Center for Environmental Farming Systems

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Center for Environmental Farming Systems
Mission To develop and promote agricultural
systems that protect the environment, enhance
rural and urban communities, and provide economic
opportunities in North Carolina and beyond

• Partnership initiated in 1994
• 2000 acre facility in Goldsboro plus

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Our approach

• Provide a research base to facilitate transition
  to more economically viable systems of
  production. Short and long-term studies.
• Large-scale research serves as a demonstration
  and training site for farmers, extension agents,
  educators, and students.
• Training young people through farm apprentice
  program, internship program, and other venues.
• Community-based food systems Farm-to-Fork

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Structure of CEFS

• Farming Systems Research Unit
• Organic Unit
• Small Farm Unit
• Alternative swine Unit
• Pasture-based dairy Unit
• Pasture-based beef Unit
• Energy
• Community based food systems
• Academic Programming

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Core Guiding Principles of CEFS

• Integration of research/extension/teaching
• Interdisciplinary stakeholder inclusive
• Large-scale
• Long-term
• Sustainability
• Partnership

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Farming Systems Research Unit
81 hectare long-term study Comparison of 5 systems
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Example publications

• Bell, M., C. Razckowski, S. Hu, and G.B. Reddy.
  Soil property Indices for assessing short-term
  changes in soil quality. 2008. Renewable
  Agriculture and Food Systems. 23(1) 70-79.
• Casteel, M. J., M D. Sobsey, andJ. P. Mueller.
  2006. Fecal Contamination of Agricultural Soils
  Before and After Hurricane-Associated Flooding in
  North Carolina. Journal of Environmental Science
  and Health Part A. 41173184.
• Tu, C., F.J. Louws, N.G. Creamer, J.P. Mueller,
  C. Brownie, K. Fager, M. Bell, and S. Hu. 2006.
  Responses of soil microbial biomass and N
  availability to transition strategies
  fromconventional to organic farming systems.
  Agriculture, Ecosystems, and Environment.
  113206-215.
• Zhang W.J., W.Y. Rui, C. Tu, H.G. Diab, F.J.
  Louws, J.P. Mueller, N. Creamer, M. Bell, M.G.
  Wagger, S. Hu. 2005. Responses of soil microbial
  community structure and diversity to agricultural
  deintensification. Pedosphere 15, 440-447.

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Small Farm Unit
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Small Farm Unit

• Demonstrations and research applicable to
  small-scale farmers
• Training for extension agents, farmers, other
  agriculture professionals
• Range of other educational programming including
  school children
• Integrated crops/animals
• High tunnels
• Energy conservation and use
• Market development

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Organic Research Unit

• Agronomic and horticulture
• Cover crop integration (summer and winter)
• Organic reduced-till
• Critical weed free periods
• Beneficial insect habitat
• Allelopathy
• Systemic induced resistance
• Statewide Organic Grain Program

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Pasture-based Dairy and Beef Units

• Examine seasonal dairy management and rotational
  grazing (stocking rates, etc).
• Breeds that tolerate summer heat and flies.
• Alternative pest management strategies.
• Alternative wormers and alternatives to
  antibiotics.
• Conduct pasture management research, training
  schools, and internships.

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Alternative Swine Unit

• Hoop houses
• Antibiotic-free herd
• Integrating with outdoor production
• Outdoor farrowing
• Outdoor pig production
• Pasture management

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Energy

• Cooperative grants with the National Center for
  Appropriate Technology
• Focus on conservation, on-farm energy savings,
  energy audits
• Educational component
• Innovative ways for using energy crops
• SARE PDP training

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Internship and Apprenticeship Programs

• Summer internships
• 3-month plus apprenticeships

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Extension Taking results to growers

• Farmer field days
• Extension agent training
• Farm conferences

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Seasons of Sustainable Agriculture36 workshops
this Season

