Posted on: Sunday, December 28, 2003
Reinventing the small organic farmer
| • | Growers optimistic, but imports pose threat |
By Juliana Barbassa
Associated Press
BRENTWOOD, Calif. — Under the low-hanging branches of a fig tree, organic farmer Rick Knoll points out his latest crop. The fierce little plant looks like an overgrown purple thistle, with sharp-edged leaves pointing in every direction.
"Cardoons," he said.
Growing exotic vegetables is one way Knoll hopes his eight-acre farm can withstand an increasingly competitive organic marketplace. As organic agriculture goes mainstream, multinational companies have entered the $8 billion market, making organic produce more widely available to consumers — but squashing the profit margin that sustained the small farmers who were once the heart of the business.
Analysts say organic produce is the fastest growing part of the agriculture industry. While organic produce represents just 2 percent of the market, consumers expect it, grocers want to offer it, and large growers are moving fast to supply the growing demand. The country's first mad cow disease case has also increased interest in organically farmed meats.
"It's really gone from a movement, a political statement, to simply another farming choice, another way of production," said Brian Leahy, executive director of California Certified Organic Farmers.
But mainstream markets, which need to meet consumers' expectations of finding their favorite fruits and vegetables year-round, make things tough for local farms that are limited to producing what is in season.
Knoll also said wholesalers don't want to bother with small producers when they can get all the salad mix or romaine lettuce they need from one large grower, who can machine-harvest a bed at a time.
"There used to be quite a number of lapses in product availability," said Robert Norris, head of Albertson's organic division, explaining the advantages of large suppliers. "You see inherent savings with a larger company — they have more efficiencies in the chain, and they pass that onto us."
Consumers of organic produce have also changed, Norris said, and many are less interested in making a political statement than they are in simply providing healthy food for their families.
To these shoppers, it doesn't matter if their organic carrots come from a local farm like the Knolls' or from a giant like Grimmway, which produces, packs and ships nine million carrots a day to more than 30 countries.
To survive the crunch, family farms offer what the big guys can't. Hence the cardoons.
Knoll Farms offers produce that is more that just organic. Rick Knoll and his wife Kristie plant and hand-harvest dozens of varieties of hard-to-find, heirloom or specialty crops on a farm that's open to visitors. They personally take their produce to buyers, who they get to know over the years, and who are willing to pay more for a specialty product.
"Cardoons are hard to get, and hard to grow," said Paul Canales, the chef de cuisine at Oliveto's in Rockridge, Oakland's gourmet restaurant strip.
Apparently the ribbed, fibrous stalk of the cardoon is a staple of northern Italian cuisine, where cardoon soup is said to help keep winter colds away. Chefs like Canales, always searching for novelties to satisfy restless foodies, have seized on its bittersweet flavor to balance stronger ingredients, like capers or tuna.
"Rick's stuff is alive when I get it," said Canales.
Bustling farmers' markets from San Francisco to Clovis, where buyers shop and socialize with farmers, seem to be part of the small farm's future. Leahy noted that there are about 300 certified markets in California now, up from a handful two decades ago.
Consumers have also taken advantage of subscription services, paying farmers a monthly fee to have a basket of fresh, seasonal organic produce delivered to their homes every week.
"It's a balancing act for everybody," said Bu Nygrens, owner of Veritable Vegetable, a regional distributor of organic produce. "The organic marketplace has come to a crossroads. It's not just about whether pesticides are applied. People are starting to think of economic justice and environmental justice."
