piloting the REAP Hispanic-Rural Business Center approach on a regional basis in northeast Nebraska. At the same time, we will continue to research, develop, and build strategic partners to provide comprehensive New American services across all of rural Nebraska.
Funding for our work on phase two was provided by a Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) from USDA, the Mammel Foundation, the Nebraska Microenterprise Partnership Fund through the Nebraska Microenterprise Development Act, the Small Business Administration Microloan Program, and the Community Development Block Grant program through the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.
Contact: Jeff Reynolds, 402.656.3091 or
jeffr@alltel.net for more information on REAP and the Hispanic business center.
Assets vs. Needs in Rural Economic and Community Development
Uncover talents and skills within and build interdependencies or identify what is weak or missing and look outside for the solutions
Much of traditional economic and community development in small rural communities has been based on needs rather than assets. Understanding the difference plays a pivotal role.
Needs assessment looks at what we have and what it should be. There’s nothing wrong with this, except it might be putting the cart before the horse. Starting with a needs assessment says to a community and its residents that they are fundamentally lacking and deficient. It makes us look for resources to address the need, making us consumers. This can create a sense of dependency.
Asset-based development relies on uncovering talents and skills found in the community right now. It is an internal model that focuses on effectiveness and builds interdependencies rather than dependencies. Asset-based development seeks to empower people rather than create a second class of citizens who seek answers through agencies outside of the community.
The question I am asked most often is why needs assessments are bad. They aren’t. We all have needs to address. People and communities do have deficiencies, but people and communities also have skills and untapped talent.
Community decisions are often made through a pyramid-shaped process that allows a top person or persons to make decisions and disseminate them to the general population. No interdependencies exist in this way of thinking. A preferred shape is that of intertwined circles, where relationships with each other are used in decision making.
We are involved with a community development project in Knox County, Nebraska. The strategy is to first identify the assets of the nine communities in the county. Once the identification of assets has been secured, both internally and externally, then the mapping process can begin. By developing an inventory of the assets, we will then be able to create a database of skills and talents that had previously gone untapped.
Is there a place for outside resources? Absolutely! Once assets have been identified, it is possible to then address needs in a productive manner. In this way we are hooking the cart to the horse to begin mobilizing rural communities for their future.
Contact: Michael L. Holton, michaellh@cfra.org
or 402.687.2103 x 1015 for information.
USDA Gives its Perspective on Rural Development in the Farm Bill
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a briefing paper on rural development issues in the farm bill. It sets the context and raises some important issues, though it glosses over the importance of small scale entrepreneurship in revitalizing rural communities.
USDA data tells a story. Rural incomes are less than three-fourths of metropolitan incomes. One in five rural counties continues to rely heavily on farming, most in the Great Plains. Just over one-fifth of these counties grew in population since 2000. Rural manufacturing employment declined, though it appears to have stabilized in the last few years.
Among all rural areas, population has grown since 2000. Over half of the rural growth came from a 15 percent increase among Hispanics. In addition, rural recreation counties located near mountains, lakes, beaches, and other natural amenities had rapid growth in employment, income levels, earnings, and other measures of socioeconomic well-being.
USDA’s briefing paper presents three options for the farm bill debate.
1. Target rural development programs to areas of greatest need and areas that won’t gain critical services without assistance.
For example, Rural Utility Service loans do not always go to rural areas and are not targeted according to need. Likewise, the low interest loan program for rural high speed Internet has shifted away from those communities that won’t get high speed service without government assistance. And USDA has allowed it to be used in suburban areas, contrary to law.
2. Focus on new non-farm business formation with rural private investment. While small business and micro lending would continue to have a role under this option, USDA would focus on getting equity capital to entrepreneurs – identifying, aggregating, and assisting many small individual investors to finance critical investments. Entrepreneurs would be brought together with rural communities, banks, potential individual rural investors, and non rural investors to create mechanisms to use rural wealth to create more wealth.
3. Move toward regionalized assistance. Federal policy has already moved in this direction. The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) was created in 2001 to fund projects in the lower Mississippi Delta region based on priorities set by the governors. Assistance goes to local multi-county development organizations which plan and implement the projects. The 2002 farm bill authorized three new regional initiatives, including the Northern Plains Regional Authority, but funding was never released.
