Telling Your Story
The modern grocery shopping experience provides an overwhelming selection of fresh produce, whether the item is in season and produced locally or not.
I don't have to drive to the Southwest to purchase cactus. It's available all the time in my usual store. (I don't know what to do with cactus and I don't have any recipes.)
I don't have to drive to Maine or Alaska to purchase lobster. There is a tank in the store where I can choose a live lobster. (Is there a judging criterion for lobster selection like there is for other meat animals? Do they have a USDA grade? What should I look for in a live lobster selection? Do I have to give a set of oral reasons at the checkout?) I have never bought a lobster, nor eaten one either, except for the fake lobster flakes I use in Mr. Berens' favorite seafood enchilada dish twice a year for Father's Day and his birthday.
Yes, besides the fact that the farm population is increasingly decreasing, we can get what we want, when and wherever we want. It's no wonder the average consumer knows little to nothing about food production, the care farmers give to their livestock, seasonality and local food.
How do we reconnect people to the land and their food? It's a job that basically amounts to emptying the ocean with a spoon. Frankly, it would probably take a national food security catastrophe to make the entire U.S. population find reason for even a basal knowledge of the food system.
Yes, there is always blogging, volunteering and more, to educate the public. While great and positive things can result from those activities, they also come with a cost in terms of one more thing to do, time lost on the farm, and typically contributing something out of your own wallet to make the event work, even if it is only your own transportation to and from. It is still a cost.
But we all can and do have a circle of influence, and those are the people and places to begin food education and land reconnection. We individually throw our rocks in the pond and let the ripples spread from the epicenter. The rocks we are throwing today combine education with economics to hopefully create ripples that both educate and provide a return to the farmer.
On-farm retail stores are popping up everywhere. Dairy farmers are using the bull calves, a dairy farm by-product, getting licensed for retail meat sales, building, buying or remodeling a place to create a farm store and successfully selling cuts of meat raised right on the farm where it is sold. On-farm retail brings customers to you and works especially well when housing and business subdivisions have sprouted around your farm. Produce, flowers, dairy products, bakery, honey, jams and snacks are also good sellers. The farming community is good at networking and helping each other out by selling each other's products. Will on-farm retail surpass the sales of the farms' main product? In some cases, it may. But even though there are rules and regulations and licensing hoops to jump through, retail sales can be a nice boost to the bottom line.
Food events such as a dinner on the farm are becoming increasingly popular. A chef prepares an interesting meal while you or the chef tells the interesting story behind the products being served. Candlelight, linen tablecloths, under the backdrop of a farm settling in for the night is an experience that draws people in. (Remember, now is not the time to empty the manure pit or forget to chain a gate leaving a local roundup for evening entertainment.) Ticket prices cover the cost of the meal, chef and set up; of course, there is product to buy at the end of the event. Get creative! Lots of opportunity here.
Agritourism is still a strong way to bring people in. Diversify to add pumpkins, flowers, fall U-pick and more to bring in the crowd and some extra cash before the year is over.
Use your imagination. Be creative and use what resources you have available to turn your farm into a classroom that pays dividends to your wallet while adding to the greater education of consumers.
Bev Berens is a mom to 4-H and FFA members in Michigan. Do you have a story to share? Email her at uphillfarm494@yahoo.com.