Archive for the ‘Agriculture’ Category

Local Foods: Yes it is real

May 12th, 2010

Move over corn.  Look out beans.  A new study by an Iowa State University professor suggests local food production could produce $882 million in sales and add 9,300 jobs in the Midwest.  It also notes that demand for these foods already exists.  So much for the argument that local foods initiatives don’t make economic sense in the Midwest.   (Read the study here.) 

Before going on, let me assure my farming friends that my opening paragraph is not meant as an attack on traditional agriculture.  In my opinion, rural communities need a strong farm economy.  But we also have to open our minds to the idea that local food development should be a part of that economy as well.

I first learned about the study from a Daily Yonder article titled “The Benefits of Local Food in the Midwest.”  Interested parties should also check out an article in the Los Angeles Times titled “Study finds Midwest could profit by growing fruit, vegetables to meet demand for local food.”

Building the local foods economy will not be an easy task.  The Los Angeles Times notes the following, citing report author David Swenson: 

It won’t be easy now for farmers to switch to other crops, Swenson said. Expertise in the Midwest tends to be in livestock or commodity crops such as corn and soybeans, not produce. The states don’t have policies to encourage expanded fruit and vegetable production, and many consumers don’t think much about where their produce is grown.” (source:  Michael J. Crumb, “Study finds Midwest could profit by growing fruit, vegetables to meet demand for local food,” Los Angeles Times, May 7,2010.)

This means we have a lot of capacity building work to do to take advantage of the opportunity. 

I know people like Rebecca Terk at the Flying Tomato Farm and Pat Garrity of the Buy Fresh Buy Local South Dakota project are leading this effort, alongside many others. Now the rest of us need to figure out what we can do to help.

Note: There are a lot of good sessions on local foods at the Grassroots and Groundswork conference.  I’m not sure if I’m going to get a chance to attend, but I’m sure others will share resources on Twitter via the #G&G2010 hashtag.

Photo Credit: NatalieMaynor - Flickr

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Reinventing restaurants (and rural communities)

January 13th, 2010

There’s no doubt that good restaurants are important to rural communities.  They make rural communities more attractive places to live.  They often serve as “informal meeting places where community is built” (e.g., third places).  And they often improve the local economy by giving people a place to spend their money locally. 

My guess is that Reuben Wentz must appreciate the importance of a good restaurant.  The 93-year-old retired farmer recently gave $500,000 to his hometown of Napoleon, North Dakota (pop. 857) to create a new community-owned restaurant.   

The restaurant replaces the old, deteriorating building that housed the community’s previous community-owned restaurant.  It sounds like they’ve got a good thing going with the restaurant.  Its features include:

It’s also home to the Logan County Economic Development Offices, which set up the foundation that manages the restaurant.  I bet many of Napoleon’s neighboring communities are envious.

It’s important to attract people

It sounds like the community is excited about the restaurant.  The Bismarck Tribune quotes foundation board member Jennifer Schumacher:

“It was such a moment of joy. I thought - I think we all thought - this is such a turning point for Napoleon,” she said. Without much debt to service, the new venture should succeed, she said.

“We have a new drug store, young people are moving in and wind towers are going up. With such a beautiful restaurant here in Napoleon, we can do it,” Schumacher said. (source: Lauren Donovan, “Napoleon benefactor builds restaurant for community” Bismark Tribune, 12-2-09) 

That’s economic development

Any community seeking to attract young people (Gen Y) has to evaluate the availability of local food services.  It’s something they look for when choosing a community to call home. 

With this in mind, I’ve been thinking about how the Napoleon might leverage this restaurant effort for further economic development.  Two thoughts have emerged:

First, what can be done to foster a true “third place” atmosphere, making it a place where people of all ages and backgrounds meet for conversation?  We know that conversation between people of varying backgrounds in third places can lead to greater community trust (e.g. bridging social capital).  But third places don’t magically emerge.  They take thoughtful consideration and effort.

Second, could the community-owned restaurant be leveraged to create a local foods initiative?  Perhaps, they could make a commitment to buying locally raised foods.  The kitchen could also be a “shared use kitchen” that helps entrepreneurs develop new food products. 

Both of those ideas will take more effort and possibly more financial capital.  They may or may not be right for Napoleon.  But rural communities need to think like this to maximize their economic development efforts. 

Small towns also need people like Reuben Wentz who are willing to invest in their community’s future. 

