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- Dan Hobbs
I write on behalf of seven farm families and our distribution partner, Ranch Foods Direct. We've been working together for 11 years to supply restaurants, stores, farmers markets and other accounts in Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. We are mostly small-scale diversified farms along the Arkansas River and Fountain Creek in Pueblo, Fremont and El Paso counties, and our association is called the Arkansas Valley Organic Growers (AVOG).
We want to explain our view of the "local food system" and to describe current business practices that are eroding our ability to sustain and thrive. We are compelled to action because the interest and energy around "local foods" has created confusion among consumers and opportunism among third-party distributors.
Colorado Springs' support for local food has developed slowly. A committed core group of consumers demands local products at natural food stores, farmers markets, CSAs (community-supported agriculture programs) and restaurants, making it possible for Arkansas Valley truck farms to supply produce, meats and other products.
Because of our short growing season, we earn most of our income in summer and fall. We are not a full-line service company and do not substitute for food service distributors. Our customers make room for local farm food when it comes in. This summer we saw major pressure on prices, and reduction of business, due to larger, regional commercial farm interests and questionable business practices.
One major national distributor recently initiated a "buy local" campaign. This distributor is sourcing produce from large northern Colorado farms, advertising it as "local" and accepting losses and minimal margins to secure market share in the Springs. Thus, restaurants claim "local food" on their menus. The direct result for us is the inability to compete and a loss of sales.
There is no widely accepted definition of "local." We think, in the arid West, the best way to define local is by watershed or water district, for, after all, there is no food without water where we live. In El Paso County, that means the Arkansas Valley and its Fountain Creek tributary. The Colorado, Rio Grande and Platte rivers are "regional" in our book. We're glad to see Colorado products sold in lieu of those from California, China and Chile, but we're outraged by distributors' tactics that reduce our market share during peak season.
A second major impact on family farms this year was multiple new farmers markets. There simply are not enough farmers to supply the number of farmers markets in the Springs. Yet, many neighborhoods and urban projects want to establish new markets. So a relatively small number of farms get divided among multiple markets, few of which have critical mass, of customers or vendors, to be viable. Excess produce can take up some of the slack on the vendor side, but they, too, are starting their own independent markets! We plan to continue devoting our energy to the Wednesday and Saturday Colorado Farm and Art Markets at America the Beautiful Park and the Margarita at PineCreek, and we ask others contemplating Saturday or Wednesday markets to coordinate with us.
If you care about local food, farms and ranches, we respectfully ask that you vote with your fork. Ask direct questions about local food when you go out to eat. Encourage local businesses to respond to your desires.
We ask national distributors to respect our seasonal local food economy, discontinue harmful business practices, and make allowances for your customers to buy fresh produce when in season.
We propose hosting a Local Food & Farm Forum this winter to think strategically about the future of local food here. Afterward, we would like to lead a process to develop a local strategic plan.
We hope to sustain a public conversation that shapes and preserves the future of this vital aspect of our local economy.
Big thanks to the stores, restaurants and schools that walk their talk. We hope more customers will sort out for themselves what local really is.
Dan Hobbs, of Hobbs Family Farm in Avondale, writes on behalf of Mike Callicrate, Ranch Foods Direct; Jay Frost, Frost Farm, Fountain; Susan Gordon and Patrick Hamilton, Colorado Springs; Beki Javernick, Javernick Family Farms, Cañon City; Ryan and Betsy Morris, Country Roots Farm, Pueblo; Marcy Nameth, Greenhorn Acres, Fowler; Doug and Kim Wiley, Larga Vista Ranch, Boone.
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Addressed to Mike Callicrate, owner of Ranch Foods Direct...
Here's a loyal customer's take on the situation.
When my wife and I travel through Texas and Oklahoma, we almost always patronize a business called Braum's (http://www.braums.com). I'm sure you're familiar with the company. They have lots of foods that are good for our bodies, but also lots that aren't. I try to choose wisely, but sometimes I go for taste over health, too. We all do it!
They define local as encompassing the radius of a day's drive between manufacturing and corporate headquarters in or near Oklahoma City and each of their stores. That sounds reasonable to us, but apparently conflicts with the definition of local as presented in Dan's article.
Whether that's really local or regional could be considered a question of semantics.
We consider local for Colorado Springs to encompass anywhere in Colorado, northern New Mexico, southern Wyoming, western Kansas and Oklahoma, and the panhandle of Texas. These are all within a day's drive from here.
I do not condone the "dumping" of product in order to gain market share under any circumstances - whether it be from China via Walmart or from Australia via King Soopers. Many consumers find it difficult to understand that the low prices offered in cases such as this are really a huge bait-and-switch scam. A savvy consumer can sometimes tell the difference, but most consumers could care less, of course. All they want is low prices, regardless of what it takes to get them. Consumars are often blinded by the pocketbook. Therein lies the problem, and I understand that this is the driving force behind the article.
I think that one of the most important things that farmers and ranchers can do is to continue the dialogue with their customers. This seems to be the most important point of the article. As you well know, it's the large agribusiness corporations in the middle who are distorting the picture. That is what seems to me to be the most important thing that needs to be addressed.
Consumers in general have a love-hate relationship with food. Consumer loyalties are split between farmers and ranchers on the one hand and the large agribusinesses and supermarkets on the other. They are torn between low prices on the one hand and good quality (and all that entails) on the other. The love convenience foods but hate what they do to their bodies. We buy "fast food" without realizing that such a choice often reflects a questionable change in each person's priorities. The trade-offs seem to be endless and overwhelming. How can Jane and Joe Consumer decide? Education is probably the key to this dilemma. The more the consumer is aware that these choices can and should be made consciously, rather than "off the cuff", the more likely it will be for the consumer to make wiser choices. Dan's article makes good on the awareness issue.
This discussion should be continued both at home and in our schools. With D-11 as one of your most important customers, you have an outstanding opportunity to raise awareness of these issues. Care and Share, I trust, with their nutrition education programs, can make an excellent partner in these discussions on campus.
Honestly, I wasn't too terribly impressed by Dan's "poor farmer/rancher" approach. It puts you in a weaker position than I think you should be. I'd much rather see you and our other local ranchers and farmers take on a more positive and/or aggressive approach to this issue. You all need to stand your ground here, and I for one am willing to stand up with you!
Keep on keepin' on!
Posted by RJSAYER
on October 29, 2009 at 11:11 AM
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