Market News

I’ve just returned a few hours ago from an exhausting but at the same time energizing conference for the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group in Chattanooga, Tennessee. About 1200 likeminded people from across the south (and beyond) gathered together to share knowledge so that we could all take that knowledge back home and improve our communities. I was on the conference staff and so couldn’t make it into many of the presentations, but the hallway conversations were amazing. I also got to hang out with many of the giants in the field, and learned a lot just be being close. I’ll have more to say about all that later.

In the past two weeks I’ve talked about the legal organization and considerations behind our market and then the financial operation that keeps everything running. I’ll wrap up my yearly primer on Athens Locally Grown this week with a few words about our growers and other market vendors.

First and foremost, let me preface everything by saying the decision to let a new grower into the market is always made by me alone. I know the Saturday Athens Farmers Market has got some press in the past regarding one vendor or another feeling left out of the market and complaining that the committee running that market was a little too closed. Well, my efforts to run ALG in a cooperative manner aside, the responsibility here comes back to me. There’s no committee, and no formal application process. I’ve had some potential vendors that I’ve rejected get upset with me and complain that ALG is a “closed” market, and they’re right. It is a closed market in that it’s not open to just anyone to sell through. That doesn’t mean we have arbitrary standards, of course, and actually I think I’ve set the bar pretty high. A good number of our growers also go above and beyond to only bring “the best of the best”, and that pushes the standards even higher. Here’s a summary of what it takes to be able to sell through Athens Locally Grown:

• All growers must use sustainable practices and never use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. I’ll come back to this later.
• All growers can only sell what they themselves have grown
• All growers must be from the greater Athens area. Right now, this means within about 75 miles
• All animals raised for meat or eggs must be pastured
• Handicrafts must be made primarily from items produced or gathered on the farm
• Prepared foods must use organic ingredients if at all possible, and locally grown ingredients if at all possible
• All proper licenses, when required by law, must be obtained

That about covers everything, I think. When I’ve turned down requests to sell through ALG (and I have turned down many), the items clearly broke one or more of those standards. There are a few edge cases that I take on a case by case basis. Coffee is one. 1000 Faces was our first coffee vendor, and they offered direct trade coffees (they purchased directly from the coffee growers with no distributor or middle man) and did all the roasting and packaging themselves and to order. That set the standard, and other coffee vendors (such as GranCoffee Roasting Co.) have to match it. Mills Farm was a founding ALG member, but they buy in organic grains for their mill. We now have Sylvan Falls Mill in Rabun Gap as a vendor, and they buy all their grains from local (to them) organic growers. From now on, all future millers wanting to sell through ALG will have to meet that standard. And so on.

Let me get back to that first requirement: “sustainable practices”. There’s no set definition of that, and there’s really a sliding scale. For example, I sometimes use a gasoline-powered rototiller, and our no-till growers and the no-hydrocarbon growers would frown upon that. There is a generally accepted definition of what is “conventional” agriculture, and that includes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and confined and grain-fed animals. Those are easy to exclude. At the other end, there is the USDA Organic Certification and Certified Naturally Grown certification. Few small diversified growers can meet the expense of USDA certification, but a good number of our growers are CNG certified. This program uses the USDA rules as a starting point, made a few things more strict, and uses a system of growers certifying other growers to keep things honest. My farm has been CNG certified for nine years, and many others area farms have followed since then. If a new grower does not have a certification, then I talk to them, get information about them, and visit their farm in person when necessary. A good number of our growers were ALG customers long before growing for market themselves, so I’ve gotten to know the people and the decision to let them in was easy.

In short: the growers have satisfied my standards, and I personally have approved them for inclusion in ALG. However, I want you to not just take my word for it. We have monthly farm tours during the warm seasons so you can go on-site yourself and see the farms in action. We have a semi-regular “meet the grower” table at the Thursday pickups so you can talk with the growers yourself face-to-face. We encourage them to take photos for their online photo album, to describe their practices, and to take care with their product listings. We want to facilitate communication between you and them, so when you place an order, they see your name and email address in case they need to clarify a request or offer a substitution, and likewise for most of our growers you can see their contact info when you view their grower profile (while logged into the site) so you can get clarification from them when needed.

