Counting on Every Acre

Within the world of an increasingly localized food movement, we are ever more familiar with buying a peck of heirloom apples, serving up a pound of grass-fed beef, decorating with a bouquet of seasonal flowers, and adding a pinch or a dash of our local agricultural products to any meal. A number of groups, like Slow Food and Wholesome Wave have promoted food culture reform by helping communities recognize the importance of healthy, local food production to their on-going happiness, health, and well-being. Similarly, in line with national concerns, many organizations have begun to promote agriculture by increasing awareness of its impact on economic stability and international security. But even with a surge of interest in “local food” and its central relationship to individual, community and global health, somehow it remains difficult for many of us to make the connection between the food we eat and the land that is required to grow it.

So what is the value of this land? How much can we do with just one acre?

Common Ground is an urban farm, high school, and education center in New Haven, Connecticut, that teaches young people leadership skills and environmental stewardship with a single acre of farmland. The school and students keep one acre of land in agricultural production, and what they do with that acre is remarkable. Every year, the students at Common Ground grow more than five thousand pounds of produce including forty-three varieties of vegetables. They also tend thirty chickens, five ducks, five turkeys, two pigs, two goats, one rabbit, one sheep, and one farm cat. The acre also creates jobs. The project has two paid summer internships and school year jobs for fifty teenagers. With its single acre, Common Ground shows us what farmland really means for America.

Farming a plot 1/7 the size of a Manhattan block, Common Ground reminds us about the cultural value of land. Working the land is a distinct part of American culture and heritage. Dozens of teenage students who work in the fields learn the value and challenge of hard work and perseverance as they tend to their work crews throughout the seasons. Many of our nation’s early leaders were agriculturalists. In a 1787 letter to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will, in the end, contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.” In short, farming produces not only food, but also the foundation for a good life.

Common Ground illustrates, on a small scale, how an acre of farmland creates jobs. Their students and interns take part in production, processing, distribution, and waste management of the farm and its produce. In the state of Connecticut, home state to Common Ground High School, agriculture represents $3.5 billion dollars of revenue a year, and generates 20,000 jobs — about 5 jobs for every 100 acres of food production.

As the students at Common Ground well know, a single acre can grow a lot of food. In terms of food production, an acre can be used to grow vegetables for 20-25 families for a 21 week season. With good soil, weather, and conscientious management, one acre can produce 8,000 pounds of broccoli, 26,000 pounds of carrots, or 30,000 pounds of field tomatoes in a growing season — or more than 2 gallons of milk per day.

At Common Ground, students’ hands-on-learning includes lessons about the ecological role of farmland. An acre of land provides countless ecosystem benefits that help to render clean water and breathable air and could not be reproduced or substituted by technology. These benefits include water filtration, flood reduction, and carbon sequestration. And, what’s more, farmland provides nesting habitat for many species of birds and wildlife.

Connecticut, and the Northeast remain a region of small farms, where each acre of farmland is caught in a tug-of-war between farming and more glamorous uses — from housing developments to parking lots. With growing demands to pave over farmland it is simply hard to picture just what we mean by an acre of farmland and perhaps even more importantly, what an acre of farmland means to us. The rolling vistas of farmland and barns, silos and pasture, are not just pretty postcards. They also connect our present with the agricultural past that built our nation. Even today, they represent true production and productivity and serve to link us to each other in community.

How do you value an acre of working family farmland?

* This post was inspired by Cris Coffin’s November 16th, 2011 presentation at the 11th Annual meeting of the Working Lands Alliance. Cris Coffin is the New England Director at American Farmland Trust. Regionally and nationally, the mission of American Farmland Trust to Save the Land that Sustains Us is captured in their iconic bumper sticker: No Farms No Food. Special thanks to Melissa Spear, for her leadership as the Director of Common Ground, and for her continued support as a member of the steering committee for the Working Lands Alliance.

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Hello New Year!

