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Upcoming Workshops
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NCGT will provide an in-depth workshop for Extension agents interested in hosting their own Postharvest Handling trainings. The session will include information about logistics, the lecture and presentation, and the hands-on grading, packing, and cooling demonstrations that can be used at these events. This event is part of the annual N.C. Cooperative Extension Conference.
Learn how to utilize high tunnels to extend your season and maximize your profits at this in-depth training, which covers construction methods and materials, varietal research, and other practical tools for producers interested in season extension.
This is a two-part workshop aimed at providing farmers with the tools to identify hazards on their farm; to prepare a food safety hazard assessment; and to create and implement a custom food safety plan that integrates the farm's practices while meeting market requirements for GAP certification.
Learn how to utilize high tunnels to extend your season and maximize your profits at this in-depth training, which covers construction methods and materials, varietal research, and other practical tools for producers interested in season extension.
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| New Resource Spotlight: On-Farm Infrastructure Toolkit |
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The NC Growing Together project has teamed up with the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association to develop an On-Farm Infrastructure Toolkit to provide small-scale, limited-resource fruit and vegetable producers with the information they need to build scale appropriate postharvest handling facilities.
This is an early release version; the complete toolkit will be released in March 2017.
Download the On-Farm Infrastructure Toolkit
here.
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| About NCGT |
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GOAL | Bring more locally-grown foods - produce, meat, dairy, and seafood - into mainstream retail and food service supply chains, thus enhancing food security by increasing access to local foods and by strengthening the economics of small to mid-sized farm and fishing operations.
STRATEGY |
Identify the most promising solutions by which local production and associated value-added activities can enter local retail and food service markets, pilot these solutions in North Carolina, and evaluate and report the results for the benefit of other states and regions.
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Greetings all,
Thanks for reading our monthly newsletter and please let us know what you think.
Sincerely,
The NCGT Management Team
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NCGT Offers Resources, Food Safety Training for Cheesemakers and Dairy Producers
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| Packaging chevre at Buffalo Creek Farm and Creamery |
In October, NC Growing Together offered a day-long training
for cheesemakers and dairy producers focusing on the basics of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and food safety planning. More than 25 producers attended the workshop at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, which was led by Dr. Michele Pfannenstiel, C.E.O. of Dirigo Food Safety.
"I had taken an online HACCP course previously but the task seemed so overwhelming that I had done nothing with the information. This course gave practical advice on safe food handling in a way that made it seem doable," said participant David DiLoreto of Fading D Farm in Salisbury, NC. "We now have the tools to codify the practices that will ensure that everyone knows and follows the same safe procedures. We have already started SOPs in all of our areas of milk and cheese handling."
Resources shared at the workshop include:
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| Season Extension Brings New Market Possibilities for North Carolina Farmers |
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NCGT-sponsored High Tunnel day-long intensive at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association conference.
North Carolina has ample sunshine and rain, great soils, and - with season extension techniques - the possibility of year-round production to fill local market opportunities. NCGT is capitalizing on this opportunity by offering a series of five season extension workshops over winter 2016 and spring 2017.
Workshops will focus on high and low tunnels:
low-tech, low-cost tools that allow growers to extend the growing season of vegetables and small fruit crops. Topics will include microclimate characteristics, ideal planting dates for cool and warm season vegetable crops, labor and material costs, and best management practices for pests and fertility. All workshops will include the opportunity to see high/low tunnels in use.
Workshops are geared toward producers selling into wholesale markets, as well as Extension Agents who are assisting growers with wholesale market expansion. Speakers including Dr. Sanjun Gu, horticulture extension specialist with the Cooperative Extension Program at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, county Cooperative Extension agents, and
other experts who will offer a variety of tools to assist growers in maximizing the efficient use of high tunnels.
NCGT also sponsored a full-day intensive at last week's Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Sustainable Agriculture Conference. The intensive was attended by nearly 4
0
people and featured CFSA's keynote speaker, farmer Clara Coleman of Four Season Farm in Maine.
Coleman gave practical, hands-on advice on building inexpensive DIY tunnels for year-round production.
Participants also heard from Foster-Caviness and FreshPoint wholesale buyers about market opportunities for farmers who use season extension, and toured two area farms - Maple Spring Gardens and Ten Mothers Farm - that use season extension for their late-fall production.
Winter 2016/Spring 2017 Season Extension Workshops:
- February 8 in Jacksonville, NC | Info/registration coming soon!
- March 27 in Concord, NC | Info/registration coming soon!
- March 30 in Greensboro, NC | Info/registration coming soon!
For a full list of upcoming events, please visit the
NCGT website.
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| NC State Poole College of Management MBA Student Teams Investigate Business Opportunities in Local Food Supply Chains |
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| Working Landscapes staff and MBA students in Warrenton, NC. |
NC Growing Together has been sponsoring
MBA student teams from NC State University's
Poole College of Management
to investigate food business processes and supply chain issues across the local-to-mainstream food supply chain since 2013.
In spring 2016, a team worked with Hillsborough-based NCGT partner
Seal the Seasons
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a local frozen produce company that freezes fresh North Carolina fruits and vegetables in order to make local produce available year-round. The students examined the business case for expansion from retail grocery to food service markets. The team considered local market conditions, conducted financial modeling for the institutional market, and made product-specific recommendations.
"It was really helpful to have excited, interested students working on this project. They were responsive, inquisitive, and thought outside the box," said Seal the Seasons C.E.O. Patrick Mateer. The team recommended that Seal the Seasons market a frozen corn product in addition to its frozen berry products, and recommended purchasing a corn kernel remover to save time and labor costs in processing the corn.
"This confirms what we thought," said Mateer, "and gives us the research and data to move forward with confidence. Now we can focus on bringing more farmers into the organization and get working in new markets." The report also confirmed that Seal the Season can operate profitability selling into food service markets with the right pricing structure.
"We're already selling into UNC, and will be pursuing additional schools and hospitals," says Mateer. In addition to corn, the company will also be looking at branching out into additional fruits and vegetables in 2017. Find the full report, Seal the Seasons: The Business Case for Expansion into Food Service Markets on the NCGT website.
An MBA team is currently working with NCGT partner
Working Landcapes
to conduct a f
easibility study of the non-profit producing a local frozen meatball product.
For more information on NCGT's work with MBA student teams, student researchers, and student apprentices, contact
Rebecca Dunning.
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Project Contact Information
Nancy Creamer,
Co-Director of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems, NC State University; and Project Director, NC Growing Together,
nancy_creamer@ncsu.edu
, 919-515-9447
John Day,
NCGT Seafood and Dairy Supply Chain Development Lead,
john_day@ncsu.edu
, 704-785-6670
Emily Edmonds, NCGT Extension and Outreach Program Manager, emelders@ncsu.edu, 828-399-0297
Laura Lauffer
, Project Coordinator, Local Farms and Food, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Cooperative Extension Program,
ldlauffe@ncat.edu
, 336-285-4690
This project is supported by the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative competitive grant no. 2013-68004-20363 of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
© 2013-2016 NC Growing Together
www.ncgrowingtogether.org
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