United States

Department of

Agriculture

Agricultural

Marketing

Service

February 2000

Innovative Marketing

Opportunities for Small

Farmers: Local

Schools as Customers
by

Daniel P. Schofer, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA

Glyen Holmes, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA

Vonda Richardson, College of Engineering Sciences, Technology,

and Agriculture, Florida A&M University

Charles Connerly, West Florida Resource Conservation

and Development Council

February 2000

Innovative Marketing

Opportunities for

Small Farmers:

Local Schools as Customers

This research was conducted under a cooperative agreement titled Opportunities for

Limited-Resource Producers to Supply a School Lunch Program in Florida with Local Agricultural

Products—A Pilot Project, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural

Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Programs, Marketing and Transportation

Analysis.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,

national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited

bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information

(Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and

Independence, Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity

provider and employer.
The authors are indebted to many professionals

for their assistance and efforts in this 2-year pilot

project.

The success of the New North Florida Cooperative was made possible by the interest and participation of J’Amy Petersen, Food Service Director of

the Gadsden County School District. She recognized the importance of fresh, healthful vegetables

and fruit in children’s school meals as well as

supported an innovative cooperative of local,

small farmers. Linda Wright, Food Service Director of the Jackson County School District, is also

recognized for her interest in and purchases from

the Cooperative.

Linda Stanhope of the Defense Subsistence Office,

Jacksonville, assisted the Cooperative to become a

certified vendor. She was also instrumental in

assisting the Cooperative with its participation in

the Direct Vendor Delivery program.

The West Florida Resource Conservation and

Development Council, headed by Reid Powell,

was the facilitating organization that enabled the

Agricultural Marketing Service and the Natural

Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to work

together in this effort. The Council’s genuine

concern for the community and its welfare was

crucial to coordinating the pilot project and

providing assistance to the newly formed cooperative of limited-resource producers.

The staff and faculty of the Small Farmer Outreach Training and Technical Assistance Project,

Florida A&M University, including Sophia Glenn

(outreach specialist), provided valuable information on crop production, record keeping, and

cooperative organization.

Acknowledgments

Don Coker and Les Harrison of the Florida State

Bureau of Farmers Markets provided the Cooperative with much-needed technical assistance.

Through the Agriculture Venture Services Program, they provided lease incentives, assistance

with equipment needs, and business plan development. Their strong interest and help are greatly

appreciated.

Dorothy Staley, NRCS Public Affairs, contributed

her photographic expertise to this report. The

authors are indebted to her for the quality of her

photos.

Joseph P. Anthony’s (Agricultural Marketing

Service, retired) initial investigation and efforts

were essential in designing the pilot project. Jon

Hall of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service

provided important information that has substantially contributed to the project and the substance

of this report. Many others contributed to various

aspects of the pilot project. The authors appreciate

their assistance.

Mention of specific equipment, manufacturer, or

brand names does not constitute endorsement or

imply preference by the U.S. Department of

Agriculture. It is simply a reporting of what the

Cooperative chose in the development of its

business.

i

Page

Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 1

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 3

Objectives .............................................................................................................................................. 6

A Time to Act ......................................................................................................................................... 6

Meeting the Recommendations ......................................................................................................... 7

Jackson County Empowerment Zone ............................................................................................... 8

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives ....................................................................................... 9

Development of the Cooperative................................................................................................................. 11

Organization ....................................................................................................................................... 11

First Meeting....................................................................................................................................... 11

Advantages and Disadvantages ...................................................................................................... 12

Participant Commitment .................................................................................................................. 12

Cooperative Organization ................................................................................................................ 14

Education ............................................................................................................................................ 14

Business Volume ................................................................................................................................ 16

Opinions of Cooperative Participants ............................................................................................ 17

Building a Business ...................................................................................................................................... 19

Business Plan ...................................................................................................................................... 19

Vision Statement ................................................................................................................................ 19

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Cooperative .............................................................................. 19

Mission Statement ............................................................................................................................. 20

Values Statement ................................................................................................................................ 20

Evaluating Barriers and Opportunities .......................................................................................... 20

Evaluating Strategic Options for Business ..................................................................................... 21

Strategic Plan Defined ....................................................................................................................... 22

Establishing Credit ............................................................................................................................ 24

Importance of Postharvest Handling.............................................................................................. 25

Equipment .......................................................................................................................................... 26

Employees ........................................................................................................................................... 29

Department of Defense Direct Vendor Delivery (DVD) Program .............................................. 30

Contents
Cultivating Customers in a Local Market ...................................................................................... 30

Vending Experiences During the 1997/98 School Year ................................................................ 32

Vending Experiences During the 1998/99 School Year ................................................................ 33

Strawberry Trial—1998 ..................................................................................................................... 35

Cost Effectiveness .............................................................................................................................. 35

Student Acceptance ........................................................................................................................... 36

Administrative Acceptance .............................................................................................................. 37

Deliveries ............................................................................................................................................ 37

The People of the New North Florida Cooperative...................................................................... 38

References ................................................................................................................................................... 41

Appendixes ................................................................................................................................................... 43

1. Gadsden County School Food Service Menus ...................................................................... 45

2. Department of Defense Order for Supplies or Services Form ............................................ 47

3. April Lunch Menu for Jackson County School District ....................................................... 49

4. Delivery Schedule for Gadsden County Schools on March 10, 1999 ................................. 51

Tables

Table 1. Regional and economic statistics ............................................................................................... 4

Table 2. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in fall 1997 ...................................................................... 32

Table 3. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in spring 1998 ................................................................ 32

Table 4. Delivery schedule for fruit over 1997/98 school year .......................................................... 33

Table 5. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in fall 1998 ...................................................................... 33

Table 6. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in spring 1999 ................................................................ 34

Table 7. Delivery schedule for fruit over the 1998/99 school year ................................................... 34

ii
Figures

Figure 1. Cover Photo: Spencer Lewis of the New North Florida Cooperative displays fresh

collard greens which will be sold to local schools.

Figure 2. Nothern Florida Regional Map................................................................................................ 3

Figure 3. Photo ............................................................................................................................................ 5

NRCS Chief Pearlie Reed (left) visits with Glyen Holmes (NRCS, center) and Charles

Connerly (WFRCDC) to see the Cooperative in its beginnings.

Figure 4. Photo .......................................................................................................................................... 13

A field of nutritious collard greens ready for harvest

Figure 5. Photo .......................................................................................................................................... 26

New North Florida Cooperative’s chopping machine used for processing leafy greens

Figure 6. Photo .......................................................................................................................................... 28

Refrigeration system and storage for perishable agricultural products

Figure 7. Photo .......................................................................................................................................... 29

Glyen Holmes (left) and Vonda Richardson meet with DOD Defense Subsistence Office

staff in Jacksonville.

Figure 8. Photo .......................................................................................................................................... 36

Children and teachers enjoy a healthful lunch, which includes fresh, leafy greens from

the Cooperative.

Figure 9. Photo .......................................................................................................................................... 39

Spencer Lewis and his family are participants in the Cooperative.

iii

1

Small farmers in the United States are declining in

number and experiencing economic difficulty.

Within that group, the number of African-American farmers has dramatically decreased since

1910, when 1 million African-American farmers

owned 15 million acres of land. In 1998, fewer

than 20,000 African-American farmers owned 2

million acres.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the

West Florida Resource Conservation and Development Council (WFRCDC), and the Small Farmer

Outreach Training and Technical Assistance

Project, Florida A&M University (FAMU) have

worked together on this pilot project to create

marketing opportunities for limited-resource

growers. The cooperators used A Time to Act, the

report produced by USDA’s National Commission

on Small Farms, as a guide. A group of small

farmers in the Florida Panhandle organized into

the New North Florida Cooperative and established a location in Marianna, FL, 70 miles west of

Tallahassee. The Cooperative recognized a considerable opportunity in serving local school districts

with fresh agricultural products. This pilot project

has made substantial progress over the 1997/98

and 1998/99 school years.

Summary

The Cooperative overcame initial difficulties,

including lack of organization, economic difficulties, social attitudes, existing customer preferences, and lack of equipment. Realizing that

effective organization was critical, these limitedresource growers formed a management team as a

governing body. The management team addressed

problems and handled day-to-day business

activities in a unified, methodical way. The Cooperative acquired capital and purchased necessary

startup equipment, such as a refrigerated trailer,

cutting machines, and wash sinks.

The Cooperative developed a good working

relationship with the Food Service Director for the

Gadsden County School District by providing

high-quality produce, prompt deliveries, fair

prices, and courteous professionalism. The vending experiences over the 1997/98 and 1998/99

school years were positive steps for the Cooperative in building a long-term, reputable business.

The Cooperative’s main product was fresh-cut,

leafy greens, but watermelons, strawberries,

blackberries, and muscadine grapes were also

sold. Word-of-mouth advertising has portrayed

the Cooperative as a reputable vendor and

opened doors of opportunity in other school

districts, including Jackson, Leon, and Walton

Counties.
2
3

Today, there are 300,000 fewer farmers than in

1979. Many small farm operators have either left

the farm or been forced to find off-farm jobs to

supplement their income. This group of small

farmers contains many African-American farmers.

The number of African-American farmers has

dramatically declined since 1910, when 1 million

African-American farmers owned 15 million acres

of land. In 1998, fewer than 20,000 African-American farmers owned 2 million acres. A major

concern of these farmers is the reduction and

eventual elimination of Government intervention

in commodity markets, including tobacco, cotton,

and peanut commodity programs, as a means to

provide income and price stability for the farming

sector. Small farm operators are eager to find

other income to offset the loss of these commodity

subsidies.

