January 17, 2011:
Farmer Cultivation Center to Boost Local Food Production
The transition to a fossil-fuel-free food system does not constitute a distant utopian proposal. It is an unavoidable, immediate, and immense challenge that will call for unprecedented levels of creativity at all levels of society. A hundred years from now, everyone will be eating what we today would define as local organic food, whether or not we act. But what we do now will determine how many will be eating, what state of health will be enjoyed by those future generations, and whether they will live in a ruined cinder of a world, or one that is in the process of being renewed and replenished.” —Richard Heinberg, “What Will We Eat When the Oil Runs Out?”
As Transition Colorado’s 10% Local Food Shift Challenge gains momentum, the demand for more local food will rapidly increase. Where will that food come from? “It is critically important that we increase the available supply of locally-produced food at the same time that we increase demand,” says Dave Georgis of Everybody Eats!, a local organization now developing plans for the Boulder County Farmer Cultivation Center.
Strategies for boosting supply of local food in Boulder County include increasing the production at existing farms, increasing the number of home and community gardens, and bringing new farms and farmers to Boulder County. This last strategy is the focus of Everybody Eats! and its emerging Boulder County Farmer Cultivation Center (BCFCC).
Northern Colorado has an abundance of farming-related educational opportunities, from degree programs at CSU to CSU Extension Service courses, from small classes given by local permaculturists, to internships at local farms. But given the economic and environmental challenges of running a successful farm business in the Front Range area, it is a long leap from the classroom to financial stability as a farmer. “New farmers need help from our community to insure that they prosper so that we can eat more healthy local food,” says Georgis.
Everybody Eats! has defined the mission of the nascent Farmer Cultivation Center as “providing land and internships to new farmers in order to attract and foster their successful farm businesses, and to increase local food production.”
The core of the Center’s plan is to provide farm interns with their own piece of land within a mentored environment. In their first year, they will farm one-half acre and grow a variety of market vegetables; in their second year, they will farm one full acre and begin to focus on the kind of farm operation they intend to start.
The Farmer Cultivation Center will have several CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) operating on site. One will be the traditional model with individual and family memberships, much like what exists at various local farms today. A new approach to CSA has institutional members such as hospitals, schools, retirement communities or even prisons. When interns graduate, they will have the choice of starting their own CSA, and can take a portion of the existing CSA membership with them to their new farm operation.
Besides CSA members, the Center will also assist program graduates with finding land to farm, startup loans, or a spot at a local farmers market. With land to farm, eager customers, startup capital and several years of local farming experience, graduates will be ready to produce more local food.
As local food demand increases, so will the need to preserve and process locally-grown foods. Beyond home preservation and preparation, there are opportunities for new local food businesses to offer a variety of preserved and prepared foods using methods of canning, freezing and dehydration. The BCFCC can help to incubate new food-related businesses by providing commercial kitchen facilities and consultation to entrepreneurs. New farmers and businesses can network to create lasting business relationships.
The strategic plan for the Farmer Cultivation Center calls for irrigated farmland that is inexpensive and available over a long period of time. The most obvious approach is to lease Boulder County Open Space land, but there are also opportunities with privately-held land. In any case, there will be significant improvements made to the land over time and it is essential that the land be available as long as the Center is in existence.
In addition to land, the BCFCC will require classroom space, barn and greenhouse facilities, and commercial kitchen space. While it would be optimal to have the land and facilities all together on one parcel, it is also feasible to find Open Space land adjacent to existing facilities like schools, commercial space, or private barns and structures.
The Farmer Cultivation Center will be organized as a 501c3 non-profit, but it will be run as a fiscally-sustainable business. While startup expenses and capital campaigns will be funded through grants and local donors, ongoing operations will also generate crop and events revenue, and a sponsorship program will allow local businesses to “adopt” an intern and her land for a season.
For more information about the Boulder County Farmer Cultivation Center or Everybody Eats!, contact: info
everybody-eats
org (infoeverybody-eatsorg) , www.everybody-eats.org, facebook: Everybody Eats, Wiser Earth: Everybody Eats