We will urge USDA to place greater emphasis on supporting small and microbusiness development, assisting small communities in developing their capacity to determine their own destiny, and helping ordinary rural people build assets.
Contact: Chuck Hassebrook, chuckh@cfra.org
or 402.687.2103 x 1018 for information.
National Boom in Hispanic Entrepreneurship Noted
Recent reports from the U.S. Census Bureau show a major spike in the number of Hispanic-owned businesses. Based on data from the 2002 Economic Census, the report notes that the number of Hispanic-owned firms in the U.S. tripled between 1997 and 2002.
Overall, nearly 1.6 million Hispanic-owned firms generate nearly $222 billion in annual revenue. Still, Hispanic-owned firms are only a small portion of the total U.S. business base of more than 23 million individually-owned businesses.
Given the increasing number and stature of Latinos in American society, we can only expect this growth rate to continue, and even accelerate, over the coming years.
You can access the March 2006 Census Bureau report, Hispanic-Owned Firms: 2002 at
http://www.census.gov/prod/ec02/sb0200cshisp.pdf
.
Corporate Farming Notes
EPA to hold regional CAFO briefings; land annexation proposed for dairy in Minn.; follow-up investigation of Packers & Stockyards Act requested by Senator Harkin
>> On July 11, 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency held a public meeting in Washington DC to provide an overview of proposed revisions to their Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) regulatory rule.
If you plan on attending a regional EPA briefing, we suggest you: 1) provide context for your questions by commenting on the specific CAFO issues and concerns in your region; 2) share your comments with the media; 3) submit your comments to the EPA in writing (these are briefings, not public comment sessions); and 4) for more detailed comments go to the CAFO rule action alert at www.msawg.org or contact
John Crabtree at the Center.
The proposed rule can be reviewed at www.epa.gov/oecaagct/anafoidx.html#cafoguide
.
>> Residents in the rural Minnesota community of Claremont are divided over a controversial proposal to annex land for a new mega-dairy operation.
Bill Rowekamp’s and Ben Zaitz’s nearly four-year effort to build a 2,115 cow dairy in Ripley Township sparked the debate. To annex the site, the city would acquire the right of way along County Road 3, which runs from Claremont through Claremont Township to the proposed Ripley Dairy site.
Local residents have voiced concerns that Ripley Dairy could damage the local environment. They are also concerned that it might put smaller farms out of business. And many in Ripley Township are angered by what they see as Claremont ignoring their wishes and zoning by considering annexation of the mega dairy.
>> In a July 18, 2006, letter, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) called for a follow-up investigation into USDA’s failure to enforce the competition provisions of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
“Given USDA’s long history of failure in enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act’s competition provisions, it is obvious that continuing oversight by your office, as well as by this Committee, is essential. It is also clear this oversight must encompass both GIPSA and USDA’s Office of General Counsel … ,” Harkin’s letter
stated.
We wholeheartedly agree with Senator Harkin’s statement that America’s livestock producers deserve to know that USDA’s lawyers are not asleep on the job.
Contact: John Crabtree at 402.687.2103 x 1010 or
johnc@cfra.org.
Grass Fed Beef, Credit Where Credit Is Due
USDA’s proposed rule to certify livestock as “grass fed” might be given some teeth, thanks to family farmers and ranchers who have established markets with consumers
USDA has finally proposed an administrative rule that would require livestock certified as “grass fed” receive a minimum of 99 percent of their lifetime feed from grass or forage, increased from the 80 percent proposed in 2002. The proposed rule, which is open for public comment until August 10, 2006, should be approved by USDA forthwith.
Let’s give credit where credit is due. Folks like Chuck and Bev Henkel of Norfolk, Nebraska, among many others, have worked tirelessly to establish a market for grass fed livestock that provides a premium for family farmers and ranchers who produce high quality meat raised in ways that consumers support.
Approval of the proposed standard will be a dramatic victory and will ensure that grass fed beef producers are able to maintain their hard-earned reputation for marketing a healthy and environmentally sustainable beef product.
USDA’s new grass fed standard is a response to an effort led by the Center for Rural Affairs, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and other organizations to improve USDA’s 2002 proposal for livestock label claims such as grass fed and free range as well as antibiotic free and hormone free.