Introduction

Farmers are receiving less and less of every consumer dollar spent on food. In 1980, the farmer

received 37 cents of every consumer dollar spent

on food, compared to 23 cents in 1998. Part of the

reason for this decline is that consumers are

increasingly using processed, ready-to-eat products and meals. This trend has resulted in a shift

of income and opportunities from the farms to the

companies that process, package, and market

agricultural products. This pilot project takes

place in northern Florida, centered around

Marianna (figure 2). The needs and hardships of

the small farmer in northern Florida are fairly

representative of those of farmers in the southeastern United States.

Figure 2. Northern Florida regional map.

Jackson

★

Marianna
4

Table 1. Regional and economic statistics*

Poverty Unemployment Per capita

County Population Area (sq. mi.) rate (%) rate (%) income ($)

Columbia 45,534 797 15.4 9.4 11,947

Gadsden 41,931 518 22.0 6.7 10,445

Hamilton 10,996 517 24.7 9.5 10,733

Jackson 41,579 942 17.3 6.4 11,205

Jefferson 11,997 609 17.5 5.5 10,628

Leon** 198,269 676 9.4 3.9 15,724

Madison 16,513 710 19.7 7.2 10,934

Suwannee 27,374 690 15.1 9.0 11,225

Wakulla 14,444 601 11.1 6.0 11,438

* Bureau of the Census, Census of Agriculture, 1992. Geographic Area Series, Florida State and County Data. U.S. Department

of Commerce.

** Leon county has a much larger population and better statistics because Tallahassee, the State capital and a large city, is in the

county.

Northern Florida is experiencing financial difficulties, at a time when much of the country is enjoying prosperity. Table 1 provides information on

life in the rural counties of northern Florida today.

The economic and political environment in the

agricultural industry suggests an increasing need

for more efficient management practices on small

farms. Increased urbanization of southern and

central Florida has left northern Florida as the

only region in the State where small farming

operations continue to exist in large numbers.

According to the 1987 Florida Agricultural Census, more than 33 percent of the farms in Jackson,

Gadsden, Wakulla, Leon, Jefferson, Madison,

Suwannee, Hamilton, and Columbia Counties are

less than 50 acres. Small farmers are further

confronted with major problems as they attempt

to compete for markets in today’s rapidly changing political, economic, and technological environment. Low profits are causing many farmers to

abandon farming altogether. As a result, surrounding communities are overwhelmed by a

demand for employment that they are unable to

meet. The search for employment is taking many

farmers away from northern Florida.

As farm policies drive agricultural operations

toward market-based production, small farmers

must consider nontraditional, agricultural enterprises and more innovative ways of marketing

their products. The 1996 Federal Agriculture

Improvement and Reform Act (96 Farm Bill)

reduced funding for several programs, diminishing the role of Government in the life of the small

farmer. Government programs are starting to

grant more planting flexibility to the farmer.

Therefore, farmers must be knowledgeable about

the market outlook for agricultural commodities

to determine profitable enterprises to pursue. The

small farmer needs to investigate alternative

crops, cooperative farming and marketing, and

value-added processing to compete in today’s

agriculture.
5

Obstacles facing the small farmer have been

recognized, and efforts have begun to ensure their

continued contribution to U.S. agriculture. Local

limited-resource farmers in northern Florida,

together with the U.S. Department of

Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing

Service (AMS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), West Florida Resource

Conservation and Development Council

(WFRCDC), and Florida A&M University

(FAMU), are working to better the financial

situations of the farmers through innovative

marketing strategies. These limited-resource

growers formed a cooperative to increase their

farm income by introducing improved methods of

marketing value-added agricultural products,

while encouraging innovative farming techniques.

AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC, and FAMU came together

as a working group with a mutual concern for

small farmers and the family farm. The working

group established this pilot project in early 1997

and concentrated on assisting small farmers in the

region to increase the prosperity of their family

farms. This report provides the results of the 2-

year pilot project.

Figure 3. NRCS Chief Pearlie Reed (left) visits with Glyen Holmes (NRCS, center) and Charles Connerly

(WFRCDC) to see the Cooperative in its beginnings.
6

Objectives

Following are the specific objectives of the pilot

project in northern Florida, which may encourage

replication of the Cooperative’s efforts in other

areas of the country.

1) Evaluate the opportunities for limited-resource

producers to supply a local school lunch program with agricultural products through a pilot

project.

2) Monitor and evaluate the pilot project with

regard to cost effectiveness.

3) Monitor and evaluate the pilot project with

regard to student acceptance.

4) Monitor and evaluate the pilot project with

regard to administrative acceptance.

5) Monitor and evaluate the pilot project with

regard to nutritional value.

A Time to Act

In July 1997, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan

Glickman appointed a 30-member National

Commission on Small Farms to examine the status

of small farms in the United States and to determine a course of action by which USDA might

recognize, respect, and respond to their needs. In

January 1998, the Commission submitted its

report, A Time to Act, which contains a vision that

recognizes the historical importance of small

farms in the United States and the substantial

potential that they hold for the future of this

country. The Commission set policy goals that

would guide the efforts of Secretary Glickman and

USDA to best meet the needs of small farmers and

ranchers. The report contains 146 specific recommendations that respond to the threats to small

farm viability and examine future opportunities.

The following recommendations from A Time to

Act pertain directly to the needs of limited-resource growers in the northern Florida area and

this pilot project.

• The research agenda should include the development of technologies suited to small-scale

farms (Rec. 1.3).

• USDA agencies, with leadership from the

USDA Office of Outreach, should seek to

develop and implement innovative ways to

partner with the private and nonprofit sectors.

Through improved partnerships, USDA funds

could be targeted to community-based organizations to help connect farmers and farmworkers with the technical and organizational

information developed by and available from

USDA, land-grant universities, and other

agencies ... (Rec. 2.9).

• ... financial and technical assistance programs

should give priority to assisting the development of cooperatives that will primarily benefit

small farm operators (Rec. 3.16).

• Value-added initiatives should pursue specialty

and differentiated products where small farms

and small food processing firms will have a

competitive advantage over larger firms ... (Rec.

3.16e).

• Programs should give priority for cooperative

development to benefit small farm operators,

including, women, minority, and beginning

farmers. Publications should be specifically

tailored to provide information about cooperative opportunities for small farmers (Rec. 3.22).

• USDA should develop an interagency initiative

to promote and foster local and regional food

systems for the benefit of small farms, rural

community citizens, and low-income people in

rural and urban areas (Rec. 3.26).
7

• The Commission endorses the efforts of USDA’s

Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), AMS, and

NRCS to pursue marketing opportunities for

small farms to supply local school lunch programs. These agencies should be commended

for taking this step, and should pursue the pilot

programs in North Carolina, Georgia, and

Florida with a commitment to overcoming any

barriers to developing this market. The results

of the pilots should be published and distributed along with a manual to encourage replication of these efforts throughout the country

(Rec. 3.26f).

Meeting the Recommendations

AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC, and FAMU are devoted

to providing assistance to small farmers and

contributing to the sustainability of the family

farm. This working group used A Time to Act’s

vision statement and policy goals as a measuring

stick for the goals and results of the pilot project.

This pilot project has directly responded to the

above recommendations, as explained below:

Meeting Recommendation 1.3. Work with the

Cooperative in its early stages required “nuts and

bolts” solutions to serious problems such as

refrigeration, storage, and processing. In the

produce industry, refrigeration is the key to

success and profitability. Most precooling and

cold room technology is geared toward the large

farm, processing firm, or broker. To ensure the

highest quality for Cooperative customers, AMS,

NRCS, WFRCDC, and Florida A&M worked with

the Cooperative to provide economical, effective

technology solutions for handling agricultural

products.

Meeting Recommendation 2.9. AMS and NRCS

have differing areas of expertise and resources

that contributed to the pilot project’s success. The

WFRCDC, a nonprofit organization with a goal of

increasing local economic development, was an

excellent conduit which enabled the two agencies

to work together. The pilot project would not have

been successful without the participation of

FAMU’s Small Farmer Outreach Training and

Technical Assistance Project.

Meeting Recommendation 3.16. Small farm

operators in northern Florida realized that, to be

successful, they would have to pool their resources. AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC, and FAMU

worked diligently to organize these growers into

the New North Florida Cooperative. After the

initial organization, AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC, and

FAMU contributed organizational and technical

information as well as other resources to ensure

the Cooperative’s continued success.

Meeting Recommendation 3.16 e. The Cooperative decided to grow leafy greens since most of the

growers had some level of experience with the

crop. While raw, unprocessed leafy greens sold by

the bunch do not provide much opportunity for

profit, washing, cutting, and bagging them increase their value substantially. The value-added

product was more easily used by food service

workers in school cafeterias, and enabled the

Cooperative to gain access to local school lunch

and breakfast program markets and make a

reasonable return on their investments.

Meeting Recommendation 3.22. The New

North Florida Cooperative’s goals are to provide

the participants with a reasonable return on

investments, pay a living wage to their day workers, and provide an avenue for cash to reach local

small farm operators. The majority of these are

limited-resource, minority, full-time or part-time,

small-scale farmers. This report describes the

successes and learning experiences of the Cooperative. A description of these experiences may

prove useful to other USDA agencies and organizations interested in assisting small farm operators in cooperative opportunities, including landgrant universities, State Cooperative Extension
8

Service, other resource conservation and development councils, and Native American governments. AMS has also published bulletins, specifically targeting the small farmer, which summarize

the major points of this report. The bulletins are

designed for distribution by extension agents and

outreach specialists at the local level. (Bulletins

can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/mta/

publications.htm.)

