High School Students and Agriculture in Northfield

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on May 2, 2007

Spring is here!, summer is coming, fields will be turning green soon.

At a recent meeting held at Just Foods Coop in Northfield, 6 Latino/a students from the Northfield High School met with me to prepare the plan to grow black turtle beans this summer. Craig and Linda Wasner, my neighbors at 315th. St. have agreed to rent us 2 acres to grow the black turtle beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). If all goes well, I hope we can rent more land and expand the operation in 2008.

This plan goes past growing and “counting beans”, the purpose is to provide the students with an opportunity to manage a project from start to end, get them involved with the natural processes of agriculture, learn to watch the weather and the countless aspects of growing plants, and learn more about the science behind growing good quality products.

This project is especially important because it is also a way to re-claim an ethnic food that has existed in Latin America’s for more than 7,000 years and together with native corn and squash varieties has served as the foundation of Latin America’s food system. After the harvest, students will also manage the marketing process, and weather to grow beans again next year.

If we get to the end of this project without major disruptions (pests, weather, etc.), the production should be around 2,000 pounds, or about $4,000 of gross income, if product is sold directly to consumers, it will also represent a new opportunity for the local Latino/a population to come together and re-connect with the land and a healthy food option. Markets have been developed in Minneapolis and Northfield for 2 and 10 pound packages. The local food coop and other food cooperative stores in the region have confirmed interest in Minnesota grown black turtle beans which currently come mostly from other states or overseas.

During the summer months, you may also see the same students on a green wagon at the farmers market in Northfield as they have agreed to help market some of the vegetables that my wife and I grow in our one acre garden.