Fellow Growers, I think that Steve's conclusion about the gullibility of consumers is a little misdirected. I have found that what consumers (people) really value and desire in America is personal relationships. Certification may well serve and be necessary for the 900 mile "local" model as well as the box stores but I believe that it has been born out of the realization of these retailers that they must somehow compete with the consumer desire to have a personal relationship with a person that they trust. I view the situation as being similar to having a physician. One generally chooses a personal physician not based on the fact that they have a PhD from a prestigious university and scored well on their finals, but rather on the recommendation and endorsements from others who have established trusting personal relationships with that physician. Defining consumer trust may be mostly subjective, but it is very real. To a retailer, it manifests the bottom line. I feel much more confident building our retail farm business on our ability to create, build, and maintain personal relationships with the consumers that we serve (and we do this successfully with 10 of thousands of customers) as opposed to trusting our future business growth to a bureaucratic regulatory certification program. Indeed, as growers we must always endeavor to do our job correctly in order to produce safe and nutritious food, but it is the personal relationship that people really want and desire. And it is this reality, I believe, that will solidify and grow the retail farm market consumer spending share that is being aggressively sought after by the box stores and supermarkets.
Kurt W. Alstede General Manager Alstede Farms, LLC P. O. Box 278 Chester, New Jersey 07930 United States of America Tel. 908-879-7189 -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steve Demuth Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 2:34 PM To: Apple-Crop Subject: RE: Apple-Crop: Time article People often do trust things they are familiar with. Unfortunately, they do this without much analysis of whether this is wise. That people trust locally grown and marketed produce says nothing whatsoever about the nutritional, economic or ecological bona fides of such product. That can only be done by well enforced certification programs. And that, whatever the faults of organic certification (and there are certainly many), is the real benefit of the organic label. So, while I am a great proponent for consuming locally grown produce, I think that Kurt's endorsement below points out mostly the gullibility of consumers, not anything virtuous about local production. Even the "petroleum miles" benefit claimed in the Time piece is not necessarily as obvious as it seems. If one hauls 30,000lbs of apples cross country (say, 3,000 miles) in a semi-trailer, that can easily burn 600 gallons of fuel. But, suppose 2000 consumers drive out to their local U-pick an average distance of 10 miles round trip to get an average of 15 lbs of apples each. That's thte same 30,000lbs of product. Want to bet which uses more petroleum? In fact, the consumers would have to average 33+ miles/gallon to beat the truckload - highly unlikely with today's cars. And if the local producer is delivering to local markets, rather than running a U-pick? The economics probably favor the local produce in this case, assuming an efficient and truly local route, but the margin will whither rapidly if they are delivering partial loads with 200+ mile round trips. And, as for the certainty a consumer may feel that a local grower from whom they buy personally will be attentive to safe use of pesticides and sound land use - a clean farm storefront, firm handshake and welcome smile no more assure this than good manners make used car salesmen honest. Most local growers do pay attention to these things, of course, but then so do most organic growers (particularly as they need to worry about inspections to assure that they do). Again, the advantage to the consumer of the local grower is more about perception than reality. My favorite analogy in this department is airplane travel. I don't really care whether I know personally the mechanic who services the next AirBus or Boeing that I get on. I do care that there are certification programs for the mechanic, the airframe, the pilot, and basically everything else to do with my flight. So too with food. Again, organic has gone directions that I sincerely disagree with, but I think the notion of certification is at it's core, a lot more valuable to society than "a farmer you know and trust." At 08:42 AM 3/11/2007, you wrote: >Hello Jon, > >You are right on as was the Time Article. In the final analysis, people >trust the face and the person that they can see and touch...their local >farmer. We have seen this to be the case in all of our direct marketing and >have cultivated it in all of our advertising and marketing efforts. I was >thrilled to see Time give this subject favorable front page attention. > > >Kurt W. Alstede >General Manager >Alstede Farms, LLC >P. O. Box 278 >Chester, New Jersey 07930 >United States of America > >Tel. 908-879-7189 > > > > >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >On Behalf Of Jon Clements >Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2007 7:05 PM >To: Apple-Crop >Subject: Apple-Crop: Time article > >Although I am hesitant to fan any embers -- I know there are quite a >few out there -- into flames, it might be worth your while to pick up >the March 12th issue of Time magazine. There is a cover article on >organic vs. 'buy local.' A couple quotes: > >"In the end I bought both apples (organic vs. 'conventional New York >state local'). They were both good, although the California one had a >mealy bit, possibly from it's journey." (Is the author English -- a >"mealy bit?") > >"Eating locally also seems safer. Ted's (an upstate NY diversified >producer) neighbors and customers can see how he farms. That >transparency doesn't exist with, say, spinach bagged by a distant >agribusiness. I help keep Ted in business, and he helps keep me fed >-- and the elegance and sustainability of that exchange make more >sense to me than gambling on faceless producers who stamp ORGANIC on >a package thousands of miles from home." > >Now, I have been trying to fully explain the phenomenal direct-market >sales many Massachusetts apple growers -- and I understand it was >beyond MA too -- had last season. I know the weather was good, and >that makes a huge difference, but I am starting to think the buy >local campaigns are really kicking in? I found the article >interesting, and reasonably balanced, and something we should all be >paying attention too. > >If you did not catch his drift, the author clearly thought buying >'conventional local' was preferable to buying agribusiness 'organic' >-- particularly if the petroleum environmental cost was figured in. > >Any embers glowing brighter yet? > >:-) > >Jon > >Jon Clements >Extension Tree Fruit Specialist >UMass Cold Spring Orchard >393 Sabin Street >Belchertown, MA 01007 >VOICE 413.478.7219 >FAX 413.323.0382 >IM mrhoneycrisp >Skype Name mrhoneycrisp > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard ><http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon >Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. > >Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent >"official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for >the content. > > > > > > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > >The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard ><http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon >Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. > >Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent >"official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for >the content. Steve Demuth Decorah, Iowa "Various forms of religious madness are quite common in the United States ..." -- Alexis de Tocqueville --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
