Spring, 1991 (v3n3)
Editor's Note: Preliminary results of the Sustainable
Agriculture News mailing update indicate that many readers
are interested in information aimed at small-scale farmers and
gardeners. The following article profiles the UC Small Farm Program,
a major resource for California's small-scale farmers. It is
adapted from the program's report "The UC Small Farm Program:
The First Fifteen Years," edited by John Stumbos.
California is perhaps the only state that has established within
its Land Grant/Cooperative Extension system a program funded specifically
to address the needs of small-scale and limited resource farmers.
The Small Farm Program began in 1979 with a state appropriation
to Cooperative Extension to provide assistance to the more than
three-fourths of California farmers who have limited resources
and income. Of the 80,000 farms in California, more than 60,000
can be classified as small, regardless of which of several definitions
is used. Although 10 percent of the state's largest farms produce
more than 90 percent of its food and fiber, small farms have a
tremendous impact on the state economy. They are responsible
for much of the state's agricultural diversity and much of the
leadership for sustainable agriculture, environmental quality
and food safety. Small farmers are a broad mix of ethnic and
social groups. A significant number of small farmers are Hispanic
vegetable growers and organic farmers, although new groups with
different needs have appeared on the scene, including the Hmong,
Cambodians, Thai and Laotians who fled political unrest in Southeast
Asia.
Seventy-five percent of small-scale farmers are likely to be full
owners of the farm they operate, compared to less than 50 percent
of large-scale farmers (more than $100,000 gross annual sales).
More than 65 percent of small farmers live on their farms. The
1982 Census of Agriculture showed that 41,000 small farms with
gross sales of $2,500 to $100,000 made up half the number
of farms in the state; another 25,000 had gross sales of less
than $2,500. These farms produced more than $1 billion in sales
annually; they operated 31 percent of the state's total farmland
and represented 56 percent of all fruit and nut tree farms.
The Small Farm Program's 15-year report notes that "Small farmers have proven themselves a resilient, innovative sector of agriculture. Many have found marketing niches for products in high demand and/or low supply, and California small farmers lead the nation by virtue of their close proximity to urban centers and tremendous marketing opportunities provided by diverse ethnic groups and trend-setting consumer demands."
Program Focus
The purpose of the UC Small Farm Program is to benefit small farmers and marketers and the natural and renewable resources they depend upon. It does this through a variety of educational means that are linked to research-based information in numerous academic disciplines ranging from pest management to marketing and engineering. The program's highest priorities are specialty crop production, direct marketing, organic and sustainable agriculture, entry-level farming, and ethnic farmers. Land use and other rural-urban interface issues and animal production-marketing systems are becoming increasingly important issues.
Staff
The program has developed into a statewide network of farm advisors, campus-based specialists, faculty and staff who contribute to the education and research needs of small farmers. Ron Voss, UC Davis extension vegetable specialist, is the part-time director of the Small Farm Program; associate director Claudia Myers is in charge of day-to-day activities. The nucleus of the program is the Small Farm Center located on the UC Davis campus. A staff of five serves as a clearinghouse of information for county advisors, farmers, direct marketers, governments agencies and the public. Throughout the state several UC Cooperative Extension advisors are specifically assigned to small farm clientele; to some extent most of the state's county extension offices work with small farm clientele.
Events
The Small Farm Program co-sponsors numerous conferences and events each year. In 1990 those events included: Farm Conference, a statewide event focused on production and marketing techniques for small-scale growers and markers; Women in Agriculture conference; bilingual strawberry production meetings; Rare Fruit Symposium; sustainable agriculture advisor training; Farmer-to-Consumer Conference For the Lower Sacramento Valley; and Tasting of Summer Produce events at the Oakland Festival-At-The Lake and the San Francisco Fair.
Publications
The Center maintains a library of books, scientific journals,
reports, directories, and magazines on crop production, marketing,
farm management, soil and water, energy, integrated pest
management, agricultural engineering, specialty crops, rural
sociology, organic farming and sustainable agriculture.
It produces a free bimonthly newsletter Small Farm News with
profiles of small farms and farm advisors, reviews of publications
and a calendar of state, national and international events.
Eight additional free publications are available from the Center
including booklets on exotic livestock, foliage plants, herbs,
shitake mushrooms, organics in farmers markets (statistics),
sheep, specialty vegetables, and wildflowers.
The Center produces publications for its Family Farm Series,
including inexpensive ($2 to $3.50) publications on
statistics and resources, marketing, farm management, vegetable
production and an organic farming directory. The series is available
from ANR Publications, University of California, 6701 San Pablo
Ave., Oakland, CA 94608-1239, or (415) 642-2431.
The Center also offers help to UC farm advisors developing local
and regional programs for small-scale growers and marketers.
The staff helps advisors identify grants, organize and coordinate
conferences, conduct information searches, edit publications and
find other sources of information.
LISA Project
The Small Farm Center is also coordinating a USDA Low-Input Sustainable
Agriculture (LISA) project. Project goals are to produce practical
information based on LISA production, marketing, and food quality
research; to determine the effectiveness of various education
methods in the adoption of LISA practices; and to determine the
market potential for various farming practices and develop educational
materials based on these findings. The center is working with
SAREP; UC extension specialists; extension representatives from
the University of Idaho, Oregon State University, Washington State
University, and the University of Arizona; the Committee for Sustainable
Agriculture (CSA); and the UC Agricultural Publications office.
As part of the LISA project, the Small Farm Center is sponsoring
Organic '92 in cooperation with CSA January 22-23, 1992
at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove. The symposium,
which immediately precedes the Ecological Farming Conference,
will present information on organic farming theory and practice
including academic research and practical farming experience.
An important product of the symposium will be published proceedings, which will be the basis for an organic farming handbook. A call for papers/presentations has been issued for organic farming topics including practices, research, marketing and related subjects that have practical application for organic farmers. Farmers, researchers, consultants, regulators and educators are invited to send a suggested topic or title with a brief description to the Small Farm Center by April 12, 1991.
Contact the Program
For more information about the UC Small Farm Program or to order
Small Farm News, the most recent annual report, The
UC Small Farm Center: The First 15 Years or other free publications
contact the Small Farm Center, University of California, Davis,
CA 95616 or call (916) 757-8910.
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