Women's Agricultural Network Blog

Today I pulled up my potato plants after seeing a tiny spot of blight on one plant. I’m sad of course but I’ll be even more sad to lose my tomato plants. At least the potatoes yielded a harvest of sorts– small but tasty. The tomatoes, if and when they succumb will take the harvest with them. I can’t imagine a year without BLTs. And I’ll certainly miss seeing tomatoes lining the window sills in my kitchen just waiting for inspiration.
Of course I feel worse for the commercial farmers in my region who rely on the tomato harvest as a significant portion of their income.
The irony is that at least part of this problem is the result of the number of new people planting gardens. Not knowing any better they purchased contaminated plants from retailers. Now, unless we can get the word out fast I’m afraid that problem will be compounded by improper disposal of the infected plants. These same folks will just toss the infected plants into their compost bins or onto the brush heap at the edge of their property and the spores will simply wait until next year and the cycle will begin again.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html?_r=1

Well let me say right off that I don’t know the answer to this question. From a marketing perspective trends are far better investments for the small business owner so of course I would love to be able to say that consumers are trending toward local purchasing. Trends are deep (they generally effect many people), wide (they tend to remain true across geographic regions), have staying power (usually last a long time) and best of all, you can see them coming from a distance so you have time to prepare your strategy. Trends that most of us are aware of include: our graying society, women in the workforce, less time spent on food preparation, and growing demand for organic and/or healthy choices in foods.
Fads come into being quickly, garner a lot of media attention, and then fade away just as quickly. Although “quick” is a relative term and could easily mean months and years rather than days and weeks. Surely everyone can identify at least a couple fads. Strangely many of the ones that stick in my mind are diet-related. Think Low-Carb, Low-Protein, Fat-free, Sugar-free, etc.
So, where does the “buy local” movement belong? I certainly would like to see it as a trend. One that will endure for a long time with prosperous outcomes for our rural communities.
Before “buy local” can be categorically determined to be a trend rather than a fad it seems that we need to know more about the drivers behind the movement. How related is the economic recession to people’s desire to buy locally? Do consumers view local as synonymous with safer or more secure? In other words are people choosing locally produced goods and services out of fear of the alternative? If so, this would seem more fad-like. When things turn around will consumers return to their old purchasing habits?
It would also be useful to know who the ‘buy local’ consumer is? Is it people with discretionary income? Those on fixed incomes? Families? Seniors? Or younger consumers who can be counted on to relocate several times in the next 10-15 years? All of these variables will help to frame the “buy local” movement as either an enduring trend or a fad that will soon give way to the next compelling thing.

Changes in the legislation surrounding sales of raw milk have many farmers wondering if this could be a viable income stream. Before you make any decisions it is wise to conduct some research. Fortunately there are some great resources available to help you do exactly that. A great place to begin your research is at http://www.uvm.edu/~pasture/?Page=rawmilk.html where you’ll find resources shared at a series of workshops held recently.
Consumer education is an important part of this legislation and farmers considering selling raw milk should be prepared to help consumers understand both the risks and benefits of consuming raw milk. For more information on the legislation and to see more information check out http://www.ruralvermont.org/food.html.