Study: Growing More Veggies Could Profit Midwest

An AP article by Michael J. Crumb, Study: Growing More Veggies Could Profit Midwest, provides a persuasive rebuttal to the complaints of the Republican Senators who recently criticized the USDA Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food program. These complaints were discussed in a previous post, Senators Challenge Know Your Farmer Program.

An Iowa State University study considered the impact of farmers in six Midwestern states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin) raising 28 crops in quantities large enough to meet local demand. It showed that this level of regional production would spur "$882 million in sales, more than 9,300 jobs and about $395 million in labor income." And, the equivalent of "[o]ne of Iowa's 99 counties could meet the demand for all six states," according to Rich Pirog, associate director for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State.

It makes sense to Larry Alsum, who owns Alsum Farms and Produce Inc. in Friesland, Wis. Alsum grows five varieties of potatoes and handles wholesale distribution for farmers who grow a wide variety of produce, including cabbage, sweet corn, squash, watermelons and cucumbers.

"I think it's a win-win scenario, both in opportunities for farmers in the Midwest and reduced cost of transportation that you have in bringing in California produce," Alsum said. "We also see this as an opportunity for people to become more aware of where their food is coming from."

The article also notes, however, that significant impediments exist to bringing about this type of change to a midwestern regional food system.

David Swenson, the Iowa State economist who conducted the research, said it would be a significant shift in how the nation grows food, given that the Midwest ceded production of fruits and vegetables to other parts of the country long ago.

The advent of commodity payment programs in the 1930s, the development of refrigerated trucks and the interstate highway system, and a hodge-podge of other policies encouraged farmers to grow crops where it could be done most efficiently.

The question of efficiency should be reconsidered acknowledging today's recognition of water subsidies, transportation costs, and loss of quality. Those factors seem to point to regional food systems - as envisioned by Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food.