Volume 2

FARMER’ S CUT OF FOOD DOLLAR
11.6 CENTS ............................... 2

COMMUNITY RESOURCE AND
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IMPACT
TEAM PRESENTS AT NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS
NATIONAL MEETING ....................
3
LOCAL SUSTAINABLE MEAT &
POULTRY: MAKING THE SHIFT IN
INSTITUTIONAL PURCHASING .......
5

Issue 1
Spring 2011
Maryland Online Farmers Market to add Volume Listings
The University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center
(EFC) and University of Maryland Extension program announce the addition of volume listings to the Maryland
Online Farmers Market, www.foodtrader.org.
Consumer demand for locally grown and value-added farm
products has direct wholesale buyers scrambling to source
these products. To meet this growing demand, Maryland
Online Farmers Market (www.foodtrader.org), a FREE virtual farmers market, will now provide buyers and producers
a mechanism by which to better connect. Institutions and
restaurants looking to source large quantities of locally
grown product can post “wanted” listings and producers can
list items they have “available” for purchase in volume. Additionally, Community Supported Agriculture (or CSAs) will
find the improved website a useful way to promote volume
listings or to add new products for their members.
“We are hoping to make it easier to connect volume producers with large-scale buyers in an effort to incorporate locally
Continued on page 2 …
Baltimore City 4-H Teen Corps Presents
Statewide Youth Conference
On May 7, 2011 the Baltimore City 4-H Teen Corps will be having a Statewide
Youth Conference at the Baltimore City Community College (Liberty Campus),
2901 Liberty Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM. Conference workshops include: Entrepreneurship, Service Learning, Workforce Readiness, Community Gardening, GIS/GPS, Leadership Development, and Youth/
Adult Partnerships. For more information and registration, contact Manami
Brown, Senior Agent, 4-H Youth Development & City Extension Director at 410856-1850 x111 or email mbrown4@umd.edu.
Page 2
Volume 2
Issue 1
Maryland Online Farmers Market to add Volume Listings
Continued from page 1 …
grown and value-added farm products into large institutions
such as schools, hospitals, and restaurants in Maryland,”
Ginger Myers, Director, Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center, University of Maryland Extension.
Maryland Online Farmers Market, www.foodtrader.org, is a
free virtual farmers market launched in 2008 to connect individual consumers and local producers. Along with its sister
site that promotes available non-food related agriculture resources, AgTrader, www.agtrader.org, Maryland Online
Farmers Market gives consumers access to the rich diversity
of agricultural resources within the state of Maryland.
Maryland Online Farmers Market was developed and is maintained by the Environmental Finance Center (EFC) located at
the University of Maryland. The EFC is one of ten universitybased centers across the country providing communities with
the tools and information necessary to manage change for a
healthy environment and an enhanced quality of life. For additional information on the EFC, contact Joanne Throwe at
jthrowe@umd.edu or 301-405-5036. The EFC can be found
online at www.efc.umd.edu.
Photo by Edwin Remsberg
Farmer’s Cut of Food Dollar: 11.6 Cents
Source: Delta Farm Press, Matt Hartwig, Renewable Fuels Association
“Energy intensive activities like food
processing, transportation, and packaging gobble up nearly three times the
value farmers receive. And as oil
prices continue to rise, an even larger
share of every dollar spent on food is
paying for the higher energy costs facing the entire supply chain.”
American farmers and agribusinesses
receive just 11.6 cents of every dollar
spent on food in the U.S., according to
recent analysis from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“American farmers continue to produce
more and more food and feed, yet they
are receiving less and less of each
dollar spent at the retail level,” said
Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association vice president of research and
analysis.
“American farmers continue to
produce more and more food
and feed, yet they are receiving
less and less of each dollar
spent at the retail level,”
“Energy intensive activities like food
processing, transportation, and packThat is down from the nearly 20 cents
aging gobble up nearly three times the
USDA calculated, using a different
value farmers receive. And as oil
method, in the past and undercuts arprices continue to rise, an even larger
guments that farm prices for commodishare of every dollar spent on food is
ties and feedstuffs like corn are driving
paying for the higher energy costs fachigher retail food prices.
ing the entire supply chain.”
The BARN
With news reports of food prices going
higher, driven largely by dramatic mark
ups in the price of fresh fruits and
vegetables and meat products, many
are seeking to blame farmers and biofuel producers for the run up.
This USDA analysis, as well as a review of recent speculative activity in
commodity markets, once again
proves that volatile energy prices and
Wall Street speculation are the primary
factors driving food prices higher.