Note:  Thanks to John Crabtree of the Center for Rural Affairs for making me aware of this story in their January newsletter.   Readers may also be interested in past ReImagine Rural stories about community owned grocery stores. 

Photo Credit:  FreeWine - Flickr  

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Eating Local in Rural America

December 16th, 2009

In a post titled “Eating Local, Eating Rural,” Lisa R. Pruitt recently shared her experience of eating locally grown food in her home state of Arkansas. In doing so, she provides a little inspiration to small town entrepreneurs who have a green thumb and a little culinary expertise.   

Specifically, she highlights a “new-ish, upmarket-ish Fayetteville restaurant, The Greenhouse Grille,” that purchases food directly from farmers in the region around Fayetteville, AR. 

The Greenhouse Grille is an example of an urban restaurant that prepares foods grown in rural areas.  It’s also a great example of the rural-urban linkages that economic development professionals always talk about. 

Pruitt’s article, however, causes me to wonder:  Where are the rural restaurants selling foods grown in the region? I’m not aware of any in rural South Dakota. Are rural people willing to patronize restaurants with a local theme if it means they have to pay more for their meals?  Or is it just of a fanciful fad for upscale urbanites?

I’ve always looked at the locavore movement (like farmers markets and Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaigns) as an extension of a buy local mentality.  I think it’s also an excellent economic development strategy that focuses on poverty reduction.  At the same time, I realize some rural advocates see it as more of an urban thing that conflicts with a rural lifestyle. 

I, for one, would much prefer to support restaurants like The Greenhouse Grille that are found in rural settings.  Hopefully, bloggers like Pruitt will inspire more entrepreneurs to take up the challenge. 

 

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5 Ways Rural Communities can get ready for Gen Y

December 11th, 2009

This is the 3rd in a series of posts offering my thoughts about an article Gwendolyn Bounds wrote for the Wall Street Journal titled “Green Acres is the Place to be.” Her article highlights a small but hopefully growing trend of young people moving to rural places.  When I started writing, I only intended one article.  But the story continues to garnish my attention. (You can read previous post here and here.)           

The people highlighted in the Bounds’ article all purchased small tracts of land in Rural America. They are raising animals, growing crops, and hunting animals for food. It’s interesting to me that none decided to live in a town or hamlet. 

I think I understand why these young people, called Gen Y, are attracted to purchasing a house and land in the countryside, and I think it’s a good thing - at least in the Midwest, where the countryside has been depopulated.  I do recognize the potential problems around urban sprawl and the conflict between hobby farms and production agriculture.  But in general, I think the positives outweigh the negatives in my part of the country. 

I also think there’s an opportunity for small, rural towns to position themselves as places where Gen Y wants to move. Previously, I’ve written about that subject in a series of posts tagged “attracting college educated.” Regardless of whether they live in town or outside, however, I think there are things that rural communities can do to prepare for and maximize the movement of younger people to Rural America.   And I’d like to share my thoughts on that subject below.

 

5 tips for preparing your community for a Gen Y

Following the theme of understanding the characteristics of Gen Y, I’d recommend rural communities consider the following activities:

1) Help create economic opportunities. Yesterday, I highlighted that individuals moving to rural places were seeking a variety of opportunities. The subject is mute if economic opportunities for the rural transplants don’t exist. To some people that means rural communities need to recruit businesses for new job growth. And that’s good strategy for some communities. But I’ve long been a fan of entrepreneurship training programs, like economic gardening. Developing and marketing a good entrepreneurship program could be a boon for attracting Gen Y. After all, Gen Y is known to be very entrepreneurial. (Read more about Gen Y’s entrepreneurial tendencies here and here.) 

2) Make sure your community has third places that help introduce newcomers. We’ve talked previously about the importance of pubs, coffee shops, cafes, and community centers that function as “informal meeting places where community is built.” (Ray Oldenburg, The Great Good Place) If you don’t believe me, check out this blog produced by Gwendolyn Bounds about a little pub in Garrison, NY. Bounds credits the sense of community she experienced while visiting the pub as part of the reason she moved to the region from NYC. 

3) Develop good broadband internet capacities and wi-fi hot spots. No doubt about it; Gen Y is very techy. In fact, some experts say young people look at technology like cell phones and other wireless devices as extensions of themselves. That’s hard concept for many older people to grasp, but not having good Internet access in your rural community will drive young people crazy - and possibly somewhere else.

