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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Michigan fruit growers face record losses in 2012

by Absolute Michigan

Michigan farmers are now reaping the unpleasant harvest of our strange "Summer in March." The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that the United States Department of Agriculture puts the 2012 losses for apples, asparagus, blueberries, sweet & tart cherries, peaches and juice grapes in Michigan at $223.5 million. That's 62% of these commodities' 5-year average combined value of $359.6 million.
In the Detroit News feature, Michigan Farm Bureau commodity specialist Ken Nye explains:
"This is the worst that Michigan has experienced in the past 50 years at least," Nye said. "I don't know how far you'd have to go back to find something similar."
Michigan produces three-fourths of the nation's tart cherries, used primarily in pies and other food products, and 20 percent of its sweet cherries, a popular table fruit. It ranks third nationally in apple production, behind Washington and New York.
The state is no stranger to spring cold snaps, and experts say orchards remain vulnerable throughout May. The tart cherry crop was a near-total loss a decade ago. What sets this year apart is not just the severity of the damage but the variety of fruits affected.
"We've had freezes before, but you'd always have something come through OK," said David Rabe, who grows apples, tart cherries, peaches and asparagus in Oceana County. "This year, just about everything's devastated. Asparagus might be the only crop we can harvest."
The numbers are pretty devastating:
  • Apples: 90 percent loss, $110 million
  • Blueberries: 10 percent loss, $15 million
  • Juice Grapes: 85 percent loss, $18 million
  • Peaches: 95 percent loss, $14 million
  • Sweet Cherries: 80 percent loss, $15 million
  • Tart Cherries: 90 percent loss, $50 million
  • Asparagus: 10 percent loss, $1.5 million

Friday, June 22, 2012

Northern Michigan Attractions: Follow Mario Batali in Leelanau County

http://www.mynorth.com/My-North/August-2011/Northern-Michigan-Attractions-Follow-Mario-Batali-in-Leelanau-County/

Northern Michigan Attractions: Given its rich variety of fresh local produce, dairy, meat and wine coupled with a landscape marked by dunes, Lake Michigan vistas and vineyards, it's no wonder Mario Batali chose Leelanau County as the location of his summer escapes from New York City. The world-famous foodie visited Northern Michigan for the first time just 10 years ago and kept coming back year after year. While all Northern Michigan enthusiasts, understand the draw of this magical Michigan landscape, it is affirming to see this superstar chef raving about Northern Michigan through just about every social media site possible.
Check out this blog about the chef's travels through Leelanau County and then why not cook like Mario Batali as well? Here is a delicious sweet summer recipe from our neighbor, Mario Batali.
Bon appetit!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Supporting Local Food and Farms

No Farms No Food

The message is simple and couldn't be more clear—America's farms and ranches provide an unparalleled abundance of fresh, healthy and local food, but they are rapidly disappearing.

Ninety-one percent of America’s fruit and seventy-eight percent of our vegetables are grown near metro regions, where they are in the path of development. And America has been losing more than an acre of farmland every minute. That's why supporting local food and farms is more important than ever!

Check out the American Farmland Trust link above for ideas and actions to save your local farmers.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Some thoughts on seasonal fruit!

from the Sustainable Table:

An important part of buying local is making an effort to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables when they are in season in your area. Although today's global marketplace allows us to buy foods grown virtually anywhere in the world all year round, these options are not the most sustainable.

By purchasing local foods in-season, you eliminate the environmental damage caused by shipping foods thousands of miles, your food dollar goes directly to the farmer, and your family will be able to enjoy the health benefits of eating fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Buying seasonal produce also provides an exciting opportunity to try new foods and to experiment with seasonal recipes. And it simply tastes better!

Even if you don't want to change any of your eating habits, you can at least make sure to buy local produce when it's available, rather than purchase the same type of food from 3000 miles away!

For an added challenge, try to eat most foods only when they are in season, or can seasonal food in order to eat and enjoy it all year round.

