Category Archives: Food and Drink

Wiregrass Alley for local agricultural knowledge-based jobs

What jobs and businesses can we build out of local agriculture and VSU and Wiregrass Tech and GMC and SGMC and Moody? Build like the way Silicon Valley grew out of Stanford and HP and Intel, but different, drawing on our local strengths? Various things, no doubt, but the companies the VDT listed in its agricultural heartland article suggest maybe Wiregrass Alley:

When you factor in businesses such as South Georgia Pecan, PCA, the Langdale Company, Shiloh Farms, Dupont, Arizona Chemical, ERCO Worldwide, Coggins Farms, Carter and Sons, and the additional farmers represented by Farmer Browns, the impact of agriculture in Lowndes County alone is one of the largest private, non-governmental industries. Across the region, ag and forestry sustain the economies of a number of counties.

Many of those are obviously agricultural, but Dupont, Arizona Chemical, and ERCO? OK, I’ll buy Arizona Chemical which turns pine products into adhesives and smells. But DuPont? Sure, they make chemical fertilizer, but that’s like listing Chevron as a home heating company.

And what’s this ERCO Worldwide, which provides chemicals like caustic soda for PCA? ERCO Worldwide’s other name hereabouts is Sterling Pulp Chemicals. That’s right, the VDT listed Sterling Chemicals as an agricultural company! Well, that’s hard to deny, because, according to FundingUniverse, Sterling Chemicals “was founded in 1986 to acquire and operate Monsanto Co.’s petrochemical plant in Texas City, Texas.” Nobody can say Monsanto isn’t agricultural, when 90+% of corn, soybeans, cotton, and peanuts grown hereabouts are grown from Monsanto seeds. Which is why we have so many chemical fertilizers and poisonous pesticides being used around here. Is that really the direction we want to go?

What if we turn the VDT’s list around, and start with the “additional farmers” represented by Farmer Brown and Carters? You know, the ones who sell at Valdosta Farm Days? Farmers markets have increased 6% on average for the past decade. Why is that? Partly because of the conversations and community at a farmers market. Anybody who has gone to Valdosta Farm Days or Hahira Farm Days can attest to that. And it’s not just anecdotal: there is research to demonstrate that in farmers markets compared to supermarkets:

On average, the sociologists found, people were having ten times as many conversations per visit.

Another reason farmers markets are spreading so fast is people are paying attention to the increasing number of scientific reports that “conventional” agriculture is poisoning us, such as the recent one that demonstrates that even the inert ingredients in Roundup are poisonous or the one that links the active ingredient, glyphosate, to Parkinson’s disease. Maybe they’ve heard about Monsanto being sued for “devastating birth defects” and chemical poisoning. And most farmers market customers seem to like fresh local foods that taste good and that support local farmers.

So what if we started with those “additional farmers” that sell at Farmer Brown and Carters and Valdosta Farm Days? They are the ones already starting in a different direction. A direction that is actually more profitable, in addition to healthier (and less flooding and more wildlife). Crop rotation takes more thought and more labor (more jobs!) than just spraying, but it also takes a lot less expense on patented seeds and chemicals, for a net financial profit.

Which could help explain why the USDA says:

Consumer demand for organically produced goods has shown double-digit growth for well over a decade, providing market incentives for U.S. farmers across a broad range of products.

The USDA is talking certified organic, which has so many hoops to jump through that most local producers are not certified, yet many also aren’t using a lot of chemical inputs and are using crop rotation and other organic techniques. Techniques which many old-timers around here will recognize, because they used to use them a half century ago, but with new wrinkles such as computerized records and recent research that may make them even more effective. That’s right: modern organic and local agriculture is a knowledge-based industry.

What has all this got to do with the colleges and SGMC and Moody? Moody could be a big customer for local agricultural produce, as could the local K-12 schools; VSU already is. Wiregrass Tech can (and already is) help teach people how to grow organic or with fewer manufactured inputs. VSU and GMC can study how that’s working out, in conjunction with SGMC, which eventually will have fewer cases of some kinds of diseases to deal with. How many cases, of what kinds of diseases? There’s a field of research we could lead, along with the agricultural industry to cause such improvements in health: healthy jobs from planting to PhDs!

And if we do want other kinds of knowledge-based businesses and workers (which is where Silicon Valley usually gets mentioned), I think we’ll find they like a place that produces local healthy foods.