Meeting Recommendation 3.26. The pilot project

is a joint effort by AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC, and

FAMU to assist small farm operators in providing

children in the local, rural community with

healthful, fresh fruit and vegetables. The Cooperative provides nutrition to these children, while

providing financial benefits to the Cooperative

participants, its employees, and many of the local

farmers.

Meeting Recommendation 3.26f. This pilot

project began when A Time to Act was being

written. Since that time, the Cooperative has had

many successes and a few learning experiences.

An important goal of the pilot project was to

develop this report and a series of bulletins,

entitled Small Farmer Success Story, that present

organizational suggestions for similar cooperatives, tips on establishing a solid market and

securing finances, and the successes and learning

experiences of the New North Florida Cooperative. It is the hope of AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC, and

FAMU that other small farmers can use the New

North Florida Cooperative’s example as a blueprint to design their own cooperative efforts.

Jackson County Empowerment Zone

Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/EC) is a Presidential initiative designed

to afford communities real opportunities for

growth and revitalization. More information

about the EZ/EC initiative can be found at

www.ezec.gov. Its mission is to create self-sustaining, long-term economic development in areas of

pervasive poverty, unemployment, and general

distress, and to demonstrate how distressed

communities can achieve self-sufficiency through

innovative and comprehensive strategic plans.

The EZ/EC program measures itself by its success

in providing the following:

• Economic opportunity

• Sustainable community development

• Community-based partnerships

• Strategic vision for change

The Marianna, FL, Chamber of Commerce nominated a region of Jackson County as an Empowerment Community. The application was accepted

by the EZ/EC program. The vision of community

leaders calls for the development of economic selfsufficiency for all citizens. The strategic plan calls

for development of small businesses, provision for

industrial expansion, and establishment of family

support systems. Employment opportunities for

unskilled workers are presently limited to lowwage jobs in large retail and wholesale trade

sectors or service occupations totaling 3,000 and

1,000 jobs, respectively. According to 1990 Census

data, the average wage for residents of Jackson

County was $7.53 per hour.

Rural Empowerment Community within Jackson

County

State: Florida

County: Jackson

Community population: 16,247

Community area size: 332 square miles

Poverty rate: 29.5 percent

Unemployment rate: 7.2 percent

Per capita income: $9,645.00

Education: 61.2 percent of residents lack a high

school diploma.
9

The Empowerment Community in Jackson

County wants to build a future in which young

people will remain in the community after graduation from high school, farmers can make a good

living from their land, and businesses can prosper

with access to capital and necessary technology.

Many of the everyday challenges in America

today are magnified in rural America by poverty,

neglect, and long travel times to work, shopping,

and other needs.

The Jackson County Development Council, Inc.

(JCDC) is a community-based, nonprofit organization established to implement and administer the

Enterprise Community 10-year Strategic Plan.

JCDC’s mission is to work with the community to

increase economic opportunity for Jackson

County residents. Under its Rural Support Programs, the JCDC operates a Revolving Loan Fund

(RLF) program to provide financing for rural

economic development projects for the creation

and expansion of small businesses and industries

within Jackson County. The aim of RLF is to

broaden and diversify the economic base, encourage capital formation for local entrepreneurs, and

create private-sector jobs for low- and moderateincome families. Funds are made available

through USDA’s Intermediary Lending Program

and the West Florida Electric Cooperative.

In its early stage of development, the Cooperative

needed finances to buy refrigeration equipment.

This was one of several critical issues affecting the

continued existence of the Cooperative. The

Cooperative had neither credit history nor considerable assets. The New North Florida Cooperative

approached the JCDC, which is responsible for

making EZ/EC funds available in the form of

low-interest loans. The Cooperative was approved

for a low-interest loan.

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives

The Federation of Southern Cooperatives (Federation) provides self-help economic opportunities

for many low-income communities across the

South. It is the only organization in the Southeast

United States that has as its primary objectives the

retention of African-American owned land and

the use of cooperatives for land-based economic

development. The Federation’s membership

includes 12,000 African-American farm families

who work through 35 agricultural cooperatives to

purchase supplies, share technical expertise, and

market their crops. The Federation owns and

operates its Rural Training and Research Center

on 850 acres of land near Epes, AL, where it

teaches production techniques, business skills,

and cooperative practices. Federation programs

are carried out through a network of cooperatives

and credit unions from the Carolinas to Texas.

They help to develop self-supporting communities by increasing income and enhancing other

opportunities. The Federation assists in land

retention and development for all family farmers,

especially African-Americans. The Federation is

an excellent source of information for a group of

small farmers interested in organizing a cooperative. The Federation also has important contacts at

the Federal, State, and local levels of government

which may be helpful to small farmers.

The Federation was instrumental in facilitating

connections among the group of small farmers

who would eventually become the New North

Florida Cooperative, AMS, NRCS, and the

Gadsden County School District. In 1996, the

Federation held a meeting in Atlanta to discuss

the potential for limited-resource farmers selling

agricultural products to local schools. Contacts,

and, eventually, working relationships among

AMS, NRCS, FAMU, and the Cooperative began

at that meeting.
10

The Cooperative is an active member of the

Federation. This has been beneficial to the Cooperative and the Federation. In one instance, due to

unforeseeable crop loss, the Cooperative turned to

the Federation for assistance. The Federation

arranged for one of its members in Georgia to

provide leafy greens to the Cooperative. The

Federation’s assistance in this case was crucial in

meeting a delivery deadline and building customer confidence. The Cooperative has provided

the Federation with a textbook example of how a

cooperative of limited-resource growers can

develop into a successful business. The Federation

awarded its Cooperative of the Year Award in

1998 and the Cooperative on the Move Award in

1997 to the New North Florida Cooperative. The

Federation has been able to use the success of the

Cooperative to encourage other minority and

small farmers in the Southeast to take advantage

of cooperative marketing opportunities.
11

Organization

Over the past 2 years, establishing a strong organizational structure has eliminated many communication problems among the management team,

participants, and others directly involved with the

Cooperative. By clearly defining duties of the

management team and the participants, many

cases of misunderstanding and “ruffled feathers”

have been avoided. Effective organization has

enabled the Cooperative to:

• Make decisions quickly.

• Clearly define the roles of participants and the

management team.

• Demonstrate a united purpose to lending

institutions, government agencies, and customers.

• Develop and conduct efficient business practices.

• Move toward a common goal.

The following sections describe the cooperative

organization and its evolution over the 2-year

pilot project.

First Meeting

The first meeting is a critical point in the long

process of developing a cooperative. A group of

small farmers from several counties in northern

Florida, who would eventually develop into the

New North Florida Cooperative, met at the

FAMU, Research and Extension Center, in Quincy,

FL, on May 19, 1997, to organize and develop a

potential market for farm-fresh produce. The first

order of business was to select a management

team. The farmers selected Glyen Holmes (NRCS)

as chairman and Vonda Richardson (FAMU),

Sophia Glenn (FAMU), and Charles Connerly

(WFRCDC) as team members

Development of the Cooperative

The next order of business was to identify obstacles that could prevent the success of the

fledgling Cooperative. These included:

• Limited-resource farmers going out of business

(external).

• Keeping participants focused on one market

while building a cooperative (internal).

• Dealing with destructive attitudes and perceptions (external and internal).

• Farmers wanting too much out of a cooperative

too soon (internal).

The first obstacle involved examining the increasing incidence of limited-resource farmers going

out of business. A possible solution was to earn a

reasonable return by selling produce to local

school districts based on fresh market prices. This

would provide a supplemental income to small

farmers, while they continued to operate their

diversified farm enterprises.

The second obstacle was to keep the participants

focused on one market while building the Cooperative structure. Local school lunch and breakfast

programs were selected as the primary market,

and the Cooperative would concentrate all its

efforts on supplying that market. It was decided

that adding any other institutional outlet, such as

regional hospitals, local prisons, or other direct

marketing opportunities, would detract from the

quality of service provided. By concentrating on

one market, the Cooperative would avoid a major

mistake made by many businesses of “spreading

themselves too thin.”

The third obstacle was dealing with destructive

attitudes and perceptions. Mentally switching

gears from open market competition with other

small farmers to working together for the common good of the Cooperative was an obstacle

that had to be overcome. Organizing and participating in a cooperative requires a long-term

perspective. Taking a long-term view means
12

short-term sacrifices are seen in light of benefits to

be realized 5 and 10 years into the future. This

may not be easy for a small farmer who pays bills

month by month or season by season, but it is a

necessary step to forming a cohesive, viable

cooperative.

The fourth major obstacle was farmers expecting

too much too soon from the Cooperative. Patience

during the first few years is critical while a cooperative is firmly established.

The participants decided that the Cooperative

would be a marketing cooperative to provide its

members with processing, storage, transportation,

and marketing services. Participants would be

responsible for production and harvest of the

produce. Pickup and delivery to the Cooperative’s

facilities were the responsibility of the management team, thereby reducing the growers’ liability.

The management team would be responsible for

processing, storage, transportation, and marketing. This meant that the management team would

be responsible for adopting policies, conducting

business, developing long-range business strategies, keeping the participants informed about the

status of the Cooperative, paying workers, and

distributing profits.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The small farmers discussed their individual and

collective problems and possible solutions. Advantages and disadvantages had to be weighed

fully before the decision to move forward as a

cooperative could be made. There were several

advantages, foremost of which was the utilization

of a local and potentially large market. The growers recognized that the school lunch and breakfast

market could be satisfied with a minimum of

transportation and logistics. They realized that

they would receive a better price for their produce

if they pooled their resources, while also being

able to purchase inputs at lower costs. A final

advantage considered was the ability to have a

louder voice, as a cooperative, in local, State, and

Federal governments for a wide variety of reasons, including the availability of technical assistance.