Monday, June 18, 2012

The Local Foods Movement in Northern Michigan: The Traverse Magazine Story

Posted by Elizabeth Edwards

I've lived in Northern Michigan long enough to know that there was a period in the early 1980's when our restaurant scene was going to go the way of so many other cities: from small, cozy mom n' pop restaurants to a smother lode of chain restaurants. But as Jeff Smith chronicles in his story "Local Foods All-Stars" in the May issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan's Magazine, a man named Justin Rashid planted a seed--so to speak--that would eventually save our region from becoming a Kentucky-fried Anywhere USA and set it on the path of national recognition for our local food scene. What Rashid did was complemented by three decades of roll-up-you-sleeves work by other local food visionaries.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Country Lore: Online Seed Exchange

By Colleen Vanderlinden

Starting a new garden can be expensive, even if you start from seeds. Online seed exchanges are a perfect solution. For less than $5 for postage and bubble wrap, I’ve received more seeds than I can plant in a season.
The best online seed exchange I’ve found is the iVillage GardenWeb Seed Exchange. It has many gardeners from the United States and Canada. Often exchangers offer seed for nothing more than postage, and give extra surprises in the packages they send.
If money is tight, but you have dreams of a lush, bloom-filled garden, give a seed exchange a try.
Colleen Vanderlinden
Harper Woods, Michigan

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Sleeping Bear Dune Events: Free Summer Programs at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Sleeping Bear Dunes Events:

Get to know the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as well as a Park Ranger at the variety of free educational programs and events offered this summer at Sleeping Bear Dunes, beginning June 10 and ending September 3, 2012. Each evening, there will be two programs to chose from, one held at the Platte River Campground Amphitheater, and one at the D.H. Day Campground Amphitheater. Program topics include early local farm life, star gazing, wildlife, shipwrecks, and guided bike tours, and each begins at 8:00 p.m. Best of all, the program attendance is not limited to those staying at the campground- they are open and free to everyone who loves Northern Michigan.

In addition to the 8:00 p.m. programs, the summer schedule will include the popular “Heroes of the Storm” program every day at 3:00 p.m. at the Maritime Museum in Glen Haven. Park Rangers recruit the assistance of young audience members to serve as U.S. Life Saving Service surfmen to recreate a shipwreck rescue on land. They haul lines and use replicas of historic equipment in an effort to save Raggedy Ann and Andy from their sinking vessel.

There will also be late morning and afternoon hikes with Park Rangers to see first-hand the Sleeping Bear Dunes natural and historic features. These hikes provide an excellent opportunity to enjoy the park while learning about its resources from a knowledgeable guide.

Park Ranger-guided bicycle tours will also continue this year. Enjoy riding the backroads south of Empire while learning about the invasive species that impact this special landscape. Starting on June 21, the first ever Park Ranger-led bike programs begin on the new Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail from Glen Arbor to the Dune Climb.

Programs will not take place on August 10-11 because all staff will be at the Port Oneida Fair; a celebration of rural life, skills and crafts. Mark your calendars to attend the Fair, the park’s largest special event of the summer!
To attend these programs and events, meet at the location indicated in the program description. Make sure you have purchased your summer Park Entrance Pass and have prominently displayed it in your vehicle! Make group reservations or ask questions by calling 231.326.5135

Monday, June 11, 2012

What’s my carbon footprint?

By Alison Baenen
Greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide emissions, fossil fuels . . . unless you're an environmental policy wonk, an earth activist or an ecosexual (a new breed of online singles looking for sustainably committed partners -- seriously!), it's hard to keep all of today's green-minded jargon straight.

Carbon footprint -- a phrase that has become as ubiquitous in pop culture as "LOL" -- has a simple definition, but for the everyday person, understanding its parts takes some digging.
In short, our individual carbon footprint equals the amount of carbon dioxide we give off. You're giving some off right now just by exhaling, but what concerns environmentalists are the emissions we release indirectly.

Heating your home, driving a car and even buying a carpet (more on that later) all contribute to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Of course, some carbon dioxide in the air is natural -- and necessary, since trees and plants absorb it and use it for photosynthesis.

But climatologists are concerned that we're producing too much of it. The result is that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is trapping heat from the sun and sending it back to Earth, resulting in global warming.
It's a big problem, but there are ways to reduce your own carbon emissions (carbon footprint sounds much cooler, right?), thus helping decrease global warming. Here are five easy ways to step lightly:

1.
Change your bulbs.

Switch to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). They last longer, use less energy and will save you money.

2.
Take a walk.

Drive less, bike more. Your bod -- and the globe -- will thank you.