We urge everyone to help secure this victory by sending their comments in support of the grass fed label claim. While you are at it, urge USDA to move forward with the other sustainable production labels mentioned above. You can find out more about submitting comments and view a sample comment letter at –
www.msawg.org – under the action alert on grass fed beef.
Contact: John Crabtree, 402.687.2103 x 1010 or
johnc@cfra.org for information.
Comparing Managed Grazing and Conventional Dairies
When it comes to household income, farming background, age, and technology use, dairy farmers who use managed grazing aren’t much different from farmers who operate traditional dairy enterprises. A new report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems compares production systems, technology, labor, performance, and satisfaction with quality of life on managed grazing and conventional dairy farms.
According to the report, 23 percent of Wisconsin dairy farms are managed grazing, 21 percent are mixed grazing/feed, and the remaining 56 percent are stored feed farms. Wisconsin has lost about 13,100 dairy farms since 1990, but the proportion of farms using managed grazing has remained constant at 22 to 23 percent.
Managed grazing farms also show higher net farm income from operations per cow than stored feed farms, meaning they generate approximately the same returns from fewer cows. “Grazing in the Dairy State” is available on the CIAS website:
http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/2006/02/15/grazing_in_the_dairy_state/index.php.
Whole Foods Market Buying Initiative
Whole Foods Market, the nation’s largest natural food chain, has announced an initiative to buy from small farmers that meet “animal compassionate” standards.
The announcement came in an open letter from Chief Executive Officer John Mackey in response to writer Michael Pollan’s criticism of Whole Foods’ purchases from corporate organic farms.
The company has hired a field buyer to work exclusively on “animal compassionate” sources. The initial suppliers “will be relatively small in scale,” wrote Mackey. Whole Foods is also interested in grass fed livestock and buying more local food products for its stores. Mackey wrote that “Whole Foods has established an annual budget of $10 million to promote local agriculture (especially animal agriculture)” through low interest loans.
This could be a significant opportunity to revitalize family farming and ranching through high value markets. Whole Foods is one of the nation’s fastest growing supermarkets. If it decides there is a market edge in selling products grown on small farms and ranches, others will follow. It offers the opportunity for family farms and ranches to regain market share from corporate farms.
Contact: Chuck Hassebrook, 402.687.2103 x 1018 or
chuckh@cfra.org.
Windmill Project Shares Poetry and More
Over and over Henry Nuxoll has been described as a “man with a vision” who loves windmills almost as much as the beautiful countryside where he lives, a place where he invites thousands of people each year for three of the most exciting concerts in the Midwest. When Henry bought his farm, for the second time, his dream was to assemble the world’s largest standing windmill collection, but his dream has evolved to embrace his entire hometown and the surrounding area.
As he watched the decline of small communities and farms, he wanted to bring a second chance to others because he had been given new chances and new hope. His desire was realized by the formation of a nonprofit corporation appropriately named “Second Chance Ranch.” Since its inception, millions of dollars have been channeled into Comstock, Nebraska, and surrounding communities.
As the Women’s Project for Rural America began its very first Windmill Project, we headed for Comstock to visit Henry, the windmill man, and came away with much more than windmill knowledge. We came away with a vision of a man who truly understood the plight of rural America and was doing his bit to save his part Nebraska.
Henry has agreed to auction off our public art windmill renderings at his place where the proceeds will go to help revitalize our rural communities. Yes, if windmills meant life to our early settlers, a windmill project can mean life to our communities today. WHY WINDMILLS
By Henry Nuxoll
Windmills are like People
They point us towards Heaven
Like God’s Steeple
Drawing their Power from Sources unseen
Just as Our Life here in between
Like People, some are Big
Some are Small
Some are short
Some are Tall
Some are pretty
Some not
Some work…Some ought
Some are quiet
Some are outspoken
Some are all fixed up
Some are Broken
Man can Restore Windmills giving them Second Chances
Just as God can restore man and all our branches
Lord thank you for my failures and Second Chances
For they lead to these Roads of Better Glances.
Here’s to you Lord
WHY NOT WINDMILLS
Contact:
For more information about the Center’s public arts windmill project, please feel free to contact Barbara Chamness at 402.687.2103 x 1007 or
barbarac@cfra.org.