One disadvantage of a cooperative was that it

would not allow for individualism. Small farmers,

who had always worked individually in a competitive market, would be encouraged to work

together with other farmers. After weighing the

advantages and disadvantages, the participants

determined that the advantages of the business

opportunity to sell directly, as a cooperative, to

school districts easily outweighed the effort it

would take to correct many of the negative,

traditional, barriers and perceptions.

Participant Commitment

The first official order of business was for all

participants, including the management team, to

come to an agreement. This verbal agreement set

down what was expected of participants and the

Cooperative. First, participants agreed that the

Cooperative concept and a pilot project providing

agricultural products to local schools was a trial,

with no promises and no guarantees.

Second, participants and the management team

would commit to the Cooperative and its success.

Participants recognized that making the Cooperative work would require a lot of hard work and a

substantial time commitment.

Third, and directly related to commitment to work

hard, was a commitment to teamwork. The

Cooperative’s success depended upon its participants working together as a team. Teamwork

would be needed to meet delivery schedules,

improve the Cooperative, and develop a positive

reputation with local food service directors.
13

Figure 4. A field of nutritious collard greens ready for harvest

Fourth, the Cooperative would compensate the

grower for a harvested crop at the time it was

picked up. This was very important to the limitedresource growers. Payment at pickup time was

essential because the grower had already paid for

seed or plants, fertilizer, irrigation, and labor

costs, sometimes 2 or 3 months before harvest.

Last, participants would not be held individually

responsible for the financial debt of the Cooperative. Rather, debts incurred by the Cooperative

belonged to the Cooperative as an organization

and not to its individual participants. If the Cooperative failed and owed money, the equipment

and financial resources of the Cooperative would

be used to pay the outstanding debt.

Cooperative participants agreed that the farmers

would be responsible for all production inputs,

growing, and harvest. The management team

would set the production standards and product

specifications for leafy greens and other fresh

produce. The management team was also responsible for determining:

1) Types of crops to be grown.

2) Revenue distribution—an agreed-upon portion

reinvested into the Cooperative and an agreedupon percentage paid to members.

3) Who would grow what and where.
14

4) Purchase of postharvest handling supplies and

equipment.

Cooperative Organization

At this early stage, the Cooperative had a very

simple organization. The management team

provided leadership, organization, market development, planning, coordinating, processing,

storage, and delivery. As the Cooperative developed and its participants became more comfortable with the cooperative concept, the organization evolved into a more traditional cooperative

structure. The management team is not a permanent group, but a group that changes according to

Cooperative and participant needs. Changes in

schedules, family responsibility, health, and other

factors can limit the responsibilities a participant

can assume. Interest, confidence, and education

have caused some participants to assume greater

responsibility and become members of the management team. After 2 years, the management

team consists of eight members. Over the 2-year

pilot project, the management team made tough

decisions and managed the details of the day-today operations to deliver high-quality produce on

schedule.

Education

The Cooperative and its participants have learned

about equipment purchase and market development through research and old-fashioned trial and

error. In some situations, including production

and logistics, trial and error was the only way to

truly determine what worked.

Education provided by FAMU and NRCS, both

one-on-one and classroom instruction, was critical

to bringing this group of limited-resource growers

to a state of efficient production. It is a big step to

go from growing a few rows of garden greens for

personal use to production of several acres with

specific, targeted amounts and harvest dates.

Education and other learning experiences helped

the participants in production with regard to:

• Varieties: To build the business around a key

product, several produce varieties were examined with respect to production inputs, return,

and customer acceptance. The Cooperative

chose leafy greens and then investigated different varieties of collard and turnip greens. The

best varieties for handling, storage, taste, and

institutional use were selected.

• Fertilizer: Optimum amounts of fertilizer with

the best ratios were determined through experience and used to determine application rates.

• Schedules: Planting and harvesting schedules

were established to meet the commitments of

delivery amounts and schedules.

• Elimination of Waste: Realistic production

volumes and a safety level for leafy greens were

determined for varieties and spacings. This

information was used to eliminate excess crops

that would otherwise have to be plowed under,

improve farm efficiency, and lower production

costs.

Record keeping has been especially important in

improving the growers’ production efficiency.

Record keeping was improved with regard to:

• Break-Even Point: Record keeping education

for the participants has enabled them to track

input resources, amounts, and costs. It has

helped participants determine their break-even

point and establish prices that allow for a

reasonable profit.
15

• Time: Time and labor that a grower invests in

the production of leafy greens or other produce

varieties is recorded. Reviewing these records

has resulted in better time management and

improved efficiency.

• Future Loan Approval: Accurate record keeping and accounting are very important, if a

participant wishes to apply for a loan. Records

showing a profit over several years will greatly

improve the applicant’s chance for loan approval.

An understanding of general business practices

was essential before the Cooperative could sell its

first pound of produce to any school. The management team has been actively engaged in learning

about the following aspects of business:

• Market Research: Market research is critical to

any business. The management team took a

close look at the local school districts and their

school lunch programs. Participants’ children

would regularly bring home school lunch

menus. The management team paid strict

attention to the nutrition requirements, frequency, and cyclical nature of the menus.

• Market Supply: The management team researched the nutrition of different produce

varieties served in the School Lunch Program. It

researched the number of students who ate

lunch at the local schools. Standard serving

sizes were then used to work backward to the

number of pounds of leafy greens needed to

supply an entire school district. Additional

calculations resulted in the acreage of crop

needed for each delivery.

• Customers’ Needs: The management team also

met with local food service directors to understand their needs and requirements for leafy

greens and other produce items. This information was used to determine proper equipment

and handling practices for the Cooperative.

• Logistics: No amount of research could substitute for trial and error learning when it came to

logistics. Handling, transportation, and distribution procedures were improved through

learning experiences and time.

• Cooperative Law: To form a legally recognized

cooperative, the management team had to learn

about the laws of the State of Florida. Working

with the State and a local lawyer, the team

understood the laws and agreed to the details

before filing the charter.

• Business Finances: Understanding business

finances, including payrolls, payments, invoices, loans, profits, purchases, and reinvesting in the Cooperative, was accomplished by

both research and trial-and-error.

• Equipment: Research on equipment performance, operation, maintenance, cost, and

financing was crucial in the development of a

value-added cooperative.

The Cooperative has conducted many activities to

help educate the participating and surrounding

small farmers in the areas of production, marketing, financial planning, record keeping, and

postharvest handling. The Cooperative regularly

holds field-day events as educational and outreach forums. Some field days are targeted specifically toward small farmers’ needs. At these meetings, agricultural production specialists from

regional universities discuss the latest production,

nutrient management, and bio-control practices.

Alternative crops for niche markets are also

considered. These sessions not only provide an

excellent opportunity for small farmers to improve their operational efficiency and effectiveness, but also serve as morale boosters. They can

see and hear firsthand how AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC,

and FAMU are working to overcome the challenges facing the small farmer. They gain a sense

of being part of a dynamic group and witness the

evolution and progress of the Cooperative.
16

Some of the field days are designed to reach out to

the community and provide information on what

the Cooperative wants to accomplish and its

progress. These meetings have provided word-ofmouth advertising to prospective Cooperative

participants and potential customers. Outreach

specialists from several universities have expressed interest in the pilot project and the

Cooperative’s success. The most recent field day

was held with the sole purpose of encouraging

replication of the Cooperative’s efforts across the

Southeast.

The Cooperative has provided additional education to small farmers by participating in demonstration projects. In the spring of 1998, the Cooperative set up a 1-acre demonstration project with

muscadine grapes. The Cooperative invested

resources in seedlings, land, posts, support cables,

and labor. The Cooperative is interested in investigating other potential niche market opportunities,

including muscadine grapes and value-added

products made with the grapes.

The Cooperative also educates its participants by

encouraging field trips. By attending various

meetings, the Cooperative and its participants

network with other small farmers and cooperatives across the country who are trying new and

innovative marketing techniques. The Cooperative then channels these new ideas into its own

marketing activities.

The Cooperative also participates with the Small

Farmer Training Outreach and Technical Assistance Program, in holding meetings on financial

planning and record keeping for its participants.

The meetings address financial planning principles and record keeping and demonstrate the

necessities and benefits of these business practices

as well as basic procedures. The Cooperative

stresses the importance of financial planning and

record keeping in dealing with lending institutions.

Education, combined with an innovative marketing concept, dedicated participants, and solid

organization, has been essential to the survival

and success of the Cooperative. Education has

removed false perceptions and impressions. In

their place, the Cooperative now has the knowledge and understanding of aspects critical to a

successful, profitable business.

Business Volume

Although producing and marketing strawberries,

blackberries, muscadine grapes, and cabbage were

discussed, the farmers settled on leafy greens

because of their experience in growing them and

their nutritional value. A target of 2,000 pounds

per month was agreed to as a realistic volume.

This would provide the Cooperative with working income, but would not initially overwhelm the

participants. In only 2 years, the Cooperative

surpassed this goal. Increased market demand,

processing capabilities, and a solid reputation as a

produce vendor resulted in over 4,000 pounds of

leafy greens being sold in April 1999.

The location of the Cooperative and its business

characteristics also had to be determined. The

Cooperative chose a 40-acre tract of land west of

Marianna in Jackson County as a central location

for storage and handling. The next step was to

determine the location of the customers. The

Cooperative selected the Gadsden and Jackson

County school districts because of their proximity.