3.
Warm up your windows.
Adding a layer of insulation to your windows will keep warmth in and heating costs down.

4.
Reduce waste.
Cut down on what you throw away, and use reusable goods whenever possible. If you can, compost your food. Reducing household waste and putting energy back into the earth means less trash in landfills and more land to plant carbon dioxide-absorbing trees.

5. Go for small.


When it comes to rugs in your home, smaller ones require less energy to make. Perfect for your smaller footprint!


Friday, June 8, 2012

North Central Michigan College to offer workshops for farmers, gardeners

By Petoskey News

PETOSKEY — North Central Michigan College will offer workshops for farmers and gardeners on Wednesdays in June, July and August. The workshops are part of the college's Growing Our Future Farm and Garden Series and are presented by Corporate and Community Education at North Central.

Farmers, gardeners, food producers, sellers and people interested in healthy local food production are invited to the workshops to learn and share ideas.
The summer series includes workshops on garden planning and planting for the long-term from 6-8:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 13. Weed identification and management will take place from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, July 18, and using cover crops in the garden will take place from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 22. All workshops will be held at the Petoskey Community Victory Garden on Sheridan Street.

In addition, Michigan's cottage foods law will be the topic of discussion from 6-9 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 1, in room 143 of North Central's main administration and classroom building.

For more information or to register for these workshops, call (231) 348-6705

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

BBQ & Brew Fest returns to Glen Arbor

by Glen Arbor Sun

Kick off summer in the Most Beautiful Place in America. After a one-year hiatus, the fourth annual Glen Arbor BBQ and Brew Festival will be held on June 16 from noon – 6 p.m. in Glen Arbor, in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. This year the event will be in the center of town, on the corner of Lake Street and M‐22, just a block away from beautiful Lake Michigan.
Admission for the event is $15, which includes two drink tickets that may be redeemed for samples of local and regional microbrews. This year the event will have more breweries than ever: Bell’s Brewery, Founders Brewing Co., Arcadia Ales, Jolly Pumpkin, Right Brain Brewery, Schmohz Brewery, Mount Pleasant Brewing Co., Cheboygan Brewing Co. and Dark Horse Brewing Co. Each will be on hand with brewery representatives to tell you all about their ice cold craft beers.
To balance out your brew, the event will also feature six restaurants, each providing traditional or unique BBQ fare. Serving up BBQ will be these local favorites: Cherry Republic, Art’s Tavern, Western Ave. Grill, Bear Paw Pizza & Market, McCahill’s Crossing and Foothills Café. Traditional and unique BBQ samples will be served, and range in price from $1 to $5 each (cash only).
For those who prefer the BBQ without the brew, there will also be local, alcohol‐free beverages on hand from Great Lakes Tea and Spice, Northwoods Soda, Cherry Republic and Bay Lavender. This is a family‐ friendly event, and admission is free for kids 12 and under.
Live music will be provided throughout the entire event by the Traverse City based band, Erratixz. They’ll be rocking M‐22 with 80s and rock classics.
The event will follow on the heels of the Glen Arbor Solstice 5K and Half Marathon, taking place on the morning of the 16th. The half marathon will take runners around picturesque Big Glen Lake, and back into downtown Glen Arbor. Come watch racers cross the finish line, then head over to the fest for the post‐race party! More information about the race can be found at enduranceevolution.com.
The Gold sponsors for this year’s event are Leelanau Vacation Rentals, Art’s Tavern, Northwoods Hardware, Gordon Food Service, G.J.’s Rentals, Boonedocks and North Coast Design. For a complete list of the 27 event sponsors and more information, please visit bbqandbrewfest.com.
To purchase tickets to the BBQ and Brew Festival in advance, please visit bit.ly/bbqtickets.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