Notables this Month
Updated Small Farm Resource Guide Online
-- The second edition of the Small Farm Resource Guide, an online compilation of more than 300 organizations that offer information relevant to small production enterprises is now available. The guide lists a wide-range of organizations, including USDA and other federal agencies, the land-grant university system, community-based groups, and other public and private-sector organizations. Information is arranged by state and includes program descriptions, useful publications, and contacts.
The guide is produced by USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) Small Farm program. See it at:
http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/ag_systems/pdfs/sf_resource_guide.pdf
.
Grass-Based Meat Marketing Resources Available
-- Consumers rated healthfulness as the biggest selling point of grass-fed meat in a project recently completed by Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) in cooperation with Food Alliance Midwest. The project, funded by a grant from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, was designed to help grass-fed meat operations better market their products.
Consumer surveys, focus groups, and experiences of farmer participants all showed health and nutrition as two of the most important factors in consumers’ food buying decisions. Taste and the fact that the product was locally raised followed closely. Environmental benefits ranked lower than the other factors.
Project resources are available on disc from PFI while supplies last, 515.232.5661 x 108, $3.00 charge. They are also posted on the Leopold Center website,
www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketing_files/grassfed.htm
.
Bulletin Describes New Approaches to Ag Water Use
-- Long-term droughts in the Southwest, water scarcity in the Plains, and seasonal rain shortages throughout the South and Northeast have prompted farmers and ranchers to seek ways to conserve water. Smart Water Use on Your Farm or Ranch, a 16-page bulletin by the Sustainable Agriculture Network highlights new approaches to water use, including promising conservation measures.
The bulletin showcases innovative research such as a Texas Tech University alternative cotton rotation that pairs cotton with cattle and drought-tolerant forages and reduced water use by 23 percent in trials. University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers tested cool-season oil crops such as brown mustard and camelina during the fallow period in wheat systems, producing biofuel while retaining water for the next grain crop.
The bulletin also features farmers and ranchers who conserve water. Download it at
www.sare.org/publications/water.htm
. Agricultural educators may order print copies in quantity at no cost; call 301.504.5411 or email
san_assoc@sare.org.
New Roots for Youth
-- New Roots, a collaborative initiative by several organizations and individuals across the northern Great Plains, will encourage rural youth to become involved and engaged in their communities to create a space that allows young people to thrive, grow, and succeed.
This initiative is just starting to take off with plans for a website and statewide conferences in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota. If you would like to be a part of the rural youth initiative, contact
Raul Fernandez at Northern Great Plains, 701.364.1349 or rfernandez@ngplains.org
.
Tell Your Congressman: Fix the Farm Bill & Invest in Rural America
August Congressional recess may be the last chance to directly communicate with your representatives before the 2007 farm bill
Take the opportunity this month to tell your congressman to fix the farm bill and invest in the future of rural America.
The August Congressional recess will likely bring your congressman to your area to hear from constituents. It may be your last chance to share your views directly prior to the 2007 farm bill.
The future of family farming is at stake. Tell your representative we cannot afford one more farm bill that subsidizes mega farms to drive smaller operations out of business. It is destroying family farming and closing the door to beginning farmers. It is driving land rents and prices to levels that leave little margin, making it hard for even established family farmers to make a living.
Ask your representative to stand firm against any farm bill that continues the destruction of family farming through mega payments to mega farms. Say that delivering more dollars to farmers is not the solution. Done wrong, it contributes to the problem. The most effective thing Congress can do to strengthen family farms is to stop subsidizing mega farms to drive their neighbors out of business by capping payments.
The future of our rural communities is at stake. Tell your representative it’s time to invest in the future of rural communities. Practical strategies work in rural America – investing in small scale entrepreneurship and micro enterprise, beginning farmers, value added agriculture, leadership development, and youth engagement enable small communities to determine their destiny. But they are not free.
Don’t fall for the statement that there is no new money for anything. Common sense reforms would make farm programs work better and save money. It starts with more effective payment limitations. Ending direct payments on farmland converted to housing developments would yield additional savings.