At this early stage, supplying product to more

than two school districts could cause supply and

logistics difficulties. The Cooperative might

become overextended, resulting in less than

perfect service or missed deliveries. Another

concern was overwhelming the participants with

numerous orders, long hours, and excessive

commitments.
17

The operating methods used by the schools also

presented a challenge. In Gadsden County, 15

individual schools with 13 separate preparation

kitchens were spread over a large area, a logistical

challenge to effective delivery of leafy greens. The

Jackson County School District had a similar food

preparation system. Also, deliveries had to be

made within 1-2 days of the serving date. This

constraint was caused by storage requirements for

fresh produce items and the time needed by the

food service kitchen staff for food preparation.

The school food service directors were interested

in serving leafy greens regularly during the school

year because of their nutritional and fiber value.

The food service director of the Gadsden County

School District met with the Cooperative management team and worked out a schedule that would

both provide the children with fresh, leafy greens

on a regular basis and set realistic production

levels for the Cooperative (appendix 1).

Opinions of Cooperative Participants

Although there was some skepticism about how

well the Cooperative would work, most participants were enthusiastic once the basic structure

and operating practices were established. The

Cooperative relieved the direct pressure of processing and marketing, allowing the participants

to focus on growing a crop and harvesting it on an

agreed-upon date. The participants were required

to meet the labor needs for processing if part-time

help was not available. The financial risk of

purchasing, processing, and storage was not the

responsibility of the participants. The Cooperative

took on the responsibility of cultivating customers

and developing a local market. Participants were

pleased that the Cooperative would pay the

farmer upon pickup of produce. The Cooperative

eliminated the delay time for payment to people

who could not afford to wait. This practice was

made possible after the Cooperative had accomplished several deliveries and set aside funds for

immediate payments.
18
19

Business Plan

The Cooperative business plan consisted of two

parts. First was the operation of the Cooperative,

which provided education, marketing, and technology transfer to its participants. The management team worked closely with NRCS and FAMU

to provide the participants with information on

advanced production techniques, integrated pest

management practices, and record keeping to give

them a competitive edge. Building a strong customer base was an important management function, as was its responsibility for technology

developments, including continual improvements

in processing techniques, postharvest storage, and

adapting packaging to meet customer needs.

The second part of the business plan was organizational. The organization provided by the Cooperative and management team clearly defined the

positions and responsibilities of everyone involved with the Cooperative. In the early stages of

the Cooperative, this was especially important to

eliminate misunderstandings, poor communication, and other organizational tensions. The

management team provided leadership, shortand long-term planning, pickup of product,

processing, and delivery. It also handled business

dealings as a single body, including customer

service, and banking business.

Vision Statement

The management team developed a vision statement for the Cooperative. The vision statement

resulted from in-depth discussions and reflects the

future the Cooperative sees for itself.

The New North Florida Cooperative will be

a service cooperative providing education,

marketing and technology transfer in order

to provide a competitive edge for small

farmers in the northern Florida region. The

income generated from the value-added

Building a Business

business will flow to and within the local

community. The Cooperative’s business

will be primarily targeted to providing

fresh, healthy agricultural products to local

school districts throughout the entire school

year. The Cooperative will grow, process,

and deliver 50,000-60,000 pounds of greens a

month. The Cooperative will also develop

several additional lines of fruit and vegetables that will be produced and sold as

additional sources of revenue.

Strengths and Weaknesses

of the Cooperative

The management team took a realistic look at the

internal strengths and weaknesses of the Cooperative. The Cooperative had the education and

experience needed to provide the participants

with more efficient production practices for leafy

greens. Their background was a strength when it

came time to develop a market and cultivate

customers. With its contacts in AMS, NRCS,

WFRCDC, and FAMU, the management team was

able to facilitate technology transfer, which improved production practices as well as storage,

processing, and packaging.

Equipment Purchase: Equipment is not readily

available to individual limited-resource growers

because of the initial investment required. The

Cooperative purchased and maintained

postharvest handling, processing, and packaging

equipment which enabled its limited-resource

producers access to otherwise unattainable resources.

Debt Financing: A major problem of limitedresource farmers today is debt financing. As a

Cooperative, participants were able to obtain

credit when it was not possible for the individual

farmer. The Cooperative provided a necessary

conduit for much-needed capital to be invested in

equipment.
20

Good Business Practices: Headed by the Cooperative management team, the organization

facilitated a growth strategy, vision, and shortand long-term planning. The management team

reviews existing Cooperative business operations

and allows for adjustments in production, processing, and delivery to meet the needs of the

market.

Inexperience: One weakness of the Cooperative

was its inexperience. The participants had never

been part of a business organization. The management team was also learning as it proceeded with

establishing a cooperative, developing a market,

and operating under good business practices.

However, the experiences of the first 2 years have

replaced the previous inexperience with an understanding of good business practices and a constructive level of confidence.

Mission Statement

The New North Florida Cooperative provides fresh, healthy agricultural products at

a fair price to local School Lunch and

Breakfast Programs. The Cooperative is

responsible for the marketing, handling,

processing, and delivery services of agricultural products produced by participating

local small farm operators. The Cooperative

will meet the needs of local small farm

operators by facilitating the flow of profit

from the value-added business operation to

and within the local community.

Values Statement

The New North Florida Cooperative will be

honest, loyal, and fair to customers and

participants. The Cooperative will deliver

the highest possible quality agricultural

products grown by local limited-resource

farmers.

The vision statement points to where the Cooperative wants to be; the mission statement shows

how it is going to get there; and the values statement is used as an ethics guide.

Evaluating Barriers and Opportunities

The management team had to evaluate the barriers and opportunities facing the small farmers and

the Cooperative in this alternative marketing

venture.

Weather (external): To fully meet the needs of

local school food service directors, leafy greens

need to be harvested during the entire school year,

September through May. For leafy greens to be

harvested early in the school year, they have to be

grown in the heat of summer. Leafy greens are

cool-weather crops and usually don’t do well in

the extreme heat of a Florida summer. Lack of

rainfall during the summer necessitates the use of

irrigation. Mild weather during the rest of the

year makes northern Florida an excellent area to

grow greens throughout the school year. An

occasional cool period during the summer allows

for crop replanting to recover from heat-stressed

crop failure.

Capital (internal): The Cooperative overcame its

lack of credit history through its association with

AMS, NRCS, FAMU, and especially WFRCDC,

organizations which lent credibility to the Cooperative. Once accepted for credit, the management

team had to monitor closely the business management plan, paying back the principal and paying

off the interest. Local banks were charging 10

percent interest, but USDA’s Farm Service Agency

provides loans at 6.25 percent. The other option

available was to access EZ/EC funds through the

Jackson County Development Council.

Government Regulations (external): The Cooperative investigated a range of Federal, State, and

local government regulations concerning handling
21

and processing produce for the local schools. In

addition, the Cooperative filed paperwork (appendix 2, Department of Defense Order for Supplies or Services Form) with the U.S. Department

of Defense (DOD) to become a School Lunch

Program provider. The Cooperative had to follow

Florida Department of Health food safety requirements for delivering to schools. The Cooperative

also used government requirements as a guide

when purchasing equipment and establishing its

processing/handling procedures. Although these

requirements could have been seen as a barrier,

the Cooperative used them as guidelines to set up

their operations.

Social Attitudes (internal and external): The

small farmers and the Cooperative had to combat

negative social attitudes. Foremost among these

was the reluctance of limited-resource farmers to

work together. A farmer who adopts an attitude of

“I farm alone,” has to turn 180 degrees to become

a productive member of a cooperative.

The Cooperative had to demonstrate to the public,

and more importantly to the local food service

directors, that small farmers could work together.

The management team was crucial in presenting a

unified Cooperative organization when developing working relationships with food service

directors.

Many small farmers are reluctant to diversify their

operations, resulting in another barrier. A common sentiment is, “I have been growing this crop

for years, and I‘m going to stick with what I

know.” A small farmer may be afraid to start

growing fruit or vegetables on a relatively large

scale with little or no experience. However, many

small farmers can see that they need to change to

stay in business. The decrease in and eventual

termination of price support programs for several

commodities have forced farmers to consider

diversifying their operations in order to stay on

the family farm.

Preferences (external): School food service directors who have long-established suppliers may not

be interested in working with a newly formed

cooperative. They may not want to risk a change

in quality or problems with delivery. As a new

business, the Cooperative had to provide its

customers with high-quality product, prompt

deliveries, a fair price, and courteous service.

Only by providing these things could the Cooperative become the vendor of choice for the local

school food service directors.

Marketing Opportunities (external): Currently,

there is no real competition in this niche market. It

would not be feasible for large producers to

concentrate on such a small market, and there is

no small cooperative or group currently involved

in marketing exclusively to school food services,

either in the Florida Panhandle area or the Southeast United States. The opportunities open to the

Cooperative were unique. With no competition

from big producers, small farmers, or other cooperatives, the Cooperative has captured a niche

market uniquely suited to its capabilities.

Evaluating Strategic Options for Business

In evaluating strategic business options, the

Cooperative encountered several technical barriers, mostly related to postharvest handling and

processing. Cooperative participants did not own

any of the necessary equipment and had little

experience with that type of machinery. The

Cooperative knew that the equipment needed for

proper postharvest handling and processing

would require a substantial investment. It was

agreed that the Cooperative would gradually

move forward with goals of refrigerated storage,

processing machinery, transportation equipment,

and a stable day labor force.

Marketing: The management team of the Cooperative met with the food service director of

Gadsden County and listened to her needs. Fresh
22

produce is preferred to frozen or canned items.