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Agriculture considered beneficial —VDT

The VDT’s first recent agriculture story started to connect the dots to building on local strengths to growing local knowledge-based jobs in Wiregrass Alley.

“Staff Writer” wrote for the VDT 14 November 2012, Valdosta-Lowndes: An agricultural heartland,

When the Valdosta Daily Times and its sister newspapers in Tifton, Thomasville, Cordele, Americus and Moultrie decided to launch an agriculture magazine in January 2011 to be distributed across South Georgia, it was unknown how it would be received.

Well, the first couple of issues were quarterly, and then due to overwhelming response and requests, it is now a bi-monthly publication going into its third year.

While Valdosta may not consider itself an agriculture community, we sometimes forget just how much acreage and economic benefit derives from the ag and forestry industries locally. With a farmgate value of $70 million and more than two thirds of our entire county taxable digest in agriculture and forestry use, Lowndes County remains dependent on this economic sector almost as much as the surrounding counties, which we consider far more rural than ours.

That’s great, and I congratulate the VDT. Their conclusion is also good as far as it goes, but it could go further:

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Thumbs up for agriculture —VDT

The VDT continues to congratulate agriculture as a mainstay of the local economy. It’s amazing what a little investigative reporting can turn up! Now if the VDT would connect a few dots of local strengths and suggest how we could take a few tips from Silicon Valley on how to become the Wiregrass Alley of agricultural knowledge-based industry.

The VDT opined Friday, Thumbs up,

THUMBS UP: To the region’s farmers and people involved in the agricultural industry. While some may think agriculture is a thing of South Georgia’s past, a Times story revealed this week that Lowndes County’s farmgate has a $70 million value, making it one of the strongest private-sector industries after South Georgia Medical Center. Given the continued financial clout on the economy, we offer a green thumbs up.

The “some people” would presumably include the Chamber, which made it pretty clear it considers agriculture mostly good for paving over for a shopping mall.

The VDT story mentioned in the Thumbs Up was apparently not Kay Harris’ agriculture alive and well, rather another one of the same day. See next post.

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Valdosta Farm Days grant

Received 12 October 2012 from Tim Carroll from Mara Register from Larry Hanson.

Lowndes County Partnership for Health The Lowndes County Partnership for Health has received a $96,858 grant from the USDA to continue to develop Farm Days Farmers Market, establish agricultural center that will serve the agri-science educational needs of area students and provide low cost fresh produce to primarily low income populations in our area. In addition this project will aggregate commodities from surrounding farms for distribution which will support economic development among area farmers. The grant will pay for a full time farm manager over two years, a portable vegetable stand to be used on a distribution route, travel cost associated with distribution route, and promotional and educational materials for Farm days and the agricultural center. City of Valdosta staff assisted in the effort in the preparation of the grant application. This project has grown out of the partnership between the City, the South Health District and the Partnership for Health with the Farm Days Farmers Market. The last market day for the year will be held on Saturday, October 20th.

Here’s the USDA’s paragraph on that award:

$96,858 to Lowndes County Partnership for Health, Inc., Valdosta, GA, for a community‐supported agricultural center that will serve as a food hub and educational center to increase access to affordable, nutritious, local food in low‐income food deserts in South Georgia by purchasing a mobile farmers market van, offering a series of workshops to train vendors, and establishing community gardens for resident use.

That’s good news! But please, can we not use this grant to move the location of Valdosta Farm Days? It’s got a great site right where it is, around the historic Lowndes County Courthouse.

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Agriculture alive and well in Lowndes: even Kay Harris says so

The VDT went out and did some research and discovered that agriculture is not only still here in Lowndes County, it’s one of the biggest industries here, and by some measures it’s increasing. What if the local elected and appointed and self-appointed boards and authorities helped promote agriculture as a local industry?

Kay Harris wrote for the VDT yesterday, South Georgia agriculture alive and well,

Agriculture and forestry remain among the strongest economic engines in South Georgia, including Lowndes County.

A look at the recent farmgate value for 2011 for Lowndes County shows a $70 million effect on the local economy, making it one of the strongest private-sector industries in the county following South Georgia Medical Center.

The popularity of The Times’ bi-monthly sister publication Ag Scene led this newspaper to look at the ag/forestry industry to see if it has diminished in economic importance over the years.

Actually, the number of farms in Lowndes County has slightly increased in recent some recent years.

