Piloting Unique Enterprise Training for Appalachian Farmers (PUETAF) FINAL REPORT NARRATIVE
In 2006 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
received a grant from the Southern Regional Risk Management Education Center
for a project, entitled “Piloting Unique Enterprise Training for Appalachian
Farmers”(PUETAF).
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Small and moderate-scale farmers face multiple risks
identifying and maintaining local, reliable and cost-effective markets.
Meanwhile, many consumers seek greater access to locally-produced food.
Projects funded through RMA, SARE, and CSREES have yielded numerous tools to
help farmers assess markets, diversify crops, develop profitable value-added
products, and establish market relationships. "Buy local" programs
have created tools to build farm-to-institution connections and consumer
demand. Adapting and using the best of these tools, this project will assist
farmers in two locations to strengthen local production and marketing
capabilities. In a series of interactive, cross-training workshops, utilizing
farmer trainers, participants will identify potential markets, build agreements
with buyers, and develop marketing and production plans to meet identified
local market demands. Through a case study guide of this unique training
approach, this project will also serve as a pilot program for application
throughout the South and beyond.
PROJECT PARTNERS
The primary project partners are as follows:
Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group
www.ssawg.org
The
mission of the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (SSAWG) is to empower and inspire farmers, individuals,
and communities in the South to create an agricultural system that is
ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and humane. Because
sustainable solutions depend on the involvement of the entire community,
Southern SAWG is committed to including all persons in the South without bias. Over the past 16 years, Southern SAWG has
facilitated research, conducted learning networks, and provided extensive
training for farmers and agricultural professionals that has addressed these
farmersī business, marketing and production needs.
 
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project,
Asheville, NC
www.asapconnections.org
www.BuyAppalachian.org
The
Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) supports farmers and rural communities
in the mountains of western North Carolina and the southern Appalachians by
providing education, mentoring, promotion, web resources, and community and
policy development. During the last seven years ASAP has established the
Sustainable Mountain Farming Program at A-B Technical Community College;
conducted the ASAP Market
Opportunities for Farmers Conference, the largest market-focused agricultural
conference in the region; and organized the Mountain Tailgate Market
Association and the Mountain Community Supported Agriculture Association, two
organizations of farmers who work together on sharing best practices, pool
resources for collaborative marketing, and set community standards for direct
sales. In addition, ASAP
initiated
and expanded a Local Food Campaign, with participation from nearly 200 farmers
(transitioning many farm families from tobacco to food production), over 60
retailers, distributors, and dozens of farmers’ tailgate markets; and organized
and currently head the Farm to School Committee, which focuses on farm to
school activity in Madison, Yancey and Mitchell counties. ASAP’s Local Food
Guide, local food campaign
and farm-to-school work are nationally recognized as models for rebuilding
local food systems and rebuilding local economies.
Jubilee Project, Sneedville, TN
www.jubileeproject.holston.org
Jubilee
Project (JP) is a community and economic development organization formed in
1991. For the past eight years, JP has worked with farmers in a 14-county area
to provide business training and technical assistance, provide a community
kitchen (Clinch Powell Community Kitchens) for local farm/food entrepreneurs to
process and market value-added products for commercial sale from local
agriculture, organize and assist a value-added food product marketing
cooperative (Appalachian Spring Cooperative) in forming
and progressing toward self-sufficiency, and organize the first Farm-To-School
Project in the state helping link local farmers with local schools and other
institutional markets.
Most recently JP
has spearheaded a successful drive to pass statewide legislation that will
mandate public school systems to develop relationships with and track food
purchases from local farmers.
Appalachian Spring Cooperative, Hancock County,
TN
www.apspringcoop.com
Jubilee Project created Appalachian Spring Cooperative (ASC)
in 2002 to provide educational and commercial opportunities for area farmers,
in particular focusing on development of value-added products. Based at a state-licensed food preparation
facility owned and staffed by JP, the member-owned and operated cooperative
assists farmers in developing products for sale - both directly by producers as
well as through commercial outlets pursued by ASC. ASC also provided significant financial benefits to members
through group purchasing of such items as:
low cost bar codes, jars and lids, product insurance. JP also prints labels for products and
nutritional content information contentinformation at below-market cost for ASC members.
Southern Regional Risk Management Education
Center, Stephenville, TX
http://srrme.tamu.edu/overview.html
The Southern Region Risk Management Education Center
(SRRMEC) was established by Texas Cooperative Extension and is located in
Stephenville, Texas. The Center is funded by a grant through USDA/CSREES. The
SRRMEC goal is to maximize the success of and recognition for the risk
management education activities of grant recipients. Public and private sector grant recipients assist agricultural
producers and their families be successful by using improved risk management
skills developed by attending the educational programs funded by the
Center. The Center is coordinating risk management education programs
throughout the southern region primarily through a regional competitive grants
program serving the states of Alabama,
Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands. The
Center will be the focus point for team building efforts, communication
networks, and stakeholder participation in the South.