She wanted to serve as many fresh fruits and

vegetables as possible. This provided an excellent

market for the Cooperative. Based on the school

year and the ability to deliver fresh, locally grown

produce, cool-season varieties were selected. This

made production easier and allowed the Cooperative to supply and deliver for most of the school

year. Also, the Cooperative decided to consider

some warm-season produce that would be supplied and delivered early in the school year, late in

the school year, and during summer school sessions.

Postharvest Handling and Processing: The

Cooperative as an organization would provide

services that the limited-resource growers could

not. The management team and Cooperative

participants accepted the labor-intensive methods

used in processing and postharvest handling in

the early stages of the business. It soon became

clear that storage, processing, and delivery

needed to be improved. The need for refrigerated

storage was clearly evident when a load of leafy

greens was lost to warm conditions the night

before a delivery date. Refrigeration would also

extend the processing period. Refrigerated storage

allowed the value-added processes for the fresh,

leafy greens to be staggered over several days

before a delivery. The Cooperative could fill larger

orders and reduce pressures on day laborers. The

Cooperative also needed to improve the efficiency

of its processing phase, which at that time was

done by hand. The Cooperative started to investigate cutting machines that would meet its needs.

Delivery: Local food service directors needed

prompt deliveries to outlying schools that had

their own kitchens. From the Cooperative’s point

of view, this was a logistical difficulty. To ensure

that the delivered products were of the freshest

quality, a maximum delivery time of 11

/2 hours

was agreed upon. This would enable the Cooperative to serve many of the distant, rural schools

while still maintaining the high quality of the

leafy greens. By working hard to develop a successful delivery system, the Cooperative provided

the service to meet the needs of the customer.

Community: The Cooperative’s values statement

makes it clear that the management team and

Cooperative participants will treat everyone in a

fair, honest manner. This was essential to encouraging other local small farmers to participate in

the Cooperative and to maintaining its business

with the school districts. School food service

directors have many choices of food vendors. A

Cooperative that bases its business practices on

integrity, honesty, and professionalism can be seen

as a valuable member of the community and a

wise choice as a vendor to public institutions.

Strategic Plan Defined

Early in the Cooperative’s first year, the management team developed the following strategic plan:

The strategy of the New North Florida

Cooperative is to increase farm income of

small farmers through niche marketing,

value-added processing, and alternative

enterprises. The Cooperative business plan

will be developed to serve local school

districts with fresh, leafy greens as a

healthy portion of the School Lunch Program. In addition to the main product of

leafy greens, the Cooperative will also

diversify into other produce varieties.

The strategic plan describes how the Cooperative

will overcome its internal and external barriers,

while taking full advantage of its strategic options. To implement the strategic plan, the Cooperative set up several objectives, which were used

to measure performance. These objectives were

short-term, practical, specific, measurable, and

results-oriented. For each objective, the Coopera-
23

tive developed a detailed action plan that outlined

accomplishments and timeframes. Developing

these specific action plans provided a roadmap for

day workers, participants, and the management

team and gave them a clear understanding of their

own and each other’s responsibilities. As the

Cooperative progressed, the action plans provided

a measure of accountability. These objectives are

described below.

Objective #1: Meet all established delivery deadlines.

Food service directors were committed to preparing the leafy greens on certain days and were

constrained by published menus. Meeting delivery deadlines would show that the Cooperative

was a responsible business that upheld its commitments. Developing a level of confidence with

local school food service directors would be

essential in future business practices. The Cooperative was aiming for 100 percent on-time deliveries.

The action plan for this objective was to start with

the target date and times for delivery and work

backward. That meant having participants or

management team members make the deliveries,

coordinate postharvest handling/processing

processes, and find dependable part-time workers. Over the first school year, the Cooperative

achieved a 90 percent success rate, with one

missed delivery caused by weather and equipment problems. The Cooperative achieved a 100-

percent success rate in its second year because it

learned from its mistakes and made equipment

improvements.

Objective #2: Purchase a cutting machine to

eliminate the cumbersome chore of hand chopping large amounts of leafy greens.

The workload of participants and day laborers

was taking its toll on morale. This, combined with

time limitations dictated by lack of refrigerated

storage, proved very difficult for the Cooperative.

To implement the action plan, the management

team found a cutting machine that would meet its

needs at a reasonable price. For financing, they

approached the JCDC, which makes loans

through the EZ/EC project, and were approved

for a low- interest loan.

Objective #3: Purchase refrigerated storage.

The quality of the products, whether leafy greens,

strawberries, blackberries, or muscadine grapes,

would depend upon refrigerated storage.

To carry out the action plan, the management

team conducted market research to find the most

economical refrigeration system that would meet

the Cooperative’s needs. The Cooperative then

purchased a used refrigerated trailer from a local

trucking company at a reasonable price. The

trailer was 48 feet long, providing enough space to

accommodate their current operation with substantial room for expansion. They financed the

trailer purchase at a local bank. The bank approved the loan based on the Cooperative’s intent

to initially sell products to local schools and on the

support provided by two USDA agencies at both

the local and national levels.

Objective #4: Purchase a trailer for deliveries.

The action plan for this objective was to set aside

enough money to pay for a used trailer and then

find a reasonably priced trailer optimal for required deliveries. This objective was not met

during the first year of operation, and the Cooperative used a participant-owned van to make

deliveries. Investments in the Cooperative’s

processing shed and the payments on the equipment loans prevented another large purchase. The

Cooperative was able to meet the objective the

second year. The Cooperative used its own funds
24

and purchased an enclosed trailer that greatly

improved the efficiency of deliveries.

Objective #5: Build a packing shed to house the

cutting machine and rinsing sinks and provide

shelter for participants.

The action plan called for the Cooperative to

provide the materials and the participants to build

the structure. They built a simple wood-frame

structure with electrical and water service. Locating the postharvest handling and processing

indoors was important to the comfort and morale

of the participants. The Cooperative is continuing

to improve the building as resources permit.

Objective #6: Become a certified Government

vendor.

This allows the Cooperative to participate in

DOD’s Direct Vendor Delivery (DVD) program.

DOD is responsible for delivering commodities

and overseeing the supply of the School Lunch

Program.

The management team contacted the Defense

Subsistence Office (DSO) in Jacksonville, FL, and

filled out the appropriate form (appendix 2 ). The

Cooperative worked with DOD to meet DOD’s

certification requirements and became a certified

vendor.

Objective #7: Market leafy greens to the local

schools and diversify into other varieties of

produce.

To implement the action plan, participants planted

1 acre of strawberries at the Cooperative’s central

location, on raised beds with black plastic mulch

and a drip tape irrigation system. The participants

were responsible for the production and harvest,

and the management team was responsible for the

marketing and delivery.

Next, the participants planted muscadine grapes

for future sales. The Cooperative provided the

land, materials, and the root stocks of some

promising varieties. The participants provided the

labor.

The action plan to meet the objective of diversifying the Cooperative’s produce sales was accomplished. The strawberry test produced a fair

amount of berries that were sold to local schools

for salad bars, desserts, and breakfasts. The

muscadine grapes were planted and support

trellises built in the spring of 1998. Since it will

take several years to realize a return on the muscadine grapes, this operation represents a long-term

investment of time and resources.

The Cooperative continues to grow and is developing its vision of a stable, profitable business.

The management team modifies the strategic plan

as necessary. The accomplishments of the first 2

years have enabled the Cooperative to redefine its

strategic plan, allowing it to identify new objectives and achieve those left incomplete.

Establishing Credit

A cooperative needs capital to finance business

operations and make necessary purchases. If a

cooperative doesn’t have sufficient capital, it will

have to incur debt. There are two types of debt:

short-term and long-term. Short-term loans are

used to finance operating expenses or material

inputs and are paid back usually within a year.

Long-term loans are obtained to finance fixed

assets, such as land, equipment, or vehicles.

The Cooperative needed to borrow money for

necessary postharvest equipment. However, to

acquire a loan from a traditional lending institution, a borrower must have good credit or substantial collateral. Since the Cooperative was new

and made up of limited-resource growers, it did

not have a credit history.
25

The participants did not want to put their own

farms or businesses in jeopardy. Their personal

assets were never at risk, however, because a

cooperative, as an entity, is responsible for its own

debts.

In preparing to meet with lending institutions, the

management team identified several things that it

believed should be conveyed to lending institutions and loan officers.

• Written proposal

• Professionalism

• Seriousness of purpose

• Certification as a DOD vendor

• Proven success

• USDA cooperation at local and national levels,

which demonstrated credibility

The management team prepared a written proposal detailing the need for the loan and chose a

spokesperson.

The management team provided a copy of its

DOD Order for Supplies and Services certification

(appendix 1) to the lending institution. The DOD

certification lent credibility to the Cooperative

from an agency of the Federal Government.

In approaching lending institutions for assistance,

the Cooperative showed that it was already

meeting a delivery schedule with the local school

district and that it was not requesting money for

initial startup costs, but, rather, to purchase

equipment to improve the existing business and

lead to expansion. The Cooperative’s credibility as

a vendor was established by an endorsement from

the food service director for the Gadsden County

schools.

The Cooperative’s credibility was further enhanced by the fact that USDA was working

closely with it at both the local and national levels

by providing technical expertise and resources.

The Cooperative wrote up a formal proposal for

each loan, clarifying the Cooperative’s position. In

writing the proposal, the management team set

down major details of the needed equipment and

its business uses.

Importance of Postharvest Handling

Providing fresh, healthful produce to local school

lunch programs requires special postharvest

handling practices and equipment to ensure

product of the highest possible quality. The produce should look healthy and have a good color.

Texture is also important: Items should be crisp,

crunchy, and firm and exhibit the necessary

textural trait appropriate for that produce variety.

