There are five key driving forces impacting agriculture and small farmers and ranchers are in a position to take advantage of them, an official with the Colorado Department of Agriculture said Thursday. Tom Lipetsky, director of the markets division of the department, was the keynote speaker at the 2008 Colorado Agriculture Big & Small Conference and Trade Show. The event continues through Saturday at the 4-H Building in Island Grove Regional Park.
Fred Petersen, director of the Weld County office of Colorado State University Extension, said about 125 people were registered for the first day of the conference, designed for organic and small acreage producers, and 100 were expected for today's and Saturday's sessions.
Lipetsky said the key driving forces impacting agriculture in 2008 include the rise of the "locavore," food safety, technology, global opportunities, and the Farm Bill, which is being debated in Congress. The locavore, he said, is a trend by consumers who are actively seeking locally grown and/or processed products. A survey conducted recently by CSU indicated that 92 percent of Colorado consumers would buy state-grown and produced products if available. The survey also revealed that those consumers who responded to the survey considered agriculture the most important economic sector in the state.
That survey is backed, he said, by the rise of farmer's markets across the state, which have increased from about 20 in 1996 to more than 70 last year. And chefs surveyed by the National Restaurant Association indicated that locally grown produce was No. 2 on their list of trends in that industry. "Just in case you wanted to know, bite-size desserts were No. 1," Lipetsky said.
Food safety, he said, "needs to be a given and never a question," adding that the trend of branded products on the shelves of grocery outlets provides consumers with verification and certification of where specific products come from and who is responsible for them. Later this year, the state's agriculture department will join the national Food Industry Market-Make program which connects retailers, consumers and schools with local producers and locally produced products on the Internet. The new web site will allow consumers and others to locate local farmer's markets or roadside stands available in specific areas of the state, Lipetsky said.
Local producers can also take advantage of export opportunities. In 2007, $900 million of Colorado products were shipped to 103 countries, Lipetsky said, and while the majority of those were meat products there are other opportunities available.
One of every three Colorado food companies sold products to international markets last year, he said, noting that just 5 percent of the world's consumers live in the United States, so there opportunities available. The Farm Bill, meanwhile, could mean additional money to Colorado in the area of specialty crops development and marketing. In the past, the state has received $100,000 a year from the Specialty Crops Block Grant program and under the new farm bill that could increase to $500,000 annually. "We will need your help in identifying areas where that funding should be used." Lipetsky said.greeleytrib.com
