New Study Profiles the Rural Enterprise Center’s achievements in Food and Agriculture as a Rural Development Opportunity

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on January 19, 2010

The Center for Rural Entrepreneurship just released a report on our efforts to incorporate Latino families into the Southern Minnesota economy. The system is based on engaging existing farmers, local resources, and national and regional support networks. The system aims to provide families with a path out of poverty through a replicable and scalable system that follows a step-by-step approach. This approach is designed to build capacity, long-term engagement, is compatible with the rural economic landscape and the realities of struggling small farms, and on the engagement immigrant Latino families as net contributors to strong partnerships for broad-based community success. To read the whole report, click here.

Can Community Supported Poultry Processing Work?

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on November 12, 2009

We posed this question to a group of farmers, food business owners, building/metal contractors, and low-income families in the Northfield/Faribault area. Their response was a solid “YES, it can work.” Of course, if you have ever been at a rally where an energetic speaker gets everyone motivated about something, it is easy to chant “yes, we can.” And even if one does not completely understand whether one actually “can,” it still feels good. Our challenge was to move beyond possibilities and excitement, and figure out how we could turn everyone’s aspirations — especially those of the low-income families (all Latino) — into a successful partnership.

Here is how we made that happen:

First, we worked on a plan for a two-week project to process over 3,000 free range chickens from our two start-up farms in Northfield and Cannon Falls (please don’t try this at home). For the plan to work, we had to secure a physical site on one of the farms, find basic processing equipment, fully pre-train one or two of us on the whole system, design a layout, and complete many other tasks associated with organizing the project and the people. We also needed some cash to purchase basic supplies (boxes, packaging material, ice, LP gas, etc.).

Thousand Hills Cattle Company lent our cooperative (Hillside Farmers Cooperative) the money to purchase the basic processing equipment. Prink Oakridge Farm in Cannon Falls figured out the freezer truck with Thousand Hills, driving and operating the unit, and unloading at the storage facility. Cannon River Machine, figured out the layout and basic processing skills needed so that a team could be trained on the specifics of each aspect of the processing. They also built a large 2 by 8 foot steel platform so we could build a fire under it and heat a large tub of water (saving time and LP gas).

Our program found financial support to cover some of the supplies and materials. Both farms contributed part of their production to compensate each individual who participated in the processing, providing them with a supply of poultry that will feed their families all winter.

A community organizer in Faribault worked to organize 14 individuals to do the processing. In the course of one and a half weeks, we all took turns loading chickens into cages, bringing them over to the site, switching jobs when someone got too tired, wet, cold or all of the above. All this happened during the two weeks that it rained non-stop and got really cold as well. It was physically demanding work under miserable conditions. It was almost as if some higher power was seeing if we would give up on the whole project.

When we finished, all of the birds had been processed and 12 individuals had learned how to do this work efficiently and cost effectively, achieving very competitive production levels. They worked happily and in a relaxed atmosphere. Some children came and played, observed their parents working together, and watched a mix of people of different skin color and backgrounds interact as if issues of race had never existed. Much more happened while this community enterprise took shape. Of course, one part we did not hold back on was the enjoyment of the best chicken stews and grilled chicken you have ever tried.

These families will be ready to start again next spring when the production season begins. Going forward, more families in our region will learn that community supported agriculture includes growing  chickens, but also processing them right on the farm for freshness and health. Perhaps most importantly, we’ll have more opportunities to connect with each other as a community, while supporting those who have been left behind in our current economic system.

Got Blueberries? Time to think about Socially Responsible Options

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on October 30, 2009

Here is a link to ABC news investigation of child labor at blueberry farms in the U.S.

Demographic Changes in Southern MN and the Challenges and Opportunities

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on September 16, 2009

I just saw this article from The Twin Cities Daily Planet about immigrant demonstrations last weekend throughout some of our region’s rural cities and towns. The article does not cover all of the activities, more articles were written in the Post Bulletin and the Owatonna People’s Press. The issue of new immigrants, especially Latino/a in our region is bound to keep growing in its social intensity as well as its importance for the region’s economic vitality. Minnesota 2020 for example, has published some important facts about the role of new immigrants on the schools and the region’s economy, specifically in Worthington, where the Latino population became key in re-energizing the schools and downtown to name two areas positively impacted.

Here at the Rural Enterprise Center, we are concentrated in tapping on the opportunities that this new population represent, specifically the areas of intensive sustainable agriculture that engage existing resources and improve their productive capacity through the incorporation of traditional knowledge that many new immigrant families bring with them. Our current free range poultry and vegetable production system is one clear example of how we can all turn to the positive side of almost any challenging situation, no negative approach has ever produced a positive result, and no reaction to a situation is ever better than a proactive approach.

With this in mind, we will continue to work on our economic development systems, and as we do this, many other approaches will continue to evolve like the ones documented in the reports above. All of this is good, the conversations need to happen and policies and systems that don’t work need to be fixed, sooner or later.

What Does Carleton Football Team and A Latino Farmer Have in Common?

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on September 14, 2009

That the team and Farmer Mercedez Solorzano care about locally produced food and community building is one major thing in common, but there is more. It is a story of community building, I first received an e-mail form Jim Blaha at the Northfield Community Action Center towards the end of July introducing me to the idea from Kurt Rambler, head coach of the Carleton Football Team and their commitment to contributing to the community. Their “problem” as Jim and Kurt put it is “engaging the whole team on a project”, apparently engaging 60 or more people with high energy is sort of a challenge, unless you are a farmer like us. In our work of launching farmers, there is no shortage of large scale projects that never get done because they are so overwhelming and would take more resources than any farmer has, one of these tasks that can involve almost any amount of people is “picking field stones”.

So, we had the whole Carleton Football Team with their coach shouting orders and keeping everyone on track down the field yard-by-yard until they covered the whole field. This step will save a lot of the small farming equipment that will be used to work the land to plant a cover crop this fall and delicious fresh vegetables next spring. Some of them, may even end-up at the Carleton cafeteria next year.

Here is a photo show of the event, don’t mind the groups that became obsessed with digging out the large rocks bare hands.

How and Why Purchase Locally Grown Free Range Poultry in Northfield and Cannon Falls

Posted by Reginaldo Haslett-Marroquin on August 31, 2009

The easiest way to stay connected and purchase poultry from Hillside Farmers Cooperative members is to sign-up to either of the two targeted mailing lists. As a subscriber you will receive information pertaining to especial events, open hours, weekly reminders with instructions to the farms and other information.

All communications are concentrated on making sure that we bring as many families to the farm as possible not only to purchase products, but because building a local food systems requires engagement, knowing the farmers, sharing knowledge, and creating connectedness, especially for the children. A visit to one of our farms is an experience by itself for the children, so if you have children, bring them along and walk around and show them where food really comes from.

For Northfield area residents, sign up by following this link

For Cannon Falls area, follow this link