The prospect of a regional food hub that has been in the works for years will be assessed through pilot projects, including a small-scale trial operation, conducted by producers and Cornell Cooperative Extension offices.
The Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence and Oswego county extensions are working with 30 producers in three advisory councils, which they formed earlier this year, to identify the resources, opportunities and challenges for creating a hub that would allow farmers from all four counties to store and sell their products to large distributors and customers throughout the state, said Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County Executive Director Kevin J. Jordan, who is leading the initiative.
“It’s really the vision of the producers we are working with,” Mr. Jordan said. “There would be an opportunity to be able to expand their market potential.”
The state Department of Agriculture and Markets, which was given $1,064,000 in the 2015-16 state budget for the regional food hub, gave the extensions a contract in September that allowed them to make investments and obtain the necessary infrastructure, which may include smaller facilities in the region to support production for the regional hub.
Discussions between the extensions and their south advisory councils resulted in three pilot projects: a small-scale pilot warehouse operation, a production project and marketing project.
“Everyone said that was a good way to look at doing that,” Mr. Jordan said.
The small-scale warehouse pilot project would provide cold storage and value-added processing equipment and allow farmers and the extensions to develop methods for handling large quantities of products, collaborate to meet larger demands and ship products to different markets.
Mr. Jordan said they are looking for experts to manage the warehouses’ operations and experts who can provide technical assistance and marketing assistance. These experts will also need to have product handling expertise and be familiar with producers in the four counties. The extensions also are looking for experts who know what resources are available for the project.
“(We) would be able to test whatever the barriers are,” Mr. Jordan said. “We hoped there would be an existing operation where we could rent some space.”
The extensions are collaborating with Martin’s Farm Stand in Potsdam for its second project to determine the feasibility of producing enough products to meet the large customer demands.
Daniel Z. Martin, one of the owners and managers of the stand, said one of its members will grow a few thousand tomato plants and 9,000 pepper plants to sell wholesale. Some tomatoes and peppers will be sold to Renzi Foodservice and the rest will be sold to a prospective client in New York City and local markets.
Mr. Martin said it’s difficult for north country farmers to sell their products to other markets, comparing the situation to a highway with no entrances.
“That’s what the food hub is going to do for us — be an entrance point,” he said.
The extensions are working with state Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie, R-Heuvelton, and her staff to locate potential customers in New York City and other areas outside of the north country and determine the cost of shipping to those markets for the third project, Mr. Jordan said.
“Stay tuned. We’re working on it right now,” he said.
While the state awarded the extensions funding for a regional food hub in 2015, Paul T. Halderman, an owner and partner for Zoar Asparagus Farm and Zoar Tapatree Syrup Co. in Rodman, said farmers have been discussing plans for a food hub for 20 years.
Mr. Halderman, who serves on the Central food hub advisory committee, said the hub would provide a new distribution outlet for farmers and allow them to expand production.
“I’m hoping to maximize what I can grow for a guaranteed market,” he said. “Everybody always wants to plant as much as they can.”