AG 2011 07 18 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

( www.farmersfreshmark� ), an online ordering company that connects Rutherford County farmers to Charlotte chefs, was mentioned as an example. Farmers would like to see more information available to consumers about how to find farms in Cabarrus County and what products are available. They also mentioned the need to both define "local" and promote the CEFS' 10% campaign to both consumers and businesses. For more about the campaign, see www.cefs.ncsu.edulwhatwedo /foodsystems /1012ercent.html One farmer mentioned that health and wellness often drive local food purchases, and suggested that more consumer education would help producers capitalize on this trend. When asked about price, farmers say it is not a big barrier for most consumers. "Consumer education is 90 percent of the job," said one. Farmers can sell their products for more at Charlotte farmers' market, as long as the product is bagged. Small -scale infrastructure is needed Throughout the 20` century Cabarrus was dominated by the textile industry, which means few investments were made in infrastructure to support agriculture. Today there are no produce processing facilities in the County, and farmers don't have ready access to ways to create value -added products. Farmers commented that a community kitchen facility would be helpful because it would give them a place to wash, cut and store products. Many also cited the need for a cannery. Producers from the Food Policy Council's Food, People and Resources Committee have drafted a wish list for a facility that would help connect small and mid -scale producers with wholesale distributors. They describe a building that would have loading docks, a place to wash produce, plus coolers and freezers. It would most likely be a producer cooperative and ideally, would serve as a distribution point for CSAs and have some retail capability. Notes from the January 2011 committee meeting include $3 million as one cost estimate. Soils and Water Shortages Can Present Challenges Cabarrus soils and climate are adequate, but not ideal, for vegetable production. The County is a drainage area between the Rocky River and Buffalo Creek, which gives it rocky slate belt soils and steep slopes. Cold air sinks into the low lying areas along the slopes, making the County's last frost date April 10, compared to April 1 for Rowan County, which sits up higher on a plateau. The 10 -day difference in these frost dates put Cabarrus farmers two to three weeks behind Rowan farmers in getting products to market. Water can also be a challenge for Cabarrus farmers. Water storage is mostly in shallow aquifers, and wells can have low yields. 7 Attachment number 1 1 -1 Page 242