By Howard Lovy

The fall colors are past their peak, the sounds of summer festivals a distant echo, the taillights of the last tourist's car only a faint red as it travels south of M-22. Once again, Leelanau County is left to those who live here year round.
For some businesses in Michigan's peninsula-within-a-peninsula, now is a time for hibernation, to live off summer's earnings through the winter ahead.
J.T. "Chip" Hoagland, chairman of the Leelanau County Economic Development Corp., is having none of that.
There is work to be done to create an economy that keeps people working long after the snowbirds have flown south. And he has one word of advice: "charcuterie."
The word refers to a method of preserving and presenting pork — or, as Hoagland likes to call pigs, "local proteins," since he hopes to build on Leelanau County's growing reputation as a foodie's heaven. He just wrapped up a celebration of local proteins he called "Pigstock," where local chefs were introduced to local pork.
So what does this have to do with creating jobs in Leelanau County? It's about extracting more business and employment out of existing strengths and local conditions, as opposed to attracting entirely new industries.
Another of those strengths, simply put, is people — more of them. In the last census period, two parts of the state saw growth: West Michigan and northwest lower Michigan. It's also a population whose level of education rivals that of Washtenaw and Oakland counties.
Aside from tourism, Leelanau County's economy is built upon farming. While northern Michigan cherries are widely known, their season has come and gone. Pigs keep giving year round.
Hoagland pictures a test kitchen and restaurant incubator — much like the high-tech business incubators in Oakland and Washtenaw counties — where startup restaurants can work with local farmers to get their businesses off the ground.
The numbers seem to back up Hoagland's pigs-for-jobs strategy. According to a report produced by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments "accommodation and food services" represented about one in six total jobs available in Leelanau County as of 2009. And, increasingly, these jobs are no longer seasonal only.
"It's really interesting how many restaurants are in the county and the fact that most of those stay open year round," said Matt McCauley, director of regional planning for the council of governments.
Like Hoagland, McCauley credits the local-food movement for a restaurant boom that is not so dependent on tourist season.
"Leelanau County is truly a leader in a resurgence around agriculture," McCauley said. "Because of the wineries, hops farms, all sorts of burgeoning agriculture and value-added activity, all sorts of people are choosing to locate here to be part of that."
By "value-added," he means businesses such as Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, which not only uses local cherries but also turns them into chocolates, jam and other products that then are shipped around the world.
In addition, McCauley said, "The restaurants in the region — and we're getting more and more notoriety as a foodie destination — are choosing and actually seeking out local products for their menu items."
Hoagland uses the example of Bare Knuckle Farms, near Northport at the tip of Michigan's pinkie. The farm is run by two young business partners who met while attending the University of Michigan and wanted to test what they learned about linking a restaurant to a specific piece of land.
Bare Knuckle is small, as are other farms run by transplanted farmers in the local food movement. But McCauley and Hoagland both see the county's future in them.
Indeed, according to a recent Michigan Agri-Business Association report, agriculture represents a $70 billion piece of the state's economy and has been the most significant contributor to economic growth in Michigan in the past decade. It's also an industry, the association said, that's struggling to find enough people to fill jobs, "From high-level, technologically advanced professional jobs to managers to field workers who can help with harvest and milk cows."
Businesspeople such as the ones behind Bare Knuckle Farms embody what McCauley calls Leelanau County's increasingly educated "human capital." The county ranks third in the state in the percentage of the population with bachelor's degrees or higher — behind Oakland and Washtenaw. Those two counties have knowledge-based economies, for the most part.
"That same thing is happening in Leelanau County, but just at a smaller scale," McCauley said. With more workers choosing, out of necessity, to be self-employed, it is easy to live in Leelanau while telecommuting for a company in Chicago or New York, he said.
Still, what is happening now with local food is building for the future. The present still looks like a recession. The unemployment rate might be down to 7.7 percent, the lowest since 2008. But as the Leelanau Enterprise newspaper points out in an editorial, the local economy "is feeding off a solitary diet of tourism — and is now suffering from a lack of diversity."
Which brings up baabaazuzu, the next stop on any tour of Leelanau County's possible future — one that looks beyond the county's borders. The Lake Leelanau-based clothing company received the first-ever loan given out by the Leelanau County Economic Development Corp. — $25,000 in 2008 and 2009. That helped push baabaazuzu from a small operation in which clothing was cut by hand to a more automated manufacturing site whose products are sold at more than 900 retailers worldwide.
Baabaazuzu co-owner Kevin Burns said the county previously never pursued manufacturing, choosing purely agriculture. Baabaazuzu rests on the only plot of land in the county designated for industrial use. Burns credits the loan — which baabaazuzu since has paid back — for funding the equipment the company needed to grow.
Baabaazuzu has no intention of moving out of the county as it grows. As Burns says, you can't beat a commute that involves only one stop sign.
"We like the idea that we can produce in Leelanau County," he said. "We like the idea that we're from Michigan. People are cheering for us."
And, said co-owner Sue Burns, baabaazuzu has no need to move because Leelanau County has a pool of talented workers — especially off-season.
Baabaazuzu consistently has grown 30 percent to 40 percent every year, the owners said, except for last year — growth was 10 percent.
So, how can Leelanau County produce baabaazuzus?
"We're fortunate in that we produce a unique product that is not dependent on summer trade," Sue Burns said. "We don't get a lot of foot traffic; we sell our products out of Leelanau County. We're not dependent on this one little nucleus. I would encourage that.
"Whatever you're going to produce, how can you make it sell outside of this region?"
Just as baabaazuzu and Cherry Republic are successful because their products are in niche markets and can be sold around the world, local small farmers and restaurants have found success because they can sell locally.
Although Leelanau County is beginning to feel its way toward an economy not based on tourism only, these disparate attempts at adaptation are only in the beginning stages.
McCauley, who is also involved in a 10-county regional partnership known as the Grand Vision, sees hope because there is strength in numbers. An educated workforce with ambitious, innovative ideas is seeding the entire region.
"We remain a growing part of this state, and, as a result, a lot of economic opportunity is going on," McCauley said. "And population growth remains a true force behind all economic growth in this region."

