Root Down Foods

I only have 14 cows but it takes me a while to feed ‘em with my bad back. I filmed the process for y’all.

So, what happened? Just a few years ago, the alternative food movement was in full swing. Local farmers of all enterprises were reporting strong growth and a po...sitive future for the industry. Today those optimistic predictions have all but ground to a halt as many farms have exited the industry and those who remain work harder than they did a few years ago to make sales, and often at lower profit margins. Many things have changed over the past few years that have led to this. Some of these changes were predictable - others, not so much. What was predictable? The established food industry would jump into the health food sector when it proved profitable. The industry brought scale, convenience, slick packaging, and price point. These four factors are almost impossible for most small family farms to replicate. Couple this with the millennial buyer’s desire for easy, rapid transactions, and it has put extreme stress on "traditional" distribution methods like buying clubs and farmers markets. Who wants to grab all three kids and drive thirty minutes to meet a farmer in a parking lot for chicken that costs $1.50/lb. more than "the same thing" at the local supermarket? Not to mention the packaging is not as presentable and there may be a feather or two on it. Another predictable trend has been a massive increase in food production regulation. "Food safety" has become the buzz word of the industry and also the buzzsaw for many small farmers’ dreams of opening a small butcher shop or creamery. How can a local, family-owned farm build a creamery when it has to comply with the same regulations as a $50-million-dollar milk powder plant processing 20 milk tankers per day? The leafy-greens industry is not exempt of this increased burden, as the rules for washing and packaging now demand single-use infrastructure that is only used during the harvest season, yet costs thousands to build. While food safety may be the excuse for the additional regulatory burden, most can see that this is really the industry protecting itself by making the cost of entry so high that it discourages many, with the exception of the well-funded and brave. To make matters worse, these regulations are enforced by egotistical bureaucrats who are mostly unaccountable to higher authority and are left to interpret vague rules however they see fit. Thankfully organizations like Farm To Consumer Legal Defense Fund and others are springing up to give farmers a legal chance to battle the overreach of bureaucrats. So, what wasn’t predictable? The growth and life of labeling is one that I don't feel many anticipated. The Certified Organic industry has seen an explosion of growth now into the range of $50 billion with a B dollars in sales a year. GMO-free labels, humanely raised labels, grass-fed labels, and natural labels have also seen a massive uptick in popularity with farmers working hard to rapidly get behind one label or another. But why labels? In order for the industrial food system to capture the health food/alternative market it needed to make customers feel like they could trust the product. Thus the slick packaging of a chicken on grass with a certified ___ label has been their way of showing customers that they are trustworthy. But, unfortunately the labeling industry has developed its own dark side. Certified Organic has been hijacked by the industrial food industry as it has rapidly outgrown its ability to enforce itself. Couple that with the wink and a nod recognition of "organic" CAFO dairy, chickens, and now hydroponic vegetables and some rightly wonder if there is a difference between organic and conventional other than price point. These issues have been highlighted in the media recently and have created general outrage among trusting customers. To fix these issues, many are flocking to third party verification labels to prove that farms are actually farming according to what we thought Organic was all along. The massive mistake of Organic from the beginning was allowing it to be run by the government. Not surprisingly, many feel that private labels are now necessary to save the industry. So having said all of this, what is the solution to these issues and how can the small family farm still find its place in the market? I believe the solution is in the long lost local food movement. When I first started farming ten years ago, "buy local" was a strong determining factor among consumers. Bumper stickers and shirts where made with these two words and voting with your food dollars were paramount. Today buying local is a whisper as farmers and consumers flock to the loud exciting noise of their favorite label and store. But why would we chase labels? Labels are necessary for the supermarket but not the direct-to-consumer farmer. Sadly, it is because we all like to be part of something big and special, but what our customers really desire is honesty. Transparency is something hard to find in any industry now and if you can prove your trustworthiness to your customers you will serve them for a very long time regardless of what the industry does. The one thing that Organic, Wal-Mart, and Whole Foods will never be able to beat you at is *being the local farmer.* I would encourage you to focus on building your market locally and working hard to build trust with your customers. If you need or want a second party to approve your methods, I would encourage you to get someone reputable in your community to "verify" what you are doing locally instead of "certifying" that you are simply farming off a check sheet provided by an organization. Take the local advantage and use it to its fullest extent. A customer can't go and inspect an organic farm three states away that’s supplying the grocery store with eggs, but they can come and see your chickens and where you package your eggs. The same customer can also see your pigs on pasture and know that they are not stacked on top of themselves in a hog barn. These visits from local customers will help get the word out that your farm is what you say it is and will motivate them to purchase from you, even if you aren't scaled, convenient, cheap, or have a trendy label. Now, I know some will say, But, I live in Utah - there is no one out here! How am I supposed to sell ‘local’? Yes, national markets are necessary for some, but build them on transparency and trustworthiness. I know of one family farm in Idaho that is selling grass-fed beef nationally and is enjoying record sales as many others write and groan about the collapse of grass-fed beef sales. Their secret? Trustworthiness and transparency. Take your unfair advantage and run with it. Only you control your trustworthiness and connection to the customers that live around you. -Ben

Dad helped me finish the high tunnel.

I'm finishing up one final planting for my winter high tunnel experiment.