Farmers and Ranchers Forum
December 10, 2012
Notes from the day
Laura Cootsona and Joc Clark, Facilitators
Jonathan "Joc" Clark, Ph.D., Facilitator
207.650.2494
[email protected]
www.allybasedleadership.com
Laura R. Cootsona, M.N.A., Facilitator
530.891.5338 office
530.518.7751 cell
[email protected]
www.LRCConsulting.com
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Northern California Farmers and Ranchers Forum
Growing Profitability
Purpose of Forum
What can we (farmers, Northern California Land Trust, NoRTEC, &
3CORE) do to help make our small and mid-sized farms and ranches
more profitable?
On December 10, 2012, roughly 100 farmers, ranchers and related
professionals joined in Corning, California, for four hours to explore
ways to grow profitability for their operations and endeavors.
Summary of Conclusions
8 Key Themes identified for growing profitability
Education
Infrastructure
Farmers Market
Development
Ag
Marketing
Funding
Labor
Policy
Access
"How can we grow profits for small and mid-sized farmers and
ranchers?"
Themes
1: Education
A. K through 12 education
B. College/University/Higher Education
C. Education of the consumers
D. Education: Training/Development for Farmers/Ranchers
2. Infrastructure
3: Farmer's Market Development
4: Ag Marketing
5: Funding
6: Labor
7: Public Policy
8: Access
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The method and process: Answers and recommendations were identified and
prioritized by the participants. Through a series of facilitated steps, the participants
responded to a sequence of focus questions including:
(1) What is inspiring to them about farming and ranching?
(2) In three to five years, what future headlines do they envision about the successes
in local small-mid sized farms and ranches?
(3) Break-out groups named 5-8 ideas of what elements will be necessary to make
their visions possible and successful.
(4) The ideas for how the success of visions will succeed were clustered into themes
or topics
(5) Break out groups formed in each of the topics areas to make recommendations
and a presentation of these to the larger group.
(6) Group prioritization of the topics using the nominal group technique.
The results/outcomes:
Common themes that rise to the top are related to access: access to markets, access
to consumers and consumers having access to healthy foods. As the day progressed,
access was the underlying theme that led to more specific areas of need.
1. Education
· Teaching the public about good, healthy food choices and their benefits
· Training within the vocation to engage and produce young farmers and ranchers
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· Teaching consumers about buying local and what that really means
2. Infrastructure
3. Funding
4. Marketing
Next Steps
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Determine strategies for development of greater access around the themes
of:
 Education
o Teaching the public about good, healthy food choices and their
benefits
o Training within the vocation to engage and produce young farmers
and ranchers
o Teaching consumers about buying local and what that really means
 Infrastructure
 Funding
 Marketing
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Invitation by hosts to collaborate on each theme
Sponsor Perspective—Notes from "Lay of the Land" Presentations
1.
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Nortec— Jocie Boyer and Stewart Knox
A local workforce investment board that covers 11 rural counties.
Consists of two boards – 11 boards of supervisors/29 local business leaders.
Sets policy and direction on training programs
Funded by Department of Labor
Goals are to strengthen business and industry through quality programs and
assist in the creation of employment opportunities.
Observations
 20 years – farming has experienced real economic growth due to
growing population
 1.4 billion – up over 30% since 2005.
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76.6 million to the receipt total
self-employed firms play a significant role in the natural resource industry
(and more than half are self-employed)
Key issues: production, distribution, value-added manufacturing
2.
3Core—Marc Nemanic
Snapshot of Butte County:
 75% Butte County businesses with fewer than 5 employees
 836 Butte County industries $1 million sales plus 10 staff
 2,768 employees of these 836 businesses
 75 Butte County industries $25 million sales plus 10 staff
 2,119 employees of these 75%
Where is the growth here?
Manufacturing
Agricultural and related
business
Healthcare
Technology
Food processing
High employment growth
Ag & niche processing
Women’s clothing and
accessories
Fabricated metal products
Six pillars of entrepreneurial ecosystem: Identify, train, connect, fund, enable, and
celebrate.
Suggested Action Plan
 One-on-one Boots on the ground – multiple doors and ways to establish
 Service provider coordination
 Tool box – things useful for you
 Train entrepreneurs (webinars, colleges, etc.)