Eight Reasons to Eat Local Foods

 
Eating local foods is better for you, for the environment, and (most importantly) for your taste buds. Here are the top eight big, umbrella-style reasons you might want to consider eating more local foods.

1. Local Foods Are Fresher (and Taste Better)

Local food is fresher and tastes better than food that been trucked or flown in from thousands of miles away. Think you can't taste the difference between lettuce picked yesterday and lettuce picked last week, factory-washed, and sealed in plastic? You can.
And fresh food? It lasts longer too.

2. Local Foods Are Seasonal (and Taste Better)

It must be said: Deprivation leads to greater appreciation. When does a cozy room feel best? When you've come in from out of the freezing cold. Fresh corn in season tastes best when you haven't eaten any in 9 or 10 months--long enough for its taste to be a slightly blurred memory that is suddenly awakened with that first bite of the season. Eating locally means eating seasonally, with all the deprivation and resulting pleasure that accompanies it.

3. Local Foods Usually Have Less Environmental Impact

Those thousands of miles some food is shipped? That leads to a big carbon footprint for a little bunch of herbs. Look for farmers who follow organic and sustainable growing practices and energy use to minimize your food's environmental impact.

4. Local Foods Preserve Green Space & Farmland

The environmental question of where you food comes from is bigger than its "carbon footprint." By buying foods grown and raised closer to where you live, you help maintain farmland and green space in your area.

5. Local Foods Promote Food Safety

The fewer steps there are between your food's source and your table the less chance there is of contamination. Also, when you know where your food comes from and who grows it, you know a lot more about that food. During the e. coli outbreak in spinach in 2006 I knew the spinach in my refrigerator was safe because I knew it was grown in Yolo County by a farmer I knew, and, as importantly, that it didn't come from Salinas County where the outbreak was. (The knowledge would have worked in reverse too: if the outbreak had been in Yolo County instead, I would have known to throw that bunch of greens and scrub down the fridge!)

6. Local Foods Support Your Local Economy

Money spent with local farmers, growers, and artisans and locally-owned purveyors and restaurants all stays close to home, working to build your local economy instead of being handed over to a corporation in another city, state, or country. Since the food moves through fewer hands, more of the money you spend tends to get to the people growing it.
To make the biggest local economic impact with your food budget, seek out producers who pay their workers a fair wage and practice social justice in their business.

7. Local Foods Promote Variety

Local foods create greater variety of foods available. Farmers who run community-supported agriculture programs (CSAs), sell at farmers' markets, and provide local restaurants have the demand and the support for raising more types of produce and livestock. Think Brandywines, Early Girls, and Lemon Boys instead of "tomatoes."

8. Local Foods Create Community

Knowing where your food is from connects you to the people who raise and grow it. Instead of having a single relationship--to a big supermarket--you develop smaller connections to more food sources: vendors at the farmers' market, the local cheese shop, your favorite butcher, the co-op that sells local eggs, a local café that roasts coffee.
Eating locally? It connects you to a larger world.

