Beyond Fresh Expanding Markets for Sustainable Value-Added Food - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Beyond Fresh


Expanding Markets for Sustainable 
 Value-Added Food Products in Texas

Presenter Sue Beckwith, Texas Center for Local Food Conference Texas Hispanic Farmers & Ranchers McAllen, Texas December 7, 2018

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Local Food Value Chain Coordination

Develop markets for local food in Texas

The Beyond Fresh Project (2015-18)

This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 2014-38640-22155, through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program under subaward number LS14-264. USDA is an equal opportunity employer and service provider.

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Thanks to our funder

• Sue Beckwith, Robert Maggiani, Mike Morris
• Alex Bernhardt, Erin Flynn, Cameron Molberg (Grower Lead Team)
• Timothy Bowser, Rebekka Dudensing, April Harrington, Rodney Holcomb,

Judith McGeary

• And many others!

Collaborators

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If demand for local food is going up, 
 how come my farm income 
 keeps going down?

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Today’s food dollar: 11 cents to the farm

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“If no mistake you have made, yet losing you are, a different game you should play.”

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• Reduced perishability.
• Something you can sell in the off-season.
• A way to sell your imperfect produce (number twos).
• Potentially higher profit margins: 2+2=5.
• Can sustainable growers to get a triple price

premium:
 Local + sustainable + value-added?

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Could value-added products be the answer?

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• 1. Texas is a great place to develop these products,

but infrastructure lags behind other states. There are 30 million people in Texas and they all eat… hopefully every day.

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• 2. Take a Farmer-First approach.
• What can you grow easily and in excess? What can you

make out of these crops?

• Core Question: “Does the value I get make sense for

my farm?”

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• 3. Product development is iterative, 


based on prototyping.

Start small, fail early. Go shallow, go cheap.

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• 4. Products need to be chosen carefully because 


few are profitable. 
 (And there’s probably no triple price premium.)

Product Percentage Gross Margin (Sale Price vs. Production Cost)

Cucumber Relish 13.8% Sauerkraut 42.7% Green Garlic Pesto

• 4.1%

Zucchini Relish 31.6% Pickled Okra 27.9% Spicy Cucumber Relish 12.3% Sweet Potato Puree I

• 62.1%

Sweet Potato Puree II

• 23.5%

Peach Jalapeño Jam 53.6% Green Garlic Chimmichuri

• 115.4%

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• 5. Regulations will limit products you can make.

County Health Department Other regulators

Image by ecuabron image by molumen Image by anarres Image by celfred

DSHS

FDA

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Take a Farmer-First approach.

Let’s go through a couple of key steps together

• What can you grow easily and in excess? What can you

make out of these crops?

• Core Question: “Does the value I get make sense for

my farm?”

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Take a Farmer-First approach

What can you grow easily and in excess? What can you make out of these crops?

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Take a Farmer-First approach

Core Question: “Does the value I get make sense for my farm?”

• What are your farm’s values?
• Why did you choose farming?
• What do you hope to gain by

creating value-added products?

What you can do

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Take full advantage of Texas Cottage Food Law

• Allows you to make certain foods at home without

inspections or a license from the state.

• You and your employees must have food handler’s

certificates.

• Foods may only be sold directly to the consumer.
• You may not sell more than $50,000 worth of these foods

per year.

• Many rules apply to what, where, and how foods are sold,

packaging, labeling, etc.

• Brainstorm products you can make, with crops you have

available.

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Some foods you can legally make in a home kitchen (considered “non-potentially hazardous”)

Breads, rolls, biscuits Sweet breads, muffins Cakes Pastries Cookies Candy Coated & uncoated nuts Unroasted nut butters Fruit butters (not all fruit) Canned jams or jellies (not all fruit) Fruit pies Dehydrated fruit or vegetables Popcorn & popcorn snacks Cereal, including granola Dry mixes Vinegar Pickles (cucumber only) Mustard Roasted coffee or dry tea Dried herb & dried herb mixtures

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Some foods you may NOT legally make in a home kitchen

Fresh or dried meat or meat products, including jerky Canned fruits, vegetables, vegetable butters, salsas, etc. Kolaches with meat Fish or shellfish products Canned pickled products such as corn relish and sauerkraut Raw seed sprouts Bakery goods requiring refrigeration, e.g. containing cream or custard Milk & dairy products, including hard & soft cheeses and yogurt Fresh fruits dipped or coated in chocolate or similar confectures Juices made from fresh fruits or vegetables Ice or ice products Barbeque sauces & ketchups Foccacia-style breads with vegetables or cheeses Chocolate-covered graham crackers or Rice Krispy treats Dried pasta Sauerkraut, relishes, salsas, sorghum

Resources for You!

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New area of the ATTRA website (attra.ncat.org)

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Resource Directory (texaslocalfood.org)

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Prototyping Costs and Sales

Cost Calculators (attra.ncat.org or texaslocalfood.org)

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About the Beyond Fresh workbook

• A decision-making guide. NOT a comprehensive 


how-to manual on processing food.

• Takes a Farmer-First approach throughout.
• Tables, charts, forms, 16 exercises.
• Covers self-assessment, product development, market

trends, profitability, regulations, labels, packaging, seeking funding, marketing, storage and distribution.

• A draft: Expect publication in February 2019.
• Your stories also welcome.

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Get to know people who can help. 
 Start early. Build relationships.

USDA Rural Development

• Value-Added Producer Grant and others
• Texas Rural Cooperative Center

USDA Farm Service Agency

• Microloan and others.
• Sign up for the FSA newsletter.

Your county health officials Lenders

• Banks, Capital Farm Credit, private investors
• Foodshed Investors, others

Local & regional economic development officials

Thank You! Questions?

Sue Beckwith SueB@TexasLocalFood.org