St. Louis Gateway Greening

I got a chance this Tuesday to go to St. Louis and meet Mara Higdon and Annie Mayrose for a tour of Gateway Greening. Gateway Greening is a community garden organization which promotes urban neighborhood vitality and stability, healthy living and quality of life through community food projects, education and wellness programs, and civic greening. They are working with aproximately 180 gardens, in addition to dozens of schools in St. Louis to improve the appearance of neighborhoods, inspire and educate gardeners.

They also started City Seeds, an urban farming project, whose mission is to foster self-sufficiency in addicted and chronically mentally ill homeless; increase production and distribution of locally grown fresh food for low-income residents, and provide nutrition and food preparation/preservation programs. Much of the produce is sold at Tower Grove Farmers' Market, North City Farmers' Market, and Maplewood Farmers' Market.

Go to their website to find out more, get involved, and volunteer.

A Berry Patch Visit in Bolivar

Located in the heart of the Ozarks, about 4 1/2 miles north of Bolivar, in southwest Missouri is The Berry Patch owned by Jim and Cecilia Gulick. I recently visited this agritourism operation with my niece Sydnee, nephews Hunter and Luke and sister-in-law Kara. I decided to take some of my family to the farm on a recent farm visit because my niece and nephews had never had the opportunity to pick berries before and I think that is an experience that everyone should have. The Gulick’s were kind enough to welcome us all for a berry picking day in July and let the kids take home the blackberries they picked , although I think there were a lot more berries eaten on the farm.

The operation offers a delicious variety of homemade jellies and jams made from the acres of berries grown on the family farm and customers can purchase freshly picked raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. Jelly and jam flavors include blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry, all grown pesticide free and hand picked from sunup to sundown during the summer growing season; and apple butter made from fresh Jonathan apples purchased from local orchards.

The Gulick’s sell off the farm, on the internet and at area farmers’ markets in southwest Missouri. If you are interested in purchasing berries, jams or jellies contact Jim and Cecilia Gulick at mailto:atmberrypatch1@windstream.net or toll free: (800) 983-9021.

Eat Local, Buy Missouri Media Coverage

Brownfield Ag News attended the Eat Local, Buy Missouri Media Tour this past week. Brownfield's Julie Harker video taped much of the local foods tour and posted the video recently. Here is the web story from Brownfield:

Missouri Ag Director takes "Eat Local, Buy Missouri" tour

Missouri Ag Director Don Steen ate all locally grown foods on Wednesday. Brownfield joined Steen on his Eat Local, Buy Missouri tour in the Columbia area, where he made stops for breakfast and lunch and purchased local foods to eat at dinnertime, "We want to encourage people to buy this local produce. Not only is it better for you, it's probably better for your pocketbook and it helps the farmers in the local area supplement their income."

The tour began at ShoMe Farms where Steen purchased beef steak, then went to Peach Tree Farms, Café Berlin, Les Bourgeois winery, Columbia Farmers Market and the Boone County Farmers Market, "It's been a great day. And I think it's highlighted how much agriculture can be, from one end to the other, and I've enjoyed it."

This Eat Local, Buy Missouri tour highlights the upcoming Missouri Farmers Market week August 3rd through August 9th.

Madison County Farmers' Market Visit

Lane and I have been on the road and visiting farmers' markets in southeast Missouri the last two days. Tuesday evening Lane and I traveled to Fredericktown to enjoy a visit at the Madison County Farmers' Market. The Madison County Farmers' Market was just established this year, and they are having great success in their first market season. With some very enthusiastic vendors at the site, you could feel their true passion and love for their new farmers' market.

Even though its only their first year of existence, Madison County Farmers' Market had a wide variety of items for consumers to purchase. Some vendors had beautiful cut flowers such as zinnias and large sunflowers, while other vendors were selling high quality produce including zucchinis, carrots, and even red beets! Local baked goods along with many varieties of herbs were also available. The vendors at the Madison County Farmers' Market had a steady stream of customers throughout the entirety of our visit, and most producers sold out before the end of the evening.

