- A New Vision for Iowa Food and Agriculture, Food, Energy, and Agriculture Commentary
- September 22, 2010
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Value Added, Value Retained
by Francis Thicke[The following is an excerpt taken from my book, 'A New Vision for Iowa Food and Agriculture'.]
Chapter 14. Value Added, Value Retained
The vast majority of dairy farms sell the milk they produce as milk raw in bulk to co-ops or companies that pick the milk up and take it to central processing facilities. We process our milk on the farm. Until a few years ago, we were the only dairy farm in Iowa that processed milk on the farm. By 2010, with growing consumer interest in locally produced food, there were at least six on-farm dairy processors in Iowa. On our farm we have a small dairy processing plant where we pasteurize our milk and produce bottled milk, yogurt and several varieties of cheese. We market all our dairy products locally through grocery stores and restaurants within a five-mile radius of our farm.
Our dairy products have several features that add to their value to our customers: 1) our cows are Jerseys, which produce milk high in protein, butterfat and other milk solids, giving them enhanced flavor; 2) our dairy products are grass-based, giving them unique nutritional features; 3) our dairy products are organic; 4) our dairy products are not homogenized; 5) our dairy products are produced locally.
By adding value to our milk on the farm and marketing the value-added products ourselves, we retain the added value to reinvest in our farm and increase its profitability. Our value-added, value-retained dairy also contributes to the local economy by providing jobs for six people (including Susan and me) for the local community. Also, since we sell our dairy products locally, the food dollars that local residents spend on our products circulate back into our community. If more small- to medium-sized farms were to produce value-added products on their farms, it would provide more employment opportunities in rural areas and help reverse the population decline of rural communities.
Value-added agriculture does not always equate with the added value being retained by farmers. For example, an ethanol plant adds value to corn. If the ethanol plant is owned by farmers, the value added is retained by the farmers. If the ethanol plant is owned by a multinational corporation based in another state, the value added is not retained by the farmers; nor is it retained in Iowa, beyond the jobs created by the ethanol plant.
[Stay tuned to this blog: I will be posting all the chapters from my book, 'A New Vision For Iowa Food And Agriculture' to this blog during the final weeks before the election on November 2nd. I look forward to any comments or questions you have.]
2 Comments
where is this dairy farm located? (city, county, town)
Jesi, our dairy farm is in southeast Iowa, about four miles northwest of Fairfield.