Monday, June 4, 2012

After the leaves leave, Leelanau County works to build economy less dependent on tourism

By Howard Lovy


The fall colors are past their peak, the sounds of summer festivals a distant echo, the taillights of the last tourist's car only a faint red as it travels south of M-22. Once again, Leelanau County is left to those who live here year round.
For some businesses in Michigan's peninsula-within-a-peninsula, now is a time for hibernation, to live off summer's earnings through the winter ahead.
J.T. "Chip" Hoagland, chairman of the Leelanau County Economic Development Corp., is having none of that.
There is work to be done to create an economy that keeps people working long after the snowbirds have flown south. And he has one word of advice: "charcuterie."
The word refers to a method of preserving and presenting pork — or, as Hoagland likes to call pigs, "local proteins," since he hopes to build on Leelanau County's growing reputation as a foodie's heaven. He just wrapped up a celebration of local proteins he called "Pigstock," where local chefs were introduced to local pork.
So what does this have to do with creating jobs in Leelanau County? It's about extracting more business and employment out of existing strengths and local conditions, as opposed to attracting entirely new industries.
Another of those strengths, simply put, is people — more of them. In the last census period, two parts of the state saw growth: West Michigan and northwest lower Michigan. It's also a population whose level of education rivals that of Washtenaw and Oakland counties.
Aside from tourism, Leelanau County's economy is built upon farming. While northern Michigan cherries are widely known, their season has come and gone. Pigs keep giving year round.
Hoagland pictures a test kitchen and restaurant incubator — much like the high-tech business incubators in Oakland and Washtenaw counties — where startup restaurants can work with local farmers to get their businesses off the ground.
The numbers seem to back up Hoagland's pigs-for-jobs strategy. According to a report produced by the Northwest Michigan Council of Governments "accommodation and food services" represented about one in six total jobs available in Leelanau County as of 2009. And, increasingly, these jobs are no longer seasonal only.
"It's really interesting how many restaurants are in the county and the fact that most of those stay open year round," said Matt McCauley, director of regional planning for the council of governments.
Like Hoagland, McCauley credits the local-food movement for a restaurant boom that is not so dependent on tourist season.
"Leelanau County is truly a leader in a resurgence around agriculture," McCauley said. "Because of the wineries, hops farms, all sorts of burgeoning agriculture and value-added activity, all sorts of people are choosing to locate here to be part of that."
By "value-added," he means businesses such as Cherry Republic in Glen Arbor, which not only uses local cherries but also turns them into chocolates, jam and other products that then are shipped around the world.
In addition, McCauley said, "The restaurants in the region — and we're getting more and more notoriety as a foodie destination — are choosing and actually seeking out local products for their menu items."
Hoagland uses the example of Bare Knuckle Farms, near Northport at the tip of Michigan's pinkie. The farm is run by two young business partners who met while attending the University of Michigan and wanted to test what they learned about linking a restaurant to a specific piece of land.
Bare Knuckle is small, as are other farms run by transplanted farmers in the local food movement. But McCauley and Hoagland both see the county's future in them.
Indeed, according to a recent Michigan Agri-Business Association report, agriculture represents a $70 billion piece of the state's economy and has been the most significant contributor to economic growth in Michigan in the past decade. It's also an industry, the association said, that's struggling to find enough people to fill jobs, "From high-level, technologically advanced professional jobs to managers to field workers who can help with harvest and milk cows."
Businesspeople such as the ones behind Bare Knuckle Farms embody what McCauley calls Leelanau County's increasingly educated "human capital." The county ranks third in the state in the percentage of the population with bachelor's degrees or higher — behind Oakland and Washtenaw. Those two counties have knowledge-based economies, for the most part.
"That same thing is happening in Leelanau County, but just at a smaller scale," McCauley said. With more workers choosing, out of necessity, to be self-employed, it is easy to live in Leelanau while telecommuting for a company in Chicago or New York, he said.
Still, what is happening now with local food is building for the future. The present still looks like a recession. The unemployment rate might be down to 7.7 percent, the lowest since 2008. But as the Leelanau Enterprise newspaper points out in an editorial, the local economy "is feeding off a solitary diet of tourism — and is now suffering from a lack of diversity."
Which brings up baabaazuzu, the next stop on any tour of Leelanau County's possible future — one that looks beyond the county's borders. The Lake Leelanau-based clothing company received the first-ever loan given out by the Leelanau County Economic Development Corp. — $25,000 in 2008 and 2009. That helped push baabaazuzu from a small operation in which clothing was cut by hand to a more automated manufacturing site whose products are sold at more than 900 retailers worldwide.
Baabaazuzu co-owner Kevin Burns said the county previously never pursued manufacturing, choosing purely agriculture. Baabaazuzu rests on the only plot of land in the county designated for industrial use. Burns credits the loan — which baabaazuzu since has paid back — for funding the equipment the company needed to grow.
Baabaazuzu has no intention of moving out of the county as it grows. As Burns says, you can't beat a commute that involves only one stop sign.
"We like the idea that we can produce in Leelanau County," he said. "We like the idea that we're from Michigan. People are cheering for us."
And, said co-owner Sue Burns, baabaazuzu has no need to move because Leelanau County has a pool of talented workers — especially off-season.
Baabaazuzu consistently has grown 30 percent to 40 percent every year, the owners said, except for last year — growth was 10 percent.
So, how can Leelanau County produce baabaazuzus?
"We're fortunate in that we produce a unique product that is not dependent on summer trade," Sue Burns said. "We don't get a lot of foot traffic; we sell our products out of Leelanau County. We're not dependent on this one little nucleus. I would encourage that.
"Whatever you're going to produce, how can you make it sell outside of this region?"
Just as baabaazuzu and Cherry Republic are successful because their products are in niche markets and can be sold around the world, local small farmers and restaurants have found success because they can sell locally.
Although Leelanau County is beginning to feel its way toward an economy not based on tourism only, these disparate attempts at adaptation are only in the beginning stages.
McCauley, who is also involved in a 10-county regional partnership known as the Grand Vision, sees hope because there is strength in numbers. An educated workforce with ambitious, innovative ideas is seeding the entire region.
"We remain a growing part of this state, and, as a result, a lot of economic opportunity is going on," McCauley said. "And population growth remains a true force behind all economic growth in this region."

