VALUE ADDED: On January 28, the Driftless Food and Farm Project convened at the Midwest Value Added Conference in Madison.   The purpose of the meeting was twofold.  First, we wanted to continue to provide a venue for introducing project participants to one another.  We did so successfully with an hour long speed networking session.  Thanks to all who participated.

We also heard from Josh Miner, the Farm-to-School Coordinator at La Crosse County Health Department, who talked briefly on the challenges related to pooling products from multiple producer groups, matching of supply and demand, developing an efficient distribution system based on a per-case handling fee and other aggregation and distribution issues.  Here are Josh’s PP slides on Farm-to-School aggregation challenges.   Click here to email him.

RAW MILK CHEESE: Then, on February 3, we joined raw milk cheesemakers from around the region for a session exploring terroir, the “taste of place”, co-sponsored by the Dairy Business Innovation Center.  Presentations included one on the microbiology of terroir in cheese and one on the potential for modifying the French concept of terroir for use in the United States.  We concluded with a tasting menu provided by Madison restaurant L’Etoile and a discussion of ways local cheesemakers can capitalize on the marketing potential of the taste of the Driftless.

Remarkably, the meeting received coverage from both the University of Wisconsin news service and on the Cheese Underground blog.

Here is the workshop agenda and a map of raw milk cheesemakers in Wisconsin.  For more information, contact Michelle Miller from UW-CIAS, or Laurie Greenberg from the Dairy Business Innovation Center.

The Midwest Value Added Conference is next week, January 27 and 28 in Madison.  At that conference we will hold our first Driftless Food and Farm Project meeting of 2011 on Friday morning, January 28 at 10:30.  Conference registration is still open.  Click here for conference registration information.   If you’re still on the fence, we may have a small number of scholarships remaining for people who are active in initiatives relevant to the Driftless Food and Farm Project.  Email us if you are interested.

We will begin our session with a brief introduction to the Driftless region and our project for those who might be new.  We will then segue into a brief presentation from Josh Miner, Farm-to-School Coordinator for the La Crosse County Health Department.  He plans to present one concrete example of the regional food system challenges we’ve been trying to tackle collectively through all our varied projects.  In his case, he’s working on aggregating and processing local food in an efficient way that helps keep local competitive with large-scale national food suppliers.

From there we will break into a speed networking session. Each participant will have two minutes to quickly present his or her food system projects to others.  The idea is that you will connect with others whose skills, experiences and activities will be useful to you.

To make sure that we connect as many people as possible, we ask that you bring approximately 50 copies of your business card.  If you can’t, we will have notecards for you to use.  Please let us know if you have any questions.  See you Thursday and Friday.

P.S. We’ve also posted to the blog a pair of upcoming conferences/events that we think might be of interest to many.  See that post here: http://www.driftless.wisc.edu/?p=139

The Driftless Food and Farm Project Team

2011 Southern Wisconsin Fresh Produce Workshop

Presented by UW Extension

February 8 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, 8:00 am – 4:30 pm

In the morning, the workshop will include a variety of sessions presented by UW Extension Specialists and others on production, disease forecasting, pest management, post-harvest handling and best management practices for fruit and vegetable growers.

In the afternoon, learn about a new Wisconsin fresh market produce packing house opportunity. Come and learn how a packing house works, what you need to know to participate, and other exciting details about this potential new market. You will have the chance to meet with large volume wholesale buyers interested in Wisconsin produce.

And you will also hear about safe food handling and information on the new Federal Food Safety bill and what it means for growers.

Click here for the agenda and registration form or visit http://dane.uwex.edu/ for more information.

“Making Good Food Work”

April 19-21, Detroit, MI

More than 200 entrepreneurs, food industry professionals, non-profits, researchers, and policymakers will convene in Detroit to build strategies for more just and efficient local and regional food distribution.

This conference is designed to be practical and action-oriented. Entrepreneurs, researchers, and others active in local food system work are now invited to propose local food distribution projects and/or research topics that will be further developed and examined over the course of the conference.  Conference organizers are soliciting applications from individuals and organizations to lead teams and hope you will consider submitting your new or existing project or issue idea by February 4, 2011.

Possible projects could include but are not limited to:
*    Researching and outlining a business plan, including start-up costs, for a mobile grocery unit;
*    Developing a strategic plan to increase sales from urban farmers to local restaurants;
*    Laying the groundwork for a multi-state food distribution research proposal;
*    Writing a proposal for a feasibility study for a regional aggregation facility; or
*    Developing food distribution plans for an area identified as a “food desert”

Visit the conference website for more information.

One of our regional partners, Lanesboro Local, recently announced an open position:

MARKET DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Lanesboro Local, Inc., a nonprofit local foods initiative based in Lanesboro, MN, seeks an organized, visionary professional to further develop its local foods business model. The market development director will work with specialty crop producer members to expand product lines and encourage licensed processing, optimize regional food sales in the downtown Marketplace, promote local foods and artisanal goods, and manage administrative tasks in cooperation with an active Board of Directors.