4) Help young people figure out “What am I going to do in this town?” In case you haven’t noticed, Gen Y is very social. Granted, some of that social activity is on-line, but they love to get together for a good time as well. That’s what led college student Morgan Andenas to write a blog post last summer titled “What am I suppose to do in this town?” in which she recommends inviting young people to be a part of community projects that include social opportunities. Another idea for helping young people fit in can be accomplished by creating Young Professional Groups.

5) Rethink how you “engage” Gen Y in your community. Too often, older generations treat young adults like kids, which is a real turn-off to them. They firmly believe they have something valuable to contribute, and are sometimes offended when you don’t ask them to do so. I still think this post titled “How to Engage Gen Y in Rural Communities” is an excellent guide for any person or organization that wants to make younger people feel a part of their organization or community. Younger people today want to feel valuable.

 

Before wrapping up this post, I’d like to make one more point.  I realize that most small town residents in the Midwest and Great Plains probably don’t believe there’s a significant opportunity to attract Gen Y to rural communities through entrepreneurship, third places, technology and engagement.  I too have some doubts about it growing into a full-fledged movement.  But I do believe we can make our rural communities more attractive to younger people if we are intentional in our efforts.  In fact, I believe that’s something we have to do in order to have a future at all. 

And if you want a proof that intentional efforts of this nature can be successful, take a look at what they are doing at Energize Clinton County in Wilmington, Ohio.  Their efforts are already starting to attract Gen Y.

Photo Credit: Daquella manera - Flickr 

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Look out Rural! Gen Y’s on the move

December 9th, 2009

In an article titled “Green Acres is the Place to Be,” Gwendolyn Bounds of the Wall Street Journal hints that we might expect to see a movement of Gen Y to rural places.  Motivated by an uncertain economy, the young people Bounds describes in her article are jettisoning their hectic urban lives by purchasing small tracts of land in Rural America.  They are, in Bounds’ eyes, the young modern-day equivalent of “Mr. Douglas” of TV’s “Green Acres” fame. 

But what’s really their motivation?  Were they burned out by the fast paced Park Avenue life, like Mr. Douglas? Partly.  Several do admit to aspiring to a slower pace of life. 

But more significantly, many of these rural migrants feel burned by the Park Avenue investors who contributed to our country’s recent economy collapse by turning investment banking into something more akin to investment gambling.  If there is any single factor linking all the rural migrants together, it would have to be fear over how quickly they saw investments disappear in the recent economic recession. 

For that reason, many of the young people Bounds describes are purchasing land in rural places instead.  They see it as a more stable investment than either the stock market or the overinflated urban housing market from which they emerged. And if things go really bad, at least they’ll still be able to grow their own food.

It’s tough to tell if the people highlighted in the article suggest a growing movement or a temporary reaction, soon to reverse course.  Personally, I lean toward thinking it has a real opportunity to grow into a movement.  But then, I’ve always been known as guy who believes “the glass is half full.”

 

Photo Credit: Jakesmome - Flickr

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Neal Wanless - He’s no Beverly Hillbilly

October 2nd, 2009

Why would Neal Wanless, the 23-year-old who won a $232.1 million Powerball prize last June, want to buy a ranch in western South Dakota rather than move to a mansion in Beverly Hills? (read more about Wanless here.)

While I don’t really know for sure, I suspect that we can find the answer to this question in videos like the ones I’ve embedded below.

Ellingson Angus Ranch - St. Anthony, ND

 

 

 

Will Feed, Inc. — Cozad, NE

 

I discovered the videos on a website called The Working Ranch Channel, thanks to a link at the bottom of this post by Caleb Schultz, which I talked about yesterday.

The videos on the site focus on cattle ranching, but cover a wide range of topics.  They are well worth watching.

 As I watched the two I’ve embedded above, however, I was struck by the passion and love each family has for their cattle operation.   I suspect if they won the lottery, they’d stay on the ranch, just like Wanless. 

I think the videos (as well as others on the site) also speak to the central question that Caleb Schutlz is wrestling with on his blog - how do we help urban America understand agriculture and rural life. 

Living in rural places and making one’s living off the land is an experience that most urban dwellers don’t get a chance to experience.  Videos like the above should definitely help urban dwellers understand why some of us prefer a ranch in western South Dakota to a mansion in Beverly Hills.

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“Farm Beginnings” now offered in Brookings

July 14th, 2009

I’ve been impressed lately with how Deuel Area Development, Inc.  has been using their blog to connect with the residents of Deuel County, SD.  As you can see on their blog (www.deuelco.wordpress.com), they use it to provide updates on meetings, social events, and resources. 

