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We are pleased to be getting our Beginning Farmer program underway.
One of the obstacles that we face as we try to rebuild our local food system is that, in some cases and at some times, we do not have enough local production to meet the demand. Helping new farmers and ranchers, young or old, who are interested in producing local food and other agricultural products is one part of the solution. Many of the things that our communities can do to support new producers can also help existing producers increase production or move into meeting local food needs.
Here's what’s underway:
- Land Link: Available land, available growers. A bulletin board type listing of land available for prospective producers and of people looking for land for local food production. A simple listing format at first will probably evolve into a more sophisticated system as we learn more. We should soon have some resources on appropriate leases and other ways to secure land.
- Growing Farmers Course: Darrin Parmenter of CSU Extension offered a course in Winter 2008 on the production and business planning basics for local producers either starting up or scaling up production. Contact Darrin for info on upcoming courses.
- Community Support for Beginning and Growing Farmers: Jim Dyer is facilitating a series of community meetings to explore how to develop community support for new local producers. Access to land, financing for land and capital improvements, land use codes, health regulation issues, developing support in the marketplace for new producers, and other issues will be discussed, and plans made to address these issues. Contact Jim to get involved.
- Beginning Farmer Resources: Julie Hudak has developed a listing of excellent links to a variety of resources to learn more about financing, getting started, growing your operation, and programs across the country.
We will post information here as these plans develop. Please contact Jim Dyer if you have interest in participating and/or have suggestions to make.