According to USDA, the secondlargest contributor to food prices —
only trailing labor costs — is the combination of food processing, packaging,
transportation, all of which are highly
energy-intensive activities.
Spring 2011
Volume 2
Issue 1
Page 3
Community Resource and Economic Development Impact
Team Presents at National Association of Community
Economic Development Extension Professionals National
Meeting
Three members of the Community Resources and
Economic Development Resource Impact Team shared
examples of the team’s success in entrepreneurial
programming at the Association of Community
Economic Development Extension Professionals’
National Meeting in Charleston, SC, on March 9th.
Their presentation was titled, “University of Maryland
Extension Entrepreneurship and Workforce
Development - Successful and Emerging Programs
for Diversified Audiences.”
The presentation featured:
► A mature program - “Teen Corps,” a Baltimore
citywide collaborative consisting of 4-H clubs and
community stakeholders that produce youth/adult
leaders who partner to strengthen communities,
and increase leadership opportunities for youth.
This program offers strategies to effectively
implement sustainable community development
initiatives.
► Multi-year programs - “Annie’s Project,” an
educational program dedicated to strengthening
women's roles in the modern farm enterprise and
“Youth Market: Rural Entrepreneurship Experience”
- an experiential learning program incorporating a
youth component into the effort to improve the
economic status of families in a rural Appalachian
area.
► “Stimulating Maryland Agricultural Entrepreneurship through Curbside Roundtables and
Individualized Planning,” - a new program training
Agricultural Service Providers as entrepreneurial
coaches and then providing opportunities for rural
and community entrepreneurs to receive one-onone coaching support to develop their business.
This presentation gave real-time, in-depth formats,
toolkits, lessons learned, and evaluated results from
four different entrepreneurship and workforce development programs. While each program has a different
Spring 2011
Manami Brown, Ginger Myers, and Ann Sharrard
National Association of Community Development Extension Professionals
(NACDEP) Conference in Charlestown, SC on March 7-9, 2011
Photo by Ginger S. Myers
target audience, combined they represent a “packaged”
training approach that leverages resources, engages
communities in their roles in economic development, and
provides measurable and sustainable impacts.
Ginger Myers
University of Maryland Extension,
Director, Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center,
Marketing Specialist Ag & Natural Resources,
301-432-2767, gsmyers@umd.edu
Manami Brown
University of Maryland Extension, Senior Agent, 4-H Youth
Development and City Extension Director, Baltimore City
410-856-1850, mbrown4@umd.edu
Ann Sherrard
University of Maryland Extension Senior Agent, 4-H
Youth Development and County Extension Director,
Garrett County
301-334-6960, anns@umd.edu
The BARN
Page 4
Volume 2
Issue 1
Examples of Institutional Purchasing
Lancaster Farming Showcases MD H2E and Maryland Hospitals
Source: MD H2E Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment — http://e-commons.org/mdh2e/tag/holly-emmons/
When Laurie Savage started to write an article for
Lancaster Farming’s Southern Edition about Maryland
hospitals, she soon discovered there was too much
going on to cover in one article. Instead, what resulted
was a 3 part series in the weekly paper, each with front
page coverage. The first, “Maryland Health Care
Facilities Buy Local Food,” published January 1st,
mentions our USDA grant worth $100,620 that Louise
Mitchell secured this year. This grant is enabling Louise
and MD H2E’s sustainable food staff to work with more
Maryland facilities to purchase sustainable, locally
sourced produce and meat. Savage also brings
attention to the Healthy Food in Health Care pledge,
the Balanced Menus Challenge and the Buy Local
Challenge. She writes, “Collectively, this year, the
facilities spent more than $15,000 during the week
on foods from local farms, including fruits, vegetables,
eggs and meat.” To read the rest of the article and learn
more about MD H2E’s food initiatives, go to:
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/results/MarylandHealth-Care-Facilities-Buy-Local-Food
“A Healthy Relationship,” featured in Lancaster
Farming’s January 8th edition, focuses more on the
hospitals, highlighting Union Hospital of Cecil County,
Carroll Hospital Center, Good Samaritan Hospital,
Meritus Medical Center and Sinai Hospital. Union
Hospital and Carroll Hospital both served local
sustainable turkey for Thanksgiving, which employees
and patients raved about. Meritus Medical Center,
meanwhile, is reducing food waste in the kitchen by
saving their scraps for a local hog farm. Sinai Hospital
buys local food from one of Baltimore’s first urban farms,
Real Food Farm. There are so many different ways that
a hospital can serve delicious sustainable food while
supporting the local economy. For more, go to:
Photo by Edwin Remsberg
The final article in the series, published January 15th, is
titled, “Beefing Up His Business.” Showcased is Liberty
Delight Farms in Reisterstown, MD, which exclusively
provides beef to Union Hospital of Cecil County. Shane
Hughes, who runs the farm with his cousin, connected
with the hospital at last January’s Buyers-Growers
Meeting, run by the Maryland Department of Agriculture.