It’s hard to believe that we just crossed the threshold into a new year! With the growing interest and enthusiasm about food and farms, we see this as a continued year of exploring, learning, and thriving. Adventure is just around the corner. So, what exactly does is Taking Root celebrate in this new year and new season? Well, first of all, January represents Taking Root’s one year anniversary. In just one year, this wonderful niche eco-tourism initiative has been devoted to stimulating local economies and to building community viability by celebrating our connection to agriculture. Since our first tour, we have served 100 participants, and directed nearly $10,000.00 into local economies, with $5000 going directly to farms and farmers. We are still a tiny organization, hand-crafting personalized Artisanal Adventures for food lovers that want to go beyond their plates to share an experience with the people and landscapes that provide for us. We know that it is a small start, but we believe that there is something to starting small and steadily offering programs that engage our clients and offer a unique look into the produce we grow and the food we eat.

We wish all of you a happy, healthy and abundant 2012! And we thank all of our participants, friends, wine-makers, cheese-makers and other producers who have made our Artisanal Adventures delicious and unforgettable.

What to look forward to in 2012
2012 will bring an expanded website with more information and stories from the farmers we work with. It will bring the beginnings of a niche guidebook to help you create your own Artisanal Adventures. Interested in throwing a Farmy event or a farm wedding? In 2012, Taking Root is looking to do more personalized special events. We look forward to serving you in 2012

Beyond the Plate

It is an interesting time for agriculture. There is more demand than ever for healthy, fresh, local food. Organic and green consumers take pride in knowing their farmers, considering the seasonality of vegetables, and putting foods that they have never tried before on their plates. The move toward local food is certainly to be commended but conscientious consumption will not solve our long-term economic, social, or agricultural needs. The fact is that many countries surpass us in producing seasonal, affordable, and healthy food. Many of them have better technology, farming practices, labor rights, and infrastructure than we do. It turns out that our food dollars may be doing a better job of supporting food systems abroad than at home.

Despite the growing momentum and power of the “new food revolution,” few of us take action beyond what we put in our shopping bags and on our dinner tables. To create viable, sustainable communities we need to build a food system that will future supply future generations viable opportunities in farming and agriculture.

What is it going to take for the future of agriculture to thrive?

Save, Create & Maintain Farmland
It may sound over simplistic, but the future of agriculture depends largely on the creation and maintenance of farmland. Even with the increased usage of farming technology like vertical farming and hydroponics, the majority of our agricultural products, from carrots to corn syrup, can be traced to our land. And though it may seem obvious that we should preserve this land, development devours our farmland at the rate of an acre a day. In the midst of this development fervor, demand for local produce is increasing and there are plans in some states, like Connecticut, to increase the demand for local food from 1% to 5%. This growth has agriculture and food producers, distributors, and experts debating whether or not there is enough land to support even this seemingly small increase in local consumption. It has been estimated, using a crop by crop production average, that an acre of farmland can produce 10,642 pounds of produce per year, so with the world population on the rise — 7 billion and counting — every acre counts.

Develop Technology & Good Farming Practices
Food production already relies heavily on technology and will continue to do so as the need for food increases. Though technology is no cure all, it must play an important role in the future of food production in this country. The nostalgic, and largely urban, view of farming in which overalls and pitchforks play a prime role is outdated. As a culture we tend to think of farming as an industry of the past, a perception which may very well be holding back development of technologies and methods that could provide us all with adequate amounts of safe and healthy food. So, while other countries are making great strides in agricultural technologies, many feel that the U.S. lags sorely behind in using cutting edge agricultural technologies. We should be funding research and building partnerships that explore agricultural methods and technologies so that we can feed our people and protect our lands.

Design Infrastructure & Policy
Problems with our agricultural system are exacerbated by the fact that our infrastructure and distribution chains are better able to deal with longer supply chains than shorter, more localized, supply chains. To move food from Australia to any mid-sized city in America is easy, but to move food from farms to nearby cities is far from simple. Furthermore, the effects of policy at every level bring to bear critical influence on what we eat, how much it costs, where we can buy it, and why farmers grow what they grow. Redressing these issues will require the collaboration between consumers, farmers, researchers, politicians, and policy markers.