• Small Fruit Production
• Making the Web Work for your Farm business
• Maintaining Breeding Flocks for Pasture Poultry
• Twilight Tours
• Organic Grain Production

• Gardening with Kids
• Community-Based Food Systems
• Fueling the Farm
• Bugs in the Garden
• Why Buy Local
• Gastrointestinal Parasite Control

Reaching out to broader constituents
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Reaching Broader Constituents

• Fall Festival
• 1000 participants
• Educational displays
• Kids activities
• Farmers market
• Food
• Annual Lecture
• Farm-to-Fork Picnic

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Reaching Broader Constituents

• New Partners
• Economic development
• Health and Nutrition
• Land Preservation
• Environmental Organizations
• Consumer Groups
• Educators

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Changing Agricultural Landscape

• Changes and trends in agriculture
• Volatile and higher energy prices
• Labor issues
• Natural resource issues (climate change, water,
  soil)
• Rising age of farmers
• Rural community decline
• Farm subsidy shifts (current and future)
• Consumer interest local, sustainable, organic
• Public health interest fresh and local
• Opportunities to utilize sustainable agriculture
  to meet the needs of growers, businesses, the
  environment, and communities

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Loss of Farms

• Farms/communities In the last 20 years we have
  lost 300,000 farms in the US. Two percent of the
  farms grow greater than 50 of the food. Average
  farmer earns only14 of his/her income from the
  farm (USDA Commission on Small Farms, 1998).
• There are now more people in prison than on
  farms.
• Implications of less viable rural communities?

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North Carolina Farms

• 100,000 farms in 1976
• 73,000 farms in 1986
• 55,000 farms in 2001
• 83 of counties lost farms between 1997 and 2002
• Tied for first in farm loss nationally

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Food Security

• Four firms control 87 of beef slaughter, 66 of
  pork slaughter, 55 of poultry, 62 of milling.
  Less than 4 of the farms produce 66 of the
  vegetables (Heffernan et al) .
• Agriculture is going the same trend as most
  industries consolidation and then moving
  overseas
• Agriculture is unique (daily requirement for the
  entire population) and should be protected.
• Should not become dependent on Foreign Food as we
  are on foreign oil.

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Changing Consumer Landscape

• Consumer interest local, sustainable, organic,
  fresh
• 70 percent of consumers want to know where their
  food comes from and would pay more for locally
  grown food if they could find it (packaged facts,
  2007)
• Local food is now a 5 billion industry. Many new
  retailers.
• Farmers markets increased 18 percent between
  1994-2006
• Resurgence of home gardening

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Changing Consumer Landscape

• Public Health Interest obesity, diabetes,
  nutrition
• Increasingly, trends in obesity and diabetes are
  being tied to the current food system.
• Convergence of interest, funding agencies
  sustainable agriculture, health, nutrition

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Changing Consumer Landscape

• Recognizing the concept of food deserts and
  unequal access to healthy and nutritious foods.
• 21 percent of children in North Carolina are
  living in poverty.
• Over 13 percent of households in NC are
  considered food insecure (36 percent of children
• Eleven percent of NCs children do not have
  health insurance and 16 percent of NCs youth are
  overweight.
• Average grocery store is 2.5 times smaller in
  poor neighborhoods (with higher prices).

We dont want two food systems.
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Definitions.. Food System

• The Food System covers everything from farming
  and agricultural practices to the manufacture and
  packaging of food and food products. It also
  includes the transportation, sale, distribution,
  and consumption of food as well as the waste
  that it generates.

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Community-Based Food Systems

• Sustainable food production, processing,
  distribution, and consumption are integrated to
  enhance the economic, environmental, social, and
  nutritional health of a particular place
  (Feenstra, 2006)

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Building a Local Food Economy

• Average household spends 3600 per year per
  person on food (USDA ARS) half spent in the
  home.
• If just 5 of the 1800 was spent on Local
  (.25/person/day)
• With 8,8000,000 people in the state (US Census,
  2006), local food sales would total 792.00
  million.
• To meet this demand, we need enhanced local
  processing, distribution, transportation
  infrastructure, more farmers growing diverse
  products
• This all translates to economic development and
  jobs.

