In Massachusetts, Steve D’Amico, (D) 4th Bristol, has introduced a bill in the House extending to microfarms (one-five acres of productive land) the same supports currently enjoyed by farms five acres and larger. The bill gets its committee hearing (Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture) tomorrow (June 3), 1 pm, room A2 in the Statehouse. If you’d like to comment, just show up; I’ll be there.
I just found put about this today, but cobbled together what appears below. Having just enjoyed, for the first time, homemade sausage I picked up over the weekend at Codman’s Farm in Lincoln, seems the least I can do. For our friend the pig.
TO: Members of the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture
FROM: Michael Horan, Stoughton (Eighth Norfolk )
RE: Hearing on H715, An Act Relative to Small Plot Farming
DATE: June 2, 2009
Esteemed Members of the Committee:
Microfarming: A Growing Trend
Several months ago, I requested an application for shares in a CSA just up the road from me at the foot of the Blue Hills, Brookwood Farm. At which time I was told that they had only a dozen additional shares available—and a waiting list of 100 households! I was disappointed by the supply, but delighted at the demand. There are clearly a lot of people interested in becoming shareholders in microfarms. And there are clearly not enough of them to help fill the demand.
CSA’s are just part of a growing trend among both producers and consumers. According to the 2007 USDA Census of Agriculture, microfarms are experiencing explosive growth:
- “Between 2002 and 2007, the number of farms with sales of less than $2,500 increased by 74,000.
- Census results show that the majority of U.S. farms are smaller operations: “More than 36 percent are classified as residential/lifestyle farms, with sales of less than $250,000 and operators with a primary occupation other than farming.” (2)
- In Massachusetts, there are over 2000 farms ranging between 1-9 acres, and 2500 farms in the state gross under $2,500 annually. (3)
- In Franklin County, “the census shows, 219 of the county’s 741 farms were quite small with less than $1,000 in sales, and 183 farms showed between $1,000 and $4,999 in sales. Together, those represent 402 farms — more than half of the farms in the county.” (4)
Clearly there is a demand for niche farms. This bill will assist in satisfying that need, and thereby assist in expanding Massachusetts’ growing agricultural revenues.
Microfarming and New Business Models
These operations are also becoming players in the burgeoning locally-based business movement. b.good.burgers in Brookline, working with GreenGrowers of Jamaica Plain, have installed a “rooftop farm” atop their business, where they’re growing fresh vegetables to served along with their burgers.(6) And in an era in which the average distance food travels from its source to the American plate is around 1,500 miles, with the obvious environmental impact, this kind of new business model is set to capitalize on America’s increasing sense of environmental responsibility.
Small Farms and Food Safety
The bill also is a good one from the position of product health and safety. The recent spinach recall, episodes of tainted meat, even swine flu are related: “The common thread among all these events is food production on a massive scale, where a single mistake or viral mutation can quickly grow to tragic proportions and threaten thousands of innocent people with sickness and death.” (6) Microfarming exists at the opposite end of this spectrum.
Micro-farms Strengthen Communities
The value of these small-scale farms transcends economic concerns. These half- to-five-acre farming operations are also of tremendous value to urban communities. They revitalize empty, weed-strewn lots, donate large percentages of their harvest, and supply local inner-city farmers markets with fresh produce:
- The ReVision Center shelter along Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester yielded 5,300 pounds of produce last year (7)
- In whas a desolate lot behind the Boston Day and Evening Academ, students have established a small farm that distributes vegetables to students, staff, neighbors, and the Haley House (shelter) Bakery Café (8)
- The Food Project, in Boston, operates several small urban farms ranging from one-half to 1.4 acres, producing 15,000 and 18,000 lbs of food annually; in 2007, the operation sold $21,100 worth of produce and donated another $7,300 worth of vegetables to Community Servings & Rosie’s Place. bringing in over 2600 pounds of veggies. The rooftop garden atop Boston Medical Center also donates food to the Boston Medical Center Food Pantry and helps to supply the Project’s farmer Market in Dudley Square (9)
- Brookwood Farm in Milton employs summer interns fro Boston and Milton who assist in running the farm and the farmstand in Mattapan (10)
Small Scale Farms are Part of the Revenue Stream
There are also obvious benefits to operating a small farm outside the urban corridor. Many small farms turn a profit by selling direct-to-consumer (and this trend is likely to continue to expand as “agrotourism” increases in the state). In Franklin County, “The increase in the number of farms selling directly to customers increased by 39 percent — from 141 to 196 — higher than the 32 percent increase statewide, and total direct sales soared by 163 percent — for a total of $3.4 million — far exceeding the nationwide average of 17 percent.” (11) (Jennifer Dempsey of American Farmland Trust; regional office in Northampton).
The Right Time for this Bill
These days, books about fad diets are being replaced on best-seller lists by books devoted to the quality of the food we eat. Films ranging from “Fast Food Nation” to “Supersize Me” are playing at multiplexes. Students from a variety of disciplines are lining up to do internships at organic farms. In short, food consciousness—along with a renewed emphasis on nutrition, safety, and the environment—is at all time high. And microfarming is especially well-suited to addressing the issues that are being raised in each of these areas.
Massachusetts is experiencing a resurgence in agriculture. The stewardship exercised by the state agricultural department, working in tandem with university research and extension programs, should be coupled with the political will to ensure that all alternatives are explored and best practices encouraged … starting right in the Statehouse. This bill is an example of wise stewardship, and I urge you to support it.
Thank you for your time.
m h
References
1. Census of Agriculture Shows Growing Diversity in U.S. Farming, USDA Newsroom, February 4, 2009
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/02/0036.xml
2. Census of Agriculture Shows Growing Diversity in U.S. Farming, USDA Newsroom, February 4, 2009
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/02/0036.xml
3.USDA 2007 Census of Agriculture, Massachusetts State Profile
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/02/0036.xml
4.”Farms a growing industry for county,” The Recorder, February 13, 2009
http://www.recorder.com/story.cfm?id_no=5785233
5.”Brookline burger-maker to offer roof-grown veggies,” Wicked Local Brookline, May 07, 2009
http://www.wickedlocal.com/brookline/archive/x1518865971/Brookline-burger-maker-to-offer-roof-grown-veggies
6. Northeast Organic Farming Association, Massachusetts Chapter, May 2009 newsletter
http://www.nofamass.org/news/enews.php
7.”This farm fills their spirits, too,” Boston Globe, July 27, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/07/27/this_farm_feeds_their_spirits_too/
8. “Nourishing more than minds,” Boston Globe, September 28, 2008
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/09/28/nourishing_more_than_minds/
9. http://www.thefoodproject.org/agriculture/Internal1.asp?ID=97
10. http://www.brookwoodcommunityfarm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2&Itemid=3
11.”Farms a growing industry for county,” The Recorder, February 13, 2009
http://www.recorder.com/story.cfm?id_no=5785233