Products are also expected to have a pleasant

aroma. If produce items have an “off” smell, the

produce may not be salable. The final and most

important criterion for produce quality is taste.

This is very important to school food services

directors because they provide these products to

children, who can be demanding customers.

Nutritional value is another criterion that a school

food service director will use to evaluate produce.

This may cause a food service director to be

interested in purchasing only particular varieties

of produce and to carefully evaluate the quality of

the varieties chosen. The fresher, higher quality

the produce, the greater the nutritional value.

Proper postharvest handling requires specific

practices and equipment to maintain all aspects of

produce quality. The Cooperative realized that in

order to provide the best possible products to its

customers, it would have to invest in several

pieces of postharvest handling equipment.
26

Equipment

The Cooperative began providing leafy greens to

local school districts without any specialized

equipment. Greens were processed by hand,

washing was done in large steel tubs, and chopping was done by hand with knives. There was no

refrigeration system so there was no storage

capacity. As a result, harvest and processing had

to be done the day before delivery, a labor-intensive and tiring procedure for participants and day

laborers. The work often went on until late at

night. To continue in business, the Cooperative

needed equipment to add value as well as decrease labor inputs.

Packing/Processing Shed: A packing/processing

shed was needed to provide a dry place to store

and operate equipment. The Cooperative purchased the materials for the building, and participants supplied the labor. The Cooperative packing/processing shed measures 15 by 25 feet,

providing ample space for equipment and room

for participants and day laborers to work comfortably.

Cutting/Chopping Machine: The management

team recognized that chopping greens by hand

was labor intensive, time consuming, and unsafe.

The management team began talking with other

businesses with similar equipment needs and

Figure 5. New North Florida Cooperative’s chopping machine used for processing leafy greens
27

found a company that made machinery that met

the Cooperative’s specifications and accommodated its financial constraints and participants’

use requirements. They chose the “Jumbo Cutter”

made by Sunshine Systems of Boulder, CO.

An advantage of this model was that it could

easily be used to add value to other agricultural

products should the Cooperative decide to diversify its product line. The cutting machine can cut

carrots, celery, and lettuce, which would enable

the Cooperative to process healthful snacks or

precut salads for local schools. Another important

aspect of the cutting machine was its safety. The

cutting/chopping machine would reduce the risk

of injury to everyone involved in the processing of

the leafy greens. The machine also can be operated by one or two people, an important consideration due to fluctuations in labor availability.

Some school food service directors were satisfied

with the 2-inch cut provided by the machine, but

some required a finer cut. To provide the finer cut,

the Cooperative further hand chopped the 2-inch

cut greens. This took extra time and effort, but

was necessary to meet the customers’ needs. After

the first school year of using the cutting machine

and then hand chopping to get the fine cut size,

the management team decided that another

cutting machine to cut the leafy greens finer was

needed. The Cooperative markets the smaller cut

size leafy greens as its “fine cut” line, and its 2-

inch cut size leafy greens as its “country cut” line.

Wash Sinks: Leafy greens need to be thoroughly

washed and rinsed. Leafy greens, due to their

proximity to the ground, can become dirty when

rain splashes soil onto the leaves. Soil can be

difficult to wash off and requires close attention.

Some people even use old washing machines to

rinse leafy greens for their own consumption. In

the Cooperative’s beginning, participants and day

laborers washed the leafy greens by hand in large

galvanized steel bins.

The Cooperative knew it had to improve this

process to make it more efficient. When the packing/processing shed was built, the management

team replaced the large wash bins with stainless

steel sinks purchased from a local restaurant. They

are in a convenient location for water hookup and

drainage, situated in a logical, uninterrupted flow

for processing. The purchase and use of the sinks

has improved the efficiency of the entire processing procedure for leafy greens.

Refrigeration System and Storage: It soon became obvious that the Cooperative needed refrigerated storage to provide its customers with the

highest quality products.

Refrigerated storage would also eliminate the

hectic processing of an entire shipment the day

before delivery. Spreading the processing over 2

or more days provided a more realistic timetable

and created a better work situation. It also allowed more stable work schedules for part-time

laborers and participants.

Refrigeration would also allow the Cooperative to

market its produce to other local school districts.

The extended shelf life that proper refrigeration

provides can translate into greater delivery distances.

The management team knew it had to act quickly

when the Cooperative lost a load of leafy greens

ready for delivery because of one unusually warm

night. The quality of the leafy greens deteriorated

so much that the product was not salable. After

that incident, the management team made several

calls and found a local trucking company willing

to sell a used refrigerated trailer to the Cooperative. The Cooperative obtained the money from a

local bank and purchased the trailer within weeks.

Because the Cooperative would use the trailer as a

semipermanent structure, it returned the wheels

and tires to the trucking company, saving it

money on the transaction.
28

The trailer is a 48-foot-long Thunderbird refrigerated trailer with a Carrier refrigeration unit. Since

the refrigeration system runs on diesel and has a

tank capacity of 50 gallons, it can run for approximately 3 days. The refrigeration unit has an

adjustable thermostat, a useful feature when the

Cooperative markets products with different

temperature requirements. The refrigeration

capacity for the trailer exceeds the Cooperative’s

current needs but will allow the Cooperative to

increase the amount of product handled. The

Cooperative also can precool just-harvested

produce while storing other products at stable

temperatures. This is a useful feature when the

Cooperative works with different produce varieties at the same time or has overlapping delivery

schedules.

Delivery Trailer: The Cooperative purchased an

enclosed, single-axle trailer to transport leafy

greens and other produce items from the fields to

the processing center and then to the schools. A

cooling system from a recreational camper was

attached to the top of the trailer to cool the trailer

before loading and hold the produce at a relatively low temperature during transport. Sheets of

Styrofoam insulation were installed inside the

trailer to protect the produce from the outside

heat. A logo was printed on the side of the trailer,

along with the name of the Cooperative and the

phrase, “The Pinnacle of Quality,” to establish the

Cooperative business identity.

Figure 6. Refrigeration system and storage for perishable agricultural products.
29

Employees

The Cooperative does not yet require the services

of full-time employees. Cooperative participants

meet part of the labor needs by helping with

washing, cutting, and bagging as their schedules

Figure 7. Glyen Holmes (left) and Vonda Richardson (right) meet with DOD Defense Subsistence

Office staff in Jacksonville.

allow. The remaining work is handled by parttime employees. Often they are neighbors or

members of the local church. Because of the

limited size of the niche market the Cooperative

serves, it does not envision a full-time workforce

in the near future.
30

Department of Defense Direct Vendor

Delivery (DVD) Program

DOD developed the innovative DVD program as

part of the National School Lunch Program. The

goal of the program is to make larger quantities

and varieties of healthful, fresh fruits and vegetables available to school children. The DVD

program facilitates the purchase of fresh fruit and

vegetables and provides assistance to school

district food service directors.

In the State of Florida, 39 counties and approximately 3,000 individual schools participated in the

program during the 1997/98 school year. Approximately $3.5 million was available for the purchase

of fresh produce through this program in Florida

for the 1998/99 school year.

The Defense Subsistence Office (DSO) in Jacksonville purchases from around 50 small vendors

across the State of Florida and 2 small farmer-run

cooperatives, including the New North Florida

Cooperative. A vendor does not have to be certified to sell produce to schools if the money comes

from the school district’s food budget. To participate in the DVD program, however, the supplier

or vendor must be approved as a certified vendor

(appendix 2, Department of Defense Order for

Supplies or Services Form). The Defense Supply

Center Philadelphia (DSCP) and USDA signed a

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 1993

to provide fresh produce to schools in eight test

States using Group A entitlement money, amounting to approximately $3.5 million. In the 1998/99

school year, the program expanded to 38 States,

and included Guam and Alaska, with a program

ceiling of $25 million. Schools can purchase fruit

and vegetables directly from producers or from

the DSCP. The DSCP has field buyers that depend

on hundreds of small farmers located across the

United States to provide military troops, commissaries, Indian Nations, and schools with quality

produce at the best possible prices. The local DSO

representative discusses order preparation, paperwork procedures, item availability, delivery

schedules, and billing required of project participants. USDA has authorized a listing of 180

produce items for this program. Food service

directors can purchase from a terminal market or

decentralized market or take delivery directly

from the growing fields. If there are any problems

with the delivery, customers are instructed to call

the DSO as soon as possible.

Cultivating Customers in a Local Market

The Cooperative recognized the tremendous

opportunity in serving local school districts with

agricultural products. The potential was great, but

there was a risk of not being able to break into the

market. Capturing the local school district market

would mean the success of the Cooperative. The

management team developed a plan to approach

this local market, much as it had approached

lending institutions for business loans. The newly

formed management team needed to convince

prospective customers to buy from a Cooperative

without any business history. The Cooperative

again emphasized the following attributes as it

approached school food service directors.

• Professionalism and courtesy

• Seriousness of purpose

• Accountability and commitment

• Sample products

• Certification as a DOD vendor and participant

in the DVD program

The management team made an appointment to

meet with the food service director of the

Gadsden County School District. They described

to her the Cooperative’s history and purpose,

discussed their proposed business, and listened

closely to her food service needs.
31

A food service director is responsible for providing healthful, nutritious meals, controlling costs,

establishing menu schedules, and meeting Federal

guidelines. A food service director needs a serious

commitment from vendors and suppliers to

provide a high-quality product in the quantity

specified at the time scheduled. The resolve and

commitment of the management team alleviated

many of the food service director’s initial concerns.

Accountability of a vendor or supplier is especially important to a food service director. Things

will occasionally go wrong. Food service directors

need to be able to contact someone quickly if there

is a problem. They want to be notified ahead of

time if a delivery will be late or missed completely

so they can make substitutions and adjustments.