The VDT proceeded to do som research, asking Jake Price, Lowndes County Extension Agent, who noted there are actually more farms in Lowndes County than in some surrounding counties, because they tended to be smaller here, with quite a few people farming on the side. That and agriculture-based events have become more popular, such as last week’s Hog Show. (And he didn’t mention the new last year Valdosta Farm Days.) He continued:

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VDT and Chamber feuding about which is the most negative

popcorn
Image courtesy Fir0002/Flagstaffotos under GFDL v1.2

Break out the popcorn! The VDT and the Chamber of Commerce are feuding. About which one is the most negative! Also, the Chamber hates agriculture. And everything good around here is to the Chamber’s credit, but anything bad is not their fault; just ask them.

The VDT editorialized 18 October 2012, Is Valdosta really one of the poorest? mostly criticizing the recent report that ranked Valdosta MSA as the third poorest in the country. The VDT added:

Now that the world wide web has broadcast this story, what can be done locally to combat this image? And what are the various entities involved in job and business recruitment, i.e. the Chamber of Commerce and the Industrial Authority primarily, doing to fix the underlying problem — low household income and the high percentage of individuals living below the poverty line.

Valdosta can attract retailers. But can Valdosta step it up and attract larger industries offering high paying jobs? Has the community turned away from what made this a successful, viable up and comer in the state, namely manufacturing and agriculture? These industries sustained Valdosta for many years and provided good, well paying, solid blue collar and middle income jobs. Educational opportunities are far greater today, there are more high school, tech and college graduates in the area than ever, and blaming the quality of the work force is starting to lose its luster as a viable excuse for not bringing in industry. We have the land, we have the workers, we have the infrastructure and we have a great location with a good quality of life.

Perhaps the community leadership should focus on the assets that are already here and less on what’s not. Then maybe the next time a story like this appears on the Internet, Valdosta won’t be cast in such a poor light.

The Chamber fired back a broadside to its members, which I’ve included below here, since I don’t think you can find it online elsewhere. Here’s the most precious part:

Second, while there is still farmland in Lowndes County, it’s shrinking and when it sells, it’s for uses at prices that rule out agricultural use. Agriculture had begun moving to nearby more rural counties even before the cotton field at the end of Baytree Road was paved over for Valdosta Mall. Our largest tractor and farm implement dealers followed.

That’s right, farmland is good for nothing but paving over, so says the Chamber! Nevermind that knowledge-based workers generally like Continue reading

Watershed seminar tomorrow in Tifton

Boating, walking, birding, hunting, fishing: our watersheds provide us all that, plus what goes in upstream comes out in your drinking water. Withlacoochee, Willacoochee, Alapaha, and Little Rivers: WWALS Seminar tomorrow in Tifton. Good talks, good food, good water. Y’all come!

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10:00 – 10:20 Dave Hetzel, WWALS President
Welcome/Introductions
10:20 – 10:35 Karen Hendrix, WATER MATTERS: Co-Chair
WATER MATTERS: Focus & Function
10:35 – 11:10 Neill Herring, Veteran Conservation Lobbyist at the GA General Assembly
The Political Economy of Water Conservation in Georgia
11:10 – 11:45 Jesslyn Shields, Georgia River Network
River Protection Success Stories in Georgia
11:45 – 11:55 Break
11:55 – 12:10 Bret Wagenhorst
Water Trails: Conservation and Development
12:10 – 12:45 Babe McGowan, Forester
Best Management Practices for Riparian Ecosystems
12:45 – 1:00 Karan Rawlins, University of Georgia
SEEDN smartphone app
1:00 – 2:00 Dave Hetzel
Open Discussion and Pot Luck Lunch
2:00 – 4:00pm Walk to the Arboretum and Practice SEEDN App
WWALS Watershed Seminar
10:00 am Saturday
22 September, 2012
Seminar Room
NESPAL Building
2360 Rainwater Road
Tifton Campus
University of Georgia
WWALS
WWALS Watershed Coalition is an Advocacy Organization working for watershed conservation of the Willacoochee, Withlacoochee, Alapaha, and Little River Systems watershed in south Georgia and north Florida through awareness, environmental monitoring, and citizen advocacy.
Introducing WWALS Board
Dave Hetzel — President
John S. Quarterman — VP
Brittney Hull — Treasurer
Nathan Wilkins — Secretary
Gretchen Quarterman
Bret Wagenhorst
Garry Gentry
Karan A. Rawlins
Al Browning
Pot Luck Lunch
All Attendees, please bring your favorite dish to share
WWALS is Providing the Main Course
In the spirit of conservation please bring your own set up: Plate, fork, knife, spoon, cup

Want knowledge-based jobs? Welcome gays and lesbians

The Chamber, the Industrial Authority, and various other local leaders say they want knowledge-based jobs, or creative jobs. We won’t get those just by teaching students to show up on time and do what they’re told: that’s how you train factory workers, not knowledge-based employees. For creative jobs we also need Technology, Talent, and Tolerance. How do you measure Tolerance? One key component is the concentration of gays and lesbians. So today’s South Georgia Pride Festival is a good sign for creative jobs in south Georgia!