PROJECT COMPONENTSThe two
locations selected for the PILOTING UNIQUE ENTERPRISE TRAINING FOR APPALACHIAN
FARMERS program are Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project based in
western North Carolina and the Appalachian Spring Cooperative, part of the
Jubilee Project based in northeastern Tennessee. Both organizations have worked successfully with area farmers in
a variety of projects designed to increase economic development.
Six
workshops were held to provide farmers information and tools to develop their
farm business. Three workshops were
organized by ASAP, and three by Jubilee Project.
ASAP Workshops
"Cultivating Local: Expanding Market
Opportunities For Higher Volume Farms"
November 29, 2006
Workshop resources available here
"Farm Tourism"
December 5, 2006
Workshop resources available here
"Farm Business Planning"
February 24, 2007
Workshop resources available here
JP
Workshops
"Understanding and Planning for Markets"
December 15, 2006
Workshop resources available here
"Integrating Production
Planning and Enterprise Budgets with a Market Plan"
August 20, 2007
Workshop resources available hereUn
"Food Grower and Food Buyer Roundtable"
November 29, 2007
Workshop resources available here
SSAWG
Conference Workshop
As part of the PUETAF program, Dr. Timothy Woods, Professor
of Agricultural Economics at the
University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, presented a workshop at
the 16th annual SSAWG conference on January 26, 2007. The title and
description
of this presentation as it is printed in the conference program is:
“Understanding and Planning for Markets: Wholesale, Retail and
Institutional
Markets for Fresh and Value-Added Foods”.
In response to requests from those attending the 2007 conference, Dr.
Woods presented a second workshop on this topic at the 17th annual
SSAWG conference in January 2008.
Workshop resources available here
CASE
STUDIES
Heather Youngblood
Summerfield Farms
Afton, Tennessee
Heather Youngblood and her
husband and family previously lived in central North Carolina, where they were
members of Carolina Farm Stewardship.
They farmed goats for meat production and had a USDA-inspected poultry
processing plant on their farm. For the past two and a half years, they have
lived in a rural area of Greene County, Tennessee and own 30 acres of land,
half of which is suitable for agriculture.
They currently have a dozen
sheep, about 75 hens, and a good-sized vegetable garden. They currently sell eggs and vegetables at a
weekly farmer’s market operated by Rural Resources, a rural-support non-profit
organization, and Main Street Greeneville, a community-based downtown
development non-profit organization. Their primary crops are: lettuce (several varieties), tomato (several
varieties), and smaller quantities of other vegetables. Family members work the farm.
Although she grows
organically, she has chosen not to certify.
At this point in time, her customers know her and are confident that her
methods are organic and meet their needs.
She would consider organic certification (which she had previously in
North Carolina) if her farm operations grow to a point where she would need it
for sales purposes.
Heather had been
contemplating expanding commercial opportunities for her farm products. The farmer’s market in Greeneville is open
one day a week from May to October.
She recently attended two workshops sponsored by Jubilee Project: Expanding Season, and Farm to School
Production.
Although Heather had been
pondering expansion, the information gathered at both workshops motivated her
to move forward. The Expanding Season
workshop provided her with information to see the possibilities and benefits of
a hoop house, with its opportunities to extend growing months. The Farm to School workshop enabled her to
see commercial opportunities available that would make sense in terms of
information received in regards to season extension.
 As a result, Heather has
applied for a grant from Jubilee’s Farm to School cost share program to build a
hoop house and purchase irrigation supplies for it. She is joining in with other farmers in the Farm to School
program to purchase seeds together, to save dollars on cost of seed, and grow a
large number of similar crop varieties to allow consistency for selling to area
schools.
Upon receipt of cost share
funds, Heather will immediately begin construction of the hoop house. She intends to utilize it for shade in the
summer. She will grow lettuce all year
round with the house.
.
Butch Larkin
Land o Larkin Farms
Mosheim, Tennessee
“If you’re small, you can be
adaptable”
Butch Larkin lives in rural
Greene County. He has about an acre of
arable land, and he farms about half that acre. He grows a variety of vegetables for sale, including lettuce, tomatoes,
peppers, squash, beans, peas, onions, and eggplant.
He sells his produce
primarily at the farmer’s market in downtown Greeneville. This market operates weekly during the
May-October period. (Specifics are
listed in Heather Youngblood case study.)
Butch has regular customers who are confident of his organic farming
techniques and abilities. As a result,
he has not pursued certification as an organic farmer.
Butch attended two of
Jubilee Project’s workshops: Expanding
the Season and Farm to School. He
reported learning valuable information in both workshops.