 

Sunday, June 3, 2012

'Locally grown' food sounds great, but what does it mean?

By Julie Schmit, USA TODAY


 

Virginia farmer Rod Parker can walk into a grocery store 10 miles from his farm, 40 miles from it and even 100 miles from it and see his fresh produce marketed as "locally grown."
 
Some retailers even consider "locally grown" to be something produced a day's drive from the store, he says. Meanwhile, "I'm sure consumers think it's grown right down the road," says the owner of Parker Farms.
Nationwide, retailers from Wal-Mart to Whole Foods are increasingly devoting more shelf space to "locally grown" products including such things as fresh produce and Thanksgiving turkeys. Whole Foods, for one, now spends almost 22% of its produce budget on locally grown products, up from 15% four years ago, it says.
The "locally grown" label is part of retailers' push to tap into consumer desires for fresh and safe products that support small, local farmers and help the environment because they're not trucked so far. At least one consumer survey has showed that whether something is locally grown is now more important than whether it is organic (which many local products are not).

But retailers may have far broader definitions of "local" than consumers do. And while freshness is more likely if food isn't trucked so far, food-safety experts say there's no evidence that locally grown products are safer, especially because small producers often lack the food-safety audits more common among big producers.
"There's a feeling that if it's local, it's safer. I consider that a myth," says Christine Bruhn, food-marketing specialist at the University of California-Davis.

Just how do some retailers define locally grown?
• Wal-Mart, the nation's biggest retailer, considers anything local if it's grown in the same state as it's sold, even if that's a state as big as Texas and the food comes from a farm half the size of Manhattan, as in the case of the 7,000-acre Ham Produce in North Carolina.
• Whole Foods, the biggest retailer of natural and organic foods, considers local to be anything produced within seven hours of one of its stores. The retailer says most local producers are within 200 miles of a store.
• Seattle's PCC Natural Markets considers local to be anything from Washington, Oregon and southern British Columbia.
What's marketed as local in one state or region may also be available nationwide.

In July, Wal-Mart pledged to source more local fruits and vegetables and noted, in a press release, that 20% of the fresh produce in its supercenters in the summer was already local, making Wal-Mart the "nation's largest purchaser of local produce."

For a Florida store, that 20% would include any citrus grown in Florida even if it's also sold nationwide, says Wal-Mart spokeswoman Caren Epstein.

"They're not defrauding people, but counting a product that is nationally shipped as local doesn't seem to be within the meaning of locally grown," says Jim Prevor, editor of Produce Business and author of the online Perishable Pundit.