Hopefully that explains how our growers get into ALG, what standards they have to meet, and so on. It’s a very important topic, perhaps the most important one for our market, but much of it goes on behind the scenes. I know you’ve put your trust in me, and I take that very seriously, If you’d like to talk with me in person about this or any other aspects of ALG, I’d love to do so. Just pull me aside when you come by to pick up your order.

Thanks so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!

Farm for Lease

Backyard Harvest is a nineteen acre organic farm situated in the foothills of Oglethorpe County, Georgia. The property is approximately  a 25 – 30 miles from Athens, 5 miles from Lexington and 15 miles from Elberton. The land has been farmed organically for over 15 year’s. I want to lease the farm and beautiful hand built house as soon as possible. The house is over 2000 square feet and includes many unique features including soap stone wood stove as well as a heat pump, heart pine walls,100 year old doors, large deck etc.

The farm has been cover cropped and fertilized organically every year since 1996..The soil is a very dark brown sandy loam and there are  beds all over ready to till and plant. The well is in good shape, and approx.3-5 acres has been set up and run with drip irrigation, using blue tube, trip tape, and valve boxes for over 5 years The farm and lease also include the use of 4 hoop houses and 1 small handihouse greenhouse. Which has electricity, as does the main seed-starting house, which is also equipped with tables and fans. the lease also includes the use of a  400 square foot certified kitchen and a 10 by 8 foot walk in cooler. The lease also includes the use of a Kubota 3130 4 wheel drive tractor with bushhog, roto tiller, and spring tooth plow. There are also an array of other farming related items that will be included in the lease including a old Toyota farm truck that runs well. The price is 1900 a month and the length of the lease will be determined after meeting with potential lessee. I can be reached at 706 743 0826, or by email at backyardharvest@windstream.net. Ask for Boo or Daniel

Announcement from Split Creek Farm

Evin Evans, owner of Split Creek Farm, has been dealing with medical issues for the last few years. Continued deterioration in her health has now led to her need for a double lung transplant. We are happy to report Evin has been accepted into the Emory Hospital lung transplant program in Atlanta, Georgia. She is hoping to be accepted in the program at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston as well.  Being on two lists potentially decreases her wait time for a transplant. 

Due to the efforts of the loyal farm staff, Split Creek Farm continues to produce the same high quality goat milk products. We appreciate the support and understanding shown to us by our families, friends, and customers. We ask for continued understanding and support as we go through this journey with Evin. Several inquiries about making donations to a health fund for Evin have been received.  A fund (the “ELF project” – Evin’s Lung Fund) has now been established at Evin’s church, North Anderson Community Church, Presbyterian.   If you wish to make a donation, please mail a check to:

NACCP
ATTN:  Lane Pitts, Treasurer
4200 Liberty Highway
Anderson, SC 29621       phone: 864-225-3575
Please put ELF Project on check memo line.

Thank you for all the prayers that have been sent, not only for Evin, but for the staff and farm as well. We will send updates about Evin as things progress.  As always, you are welcome to visit the farm.  We are soon setting up a Caring Bridge website for those of you who are interested in more information. Please visit http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/evinevans

Recipes

Curried Winter Squash Soup

Late in the season, when the sun seems never to shine, and the winds come, and it’s cold, the farm kitchen smells of this soup. It’s filling, and it warms the soul on days when the last thing you want to do is to be outside prepping the fields for next year. From Farmer John’s Cookbook: The Real Dirt On Vegetables.

Serves 6 to 8

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped scallions (about 6 scallions)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
2 pounds butternut squash (about 1/2 large squash), peeled, seeded, cubed
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, or 2 cups peeled, chopped fresh tomatoes
12 whole fresh curry leaves (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons curry powder
salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the scallions; sauté until soft and wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley, jalapeno, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
2. Add the squash and toss to coat it with the scallion mixture. Add the stock, tomatoes, curry leaves, allspice, mace, and nutmeg. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the squash is very tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly.
3. Transfer the soup in batches to a blender or food processor; puree.
4. Transfer the soup back to the pot. Stir in the curry powder and add salt and pepper to taste. Return the soup to a simmer to heat through. Garnish with parsley just before serving.