Alabama Organics: Growing Organics in Alabama: Results of Organic Workshop at Tuskegee University on October 28 & 29, 2011

Results of Organic Workshop at Tuskegee University on October 28 & 29, 2011

The land grant universities of Alabama collaborated on an organic workshop at Tuskegee University titled: Identifying the Challenges and Constraints to Growth of the Organic Produce Industry in Alabama. Partners in this workshop included: Tuskegee University, Auburn University, and Alabama A&M University together with Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (ASAN) and The Federation of Southern Cooperatives/LAF. Over 100 farmers, researchers, marketers, chefs, local food system advocates, healthy food enthusiasts, educators, agricultural service providers, organic advocacy representatives of other states attended this workshop and provided input.

The purpose of the workshop was to identify marketing, policy, production, consumption, and research needs and propose options for promoting the organic food industry in Alabama. This information will be developed into a proposal for the USDA Organic Research and Extension Initiative Grant Program.

The motivation for this workshop was that nationally, organics is the fastest growing sector of the food industry, yet Alabama has the fewest number of certified organic farmers per capita of any state in the nation. A recent story by NPR described Alabama as being “anti-organic”. Consumer demand for organic produce is increasing in this state, as evidenced by the recent addition of three Earth Fare health food supermarkets and a Whole Foods Market. Also, the grocery store chains in AL are now offering organic produce.

Organic production represents an untapped opportunity for growers in this state. The purpose of this workshop was to bring together members of all parts of the food system to investigate why AL has so few organic producers and to determine what we could do about it.

The workshop was organized into three panels the first day: a farmers’ panel, a marketing panel, and an organic food system panel. These panels provided opportunities for groups of stakeholders to provide insights into the issues involved in developing the AL organic food industry from their unique perspectives. At the end of the day, the workshop participants divided into smaller groups for further discussion of the issues discussed during the day.

Following are summaries of the different discussion groups as well as priorities set on the second day of the workshop.

Summary of Panel 1: the Farmers’ Panel:

Several farmers, certified organic, non-certified organic, and non-organic discussed why there were not more certified organic farmers in Alabama. These are some of the challenges that they identified:

1. The expense of certification, inputs, and production à more expense for the consumer.

There is not much customer demand –consumers need to be educated about the benefits of consuming fresh, locally grown organic fruits and vegetables.
Farmers need help marketing – farm to school programs, for example
Infrastructure is needed – a way for farmers to pool produce for retailers such as Walmart that need a lot of product. Facilities, such as cooperatives, are needed to house large quantities of produce that could be sold as a group, and that could serve as drop off points to enable farmers to place bulk orders for seeds, soil amendments, and other inputs to make them available at lower prices. Also infrastructure is needed for value-added products.
The lack of affordable and available labor.
Farmers need more collaboration with land grant institutions – research and extension
There is no certifying agency in AL.
Some farmers are concerned about perceived government control or oversight of their operation and don’t want to be involved in any government programs.

Key Points:

Farmers’ Challenges to Organic Production:

They need:

Customer Education – to stimulate demand.
Infrastructure – farm to school programs, cooperatives, collaborative marketing, certifying agency
Research, extension

The model for the small scale “organic” farmer in AL is one that sells directly to customers through farmers markets, CSAs, on-farm sales through the Local Harvest website, etc. Even chefs prefer to buy locally grown over organic. Most customers that choose locally grown do not demand certified organic. There are not many opportunities for farmers to market organic (or even locally grown) produce to grocery stores.

Many farmers in AL call themselves organic and their customers probably believe that they grow food without chemicals. There are 43 AL “organic” farmers listed on the Local Harvest website, but only 8 of these are actually certified organic. Consequently, consumers really don’t know what they are getting unless the produce is certified organic or naturally grown.

Summary of Panel 2: Obstacles to Marketing Organic Produce in AL:

This panel included a couple of chefs, an owner of a collaborative marketing business, and the State of AL Farmers’ Market authority.

Their perceived challenges:

The demand for organic produce is very low in AL – need consumer education
The major demand from chefs is for locally grown produce rather than organic.
Locally grown is much easier to get than organic; most farmers in AL are old and want to grow conventionally.
The necessary infrastructure is lacking and is needed. Crop plans, cooperative marketing – organization and cooperation.
It is difficult for producers to obtain loans.
Liability Insurance is expensive, but needed for marketing to retail markets.
It is important for farmers to market directly to consumers.
Farmers need mentoring where experienced farmers help new farmers learn organic farming methods.
Farmers need information on farming systems.
Farmers need market research, transportation, cooperation.

Key Points:

Marketing Challenges: (Some of the challenges identified in this marketing session could more appropriately be classified as challenges to production).

These things are needed:

1. Consumer Education – Consumers need to be educated about the benefits of consuming organic produce.

2. Infrastructure – The infrastructure for producing and marketing organic produce does not exist in AL. We need cooperatives, collaborative marketing, suppliers of organic inputs, seeds, organic inspector, liability insurance, etc.

3. Research, extension, training – information on organic farming systems. Farmer mentoring

Panel 3: The Organic Food System: The Role of Organic Advocacy Groups in Promoting Organics:

Representatives of 4 southeastern state organic advocacy groups participated in this panel to discuss their organizations:

Marty Mesh – Florida Organic Growers’ Association (FOG)

Jonathan Tescher – Georgia Organics (GO)

Tony Kleese – former executive director of Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA)

Karen Wynne – form executive director of Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (ASAN).