Buying directly from the farmer can save money,
especially when purchasing a whole animal. Savage
writes, “Training will be needed to show hospitals how
to use more parts of an animal, including unfamiliar
cuts, organ meats and bones to make soups and
stock. Different hospitals will be able to implement the
whole-animal concept in different ways, depending upon
their facilities.” To help accomplish this, MD H2E is
working on a survey for hospitals “to determine which
cuts they would purchase and how much they would
purchase from farmers and… what standards should be
implemented.” For more:
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/results/0115SHospitals3
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/results/A-HealthyRelationship
The BARN
Spring 2011
Volume 2
Issue 1
Page 5
Local Sustainable Meat & Poultry:
Making the Shift in Institutional Purchasing
Thursday, May 5, 2011
7:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Ten Oaks Ballroom and Conference Center
5000 Signal Bell Lane, Clarksville, Maryland 21029
just off of Route 108 at Route 32
This regional conference will bring together a wide variety of key stakeholders to address the barriers, indentify solutions
and share cost-effective strategies for establishing new institutional purchasing practices of local sustainable beef, pork
and poultry.
Topics Include:
Sustainable Agriculture - Why It’s Important
Ensuring the Safety of Local Meat and Poultry
Cost Effective Purchasing Strategies Used by Institutions
Selling to Hospitals - The Farmers’ Experiences
Identifying the Barriers, Finding Solutions - Small & Large Group Discussion
►Food service professionals
● Food service directors
● Chefs
● Production managers
● Purchasing managers
● Dietitians
►Institutions
●Hospitals, nursing homes
●Universities, schools
●Hotels, businesses
●Assisted living, correctional facilities
●Sports & entertainment venues, and more
►Local Producers of beef, pork and poultry who use sustainable agricultural practices **
►Meat and Poultry Processors
►Distributors
►Food service contractors
►Group purchasing organizations
►Food safety regulators
►Government agencies
►Agricultural development specialists
►Economic development specialists
►Non-profit organizations
►Other interested stakeholders
** Sustainable agricultural practices for beef, pork, poultry and other animal protein foods include, at a minimum, raising animals without
arsenic compounds, without the routine use of antibiotics, and without added growth hormones. Ideally, the animals also eat food grown
without the use of pesticides or genetically modified seeds, and the animals are raised outside on pasture.
For Sponsorship and Exhibitor Information:
sustainablefoods@son.umaryland.edu or 410-706-1924
Registration Information & Full Agenda:
Contact Louise Mitchell, Sustainable Foods Manager, Maryland Hospitals for Healthy Environment (MD H2E) at 410-706-1924 or email
sustainablefoods@son.umaryland.edu
Web site: http://e-commons.org/mdh2e/sustainable-foods/may5conference-localsustainablemeatpoultry/
This conference is being funded by a grant from the Federal-State Marketing Improvement program (FSMIP) of the Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S. Department
Agriculture (USDA) with generous matching funds from the Association of Baltimore Area Grantmakers.
Spring 2011
The BARN
Page 6
Volume 2
Issue 1
FYI...
Rural Mapping
Tool
The Atlas of Rural and
Small-Town America is an
online mapping tool that captures
more than 60 statistical indicators
encompassing demographic,
economic and agricultural data
from across the U.S. By releasing
the county-level data, the USDA
hopes to spur additional economic
development.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/
ruralatlas/
http://www.ers.usda.gov/data/ruralatlas/
The BARN
University of Maryland Extension - Western Maryland Research & Education Center
18330 Keedysville Road, Keedysville, MD 21756
301-432-2767 x338 or x301, E-mail: gsmyers@umd.edu or sbarnes6@umd.edu
Editor: Ginger S. Myers
Regional Marketing Specialist, University of Maryland Extension
Director, Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center
The BARN is published quarterly featuring the programs and resources of the
University of Maryland Extension’s (B)usiness Development, (A)g Marketing,
and (R)ural and Community Economic Development (N)etwork.
For more information visit:
Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center
http://www.mredc.umd.edu/
To Subscribe:
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Email Notification: contact us (above address) to be added to our email reflector list
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posted on the web or other important events we would like to share with you.
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Hardcopy subscription: mail check or money order for $10 per year, payable to
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Spring 2011