After attending the
“Expanding the Season” workshop in September, Butch applied for and was awarded
a grant through a cost share program for a drip irrigation kit with extra
couplings and a water timer. These
supporting funds were available through a 35% cost sharing opportunity provided
through the state of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service. It was only at the workshop that Butch
learned of this cost share program, which is administered by one of the three
speakers at the workshop. Butch will
purchase these items at the beginning of the spring planting season and will
then be reimbursed the 35% share.
As a result of a power point
presentation at this same workshop, Butch decided to purchase materials to
construct his own hoop house. This house covered an area of about 250 square
feet. He grew several lettuce varieties
through mid-December. Butch’s
decision to move forward enabled him to sell $350 worth of produce raised under
the hoop house. He extended his growing
season in a way that would have been impossible otherwise.
Butch also learned from this
initial experience. He realized that
his hoop house operation could easily be expanded in size to produce more
vegetables for an even longer period of time.
Demand for fresh vegetables over the winter season is strong and
commands a premium price. He also
learned where to make improvements in the use of sheet plastic and row cover,
as well as irrigation techniques.
At the Farm to School
workshop, Butch received additional information about the value of extending
his season and planting specific crop varieties. The county school systems in the region need a large volume of
specific produce items to satisfy the needs of feeding several thousand
students and teachers. Butch has
joined with a number of area farmers to bulk purchase seeds of crop varieties
suggested by the school systems represented at the workshop. This cooperative effort results in a cost
savings on seeds and will enable consistent production and supply for the end
user.
Butch also searched out more
information from websites such as the National Center for Appropriate
Technology (www.ncat.org) and specifically the Appropriate Technology Transfer
for Rural Areas. He purchased several
books, including Elliott Coleman’s "Four Seasons Harvest", which provided
a philosophical underpinning for his experiments. The literature also provided nuts and bolts information
concerning methods and techniques.
Butch attended the 2008
SSAWG conference. This was his first
conference, and he learned a lot of valuable information, especially concerning
permaculture.
Bill Davidson, Jr. is a
fourth generation farmer in rural Hawkins County, Tennessee. The Davidson farm is
280 acres, and the family often leases an additional amount that size, then
farming nearly 600 acres. On land formerly devoted only to beef cattle and
tobacco, the family now produces grapes, strawberries, raspberries,
blackberries, beans, corn, watermelons, and cantaloupes.
Bill
and his wife Debbie have been open to changes in agriculture and have initiated
major efforts in value-added production, agritourism, and the re-opening of a
family store six years ago. The store
had been non-operational and in use for hay storage for decades. With a grant from the Tennessee Department
of Agriculture, the Davidsons created an attractive commercial building. The Davidson Farm Store is open seasonally
and sells fresh produce, Davidson’s value-added products, some “souvenir”
products, and farm-related items. The
store has proven to be a gathering place for the community. Last year the Davidsons organized a
Christmas wreath contest at the store.
Davidson Farms is an active participant in the state’s Pick Tennessee
agricultural promotion.
Produce
that isn’t sold fresh in the store is made into jams, jellies, sauces and soup
mixes at the Clinch-Powell Community Kitchens at a state-approved commercial
kitchen in nearby Hancock County.
Working with Jubilee Project staff (a partner in this SSAWG project),
Bill is exploring marketing his products through supermarket chains such as
Food City. Recently, the Davidsons
bought a revolving frozen drink dispenser from Italy. They are turning strawberries and raspberries into refreshing,
icy ciders, another way, Bill says, of adding value to the crop.
- Bill
is also working with Jubilee Project in a Farm to School program. He has provided strawberries, tomatoes, and
grapes to the Hawkins County School System.
He is participating in the
regional Farm to School’s program to sell lettuce/spinach and grape tomatoes to
area school systems in the 2008-09 school year. Recently
the state legislature of Tennessee passed a bill - SB3341 (see http://www.legislature.state.tn.us) - encouraging all school systems in the state to consider purchases of
locally grown food, and requiring they keep track of such purchases.
Bill
attended two of the three workshops presented by Jubilee Project. As a result of information received and
discussion at the “Sales and
Marketing Skills-Building Workshop for Farmers and Rural Entrepreneurs”, Bill
stated this workshop helped give him the motivation and confidence to seek
publicity for his farm and store through pursuing features in local newspapers
and magazines. As a result of pursuing
publicity, the Kingsport Times News did a feature article on his farm
and country store. According to Bill,
“There was marked increase in visits to the store and farm after that
article.”
Bill also attended the
“Building Productive Understanding between Food Producers and Food
Buyers/Roundtable Workshop”. Discussion
among farmers and school system and hospital food purchasers encouraged Bill to
seriously investigate growing cold weather crops in his greenhouse to extend
his season and generate income during an otherwise “quiet” time of the
year.’ His awareness of the most cost
efficient and timely crops to grow and sell to schools was significantly
increased.
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