Reforms that reduce farm program costs by just 5 percent could fund a half billion dollar per year increase in funding for entrepreneurial rural development – a quadrupling of current funding levels – plus provide a quarter billion dollars to invest in bio energy, high-speed Internet service, and other rural priorities.
The future of the land is at stake. Tell your representative to reward farmers who practice good stewardship through the Conservation Security Program. For too long, many of the best stewards have been penalized by federal farm policy.
These practical reforms are possible with determined leadership. Each of us must fulfill our responsibilities as citizens to engage with elected officials in fixing what is broken. Our elected officials must have some backbone. Tell those who would represent you that it’s time to stand up. The future of rural America is at stake. It’s not time to look for the easy and safest path.
It is time to take control of our destiny.
Agree or disagree? Send your opinions or comments to Chuck Hassebrook, 402.687.2103 x 1018 or
chuckh@cfra.org.
FEATURE ARTICLE:
New Farm Initiative for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Unveiled
On July 13, 2006, several farmers and organizations concerned about ushering in the next generation of farmers and ranchers met on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and their staff. They discussed a “New Farm Initiative” that focuses on beginning farmer and rancher issues for the new farm bill.
We believe the 2007 farm bill should include a major, cross-cutting new farm and ranch initiative that comprehensively addresses the needs of beginning farmers and ranchers. The
New Farm Initiative should provide beginning farmers and ranchers with tools they need to be good stewards of land and water, be innovative and entrepreneurial, and respond to the rapidly changing demands of the marketplace.
Eight farmers participated, representing diverse agricultural regions. They came from California, Georgia, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania to share their stories and insights into how the farm bill can better serve beginning farmers and ranchers. Most were beginners who shared stories on how they have been able to start farming. Others were established farmers who are deeply concerned about getting the next generation started.
A farmer from Fountain, Minnesota, shared how the Farm Beginnings Program through the Land Stewardship Project – a mentoring, training, linking, and educational program taught by farmers – gave him the knowledge base to enter farming with controlled, rotational grazing. This program provided business planning, technical assistance, conservation planning, and more, allowing him to enter farming successfully. Brad is one of more than 260 people who have completed the Farm Beginnings Program, 60 percent of whom are farming today.
A farmer from Soledad, California, explained how California FarmLink’s Beginning Farmer Individual Development Account Program – a training program that encourages beginning farmers to save money that is then matched – enabled him to save enough money for a downpayment on a farm. This program provided him more than just a matched savings plan. It also provided lending training, business planning, and technical assistance for his farm operation. Miguel has successfully completed the program and is growing strawberries sold to local markets in California.
A cotton farmer from Donalsonville, Georgia, shared some of the enormous challenges he faces. Unlimited commodity program payments are threatening the ability of farmers like Stephen to remain in farming because of the impact they place on land values and cash rents. Stephen’s story relates how critical it is for the new farm bill to address this issue by effectively capping commodity program payments.
Two farmers from South Dakota discussed their concern about the ability of the next generation to be able to continue farming once they retire. They would like to see incentives that provide retiring farmers some protection when renting or selling land to a beginner.
All the concerns raised by these farmers can be addressed through the New Farm Initiative. This initiative calls for:
>> Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program – The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), authorized in Section 7405 of the 2002 farm bill, is targeted to collaborative local, state, and regionally-based networks and partnerships to support training, mentoring, land linking, education, and planning activities to assist beginning farmers and ranchers. The program also has a separate section for developing beginning farmer and rancher related curricula. As part of the New Farm Initiative, the BFRDP should be reauthorized, amended to specifically address new immigrant farming concerns, and be granted significant annual mandatory farm bill funding.
>> Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts Pilot Program – The 2007 farm bill should establish a Beginning Farmer and Rancher IDA Pilot Program that uses special matched savings accounts to assist those of modest means to establish a pattern of savings and to promote a new generation of farmers and ranchers. The account proceeds could be used toward capital expenditures for a farm or ranch operation, including expenses associated with purchases of land, equipment, or livestock.
>> Stewardship Incentives for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers – The bill should strengthen existing authority (Sec. 2004(a) of the 2002 farm bill) to provide special incentives to beginning and limited resource producers to encourage their participation in conservation, to help get new farmers started, and to achieve long-lasting conservation improvements.
