Filling the local foods gap

WASHINGTON — Data shows that farmers who grow and sell locally raised products have a stronger chance to stay in business longer and those chances would strengthen under a proposed legislative package.

Called the Local Food and Regional Market Supply Act of 2017, the proposal creates efficiencies and starts some new government programs that support small local producers.

The way the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition puts it, the proposal “helps communities prosper through farm-to-fork investments. This legislation supports job creation by improving programs and policies that help grow local and regional food economies. In so doing, it helps family farmers reach new and growing markets and helps consumers access fresh, healthy food.”

Data from the 2007 and 2012 agricultural censuses shows that farmers who market food directly to consumers have a greater chance of remaining in business than similarly sized farms that market through traditional channels.

In 2015, more than 167,000 U.S. farms produced and sold food locally through food hubs and other intermediaries, direct farmer-to-consumer marketing or direct farm to retail. All of those sales added up to an $8.7 billion business for local producers.

The ag coalition points out that “this shows the significance of local and regional food economies and importance of continued investment in this maturing sector of the agriculture economy.”

The prospects of the act have two state local farming organizations looking forward its passage — the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, a statewide sustainability organization headed by Liz Moran Stelk, and Food Works, a southern Illinois food sustainability group managed by Kathleen Logan Smith.

How would this proposed act help specialty crop farmers whom you work with?

Smith: Enhancing value chain coordination to get southern Illinois grown food into strong markets will help grow farms and support families. In helping farmers retain more of the value of their products, farmers will return to their place as the economic engine and anchors of rural Illinois.

Illinois family farms — and not multinational corporations — should be the highest priority for any entity charged with economic development.

It will also help local businesses and institutions source from local farmers as value chain components are returned to the region. It will make healthy, fresh, local food more readily available and reduce our excessive dependence on imported food. Food security is national security.

Stelk: We take Andy Heck of Heck’s Harvest and the president of our board’s word for it: the Local FARMS Act will help farmers like him reach new markets so he can make a decent living and keep in business.

“Times are tight right now, a farmer has to be a jack of all trades to get by,” he said. “You’ve got to not only grow the best food, but also have a smart business plan, savvy marketing, the right training. We’re not looking for a handout. We’re looking for a hand up — and that’s what the Local FARMS Act does.”

Does this act do enough to make a difference?

Smith: This act moves in the right direction. Other threats to family farms have to do with security and risk management — the failure of the healthcare system tops the list. Many families are deterred from farming because they cannot afford to purchase health insurance, and there is no safety net for healthcare.

Also, there is no effective safety net or crop insurance for specialty growers. Advances in the 2014 farm bill in providing whole farm protection have not infiltrated the culture and training of the insurance brokers, leaving specialty growers to deal with natural disasters and crop failures alone unlike their commodity counterparts who have subsidized options.

Stelk: The Local FARMS Act builds on the momentum of the local food movement that has drawn young people to farming, created jobs, revitalized rural communities and put fresh, healthy food in the hands of people who need it most.

Now producers tell us they need to grow beyond farmers markets to make a living and fear that complying with new federal food safety rules threatens their bottom line.

This bill fills the gaps in the value chain, provides technical assistance, food safety training and expands infrastructure that will cement local food and farming as an economically viable option for growers and our communities to thrive.

What’s missing?

Smith: This bill does a lot to promote local food. It does not level the playing field for small producers. For example, for consumers to appreciate and value local food, ranchers need to be able to label their beef and pork with its Country of Origin — and our nation’s labeling law for meat has been gutted so that you will not find a Country of Origin note on beef and pork in your grocery store any more. That makes it harder for consumers to choose to support local — or even American — producers.

Stelk: Over the past 50 years, farm bill policies have prioritized corporations and consolidations over family farms in pursuit of cheap food. Now Americans are seeing the impacts to our health and land and realizing that we need fresh, wholesome food, and we need family farms, not corporations, to grow it.

In order to truly rebuild local and regional food systems, Congress needs to prioritize family farmers through more than just the Local FARMS Act. Small farms need access to crop insurance in order to manage risk, and beginning farmers need access to training, technical assistance, mentorship, land, credit and capital.

What has your organization done or plans to do to support this proposal?

Smith: Food Works connects sustainable farmers and supportive consumers in direct relationships to understand and strengthen the local food system. We do not work on policy. We work farm to fork. We encourage our members and farmers to be educated consumers and informed citizens.

Stelk: Illinois Stewardship Alliance members across the state have been writing, calling, emailing and meeting with our members of Congress about the Local FARMS Act and our farm bill priorities. Alliance members testified at the House Ag Committee farm bill listening session this summer in Decatur.

Many are constituents of the three members of Illinois’ congressional delegation who serve on the House Ag Committee drafting the farm bill. We have a unique opportunity to encourage our members of Congress to be champions for the most exciting new developments in agriculture in a generation.

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