Wednesday morning local county officials, business leaders, farmers, and other representatives of the agricultural community gathered at the Deer Ridge Golf Course banquet hall in Bellville to attend the Local Food and Agricultural Economic Development Workshop.
The event was sponsored by the joint effort of Richland County Development Group (RCDG) and the Richland County Farm Bureau. Agriculture Coordinator for Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) Brian Williams was the guest speaker.
Williams highlighted the current economic benefits of agriculture and the economic growth potential in developing a local-food plan that will create processing and distribution jobs while increasing options and profitability for farmers.
Two example plans in William’s workshop were the “Fairfield Growing: An Agricultural Economic Development Plan” for Fairfield County, OH and the “Franklin County Food Policy Audit.”
According to Williams these plans were showcased in his presentation not with the intent to be adopted by other counties but to be viewed as tools to stimulate ideas.
“Local food is economic development. We need to talk about local food and it’s importance to our economy,” said Williams.
The majority of the program focused on local-food “infrastructure” which includes processing, distribution and institutional purchases of local food. Williams described these as important not just to business development and job creation, but also important in creating new markets for farmers.
Williams said creating a local food assessment plan and creating local food councils to be vital to the economic growth in the agriculture based industry. The goal of such plans are to place local food and agricultural economic development on the agendas of public policymakers, private business leaders and not-for-profit institutions.
He suggested representatives from local government, public health, farmers, consumers, processors, distributors, local institutions and food retailers must all be apart of the equation in order to solidify success.
“We must create a dialogue between the farmers, producers, processors, distributors and the consumer so that we may stimulate agricultural economic development,” said Tim Hicks, Organization Director of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF).
Hicks added, “The goal of the event was to bring community leaders, business people, elected officials, institutions, and farmers together to begin a conversation about how we can develop a sustainable local food system that meets consumer demands and provides increased market access and options for farmers in the mid Ohio region.”
Hicks believes the workshop is an important step in creating awareness and starting conversation as it pertains to how we can keep our food dollars in the community. Questions raised included: Can we do it in a way that is cost competitive for buyers and profitable for farmers? Is it economical to do?
“The primary need that I see is a carefully constructed network of supply chain growers with regional buyers that focuses on processing, logistics, supply, demand and quality. To create the most opportunity for our area farmers and meet the demands of our consumers, we have all of the pieces, we just need to put the puzzle together,” said Hicks.
“Demand for local food has skyrocketed,” stated Williams, “It’s a bigger market and there is a desperate need for processors here.” He added,”Local processing is a goldmine.”
Williams has managed agricultural initiatives for MORPC since 2009 and led the effort that produced the Central Ohio Local Food Assessment and Plan in 2010 and Dense by Design: A Compact Guide to Compact Development in 2011. Both earned him awards and the recognition of his peers from across the country. A former leader on the Ohio Food Policy Advisory Council, Williams currently serves on the Ohio Farmland Preservation Advisory Board.
In summary Williams urged those in attendance of the workshop to take steps to initiate plans that will lead to substantial and long lasting economic growth.
“Your local economy is unique to you, pick and choose what is best for you, do it locally and regionally,” Williams said.
For more information visit www.morpc.org.
“To create the most opportunity for our area farmers and meet the demands of our consumers, we have all of the pieces, we just need to put the puzzle together,” said Tim Hicks.