Richard Florida wrote 16 July 2012 for The Atlantic, The Geography of Tolerance,

The map above shows how metros across the U.S. score on the Tolerance Index, as updated for The Rise of the Creative Class, Revisited. The chart below shows the top 20 metros. Developed by my Martin Prosperity Institute colleague Kevin Stolarick, it ranks U.S. metros according to three key variables—the share of immigrants or foreign-born residents, the Gay Index (the concentration of gays and lesbians), and the Integration Index, which tracks the level of segregation between ethnic and racial groups.

Do you recognize that shape in the middle of south Georgia? That’s the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, consisting of Lowndes, Echols, Lanier, and Brooks Counties. Looks like about 0.4 on the Tolerance Index. So sure, we’re no Austin, Texas, but we’re in the same range as oh, Charlotte, NC.

If you want to help promote creative jobs in south Georgia, there’s a festival going on today:

South Georgia Pride Festival
noon until 6PM
John W Saunders Park
1151 River Street
Valdosta, Georgia
food and music all day

Who knows, the Mayor of Valdosta might even be there; what do you think? He certainly gave the festival plenty of earned media.

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Big Little Water, a talk by Tom Baird, 11 Sep 2012

Tuesday, a talk by a fan from Florida of our own Withlacoochee River, at the VSU Student Center, 7:30 9PM 11 September 2012, free admission. -jsq

Big Little Water by Tom Baird, hosted by Blazer Gardens in conjunction with WWALS

Big Little Water—a survey of the history, geology and archaeology of the Withlacoochee River, with replica artifacts people can handle, and slides.

“I’ll also get into some of the current threats to the river and maybe we can get into a good discussion and Q&A.”

Withlacoochee River Tom Baird is an education consultant who has previously worked as a high school teacher, community college instructor (oceanography and microbiology), director of a science and environmental center, supervisor of science (K-12) in Pasco Co., FL, Director of Science (PreK-12) in Pinellas Co., FL, Principal of a math/science/technology magnet high school in Pinellas Co., FL. and director of a National Science Foundation program. He is on the boards of the Panhandle Archaeological Society at Tallahassee and the St. Marks Refuge Association. He most enjoys exploring Florida and Georgia rivers by kayak and canoe. He is currently working on a book about the Withlacoochee River of South Georgia and northern Florida.

Blazer Gardens Address:
VSU Student Union
Oak Street @ Baytree Road
Valdosta GA 31698
Map and Directions

WWALS There’s also a facebook invitation.

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Green from the Grassroots —Elinor Ostrom

On the day she died, Nobel Prize-winning economist Elinor Ostrom published her last article, in Project Syndicate, 12 June 2012, Green from the Grassroots,

This grassroots diversity in “green policymaking” makes economic sense. “Sustainable cities” attract the creative, educated people who want to live in a pollution-free, modern urban environment that suits their lifestyles. This is where future growth lies. Like upgrading a mobile phone, when people see the benefits, they will discard old models in a flash.

Of course, true sustainability goes further than pollution control. City planners must look beyond municipal limits and analyze flows of resources — energy, food, water, and people into and out of their cities.

Worldwide, we are seeing a heterogeneous collection of cities interacting in a way that could have far-reaching influence on how Earth's entire life-support system evolves. These cities are learning from one another, building on good ideas and jettisoning poorer ones. Los Angeles took decades to implement pollution controls, but other cities, like Beijing, converted rapidly when they saw the benefits. In the coming decades, we may see a global system of interconnected sustainable cities emerging. If successful, everyone will want to join the club.

And counties, and regions, and watersheds, of course. As Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio said, there is a "nexus between sustainability and job creation." We don't have to wait for San Antonio or Los Angeles or Beijing or Atlanta to lead the way: we can get on with it right here where we are.

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