 Today, I’m reposted one their posts (Thanks Briana) of a resource titled “Farm Beginnings now offered in Brookings” because I think it applies to people across the region.  When you are done reading, I’d encourage you to look into the other cool stuff going on over in Deuel. And if you are in community/economic development work, I hope you consider using a blog as a way to connect with your constituents. 

“Farm Beginnings” now offered in Brookings

Has it always been your dream to be a farmer, but you just aren’t sure how to get started? Well, an amazing opportunity is now available to help those dreams come true! Farm Beginnings, a farmer-led training and support program, will be available in Brookings this year.

Brought to you by Dakota Rural Action, Farm Beginnings is a program with a curriculum developed by a Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project over a decade ago. Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota, and New York are already taking advantage of the program, and now with the help of DRA, the curriculum has been adapted to fit the needs of South Dakota!

The Farm Beginnings curriculum expands far beyond the basic start-up steps to creating a new operation. Subjects covered by Farm Beginnings include:

Goal setting

Financial planning

Business plan creation

Alternative marketing

Innovative production techniques

 All of the classes are taught by experienced, local farmers and agricultural professionals.  If you are busy during the year, don’t worry. Farm Beginnings is not a time consuming project. From October 2009 to March 2012, classes are held twice a month in Brookings. On-farm education components are held from April to August, and participants may connect with other farmers for additional mentorship if desired.

If you are interested in this program and would like to learn more or fill out an application, contact:

Dakota Rural Action at (605) 697-5204 or heidiku@dakotarural.org.

The application deadline is August 31, 2009, so don’t wait! Class size is limited!

~Post written by Angela Kjenstad

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The Twittering Farmer

July 3rd, 2009

We often assume that Twitter is a “Gen Y thing” and that rural places haven’t gotten into the social media craze.  But a CNN article titled “Twittering from the tractor” provides a glimpse of how some Midwest Farmers are embracing technology. 

So what’s the value Twitter and other social networking tools offer farmers?  The article discusses some knowledge sharing applications currently being used by farmers, but I think the article captures the real value these technologies offer people in rural places with the following:

The biggest draw of smartphones and online social networks is that they provide human connections to people for whom farm life can be lonely, said Chuck Zimmerman, publisher of an agriculture news blog called agwired.com.

Yes, farmers are social creatures.  That’s why rural community cafés are often filled with farmers who come to town each morning for a cup of coffee.  I’m not sure that the majority of farmers are going to embrace this type of communication, but we’ll probably see more of it in the future. 

And let’s keep in mind, nobody tweets without broadband internet, and blackberries are a waste of money if the closest cell tower is 45 miles away.  Those are real issues limiting technology’s use in some rural communities.

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Marketing help for farmers markets

February 9th, 2009

If you’re a manager of a farmers market or local foods vendor in eastern South Dakota or western Minnesota, you’ll want to check out a workshop offered by the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service.

Scheduled for February 21 in Brookings, SD, the workshop will feature Karl Foord, a marketing educator from the University of Minnesota Extension Service. 

Topics to be discussed include:

With the deadline for the South Dakota Farmers Market grant only a month away, the timing couldn’t be better.  

The workshop will be held 9:30 -4:00 at Northern Plains Biostress Laboratory on the campus of South Dakota State University.  Registration will cost $25 for those who sign-up on or before Feb. 18, and $30 after that date. The cost includes a noon meal, refreshments, and materials. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged.

To register, send checks to Rhoda Burrows, Box 2140A, 201 SNPB, SDSU, Brookings, SD 57007. Make checks payable to “Horticulture Extension Operating.” For more information, call Burrows at (605) 688-4731, or e-mail her at Rhoda.Burrows@sdstate.edu.

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Farmers Market Grant Announced

December 19th, 2008

South Dakota’s Farmers Markets  were a popular item in 2008.  And with the help of some federal grant money, I’m hoping they will attract even more attention in 2009. 

Existing farmers markets and groups interested in establishing new farmer’s markets may apply for up to $1000 from the grant program.  Administered by the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, the grant may be use for such expenses as “start up costs, promotion, advertising, marketing, vendor recruitment, market infrastructure, consumer education, “buy local” programs, and efforts to define a customer base.”

I’ll let you read the rest of the grant information in the press release.  If you are already chomping at the bit to apply, you can download the application here. 

But for those who are still on the fence and want to learn more, I’ll provided the following resources:

 Good luck, and please share other great resources through the comments section below. 

(Photo from Tim Schlitzer of the Food Routes Conservancy)

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