After our visit to the market, Lane and I were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the farm of the market manager, Karen Yates. Karen had an impressive layout of three large garden plots, rows in their field of fresh flowers, plus a several acres of sweet corn. While only two people help with the harvesting of all their produce, they have managed to plant numerous varieties of tomatoes and green beans, most of which will be sold at the Madison County Farmers' Market soon.

As we approached the Madison County Farmers' Market, Lane and I were pleased to see the "Farmers' Market Open Today" banner proudly hung in front of the market. As we were leaving the market, we were also pleased to see happy customers walking away from happy producers. Working together towards a locally supported community is what farmers' markets are all about.

Fahrmeier Field Day Makes a Big Hit!

Yesterday in Lexington, Missouri, more than 70 producers and other agriculturists interested in expanding their knowledge of new farming techniques gathered at Fahrmeier Farms. Fahrmeier Farms is a family farm focused on specialty crop production using progressive agricultural technologies.

Fahrmeier Farms hosted a farm field day to promote specialty crops and provide education to producers. The Fahrmeiers have been expanding their operation in the last few years, and the field day featured some of their new growth including the use of HayGrove high tunnels for two acres of vegetables on their farm.

Brandon Fahrmeier, who helps with the family operation said, "We find it beneficial to share knowledge as well as learn from other growers. High tunnels have changed our business and made us better growers, making it easier to grow high quality products."

In the morning, Bob Perry from Perry Agricultural Lab shared with the field day participants the importance of soil care to a specialty crop operation, and then Robin Franks from Netafilm Irrigation spoke about how irrigation and water sources affect farming.

After a complimentary lunch, Missouri Director of Agriculture, Katie J. Smith, spoke about the affects of specialty crops on Missouri's economy and how it is a growing sector of the agriculture, the number one industry in Missouri.

Later in the day, Ralph Cramer described the benefits of utilizing HayGrove high tunnels in farming, and then participants got to see those close up as they toured Fahrmeier Farms. To conclude the second Fahrmeier Field Day, Brandon and Bret Fahrmeier led those attending the field day on a tour of their farm.

The Fahrmeier Field Day attracted people from all over the state and even some from neighboring states. The Fahrmeiers are proud of their growth and want to share what they have learned with other producers so the specialty crop industry can grow and be successful.

The Fahrmeiers will be opening their winery soon and will be hosting Tomato Days on August 2, 2008. For more information, check out the Tomato Days blog at http://annualtomatodays.blogspot.com/ or call 816-289-2496.

New Markets Opened for Business

The Branson Farmers’ Market opened up Saturday, May 10 for the first time ever! This new market is located downtown Branson, right off of Main Street on the corner of 114 West Pacific and business 65. The market will run Saturdays, May –October, 7am – Noon.

(PHOTO: Branson Farmers' Market Sign, May 10, 2008)

I was in the Branson area on Saturday for a fishing trip, so I dropped by the market and met with the market master and all the vendors. Some familiar faces, as one of the vendors I knew, also sells at the Ozark Farmers’ Market. The weather wasn’t perfect for a shopping day, but the market had pretty good traffic through it for a brand new market.

Another new market that I recently visited was the Crown Center Farmers’ Market in Kansas City, located in the heart of the Crown Center, right off of Grand Street.

A few of the vendors that I’ve become friends with are selling at this new market and have been saying wonderful things about the great location and impressive sales they have experienced.

The location is located by the Hallmark building and the sounds of the many waterfalls and music are heard in the background on the voices of consumers shopping for items such as fresh organic meat, baked goods, beautiful home-grown flowers, onions, orchids, strawberries and much more!