Prevor also says that 1,000-acre farms may surprise consumers who equate "local" with "a 3-acre blueberry farm." Wal-Mart declined further comment.

Joanne Palmer, a retired music teacher who shopped at a Wal-Mart in American Canyon, Calif., likes locally grown. "It's a real good thing to spare the Earth in terms of gas and trucks," she says. "But I wouldn't say that all of California would be considered local."

Defining the market

There are no regulations specifying what locally grown means, as there are with organic products.

To be labeled organic, foods sold in the U.S. must meet production standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
One standard? No toxic synthetic pesticides or fertilizers for at least three years on a field growing an organic crop.

"Local" products are not necessarily pesticide-free.
When consumer researcher The Hartman Group surveyed consumers, it found that 50% defined local as within 100 miles; 37% said within the same state, says Hartman President Laurie Demeritt.

The survey also showed that 52% said it was important for them to buy local goods whenever possible; vs. 23% who said the same for organic. Consumers also tend to think of local products — namely fruits and vegetables — as fresher because they're grown "close to home" and to generally come from small farmers, Demeritt says.

That's a definition shared by Dick Swank, owner of the 300-acre Swank Farms of Hollister, Calif., 80 miles south of San Francisco. Swank grows tomatoes, corn, cherries and other produce. The farm sells its produce at farmers' markets and small stores within a two-hour drive and to a dozen Costco stores in the Bay Area and Central Valley.

Swank says 90% of his produce is sold within 24 hours of being picked. None goes through distribution centers, which can add hours to deliveries. Last year, he says he sold tomatoes to Wal-Mart which went to a distribution center before being sold in Nevada.

"You can't buy local if everything goes through a distribution center," Swank says.

Saving on freight

Farmer Parker says it's harder for big retailers to buy locally because they need large volumes, and it's easier to deal with a few large producers than many smaller ones.

The extra work for retailers pays off when freight costs are high and the cost to truck fruits or vegetables across country rises significantly.
"There's a significant savings in freight that drives the local deal," Parker says.

Still, locally grown products may not be cheaper, given that smaller growers lack the economies of scale of bigger growers. "There is not a tremendous savings to buy product locally," says Dave Corsi, vice president of produce and floral for Wegmans Food Markets, a grocer with 71 stores in the East.

Wegmans has sourced local produce for more than 20 years. Most of its local producers are within 100 miles of a store and work fewer than 100 acres, Corsi says. They also deliver to stores, not to distribution centers.

About food safety

While consumers may think locally grown food is safer, food safety experts say that's not clear.

Most food-borne illnesses don't get noticed because not enough people get sick to alert officials that an outbreak is underway. Undetected outbreaks are more likely with "local" products delivered in small quantities and sold in a small area, says Robert Brackett, senior vice president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Small producers are also less likely than big ones to have had food-safety audits, which grocers often demand of big suppliers, says Matt Regusci, head of business development for PrimusLabs.com, a leading produce food-safety auditor.

South Carolina's Titan Farms, one of Wal-Mart's local growers, with 3,750 acres, links its website to a 13-page food-safety Primus audit that covers such things as whether there's evidence of insects on produce and whether Titan has enough bathrooms for workers.

Whole Foods requires third-party food-safety audits for its national produce suppliers and anyone producing ready-to-eat salad products, including packaged leafy greens and packaged fruit, says Karen Christensen, global produce coordinator.

But not all other local growers must have audits, she says. "Any place we perceive there's a risk, obviously we're going to require it."

Wegmans started requiring food-safety audits for large, national suppliers two years ago. It started special training for its local producers, which number about 800, last year. This year, those that produce leafy greens need food-safety audits or they'll be dropped as suppliers, Corsi says. Next year, the same will be required of local growers of tomatoes, melons, herbs and green onions.

"We're trying to create a baseline that at least everybody meets," Corsi says.
Swank Farms has never had an independent third-party safety audit, Swank says. The buyer for Costco inspected the operation, he adds. Swank also trains workers on good hygiene and hires the same families to harvest products each year, he says.

Primus' Regusci says many small producers have good food-safety practices but haven't purchased audits, which can cost hundreds of dollars.
"The vast majority of food safety is common sense," Regusci says. "Are there a few small idiots out there messing things up for everybody? Yes. But there are big idiots out there messing things up, too."