 Joint events and venues (networking & connecting)
 Expanding financing available for growth
 Track trends & attack problems continuously
 Reducing and eliminating barriers for entry by growing businesses
 Celebrate, recognize and share success stories
3. Northern California Regional Land Trust: Local Food Systems Program –
Noelle Ferdon
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Program includes Buy Fresh Buy Local, North Valley, a Beginning
Farmer/Rancher Farmlink program and the Food Hub project
BFBLNV works with 75 farmer, rancher, restaurant and retail members
California Farm Link – number 1 barrier to entering farming as an occupation
is access to land; NCRLT is now the regional North Valley host for CA
Farmlink to begin banking available lands and aspiring farmers
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Local food baseline – we conducted a consumer survey, growers’ survey,
research estimating the region’s capacity to eat local and gathered data from
different market channels to put together a general baseline for how much
locally grown food is being redistributed in the region.
o Likely less than 1% of what we grow
o More than ½ said yes to the need for cold-storage
Local Food Distribution/Consumption Capacity: Based on research we did,
theoretically we have opportunity to provide up to 38% in Butte, 84% in
Glenn and __in Tehama of the food we consume (based on consumption and
crop production patterns)
Local foodshed map about the farm – another tool for raising visibility –
increase access
Food hub feasibility study conducted by Morrison & Co. was completed two
weeks ago
o 2012 USDA Farmers’ Market Promotion Program grant;
o Connecting growers with buyers;
o Creating new market opportunities;
o Expanding business;
o Third party logistics – get product from farm to restaurant;
o Food and farm assessment done in five northern counties - $5 a week
on a locally grown = $81 million annually in that region.
Group Introductions
We are inspired by
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Learning and Education (eg. “Farmer of the Month”)
Organic pork
Looking for the “value added”
Health benefits
Improve marketing and profitability
Trying to figure out how to stay in the farming business
Second career
Sense of community
Access to good and healthy food
Healthy food production
Local food
Getting organic with our market connections
Access to Farmers markets for new farmers
Developing Farmers Markets
Developing Companies
Buy fresh. Buy Local
Ability to have our own local food—Abundance
Possibility to develop local processing capacity
Understanding the market in filling the gap
Connecting with people, resources and increasing profitability
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Headlines
Imagine where we will be in three years…
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Mountain Growers Achieves Goal of Nonprofit Status
Local Growers Get Involved in Politics
20% of Food Consumed Locally is Locally Produced (by 2020)
Ag Tourism brings Record Visitors
Berkeley Olive Grove Ag Tourism Challenges Sierra Nevada Brewery in terms
of Popularity
Tri-County Food Hub Fully Funded Ready to Serve the North State
Successful Retail/Profits Establishment Created for Farm Products
Nor Cal Beef/Pork: Its What’s For Dinner
Farmers Markets Now in Every Town and Village in North State
Conservation Easement Through NCRLT Supports Local Business Ability to
Grow
Public Finally Understands Where Food Comes From
Increase Biodiesel Replaces Need for Expensive New Equipment
Sacramento Valley is National Education Training Hub for Direct Market
Famers and Ranchers
SoCal Gives up Water Demand and Buys Food from Northern California
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Keep eating. Buy Local.
WalMart Joins Local Food Hub
California Backs off Onerous Regulation to Increase Business Among Farmers
Idea Generation—Symbols to Titles
What might we do to make these headlines a reality?
1.
Education
A. Education: K-12
 Small farm food into school kitchens
 Expand AG education in K-12 education
 Educate the consumers
 Grow school farms
B. Education: University
 Expand local C.C. Ag programs
 Educate consumers about food sources
 Applied AG Ed
 Connect institutions with farms
C. Education: The Consumers
 Mindset: changing habits
 “Ag Day” for local areas
 Look to Oregon’s successful local grow program
 Community involvement and empowerment
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Food without farmers: (known program)
Cooking demos at farmers markets
Educate food value over price
Educate the consumer
o About eating local and seasonal
o Producing and feeding oneself
o How to cook with fresh ingredients
 Farm exchange—different professions run a farm for a day
 Health benefits forum
D. Education: Training and development for Farmers/Ranchers
 Consulting and mentoring new farmers
 Habitat friendly farming
 One Stop Farmer resource directory
 Farm Internship
2.
Infrastructure
 Develop CSA Coops
 Create mobile farmers markets
 Create new food processing facilities
 Funding for local food infrastructure
 Promote online food hub participation
 Find 2-3 catalyst projects
 Cold storage facility
3.
Farmers Markets Development
 Provide business utilities at farmers markets
 Improve accessibility to farmer markets for working folks
 Tax deduction: excess produce donate to food banks and gleaner groups
 Identify a liaison for farmers markets
 Integrate local farmers market with community programs
 Grow your EBT with local growers
4.
AG Marketing
 Sell an experience
 Work through grower/business Co-op
 Expand marketing power
 Develop appellations for different ag commodities
 Develop producer co-ops
5.
Funding
 Create local foods revolving loan fund
 Financing $: creative, alternative, available
6.
Labor
 Create and develop farm labor
7.
