Athens Locally Grown

How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.

Market News

Here at the beginning of the year, growers everywhere are putting together their plan for the gardens, deciding what to grow where, how much they hope to harvest, what tools they need to do the job, and making sure they have a market for everything so they don’t, at minimum, lose money. It’s a pretty expensive time of year, too, since they need to buy everything they need now but they won’t be seeing income until later on. If they’re doing exactly the same thing as last year, and they saved wisely, then maybe they have enough from last seasons sales to get them through the beginnings of this years. But if something went wrong, or some expensive equipment needs repaired or replaced, or they want to expand the operation, what they’ve got stashed away just won’t cut it. Every farm in the world goes through this at the beginning of the year, and it’s why, in this country, theres a multi-billion dollar industry of “Farm Credit” banking. Years ago, every farmer could go down to their bank and sign a note to get them gong for the year. But as farming has become consolidated and industrialized over the years, the banks have changed their scale too, and now they just have no idea what to do with small farms like those that sell through ALG.

Community Supported Agriculture, also known as subscription farming, is one recent innovation that allows some small farms to get the capital they need early in the year. They get their customers to pay up front for the food they’ll be getting throughout the year, often at a substantial discount over retail, and so the farmer has their money right when they need it and the customers (hopefully) get their share of the harvest when they need that. There are several CSA farms in the Athens area, and it can be a very good model for those farmers and customers who can work within that structure.

Crowd Funding is another new way farmers have raised money in recent years. We’ve had several ALG growers use crowdfunding campaigns to successfully fund a milking parlor and cheese production facility, fencing and vegetable bed renovations, and other expensive one-time projects. Burnell Farm out in Royston is currently in the middle of a similar campaign, to replace a borrowed 1951 tractor that has broken beyond repair. The Burnells have an interesting story. They moved here a few years ago after losing everything they had in the Iowa floods, and through a Herculean amount of work have built one of the area’s most productive vegetable farms from the ground up. You can read more about them and participate in their campaign (and get a number of items in return for your contribution) here: https://www.barnraiser.us/projects/burnell-farms-much-needed-tractor

Rockin’ H Farm in Statham have another large expense coming up: doubling the size of their pastures and gardens. They’ve obtained the land and now just need to pay for the labor of clearing brush and such. Instead of starting a crowdfunding campaign, they’ve turned to a much older method of fundraising — a good old fashioned raffle. They’re selling 1500 raffle tickets for a chance to win a tractor, a utility garden vehicle, a mower, and a nice ice chest. You can read more about their farm, the plans they have, and the raffle on their website here: http://rockinhfarm.com/Raffle/.

However you choose to support your local farmers, even if it’s just reading this email and seeing what they have to offer this week, we all thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market has closed for the winter. You can watch for news during the offseason on their website. The Comer Farmers’ Market is continuing, weather permitting, on Saturday mornings from 10am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm on Friday evening for their plans. The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. If you know of any winter markets operating, please let me know. And they might all be closed, but we’ll be here all year round!

All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!

We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!