October 29, 2009
Local Food Trend Offers Opportunities for Entrepreneurs
LINCOLN, Neb. — Awareness of food origins and eating healthier is gaining momentum throughout Nebraska, just as it is nationally.
That movement has entrepreneurial potential for Nebraskans, according to Mark Gustafson, University of Nebraska Rural Initiative coordinator for economic development.
"People want to know more where and how their food is grown," Gustafson said. "It's a good time to take advantage of and build on that."
As more restaurants, grocers, schools, hospitals, care facilities and other institutions incorporate locally grown foods, the demand for local foods will increase, he said.
Local food production could be one way to supplement or possibly provide livelihoods for family members who want to return to the farm, as well as for acreage owners and immigrants, Gustafson added.
"From the Rural Initiative perspective, we see this as a way to keep people in rural Nebraska and make a decent living," he said.
People interested need to have a passion for the long hours and physical labor involved with small-scale food production, Gustafson added.
The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison showed net cash income could reach $21,543 for one year from a 4.5-acre market garden, while under optimum circumstances a 16-acre vegetable farm might net $99,850.
Roger Wilson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln budget analyst for farm markets, said the incomes from the 2005 Wisconsin report, "Grower to Grower: Creating a Livelihood on a Fresh Market Vegetable Garden," theoretically could apply to Nebraska today.
"It probably depends on the markets," he cautioned. "Prices, sales, volumes and costs all must be considered."
Wilson said he has developed spreadsheets to help Nebraskans estimate costs and breakeven levels related to 15 specialty food crops, such as cabbage, tomatoes and sweet corn (Horticultural Budgets).
The spreadsheets are designed to be custom-modified for a comprehensive analysis, which is imperative in developing and adhering to a business plan.
"Take time to do the numbers," Wilson advised. "See if they work. It's much more cost-effective to discover a strategy is unprofitable prior to planting."
Several endeavors in Nebraska are helping propel the local foods momentum.
For example, University Dining Services at UNL works with 70 Nebraska producers to supply local foods to some UNL dining centers for the GFL (Good. Fresh. Local.) Sustainable Food Project.
Many producers make consumer connections through the Rural Initiative's Local Foods Network, a collaboration of Nebraskans working together since 2008 to encourage and facilitate increased production and consumption of local foods.
Another RI resource is its Web-based interactive service called MarketMaker. MarketMaker lists more than 850 product contacts, from herbs to goats to vegetables, enabling entrepreneurs to identify and develop new and profitable markets, and showing consumers where to find them.
RI also is identifying university resources that could help educate people about growing, marketing and distributing local foods. Distribution is a big challenge, Gustafson said, because of the need to consistently deliver quality products.
Still another local foods effort is helping Nebraska vocational agriculture programs obtain funding to develop curriculum about growing fresh foods for the school cafeteria lunch program, said Kim Peterson, RI outreach program specialist. A greenhouse pilot project is planned for Norris Public Schools at Firth, Peterson said, and UNL's University Dining Services could assist the Norris cafeteria on how best to incorporate locally grown foods.
Peterson said farmers markets already exist in more than 60 Nebraska communities. Billene Nemec spent 20 years managing Lincoln farmers markets and coordinates "Buy Fresh Buy Local Nebraska". It is an educational, marketing and outreach program within the UNL Department of Agricultural Economics, a part of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at UNL.
Nemec noted that local food consumption appeals to consumers who want to know where and how their food is produced, and by whom. Drawing attention to local foods through designations such as Nebraska Local Foods Month in September; "Buy Fresh Buy Local Nebraska," an October celebration of local food; and the Harvest Celebration of Local Food on Nov. 12, acknowledges those who produce and those who support and purchase locally grown are just a few means of furthering that awareness, she said.
"Everyone's getting more and more aware of the footprints we're leaving on earth," Nemec added.
10/29/09-CA Billene Nemec
"Buy Fresh Buy Local Nebraska" Program Coordinator (402) 472-5273
 
Mark Gustafson - Ph.D.
Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program Director (402) 472-7252
Roger Wilson
NU Rural Initiative and UNL Extension Budget Analyst (402) 472-1771
Lori McGinnis IANR News and Photography (402) 472-0918
Department:
Administration
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