In case you haven’t been outside or looked outside in the last couple of weeks, it is cold and wet out. And not just in New Mexico, but throughout the Southwest and California. These weather patterns are obviously great for replenishing ground water and trying to recharge drought stricken areas, but it makes growing food a real nightmare. Plants don’t grow well in the rain and harvest crews are almost paralyzed by mud and rain. Needless to say, this is when you develop a love/hate with rain. You know we need it, but it makes your life very challenging in the short run.
My high school economics teacher, Mr. Jenkins, used to say that you can teach a parrot to be an economist by teaching him the phrase “Supply equals Demand.” And in soggy times like this, his words ring truer than ever. Produce availability right now is tighter than we will see it all year (hopefully not worse) and prices are higher than we have seen in the last 12 months or longer.
What all of this leads to is the fact that across the board, conventional or Organic, produce prices are going through the roof right now as people are scrambling to keep people fed. You probably don’t even see these prices going crazy because you are tucked snugly in the crib that we call our CSA. Which is how I like to see it—everyone safe in the nest (literally) weathering the storm that rages outside.
So that is the good news, you will not see any price increase during this time of chaos in the produce world. You may have a hard time empathizing with folks around the water cooler as they complain about food prices. Don’t worry, this is a normal feeling for our members to have. But I want to point out that we have not gotten to this point by accident. We are able to find shelter from these price fluctuations because of our commitment to partnerships.
One of the first things that you harvest in the quest for local food is nice dose of reality. On paper it sounds great to “eat within 100 miles from your home.” But then you realize that the person who invented that diet lives in San Francisco and enjoys fish tacos with a citrus glaze. Well what about the rest of us who live on the banks of the Rio Grande and cannot dine on Silvery Minnow caviar? Are we suppose to subsist all winter on cabbage, pine nuts, and elk meat jerky? I’m sorry, but I just cannot do that. And if that makes me a bad localvore than I will accept that label.
I consider myself a very conscientious eater. I want to know how my food was grown, where it was grown, and who the heck grew it…but I am not an extremist. For me (and by default for the farm), realism trumps extremism any day of the week.
Realism on the farm means that we cannot really grow much over the cold winter months. So we rely on the help of our partners in order to keep all of us fed during these months. But an amazing thing happens as we bring partner farms (suppliers) under our Skarsgard Farms’ tent—we move away from “market forces” and move into protected relationships. Let me explain a bit here.
As we offer the support of all of our CSA members to a grower, it makes them have a more consistent avenue to sell their goodies. They do not need to call as many stores, hassle with markets, call dozens of chefs. All of your mouths, collectively, can give a farm the security blanket it needs to continue to grow. The power of a group is that important. And because of that, when the market forces (due to weather) make the price of products shoot up, those farmers honor our support by not increasing the prices. Sure they could get more money selling it elsewhere for a few weeks, but they take care of our needs because we help take care of their needs the other 50 weeks of the year.
This is just a snap shot of how we work with growers, ranchers, bakers, coffee roasters, etc. The old adage of “you watch my back and I’ll watch yours” sounds so simple, but it is still a rarity in today’s business landscape. For us though, it is the backbone of all we do. And I am glad that at times like this when food gets tight and prices are at their highest, you can rest easy knowing that we have got your back covered.
Farmer Monte