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Community-Based Food Systems

• Money circulates in a locale, rather than leaving
  the locale. There is a multiplier
• Create a more secure food supply in the face of
  homeland security and natural disaster concerns.
• Can work to encourage consumption of healthy,
  fresh, and un-processed foods

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Community-Based Food Systems

• Decrease the use of fossil fuels for transporting
  food, reducing agricultures dependence on finite
  oil reserves.
• Takes advantage of growing consumer interest in
  buying local, farmland preservation, and
  protection of natural resources.

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Sustainable community-based food systems include

• New market development (direct, institutional,
  retail, wholesale options)
• Targeted consumer education making connections to
  nutrition, health, environment, energy
  conservation, land preservation, social
  responsibility
• New business development
• Inter-institutional and inter-agency support for
  beginning farmers
• New agriculture policies
• Education for next generation of leaders
  (including school-age children)

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Wayne County Local Food Initiative

• Cooperative Project with many partners
• Hippie Dippie included..
• Gillings- After school assessment
• Community Food Assessment
• Community Gardens
• Youth engagement
• Consumer campaign
• Heifer International

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OpportunitiesFarm to School
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Farm-to-School

• Serve healthy meals in school cafeterias
• Improving student nutrition
• Provide health and nutrition education
  opportunities
• Support local small farmers
• Sometimes incorporate gardening

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Farm-to-School Barriers

• Schools have roughly 1.00/student to spend on a
  nutritious lunch -- less than the cost of a
  single Farmers Market tomato.
• Schools have removed kitchens and replaced them
  with rewarming centers (and knives arent allowed
  at schools!)
• Seasonal availability (and scale issues),
• Liability insurance requirements
• Lack of processing equipment and distribution
  networks for farmers to deliver what schools want

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Farm-to-School Barriers

• Procurement policies mandate buying from lowest
  bidder.
• Regional preferences for procurement is
  prohibited. But not anymore..
• Dealing with multiple supplies

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Farm to School Resources

• http//www.farmtoschool.org/
• National farm-to-school network with everything
  you need to know to connect to others in your
  state, funding sources, policy ideas, working
  models, etc.

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Farm-to-Institution

• Small-scale farmers gain new and reliable
  markets.
• Farm-to- Hospital
• Farm-to College
• Consumers gain access to high-quality, healthy
  foods.
• More food dollars invested in local economy.

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Farm-to-Hospital

• Duke Medical Center Farmers Market
• Kaiser Permanente hosts 25 organic farmers
  markets at hospitals in 5 states
• Waterloo, Iowa farmers market at Allen Memorial
  Hospital
• Munson Medical Center, Traverse City, Michigan

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Farm-to-Workplace
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) at Research
Triangle Institute
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Farm-to-Workplace

• http//www.cefs.ncsu.edu/rticsa.htm
• http//www.localharvest.org/csa/

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Farmers Markets

• About 2800 farmers' markets and
• 20,000 farmers were operating in
• the United States in 2000 a 63
• increase from 1994.
• For more information, Departments of Agriculture
  and Cooperative Extension, NGOs.

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Farmers Markets
Wayne County Health Department
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Community Gardens

• Providing a catalyst for neighborhood development
• Stimulating social interaction
• Encouraging self-reliance
• Producing nutritious food
• Reducing family food budgets
• Demonstrating sustainable gardening practices
• Creating opportunities for recreation, exercise,
  and education.

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Food Security

• Food Justice
• Food Access
• http//foodsecurity.org/

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Farm to Fork Building a Local Food Economy in
North Carolina

• Statewide initiative
• Numerous partners
• Regional Meetings
• Issues Working Groups
• Summit (March 2 and 3)
• State Action Plan