>> Transitioning the Beginning Farmer Land Contract Pilot Project into a permanent nationwide program – The 2002 farm bill established a Beginning Farmer Land Contract pilot program to allow USDA to provide loan guarantees to sellers who self-finance the sale of land to beginning farmers and ranchers. The pilot program is currently operating in Pa., Wis., Iowa, Ind., N.D., Minn., Neb., Ore., and Calif. As part of the New Farm and Ranch Initiative in the 2007 farm bill, the Land Contract pilot program should be made permanent and applied nationwide.
See a detailed draft of proposals in the New Farmer and Rancher
Initiative
Contact: Traci Bruckner, tracib@cfra.org
or 402.687.2103 x 1016 for more information.
Options Growing for Connecting Consumers to Local Food Sources
The number of people looking for locally produced food continues to grow. So do the number of producers, and future producers, all around us, wondering how to market their goods to fill the local demand.
Local farmers’ markets are one way to meet this increasing demand, but they do not reach all consumers. Online farm directories are another tool. Many of these allow you to search by state and/or zip code. They offer customers access to contact information about the producers and, to the producers, a way to get your name and products out in front of the consumer’s eye.
The “Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign,” a popular toolkit designed for producers by FoodRoutes, is taking hold in many states. This is a cost-effective, targeted way to launch a buy local campaign and provides a set of tools to help develop a strong campaign to promote locally grown and produced food in your area. Producers can focus their energy on grassroots organizing efforts and not on flyers, brochures, etc.
The program does have success. As shown by the Center’s 2004 report Fresh Promises, the Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign has had huge success in Iowa. Since inception in 1998, local food expenditures have more than doubled and have had an economic impact of over $7 million. Helping in the effort has been the participation of institutions – restaurants, hospitals, care facilities, and college campuses.
As farmers continue to get less and less of the consumer food dollar and go out of business at alarming rates, corporate agriculture’s profits are continuing to increase. Corporate agribusiness profits increased 98 percent during the 1990s. Meanwhile, in 2002 farmers earned their lowest real net cash income since 1940. For more than 60 percent of farm households in 1998, farming actually lowered the household’s before-tax income.
A recent study in Maine shows that shifting just 1 percent of consumer expenditures to direct purchasing of local food products would increase farmers’ income by 5 percent. Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association estimates that by encouraging Maine residents to spend just $10 per week on local food, $100,000,000 will be invested back into farmers’ pockets and the Maine economy each growing season.
This summer, Nebraska launched its own Buy Fresh Buy Local initiative. Though in its very early stages, support and enthusiasm has been high, according to coordinator Corrine Kolm. This summer, the Nebraska Conference of the United Methodist Church passed a resolution
declaring August as “Buy Fresh, Buy Local, and Fair Trade” month.
In cooperation with the Nebraska Sustainable Ag Society, Nebraska Cooperative Development Center, and Nebraska Great Plains RC&D, a directory has been published, a label has been developed, and a grassroots campaign is underway.
So where does our food come from and why does it matter? For many of us, due to the long distances our food must travel to reach us, the location of the farmer who grew our food remains a mystery. It has been estimated that in the U.S. the average item of food has traveled 1300 miles to reach your dinner table (see the Wisconsin Foodshed Research Project).
FoodRoutes Network is working with the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin to study the origins of the food we eat. The Wisconsin Foodshed Research Project is compiling information about a variety of different food items, including tomatoes, coffee, and chicken.
What can I do?
Buying food directly from local farmers reduces the portion of your food dollar going to corporate agribusiness and ensures that farmers get their fair share of your food dollar. Local farmers will reinvest more of your food dollar in your region, in effect “creating” money and economic prosperity in your region.
Buying fair trade products ensures that farm workers and producers elsewhere get a decent wage and enjoy safe living and working conditions. Look for the fair trade label and buy fair trade products whenever possible.
Take the $10 a week challenge. Spend just 10 of your food dollars on locally grown food each week. Encourage your family, friends, and neighbors to do the same. The economic impact you and others have will multiply!
Resources:
Contact:
Contact: Kim Preston, kimp@cfra.org
or 402.687.2103 x 1022 for more information on Buy Fresh, Buy Local Nebraska.
|