Policy
 Private/public partnerships for advocacy
 Ease of state regulations through incentives for attaining community goals
8.
Access
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Convenience
o Access from buyer to seller
o Available everywhere
Incubate mini stores that sell local food in food deserts
Reliable food chains
Create mobile farmers markets
Roundtable Discussion Ideas: Titles to Themes
8 ways to grow profit
The following 8 themes identified for growing the profitability of small and midsize
farms in Northern California.
Theme #1: Education
A. K through 12 education
Recommendations: (This cohort was small and joined with the "educate the
consumers" cohort. Some recommendations for K-12 are listed within the educate
the consumer section).
B. College/University/Higher Education
Recommendations:
 Regional Ag day at the community colleges to educate students on the colleges
programs
C. Education of the consumers
Recommendations:
i.
Collaboration/networking
a. Community action agency's
b. Use of Food stamps
c. Local growers with local programs – FFA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts
etc.
ii.
National campaign
a. Mass media (Financing from health insurance)
iii.
Introducing local healthy and seasonal aspects home at classes
iv.
Use of community access TV radio stations
a. Cooking shows
v.
Common brand/logo
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vi.
Economic relationship and economics
 Saving cost via health, transportation etc.
 Combination of marketing/education
 On farm experience to educate for ag-tourism
 Higher frequency of Farmtrail type events
D. Education (training and development) for farmers and ranchers:
i. Internships – develop workable policy to make realistic
ii. Train farmers to set up internship programs
iii. Network of farmers offering internships
iv. Training geared to "older" farmers and ranchers
v. Training geared towards "newer" farmers and ranchers
vi. Create a "clearinghouse" Of resources offered by government
agencies/nonprofits
vii. Free webinars
viii. Mentoring – veteran farmer/rancher paired with new farmer (find
through ag associations)
ix. Define what training is needed
x. Create a Small Farmers and Ranchers Association
Theme #2: Infrastructure
i.
ii.
iii.
Online food hub ...Building sustainability
Physical food hub is the big vision
Meat processing facilities
 Regulations
 Feasibility study
 Use 3Core as a resource and Superior CA
iv.
Value added processing
a. Hot packing
b. Dried fruit processing
c. Commercial kitchens
v.
Cold storage
vi.
Distribution
Are iv, v, & vi all potential the services of a food hub?
2 markets:
 Wholesale
 Consumer
vii.
Funding
a. PPP
 Identify private partners that are able to leverage public funding
 Private infrastructure projects that are more ready to go with the
phone funding
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Theme #3: Farmer's Market Development
i. Educate the consumer
ii. Permanent sites with utilities
iii. Integrate markets with community programs (i.e. food banks,
sponsorship by local nonprofits, fundraisers for local needs – wildfires, etc.)
iv. Advertising/communication in community
v. Receipts from farmer to community using local fresh produce
vi. Info on website
vii. Word-of-mouth
viii. Communication with vendors from a Growing Association or Farmers
Association
Theme 4: Ag Marketing
i.
Selling the experience
a. Know your Farmer
ii. Value added products
a. Farm ID
iii. "Face" certification
a. BFBL
Theme #5: Funding
i. Start small – validate need
ii. Production – 18 months/3 core
iii. (FSA) R/P equals $300 K
iv. Co-Lending/MOU
v. Bridge Loans
vi. Gatekeepers – WRAP
vii. T/A into front end
Theme #6: Labor
i. When/where is the shortage? Location? Crop?
ii. What are the small farm needs?
iii. Better awareness of farm as career, make it attractive job (Use student
volunteer hours at small farms)
iv. Work with farm labor contractors about labor shortage related to
Northern California crops
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Theme #7: Public Policy
i. Reach goals by incentives, not rules and regulations.
ii. Admin rules
 Buy-in
iii. Interest based bargaining
iv. EBT goals/Sustainability Rating
v. School rating for wellness
vi. Applied Ed: Course credit for Farm Internships
vii. Student Loan Credits for farm work
viii. Nonprofits could replace many government functions. Last resort
ix. Leverage communication resources
x. Farmers market for student and youth to sell
xi. The market economy – Buyer beware
Theme #8: Access
Goals:
A.
To improve access/logistics of local products and services to consumers
B.
To increase access of consumers to grower/services, employ a third-party
mediator to organize acquisition, distribution, contracting, administration, etc.
regionally for a wide group of small businesses
i. Getting access to growers/services for consumers and access to
consumers for growers/services
ii. Challenges
 Limits for growers: seasonality, scale
 Limits for consumers: Availability
iii. Solutions/benefits
 Pick up from growers while distributing to consumers
 Reducing transportation/carbon footprint by bringing
products/services to consumers
 Regionally Managed/interaction
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