If you are traveling in the Branson or Kansas City areas, stop in talk with the farmers. Or, if you are farmer looking for another place to sell your products you can contact the market manages:

Branson Farmers' Market
Dave King
bransonbills@tri-lakes.net
Phone: 417 335-5281

Crown Center Farmers' Market
Alice Herman
customerservice@valuedvenues.com
Phone: 816-792-2670

Farmers' Market and Strawberry Farm Visits This Weekend

The Mtn. Grove Farmers’ Market opened up its 2009 season on a cold and blustery weekend this past Saturday. It was cloudy and a little frigid the morning on the market, but customers were stopping by to purchase items such as honey, strawberry plants, hanging baskets, asparagus, vegetable plants, bird houses and much more. All products are grown and made by each vendor of the market. The vendors at the MG markets take great pride not only in their farmers’ market, but there hometown.

The Mtn. Grove Farmers’ Market is open May through October on the square Saturdays - 7:00 am - 12:00 pm and Tuesdays and Thursdays - 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Saturday might have started off cloudy and cold, but by noon the sun peeked out and the warming began, just when I was headed north of Mtn. Grove to do a farm visit with the Simpson family.

The Simpson family started in commercial grape production in the early 1970s and has expanded their grape operation to 16 areas of Catawba grapes. Today, the Simpson Farm offers a wide variety of fresh fruits, strawberries, blackberries, pre picked blueberries, candy sweet onions, vine ripened tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, spring flowers and fall mums, pumpkins, as well as Fall Farm Tours that include a tour of an historic log cabin and blacksmith’s shop on the farm.

The Simpson Farm was one of the first commercial strawberry operations, in Missouri, to convert from the matted row method of strawberry production to the plasticulture method. All of the strawberries grown at Simpson’s are now grown on plastic. Education and entertainment are also a large part of the overall farm operation.

The strawberriers are almost ready for picking and I had a hard time visiting the farm and not being able to pick some fresh berries. View photos from my tour with at the Simpson Farm.

Want to U-Pick Your Berries or Pumpkins?
Simpson Farm U-Pick Schedule and Location:
8748 Simpson Rd. (right off Highway 95 N..look for the sign)
Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. or until picked out.
When strawberries and pumpkins are producing we will open on Saturday and Sunday 1:00 p.m. till 5:00 p.m. or until picked out.

Markets Opening State-Wide

The first of May means this weekend markets across the state will be opening for the season. Radishes, lettuce, bedding plants, baked goods, honey, farm fresh eggs, asparagus, beets, chives, onions and peas are many of the items you will find at the market during this time.

There have been many news stories on the increase in the number of Missouri markets and the importance of eating healthy through your local farmers’ market that I have ran across lately.

Soulard Market Manager Sandra Zak passed along a recent story with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Food fresh from the farm are available at local markets” that many might find of interest.

Also, there have been some calls about if there would be any berries to pick this year. After last year's late freeze diminished many yields, early predictions this year are for bumper crops, especially of fruits. You can find a listing of pick-your-own fruit operations across Missouri on the AgriMissouri site.

If you are a consumer and looking for some good farmers’ market shopping tips for this weekend we have put together of the Most-Know Shopping Tips when visiting a market.

Go early for selection, go late for deals: Farmers frequently have only small quantities of specialty vegetables or even of more common items, such as berries. These tend to sell out within the first hour or so. And because vendors would rather sell everything than bring food back to the farm, you can often get more for less during the last hour of sales.

Look on the first pass, buy on the second:Quality and price can vary significantly, even from stands within a few yards of each other.

Know the difference between growers and brokers:Buyers can easily assume that citrus fruits like oranges and lemons are not locally grown. The origins of other fruits and vegetables may be less certain. That doesn't mean you can't get good deals on non-local produce at a farmers market. But if your goal is to get the freshest produce possible and to support local farmers, ask where the produce comes from.