The ideal candidate will have experience with small scale retail food operations, small business development and sustainable agriculture; will relate openly to diverse groups of people; and will enjoy working in a vibrant small town.

This position is funded for one year, with the possibility of extension. Salary is negotiable and competitive.

A full job description is available at www.LanesboroLocal.org. To apply, submit a letter of application, resume, two references and a writing sample to jobs@lanesborolocal.org by November 8, 2010.

Remember we have our next Food and Farm meeting on Tuesday, October 19 in Decorah, Iowa.  If you haven’t yet RSVP’d, please do so immediately by visiting the NE Iowa Food and Fitness page.  Also, please let us know to expect you by sending a quick email.

UW’s Agricultural Innovation Center Offers  Grantwriting Classes

Are you looking for ways to develop your innovative agricultural business?

Sign up for one of four workshops designed to help you identify which federal and state grants might be right for you.  This workshop will also discuss ways to plan your project and strengthen your application. More information is available at: http://bit.ly/bc4Sgd

Four sessions will be offered across Wisconsin at the following locations.  Click on the link above for registration information:

• Monday, November 1st – 9:30 AM To 3:00 PM
  Northeast Technical College, 2740 West Mason St, Rm Sc128, Green Bay, WI

• Thursday, November 4th – 9:30 AM To 3:00 PM
  Village of Lake Hallie Hall, 13033 30th Ave, Chippewa Falls, WI

• Wednesday, December 1st – 9:30 AM To 3:00 PM
  Dodger Bowl, 318 King St, Dodgeville, WI

• Thursday, December 9th – 9:30 AM To 3:00 PM
  Oconomowoc Lake Club, 4668 Lake Club Circle, Oconomowoc, WI
  
  

The agenda for the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Conference on October 19 in Decorah has been released and the Driftless Food and Farm Project has a place in it.    We have a 75-minute breakout session in the afternoon beginning at 1:15. With our time we plan to introduce the project, facilitate networking among professionals from around the region and augment the strategy map we began to build at the last meeting.

Please consider joining us.  We have reserved two vans to transport people from the Madison/ SW WI area. One van leaves on Monday 10/18 around noon, the other at a time TBD on either Monday or early Tuesday.  A limited number of travel scholarships may be available.  If you are interested in joining us please email us.  For carpool requests, use our blog’s comments section.

For more info on the conference itself, you can visit the conference website here. The agenda is here. Registration is free and requested by October 8.  Much of the conference is devoted to the constellation of issues surrounding farm to school programs.

Finally, in case you missed it, you can access a copy of our recent Driftless promotional document, released last month, on the blog as well.

Hope to see you in a few weeks.

Driftless Food and Farm Publication Released

In response to the outcomes of our series of meetings during the past year, the team behind Driftless Food and Farm and UW-Madison CIAS recently issued a short promotional document to highlight the context and need for an organization such as ours and to highlight some of our recent activities.  Click her to download the report. Use the comment section below to let us know what you think.

We will have copies available in Decorah in October, or email us if you’d like hard copies to distribute.

Food hubs (regional aggregation points) have been identified by many as a clear need for scaling up Good Food. Have you picked the right place and time to build your food hub? What are the area’s resources and needs? How can you tailor your business to best meet those needs?

These questions can be answered by using a business planning approach, starting by completing a feasibility study. A crucial first step when embarking on a new venture, a feasibility study carefully examines the context into which the new undertaking would fit, and attempts to determine its likelihood of success.

This workshop-style webinar will step through two hot-off-the-presses food hub feasibility studies to illustrate how you might go about assessing your potential food hub venture. These studies also demonstrate two very different value chain environments, and come to some different conclusions.

Presenters:
Jim Slama, Founder and President, FamilyFarmed.org

2. Brownfields and Urban Agriculture Reuse Special Webinar Series – Click here for the  series flyer.

October 7, 1-3 PM CST: Policy Barriers and Incentives to Reusing Brownfields for Community Gardens and Urban Agriculture.  Register Now

This webinar will explore policy issues surrounding the growing of plants and food on urbaninfill lots, including:

How do existing state Voluntary Clean-up Programs address urban agriculture issues?

How does urban agriculture fit in to existing programs for land use determination?

What are the property control and ownership considerations for urban agricultureprojects?

How should economic development drivers influence decisions for using urban agriculture as a revitalization strategy?

How are innovative cities working within or changing their policy structure to make urban agriculture work for them?

Scheduled presenters include: Marcia Caton Campbell, Center for Resilient Cities; Amy Yersavich and Vanessa Steigerwald, Ohio EPA; Kathy Dickhut, City of Chicago; and Jenn Bildersee, City of Portland, OR.

We’re still finalizing details on our next event, but start making travel plans now.

Driftless Food and Farm Fall 2010 Meeting
Luther College, Decorah, IA.
October 19, 2010, 9 am to 2:30 pm

Email driftlessfoodandfarm@gmail.com to make sure you receive an invitation. Stay tuned for more details.