Floyd County Taskforce: Forest and Agriculture Viability January 18th, 2012 1 PM Attending: Lydeana Martin Dean Gall Dennis Dove Dennis Ann-Margaret Mike Burton Mark Grimson Ann Wilkinson Ann Wilkinson, Dairy Processing Facility feasibility consultant Sustain Floyd Dairy Meeting recap, January 18 AM -hired from Missouri to determine feasibility -possibility of combining dairy facility with food processing facility -- more economically viable -has experience in agricultural communities around the country Lydeana: land required for different kinds of agriculture! Dairy requires lots of land, many farmers lease additional land! Many farmers also hold partially forested land! Communities have a need/desire to keep land in agriculture and forestry --! examples of other community solutions:!! 1. Protect the growth/expansion of urbanization - growth boundaries - clear distinction between rural and urban - NO ZONING in Floyd!! 2. Agricultural easements - Maryland - limited urban encroachment with use of agricultural easements!! 3. Conservation easements!!! -not a big movement in Floyd!! 4. Keep the land in agriculture or forestry!!! -maintain the livelihood of the farmer/landowner!!! -develop alternative revenue streams for landowners!!!! Grow Native: program in Missouri -- sale of native plant!!!! products; supplemental income!!!! Berry production, value-added
!!!! Time horizon with forestry products is much longer than!!!! agriculture!!! Scottish Study: How to add value next?!!!! Sustainable agriculture!!!! Native plants - plant/horticulture use, food use!!!! *USDA funding does not go toward wild-crafted, typically!!!! only for cultivated crops; one can cultivate these products!!!! *Look at what they have done in Europe to protect their!!!! forests; SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research - grants,!!!! studies) Pecan farmers in Missouri: - hodge-podge mix of farmers, all passionate about pecans - brand as native pecans - originated in that area - geographic indications - used to protect the products from a specific agricultural region - to consider in Floyd: develop a GI (will take several years) -- get a name for the region Recommendations: 1. Easements 2. Strategic Planning - see what others have done 3. Geographic Indications - for value-added Designated Heritage Area - National Park Service will help with planning and developing scenic area - collect tourism dollars to leverage Dennis Dove: - one goal is to maintain current land base - develop a value-added product Mike Burton: - majority of our farmers are not full-time farmers -- how to help them? - how to add value to our existing product? Dennis Dove: - brand Floyd as a value-added marketing piece - tax base from farm lands are supporting developed lands - sheep: 98% sheep cheese is imported, Floyd has perfect topography for sheep - Triple rotation: can run multiple species on land (Kansas - Virgin Prairie -- high value land because has never been plowed) - slaughter lambs in facility designed for beef, but not the other way (Grayson! meat plant) - coordinate between three counties: Grayson meat plant (sheep), dairy processing facility - set up standards for the Floyd/region brand
Mike: - to establish a food brand, you have to finish the product - raise foods here, process somewhere else, same standards place-based marketing - food with the place with the people, selling the character of the community -- tied to the people and their culture; only brand that cannot be replicated - only is one place! - can be a geographic region, a population of people - need a strategy in place to retain our farmers and their livelihoods John (Ag Extension): - many farmers supplementing operations with sheep -- additional income on current land acreage Dean: Cheese project -- 3 year payback/out of debt - aging farmers, need to sustain milk production - How to keep these farms in milk production? How to maintain local production for the value-added products? Where are the next farmers coming from? Lydeana: - If the profitability and stability is there, this will be maintained naturally - make market entry easier for new farmers - incorporate banks - access to capital is a main struggle for farmers - driven and successful farmers may not be from Floyd - How do we get them started? And how do we maintain the Floyd brand in these instances? - option: existing landowners make a portion of their land available to new farmers - high land values, but cheap relative to where newcomers are moving from Dean: - To be a successful farmer now, you have to be an exceptional manager; otherwise you lose money hiring others Mark: Solution: Floyd County have its own dairy farm Grayson County Beef - developed the project concept
- laid out vision for facility, project scope Rosetta Beef - markets frozen beef; very successful because of value-added Dairy is more profitable than beef - with cheese and value-added process Three different systems: John: - Opinion: can t interfere with current system for slightly more profit, with the risk of disrupting the current flows - infrastructure: - facilities for value-added provide an avenue for additional product - but, how do we advise current farmers to take advantage of this new opportunity? - farm expenses: shared equipment system (good for small farm operators) - experiences wear and tear - most expensive cost on most farm operations = hay production - systems for share in hay production/rotation - develop system to educate new farmers on the banking and financial systems - working model farm could help fill this role - this task force should pick out two items to work on in the next year; if they don t work out, try for the next two - How do we arrange this list? - What are the short term and long term items, and how do they fit together in the entire strategic plan? Mike: Dairy Facility - want to buy from the coop -- plugging in to the existing system - should not require investment form a producer Is there a way to structure the easement to control market value of the land? - long term lease arrangements - Is there a policy, within Dillon Law and not zoning, that we can designate and protect land as agricultural use? (agriculture and forest districts are not obligatory for landowners) - make access to land more possible - balance the new facilities/projects with protection of lands - we are all beholden to factors outside of our control - political and systemic Dennis: - successful because have established production and distribution systems locally
- if remnants of this system were not already here to need these agricultural services, would not have been as successful - this is doable Any good examples of cooperatives that handle markets, brand development equipments, etc.? - farm supply coops - sell feed, fertilizer, petroleum; joint purchase items for producers - coops got so big that management lost track of being farmer-owned and farmers never got checks - no tie in these models between the equity ownership of individual farmer and the equity in the coop -- has become diluted - are there examples of local communities creating their own coops? First step for the county: - can be to accept conservation easement tax with stipulation for agricultural use - a few years ago: Floyd County tried to block easements that were not in agricultural use; VA Outdoors Foundation replied that this use is not required and Floyd County accepted it Protecting and recharging groundwater in Floyd: - forests are best lands for groundwater recharge - encouragements for easements to forest landowners Define a working farm - can we block of a portion of the land for the household to be treated differently than working lands Need to compile a list of needs, infrastructure, etc. of immediate items, with idea towards a long range plan - need a training ground for new farmers/students Write down ideas that we have heard today and previously, put into a draft vision for the next 10/20 years; receive feedback! - bring to next meeting - hit the ground sharing thoughts