Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 1524 |
| Work Detail | Agriculture contributes more than $40 billion and 173,000 jobs to Colorado’s economy every year, according to the state program that promotes local food and agricultural products. In more digestible numbers, that includes: 26 million pounds of peaches 1.19 million watermelon 97.7 million ears of sweet corn 200 million pounds of onions 56 million pounds of cabbage But today’s crop of farmers face a decidedly different environment than their parents and grandparents, a panel of Colorado agricultural producers said Monday at a farm-to-table lunch hosted by Colorado Proud. “Consumers, they want to meet growers now,” said Michael Hirakata, a fourth-generation farmer at Hirakata Farms in Rocky Ford. For farmers who would much rather be in a field of cantaloupes than in front of a crowd, that means stepping outside their comfort zone and getting better at telling their farm’s story — something that became increasingly important for Hirakata Farms in the aftermath of a 2011 listeria outbreak traced to Rocky Ford cantaloupe grown on another farm in the area, he said. That includes sharing photos and videos on social media to provide an inside look at the farm and how far along the melons are, he said. “You’ve got to be engaged,” Hirakata said. “You can’t just wait for someone to say, ‘Well, that was a great piece of produce.’ You’ve got to say, ‘This is great, my family’s been doing this for 100 years, let me show you how we’ve done it. Let me show you what we’re doing to put that on your table.’ It’s a hard thing to do, but I think it has to be done.” Tagging programs that provide traceability are another opportunity to help consumers better understand where their food is coming from, said Kate Petrocco of Petrocco Farms, a large family-owned and -operated vegetable farm in Brighton. “We ship 60,000-80,000 pounds of produce to King Soopers seven days a week, we deliver to Safeway a few times a week, we’re in Sprouts a few times a week,” Petrocco said. “There’s a little bit of a disconnect with the consumer where they’re not aware that major retailers are now focusing their produce locally.” The farm-to-table movement, though, could potentially pay dividends for the future of farming, she said. “Our kids see how challenging it is to make a living like this. If there’s a weather event, if there’s hail, it’s a 100 percent loss for us, we don’t get to replant. We don’t have insurance. It’s gone,” Petrocco said. “I have 7-year-old boy and girl twins who are still theoretically interested, but we’ll see how it goes. “The use of technology and the consumer understanding of what it takes might shift that a little bit,” she said. “I hear from consumers more and more every month, people who are interested in food production and want to know where their food comes from.” First-generation farmers James Plate and Max Fields grew up in Denver and said the cost of getting started in the business is still huge. They opened their small vegetable farm, Fields to Plate Produce in Durango, with help from an incubator program through Fort Lewis College. “We sell out faster every single year than the year previous, even though we’re producing more year to year,” Plate said. “There’s a growing demand from consumers, from wholesale buyers, from everybody, but it comes down to having access to land and water.” |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Food & Agriculture |
| Entry Date | 02 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.denverpost.com/2016/08/29/colorado-farmers-use-new-tools-teach-public-about-agriculture-industry/ |
