{"id":1906,"date":"2010-04-26T10:14:42","date_gmt":"2010-04-26T14:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/?p=1906"},"modified":"2010-04-26T10:14:42","modified_gmt":"2010-04-26T14:14:42","slug":"local-food-the-farms-in-the-middle-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northcountrypublicradio.org\/inbox\/2010\/04\/26\/local-food-the-farms-in-the-middle-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Local food & the farms in the middle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week, I participated in a panel at SUNY Potsdam<\/a> with a bunch of farmers and agricuture advocates who have a great sense of the current pulse of the local food movement as it currently exists in the North Country. It was fascinating, and I thank the university and Ray Bowdish, who runs a nursery in Lisbon, for putting it on.<\/p>\n

Basically, things shake out this way.<\/p>\n

We have dairy farms that represent the lion’s share of agricultural sales in the region. Their numbers are shrinking but the ones that are left keep growing in size.<\/p>\n

And we have a growing number of “micro farms” – fruit, vegetable, and dairy farmers who sell at farmers markets, roadside stands, CSAs, etc. These farms are where the action is in North Country agriculture – their numbers grew steadily in the 2000s and continue to increase. But “micros” generate a teensy portion of overall agricultural sales – less than 1%.<\/p>\n

What’s missing – and what everyone’s watching for – are mid-size farms that can make a mark on the economy and break through to a greater number of consumers. As Gardenshare’s Phil Harnden put it, “I’m interested in the farms in the middle.”<\/p>\n

The North Country isn’t alone. Just read this New York Times forum about the challenges of bringing local foods to a bigger market.<\/a><\/p>\n

The issues are the same ones I heard at the SUNY Potsdam panel. Small farmers need places to process, freeze, and store their produce to extend the season. They need central distribution to be able to sell to big purchasers, like universities, schools, restaurants, and grocery stores. And they need help from the USDA to change federal agricultural policy that hugely favors big Ag, commodity farming.<\/p>\n

Things are starting to happen in the middle in the North Country. Sustain potato chips in Malone is distributing region-wide by piggybacking on Glaziers’ meat trucks. The North Country Grown Cooperative is freezing and storing asparagus for the first time next month.<\/p>\n

The big question – and the one we’ll explore a lot here and on the radio: can the North Country’s local food movement occupy enough of the middle to become a significant contributor to the economy, attract more consumers, and allow farmers to make a living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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