Don't overbuy:Produce from a farmers market may have a shorter shelf life than produce from the supermarket. Those heirloom tomatoes look and taste fantastic — but they may not last past Tuesday or Wednesday when you buy them on Saturday. Conversely, some produce, such as lettuce, may last longer.

Bring cash: Many vendors don't take credit cards.

Grab a brochure or business card: Many farmers sell their produce on their own properties all week long. If you can't make it to a farmers market, perhaps you can go directly to the source on another day of the week.

I will be headed to my hometown of Mtn. Grove for the market’s opening day on Saturday morning and then headed to Simpson Family Farm, which is right outside Mtn. Grove for a farm visit. Sunday will start the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds 8th Annual Spring Planting Festival, May 4 & 5 from 10am - 7pm in Mansfield, where more than 5000 gardeners will gather for the largest heritage gardening event!

(PHOTO: Thanks to new blogger Debi Kelly for letting me borrow this beautiful photo from the Columbia Farmers' Market she took on a recent shopping trip.)

High Tunnel Vision...from Missouri Produce Growers

Fahrmeier Bros. Produce was featured recently in the Kansas City Star...read more below.

An increasing number of area farmers like Bret Fahrmeier of Fahrmeier Farms in Lexington, Mo., are using high tunnels to extend the Midwest growing season. This year Fahrmeier Farms plans to sell 250 tons of tomatoes to Cosentino’s Price Chopper stores.

Last year Brandon Fahrmeier, 33, and brother Bret, 25, grew 100 tons of tomatoes in the 24-foot-wide, 303-foot-long high tunnels, enough to supply 14 Cosentino’s Price Chopper supermarkets. This year the Fahrmeiers plan to more than double production, allowing them to serve all 23 of the company’s area stores.

Although a high tunnel can cost up to $10,000, it can be a good investment. “For us, it’s a no brainer. Last year we got a $15 heirloom tomato with no blemishes,” Brandon Fahrmeier says with obvious pride.

Heirloom varieties such as Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra and German Stripe make up about 10 percent of the Fahrmeiers’ crop. By grafting heirloom seedlings onto hybrid vines, the brothers can increase disease resistance in the older, less-hardy varieties without affecting their size, shape or flavor.

And local consumers are willing to pay $4.99 a pound for what many think is a tastier fruit.

Read the entire story. View a slideshow of photos from the Fahrmeier Farm Visit.

The Fahrmeier's will be hosting a field day on June 23...stay tuned for details about the tour on the blog.

Farhmeier Farms Visit

Travel is one of the “perks” of my job with the Missouri Department of Agriculture. From conferences to farm visit with producers around the state, my job is anything but typical.

Tuesday I spent the day in and around Lexington, as we are in the process of shooting farmers’ market videos for marketing local food to consumers. The video’s focus will be on educating how fresh produce gets from the field to the market.

I called on an old college friend to assist me and MU Agricultural Journalism student Katie Allen with filming the beginning stages of the video.

Bret Fahrmeier and his older brother Brandon are large produce growers right outside the Lexington area. Farhmeier Farms, is a family owned operation in which everyone in the family has their touch on some part of the business. The Farhmeier’s sell at the City Market and Overland Park Market, plus on the farm in two greenhouses. The family extends their growing season with starting the early part of their business with flowers and bedding plants and then move into large quantities of berries and vegetables under Haygrove Tunnels.

Haygrove Tunnels (Pictured) are very easy to open for venting for temperature and humidity build-up. This provides significantly better venting than fixed vent permanent structures. Plus, a season extension of 3 weeks earlier using a combination of row cover (fleece) and tunnels, as well as autumn protection; secure production to late autumn, early winter depending on the time of the first severe frost. Raspberries are one of the quickest crops for payback with +30% additional class one yield versus outdoor production.

Fahrmeier Farms will be holding a Field Day at their farm on June 23. Check back for more information about the event. If you are interested in visiting the farm contact Brandon or Bret at fahrmeierbros@msn.com or 330-701-3210.