Shift our Thinking Beyond the Plate
The good news is that the timing could not be better to rethink our approaches to farming and agriculture. There is burgeoning energy and interest in supporting local food cultures and taking this beyond individual consumer habits; thinking beyond the plate. While that will certainly include eating and promoting locally grown foods, it will also mean valuing agriculture as a way of life, ensuring economic viability of farming and promoting agriculture as an irresistibly sexy occupation. It will also require that we let go of nostalgia and acknowledge that small farms are already major economic players in our communities. Small farms typically pay about three times the amount in taxes than they receive back in services.

There is an unprecedented opportunity to put agriculture at the heart of economic development and healthy community development. Ensuring local food in our communities for the future will mean creating regulations that promote and support agriculture, planning that integrates agriculture into healthy and livable cities, management practices that produce the best food possible and keep our soils and waters healthy for the long haul, regulations that support and foster the diversity of agriculture including orchards and vegetables, flowers, plants and trees, aquaculture, dairy and value-added products. Ultimately, this means thinking differently about agriculture and its role in our families, communities, and economies. And asking not how to make agriculture a thriving industry but remember that we are unlikely to have thriving communities without really rethinking our relationship to agriculture.

*Special thanks to the Working Lands Alliance Steering Committee and the Connecticut Food Farms and Jobs Working Group for their on-going and inspiring conversations about agriculture.

Everything Starts from Seed

It has been an incredible year of planting and harvests. At this time last year, Taking Root was barely an idea that had been formed. By January, we were beginning to think through the details of what it would be like to create a small eco-tourism initiative devoted to stimulating local economies, building community viability and celebrating our connection to agriculture through well crafted Artisanal Adventures.

Next came some of the details, we built a website, designed a logo, and started to talk with artisans and farmers across the Northeast. We ran our first programs in May and since then, we have served 89 participants and directed nearly $7,000.00 into local economies, with $2000 going directly to farms and farmers (and more if you count the meals that we do our best to source locally). We know that this is a small start. But it is the slow beginnings of fulfilling a dream and creating our vision. Plus, we believe that there is something to starting small and steadily offering engaging programs that provide a unique look into the produce we grow, the food we eat, the people who grow it and, the land that supports us all.

Many people go into the planting, growing, cultivating, and harvesting of our Artisanal Adventures. We would like to thank all of our participants, friends, wine-makers, cheese-makers and other producers who have made our Artisanal Adventures delicious and unforgettable. Special thanks to some of the special people who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and on the farms – including Michael Bagley, Tanya Matthews, Lauren Bille, and Anne Saxelby.

Thanks to everyone for the bounty of the season!

Join Farm Camp at Flying Pigs Farm!

Farm Camp at Flying Pigs Farm is a one-of-a-kind educational opportunity for professionals working in food service, food media, and food and farm policy and advocacy, to learn first-hand about the challenges and opportunities associated with agricultural production in the Northeast. Based at Flying Pigs Farm in Washington County, New York (200 miles north of New York City), each Farm Camp session is an intensive two-day journey through dynamic farms and processing facilities, coupled with sessions on farm and food policy led by agricultural leaders. Since the inaugural session of Farm Camp in October 2009, more than 120 of New York City’s most influential food professionals have made the trip to Washington County to learn about where good food starts. Campers include chefs, writers, educators, food policy analysts, bloggers, restaurant and shop owners, and entrepreneurs. In 2011, Farm Camp will hold two sessions: Session 9 on October 23/24 and Session 10 on Oct. 30/31. More information about Farm Camp, including a link to the application form (due by October 7), can be found here

Interested in reading what others thought about Farm Camp? Check out last year’s profile of that appeared in the New York Times last year

Or read about it on Mark Bittman’s blog: