Fresh Food Abounds on a Six Acre Mississippi Farm

From the USDA:

Posted by Judi Craddock, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Mississippi, on January 27, 2015 at 3:00 PM

Priscilla Williamson, NRCS supervisory district conservationist, (left), enjoys seeing all the varieties of tomatoes ripening in the newly constructed seasonal high tunnel.

Hattie Thompson has a heart for growing healthy food for her community thanks to the help of her new seasonal high tunnel.

“My mission is to network throughout the local community with other growers who might be interested in doing the same thing, and to teach children and mothers about nutrition,” said Thompson, who farms in Leake County, Mississippi.

After 50 years of city life in Wisconsin, Thompson and her husband moved to the country near Carthage, Mississippi, when they inherited some land 10 years ago. The small six-acre farm is landscaped with fruit trees and an abundance of beautiful flowers. Chickens, guineas and turkeys also call the farm home.

It was Thompson’s neighbors who told her about USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), who could help her with conservation practices on her farm. When she visited with Priscilla Williamson, NRCS supervisory district conservationist, she learned about the agency’s Seasonal High Tunnel Initiative available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

Seasonal high tunnels are plastic-covered structures that enable farmers to have crops ready earlier or later in the season. Plants are grown directly in the ground, and the sun’s heat regulates the temperature inside. High tunnels are a cornerstone of USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative, which coordinates USDA’s work on local and regional food systems.

Thompson immediately realized that a high tunnel was a perfect fit for her small acreage farm. It would also fulfill her desire to produce healthy food. Working with Williamson, Thompson was approved to receive financial assistance through EQIP on a high tunnel and construction soon began. It was a family project with one of her five sons, Kevin, helping construct the high tunnel, also helping Thompson save some money.

Hattie Thompson of Carthage, Mississippi, shows the huge crop of string beans she produced in her new seasonal high tunnel on her small farm.

“She is a very energetic lady and one who gets things done quickly,” Williamson said.

An amazing variety of tomatoes, string beans, cucumbers, peppers, watermelons, squash and herbs are grown and ready for farmer’s markets, as well as the entire Thompson family. Pollinator-friendly plants, such as huge sunflowers, surround the tunnel helping to attract bees to aid in pollination.

“Using the high tunnel enables me to grow healthy food almost all year long,” Thompson said.

She does her own composting of chicken litter, wood chips and other organic material and uses it for fertilizing the naturally grown vegetables and fruits in the high tunnel. Through EQIP, a micro-irrigation system was also installed inside the high tunnel. This irrigation system allows water to be delivered near the roots of plants, ensuring water is used wisely.

“A lot of hard work goes into all this, but it’s worth it to give something to the community,” Thompson said.

Thompson planted rows of sunflowers and cut flowers along the outer edges of the high tunnel to serve as pollinators for all the plants inside.

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In Indiana, the Cooperative Interstate Shipment Program Opens Meatier Markets for Small Processors

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Elanor Starmer, National Coordinator for Local and Regional Food Systems, on April 8, 2014 at 1:00 PM

Lou’s Gourmet Sausage, a small family business run by the Vinciguerra brothers of Cleveland, Ohio, takes sausage seriously.  For over fifty years, the company has been supplying Cleveland restaurants and grocery stores with Sicilian, Andouille, Cajun, mild and hot chicken and veal sausages. But despite strong demand for its products, it took a USDA program to make Lou’s sausage available outside Ohio.

In 2012, Ohio was the first state to join USDA’s Cooperative Interstate Shipment program (CIS).  The program, authorized under the 2008 Farm Bill, allows inspected and approved small state-inspected meat processors, like Lou’s Gourmet Sausage, to bear an official USDA Mark of Inspection and ship meat and poultry across state lines. Previously, only products from federally inspected plants could be sold in other states. To participate in the program, state certified plants like Lou’s Sausage work with USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to integrate their systems to meet federal inspection standards.  Once inspected and approved for compliance, these smaller plants can ship across state lines and are poised for bigger market opportunities.

This week, Indiana followed Ohio’s lead and joined North Dakota and Wisconsin to become the fourth state to participate in the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program. Each time a state works with FSIS to participate in the program, it is expanding market opportunities for the region’s small meat and poultry producers – many smaller producers process their animals at small state-inspected plants – while strengthening state and local economies and increasing consumer access to safe, locally-produced meat. In Indiana, it will mean that meat processed by selected smaller operations will be available beyond the Hoosier state.

Interstate shipment may not sound like a local food issue, but CIS actually has important implications for local food producers and consumers – especially when one state has a major market right across its border, as is the case with southern Wisconsin and Chicago. Implementing CIS is part of USDA’s broader strategy to strengthen local and regional food systems and to help small and midsize producers access new market opportunities. USDA coordinates its work on these issues under the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative, which includes a variety of resources to help producers and businesses tap into consumer demand for local foods. One such resource, a guide called Tools for Small and Midsized Livestock and Poultry; USDA Resources for Producers and Processors, was released in March as part of a wider package of support for America’s small and mid-sized farmers and ranchers.

FSIS’ Small Plant Help Desk, a customer service phone line at 1-877-FSIShelp, is also a valuable resource for small and midsize meat and poultry plants and can address issues and answer questions specific to smaller meat processors. The Small Plant Help Desk has fielded over 10,000 inquiries since 2009.

For businesses like Lou’s Gourmet Sausage, USDA’s commitment to local food and to small and midsize producers is epitomized by efforts such as the Cooperative Interstate Shipment program and the Small Plant Help Desk. With these resources and opportunities, small processors are accessing new markets – and consumers are happily digging in.