Summary of Panel 3: The Role of Organic Advocacy Groups in Promoting Organics:

Connect farmers and consumers
Promote farmers through events, such as Killer Tomato festival (Georgia Organics event).
Get information to people – train farmers through farmer mentoring, workshops, conferences
Educate consumers
Organize and unite organic producers and consumers so that they can have a stronger voice in policy issues.
Unite to create a strong demand for organic information from extension and other state agricultural service providers.
Embrace consumers. That’s what makes the organic system different from the conventional system; all key players are represented. It’s not just about farmers.

Key Points:

Role of Organic Advocacy Groups in Promoting Organics:

Educate Consumers
Connect different components of the food system: farmers, consumers, researchers, educators, extension
Help develop infrastructure
Provide farmer training through field days, workshops, and conferences.
Support farmers through promotional events.

Summary of Panel Discussions:

The key challenges and constraints to the growth of the organic food industry in AL were repeatedly identified as:

Lack of consumer education
Lack of infrastructure
Lack of extension, research support
Lack of farmer training

The small breakout sessions provided more opportunity for everyone to share their thoughts and opinions.

Summary of Small Breakout sessions conclusions:

Challenges:

I. Farmers Need Education on Organic Certification

A. There are many misconceptions surrounding requirements of the National Organic Program

(NOP) certification process:

1. Many farmers believe it is very difficult to gain organic certification.

2. Many farmers think organic certification is very expensive.

3. Many farmers believe the “government” will gain undue control over their farms if they

become certified organic.

B. Inspector training is needed – for inspectors plus educators to understand the process and

regulations.

C. Inspection support/information is needed in order to understand process and get over the fear

of certification.

D. Outreach is needed on the cost share program. Few farmers are aware of it.

II. Production and Marketing Research is Needed:

A. Alabama-specific information on the demand for organic produce.

B. Case studies with financial information, especially for new and beginning farmers

C. Organic census and marketing study - There is a need to show farmers that a market demand

exists, identify the demand and available/existing infrastructure, and assist farmers in linking

resources available to them.

D. Producers need to address and manage multiple production and marketing issues – they need

information on designing diversified integrated farming systems.

III. Education of Agricultural Service Providers is Needed:

A. NRCS – get information on input costs

B. Extension – training needed – allow for time to train alone, and some with farmers

IV. Infrastructure is needed– not just organic issue

A. Inputs

B. Processing issues – need to send cattle to MO or CO for organic processing

C. Farmers must be in control of product distribution.

D. Collaborative marketing needed, especially for farmers located far from metropolitan areas.

E. Cooperatives needed to help farmers reduce input costs through bulk ordering.

F. Information on liability insurance. It may not be as expensive as believed.

G. Map of Assets: North Carolina and Virginia developed the Community Food System

Explorer (CFSE) which we could use as a model in developing the organic industry in

Alabama. [CFSE provides “an assessment of public policies, economic conditions, and

social structures that affect community food systems across” NC and VA

(www.cfse.ext.vt.edu)].

V. Advocacy is Needed:

a. ASAN and other advocacy groups should be prepared to negotiate regulatory policies favorable to producers by minimizing hindrances. They could also assist by developing and conducting feasibility studies, business plans for processors at the local scale, and mapping resources for the industry. They must fill in information gaps for farmers and, while doing so, create cluster of jobs for the community.

VI. Consumer Education is Needed:

A. Organic farmers need to educate the consumer about the food they sell so they will

understand the true cost of food.

B. Backyard gardens (also alternative installation sources)

C. Public gardens

D. Demonstration farm sites

E. Broad age range of education – seniors, youth, mix them up to learn from each other

F. Oral histories – what was done in the past, include in part of workshops

G. Understanding links between diet and health

VII. Factors Limiting Low-Income Citizens’ access to Sustainable and Organic Produce

A. Many low-income citizens do not have access to sustainable and organic produce due to

lack of transportation.

B. Prices of organic produce are determined by income levels of the communities where it is

sold.

C. Many citizens of all socio-economic levels are price sensitive when purchasing food and will

always tend to buy food based on its price.

D. Many low-income people want to buy organic produce but can’t find it in their local

communities. Most local farmers markets do not currently have certified organic vendors.

E. Consumers should consider growing some of their own food in coming years as a way to

reduce food expenses.

F. Farm to school programs needed

G. School gardens, community gardens

Opportunities for Farmers

I. Governmental Agencies (NRCS, RC&D’s, SARE, etc.) provide cost-sharing grants to help farmers transition to organic status. Several practices that organic farmers can take advantage are currently funded, but may be eliminated or funding for them reduced in the proposed Agriculture bill.

A. Farmers transitioning to organic certification can receive up to 75% of the cost of obtaining certification from the NRCS.

B. Beginning farmers can often obtain help from established farmers.

C. NRCS Alabama official, Alice Love, can help farmers apply for government grants. Call her at (334) 887-4550.

II. New and beginning farmers

A. Lots of new retired farmers

B. Internships (beginning farmer and rancher mentor program)

III. Focus on promising products

A. Grass finished beef

B. Very little acreage in veggies (less than 19,000) vs cattle (about 12 million)

Vegetables: Georgia has 129,000 acres, Florida has 266,000, North Carolina has 119,000

Obstacles in Alabama

1. Resistance to change

2. Organic is a personal/ psychological approach, requires a different mindset

a. Impact of economic history of Deep South (cotton economy) “rural but not agricultural”

b. Distrust of government: There is a need to educate farmers on the role of USDA, NRCS and other government agencies and on the benefits of being certified.

3. Banks/lenders don't understand small scale farm financial models, making it harder to access money.

Priorities Identified on the second day of the workshop:

The second day of the workshop the priorities were listed on flip charts and participants voted for the their top three choices. Votes were tallied and priorities were ranked according to votes. The photos below show the flip charts.