WEDNESDAY
JANUARY 20, 2016
Acreage and profits
Noble said some farmers have a
misconception that land expansion
will allow them to easily generate
additional profits because they can
increase production.
In reality, land expansion often
creates deeper problems, he said,
because farmers may not know how
to effectively harvest their new land
and address new problems as they
. emerge. This ultimately sacrifices
time and attention that could be
better spent on existing land hold-
: ings.
“when it comes to volume, small
: farmers are normally at a disadvan-
I tage,” Noble said. “A small farmer
' with limited acreage might try to
? work more land and then lose mon-
y ey. We work to show him how to get
more money per unit and per com
modity unit.”
Government and farmer
disconnect
Michael Shuman, expert in eco
nomics and longtime supporter of
the local food movement, helped
President Barack Obama draft the
Jobs Act in order to stimulate eco
nomic growth and increase jobs. But
the Jobs Act has faced significant op
position from the Republican Party.
[ Shuman says the deep political divi
sion in Washington, D.C., has led to
' federal programs that are often inef-
! fective at addressing small farming
issues.
“State laws are going to be better
and more effective than the feder
al laws because federal law allows
I long-distance relationships,” Shu-
! man said.
According to Noble, national
politicians have become increasing-
1 ly distanced from agriculture as the
! United States has become more ur-
[ banized.
“When our grandparents were
around, a lot of people who were
I in the legislative branch actually
I had farm backgrounds,” Noble said.
‘You had real farmers participating
I in making rules and regulations
for farmers. In this country today
about 1.5 percent of us are feeding
I 98.5 percent. We have farming rules
mandated by people who aren’t
farming.
Their intuition may not be as
great. Their understanding is not
great. We face challenges because
the people who are making deci
sions for farmers have no idea what
farming is like. The disconnect is
•- T from the move away from rural ar-
' eas and into cities.”
NEWS
BRYAN ANDERSON I News Editor
Smith is among a rapidly dedining group of North Carolina small farmers.
Government actions carry signifi
cance
while most farmers argue there
is too much government regulation,
Gerald Dorsett, adjunct professor
in environmental science, says it is
unfair to categorize regulation as a
binary issue.
“A lot of government agencies'
would have a tendency to say there
aren’t enough regulations,” Dorsett
said. “The typical farmer is going to
tell you that there are. All regulations
are not good and all regulations are
not bad.”
Redbud Farm underwent an ex
tensive application process to be
come certified organic, but Smith
and Joyner agree regulation of some
form is necessary to establish uni
form rules and establish reliable
small-farm support programs.
“Because we are certified organ
ic, we undergo an annual four-hour
inspection to verify that we’re doing
what we say we do,” Smith said. “I
appreciate that because it gives in
tegrity to the term ‘organic.’ I don’t
really have trouble with govern
ment regulations. If you’re doing the
things you need to be doing, you’re
not going to have problems with
those.”
Encouraging the public to buy
locai
The disconnect for farmers ex
tends beyond the government.
Dorsett says one of the first
questions he asks students in his
community agriculture courses is,
“What is farming?” and most people
say a farmer’s primary role is caring
for livestock. Many students enter
his courses unaware of the struggles
small farmers face and unaware of
the impacts consumers’ behaviors
have on agriculture and the people
working in the industry.,
■ “If we want to help out the small
farmer, we need to become a much
more educated society,” Dorsett said.
“We have to go back to a philosophy
that was strong here until the 1960s:
buying local.”
Employees at the Company
Shops Market in Burlington work
to provide healthy, fresh and local
products to customers. The co-op
opened in June 2011 with the hope
of generating increased revenue
for local vendors and changing
consumer behaviors to encourage
healthy practices.
Company Shops has experienced
steady growth since opening its
doors, but its progress in competing
against local grocery chains such
as Harris Teeter, Lowe’s and Food
BRYAN ANDERSON I News Editor
NancyJoyner packages tomatoes for the Elon's farmers market Government assistance has helped Redbud increase efficiency.
Lion and big discount stores such as
Walmart and Costco has been grad
ual.
Company Shops’ 2014 annual re
port noted a “drawdown on our cash
while our current liabilities continue
to increase slightly” and concluded:
“Both of these trends need to be and
can be reversed by increasing sales.”
The co-op’s managers are aiming
for additional owners and increased
involvement from existing owners.
The report noted a disappointing in
crease in owner spending from 2013
to 2014. In 2013, owner purchases
increased $157,956 over 2012. In
2014, owner purchases increased by
only $8,351 over 2013.
Megan Sharpe, community out
reach coordinator for Company
Shops, has relied heavily on social
media to increase awareness. But
she admits there are too many peo
ple the co-op has yet to reach.
“We have people living in the
apartment building right down the
street who still haven’t heard about
us,” Sharpe said. ‘We’re trying to
do everything we can to increase
awareness. We’ll blast social media
and we’ll do emails, flyers and post
ers. It’s slowly getting out there.”
While Sharpe looks to reach
potential customers through visu
als, interim general manager Ben
Wright relies on interpersonal com
munication. .
Wright and Sharpe argue it is vir
tually impossible to compete with
fast food chains. McDonald’s Dollar
Menu currently features a fruit and
yogurt parfait, double cheeseburg
er and chicken nuggets along with
much more, whereas the Company
Shops deli menu features a variety of
sandwiches starting around $8.
“People eat with their eyes and
they eat with their wallet,” Wright
said. “It’s a matter of breaking down
paradigms with folks and not having
to sell them a product but sell them
a new viewpoint and getting them to
change completely.”
Exploring trending markets is key
to small farmer prosperity
Despite the slow progress for
many co-op markets in acquiring
new customers and in changing
consumer behavior, the demand for
fresh, organic local food is gaining
momentum.
Consumer demand has grown
by double digits every year since the
1990s, and organic sales increased
from $3.6 billion in 1997 to $39 bil
lion in 2014, according to the Or
ganic Trade Association.
Shuman authored “Going Local”
to empower communities like Bur
lington to revitalize themselves and
illustrate how consumers are will
ing to pay more for quality organic
goods.
“People with limited incomes
don’t understand the differences be
tween price and value, and frankly,
most people don’t understand this
difference,” he said. “Basically, no
one buys anything simply on the
basis of price. If that were true. Star-
bucks wouldn’t exist. People make
their decisions on the basis of value,
not just poor people.”
Audience engagement
Although it may be wise for
farmers to grow organic goods, it is
just as important for them to market
their crops effectively.
At Redbud Farm, Nancy Joyner
created an email list to garner sup
port and enhance the farm’s rela
tionship with consumers. She also
regularly updates a Facebook page
to keep the farm’s followers up to
date with the latest crops being
brought into farmers markets.
“You can work as hard as you
want to but you’ve got to have folks
to buy your food,” Joyner said.
“You’ve got to pay attention to the
relational aspect of getting to know
the people.”
Uncertain future remains
As small farms explore new mar
kets and compete for consumer
attention, an uncertain future re
mains.
The average age of farmers is in
creasing. The number of small farms
is declining. Income inequality is
rising. More and more people are
moving away from rural areas. Gov
ernment cost-share programs often
require poor farmers to put up mon
ey they don’t have.
And despite all these issues, farms
like Redbud remain optimistic and
look.to inspire a younger generation
to enter an agriculture industry very
much in limbo.
Growing emotional. Smith said,
“We want to be an example for
young people who think they might
want to farm.”
NC FARMERS’ DWINDLING NUMDERS
300,000
250,000
-s
g 200,000
O
cc.
“ 150,000
100,000 -
50,000 -
The number of farms based in North Carolina
has dropped significantly since 1950, when
the number was nearly 300,000.
SOURCES: USDA, NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL
STATISTICS SERVICE, 1950-2012 U.S. CENSUSES
J—I—I—I—I—I I I I I I I I I
'50 '54 '59 '64 '69 '74 '78 '82 '87 '92 '97 '02 '07 '12
YEAR
GRAPHIC BY CHRISTINA ELIAS