The Cooperative has been careful to respond

quickly to the Gadsden County schools’ food

service needs, thereby establishing a successful

working relationship.

Providing free samples of product is a common

marketing tool used by businesses to develop

product recognition. The Cooperative provided a

free sample of 3,000 pounds of washed, chopped,

and bagged leafy greens to the Gadsden County

schools to show the customer that a cooperative of

limited-resource producers could successfully

supply a School Lunch Program with high-quality,

local agricultural products. This reinforced the

Cooperative’s image as a professional, courteous,

serious, and accountable business that could

satisfy the needs of local food service directors.

The management team realized that the Cooperative would benefit by being certified as an official

DOD vendor. The management team contacted

the DSO in Jacksonville for the necessary paperwork (appendix 2). Since the Cooperative chops

leafy greens, which DOD considers processing,

DOD required an inspection of the processing

facilities. During that inspection, the management

team learned of the DVD program, which would

provide local school districts substantial savings

and make purchasing fresh produce from the

Cooperative an appealing option.

The Cooperative’s next step was to build a solid

reputation by meeting the needs of its customers.

The Gadsden County Food Service Director

developed her school year menu and periodically

incorporated leafy greens as the vegetable choice

(appendix 1). The Cooperative provided the

necessary amounts of high-quality, fresh fruit and

vegetables on time.

In early March 1999, the management team met

with the director and assistant director of food

service for the Jackson County School District. The

ARAMARK Corp., a contract management company, is responsible for providing approximately

7,800 lunches and 2,000 breakfasts daily to the

Jackson County schools. The management team

offered to supply two schools with free samples of

leafy greens as a trial. It received a positive response, and during the remaining school year, the

Cooperative delivered leafy greens to Jackson

County schools, as requested (appendix 3).

Word-of-mouth advertising established the Cooperative as a reputable vendor and is opening

doors of opportunity in other school districts. The

Cooperative has decided to continue to concentrate on Gadsden and Jackson County schools as

its primary customers. Its reputation has led to

fruit and vegetable sales in Leon and Walton

County schools as well. With future improvements in organization and equipment, the Cooperative plans to expand to meet the fresh produce

needs of other local school districts as well as

continuing to satisfy Gadsden and Jackson

County School Districts.
32

Vending Experiences During the 1997/98

School Year

The Cooperative’s mission emphasizes facilitating

the flow of profit from the value-added business

operation to and within the local community. The

result of these efforts provided the participants

with an increase in farm income over the 1997/98

school year.

The Cooperative’s main product was cut, leafy

greens. Extreme heat and dry conditions destroyed or stunted several plantings of the leafy

greens during the summer. These difficulties

decreased the amount of leafy greens available in

early fall 1997 (table 2). As the weather became

more suitable for leafy green production, quantities increased. A steady supply of leafy greens

allowed the Cooperative to provide deliveries of

larger quantities and also to develop a regular

schedule in the spring (table 3).

The Cooperative was intent on expanding the

number of produce items available to local

schools. This would increase the flow of profit to

the small farmers and community as well as

expand future market opportunities. Participants

planted watermelons in the summer of 1997, and

the Cooperative sold them to the Gadsden County

School District for school breakfasts and desserts

for lunches.

The Cooperative wanted to further expand its

offerings with fresh, ripe strawberries (table 4).

The timing of the strawberry harvest worked to

the advantage of the Cooperative because it

complemented the end of the leafy green season.

The Cooperative made significant progress in the

1997/98 school year as it initiated its organization,

business practices, equipment purchases, and

market development. In addition, it established a

commendable sales record.

Table 3. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in spring 1998

Commodity Amount (lbs.) Date planted Date harvested Date delivered

Collards 1,527 11/10 1/17 1/21

Collards 1,352 11/10 2/28 3/03

Collards 1,527 11/10 3/09 3/12

Collards 1,256 11/10 3/19 3/21

Table 2. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in fall 1997

Commodity Amount (lbs.) Date planted Date harvested Date delivered

Turnip greens 1,385 9/1 9/21 9/24

Turnip greens 1,150 9/1 11/09 11/12

Turnip greens 1,945 9/1 11/14 11/17

Turnip greens 1,631 9/1 12/05 12/05
33

Vending Experiences During the 1998/99

School Year

With the learning experiences of the 1997/98

school year behind it, the Cooperative went into

the 1998/99 school year with a positive attitude. It

had an established market, good customer relations, and the necessary equipment in place,

allowing it to focus on the daily operations of

production, processing, and delivery.

Leafy greens sold to the schools (tables 5 and 6)

show two important characteristics. First, deliveries were made at regular intervals, meeting the

needs of the customer’s cyclical menus and

encouraging the regular incorporation of leafy

greens into school lunches. The second important

aspect is the large amounts of greens delivered,

which translated directly into increased revenue

for the Cooperative and its participants. The

Table 4. Delivery schedule for fruit over 1997/98 school year

Commodity Amount (flats) Date planted Date harvested Date delivered

Watermelon 100 (#) 6/1/97 9/27/97 9/29/97

Strawberries 50 10/1/97 4/12/98 4/13/98

Strawberries 64 10/1/97 4/26/98 4/27/98

Strawberries 15 10/1/97 5/3/98 5/4/98

Strawberries 50 10/1/97 5/3/98 5/4/98

smaller deliveries, intermingled with the regular,

large deliveries in April and May 1999, represent

sales to an additional school district. The Cooperative also marketed fruit grown by individual

participants to the local schools (table 7). Blackberries were used in pies and cobblers in the school

lunches. Muscadine grapes and strawberries were

served as desserts and additions to the salad bar.

The impressive sales record of the 1998/99 school

year strengthened customer confidence. The

Cooperative demonstrated its ability to deliver

regular shipments and increase volume without

sacrificing quality or service. The delivery record

also inspired Cooperative participants as they

gained increased profits. They are realizing the

potential of this marketing opportunity, increasing

their income, and benefitting from their participation in the Cooperative.

Table 5. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in fall 1998

Commodity Amount (lbs.) Date planted Date harvested Date delivered

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 8/9 8/11

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 9/14 9/15

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 9/28 9/30

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 10/5 10/6

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 10/12 10/13

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 10/25 10/26

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 11/15 11/16

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 12/14 12/15
34

Table 6. Delivery schedule for leafy greens in spring 1999

Commodity Amount (lbs.) Date planted Date harvested Date delivered

Leafy greens 1,320 5/98 1/5 1/6

Leafy greens 1,320 10/98 1/27 1/29

Cole slaw 500 10/98 2/10 2/11

Leafy greens 1,320 10/98 2/4 2/2

Leafy greens 1,320 10/98 2/27 3/1

Leafy greens 1,320 10/98 3/8 3/10

Leafy greens 120 10/98 3/16 3/17

Leafy greens 1,041 10/98 4/7 4/8

Leafy greens 332 10/98 4/10 4/12

Leafy greens 1,320 10/98 4/13 4/15

Leafy greens 1,320 10/98 4/16 4/19

Leafy greens 314 10/98 4/16 4/20

Leafy greens 201 10/98 4/25 4/27

Leafy greens 201 10/98 4/30 5/3

Leafy greens 1,320 10/98 5/14 5/17

Leafy greens 201 10/98 5/11 5/12

Table 7. Delivery schedule for fruit over 1998/99 school year

Commodity Amount (lbs.) Date planted Date harvested Date delivered

Blackberries 700 Perennial 8/3/98 8/4/98

Muscadine grapes 1,300 Perennial 9/9/98 9/10/98

Muscadine grapes 1,300 Perennial 9/16/98 9/17/98

Muscadine grapes 1,300 Perennial 9/23/98 9/24/98

Strawberries 144 gal. 10/98 4/14/99 4/15/99

Strawberries 144 gal. 10/98 4/18/99 4/19/99
35

Strawberry Trial—1998

The Cooperative provided leafy greens to local

schools throughout the school year and expanded

its produce line with strawberries. Using black

plastic mulch and drip tape irrigation, an acre of

strawberries was planted on land leased by the

Cooperative. Thirteen hundred pounds of strawberries were harvested over a period of several

weeks in April and May. Three hundred pounds

were sold to Gadsden, Leon, and Walton County

schools. Participants used 1,000 pounds for their

own consumption because they were not of

salable quality. The berries were overly ripe,

which was perfect for immediate use, but they

could not be held for any length of time in the

schools.

This trial was the first time many of the participants had grown strawberries. The Cooperative

learned the importance of a sound irrigation

schedule in producing a good crop of strawberries. Weeds presented a problem, which will be

addressed through aggressive weed control

measures focusing particularly on nut grass (a

regional problem). The strawberry crop suffered

from cold damage in early March. The Cooperative was not prepared to deal with the sudden

below-freezing temperatures, and, as a result,

many blossoms and immature fruit were damaged. The Cooperative plans to install a basic frost

protection system, either crop cover or misting

irrigation. The management team is currently

investigating the options, initial investment, and

the potential return on these two systems. Wind

also caused damage and compounded the cold

damage. To better protect the blossoms and fruit,

the Cooperative will plant rye grass between the

rows of strawberries to act as a windbreak for next

season’s crop.

Profits from the strawberry trial were minimal.

The Cooperative sold its strawberries at a low

price to be competitive with industry prices.

These prices, however, were not enough to cover

expenditures, labor costs, and provide a reasonable profit. The profitability of the strawberry crop

was also hurt by the lack of salable product.

In the process, the Cooperative learned a great

deal about berry production and handling. This

knowledge will be used to make the Cooperative

more profitable by expanding its product line and

providing its customers with more purchase

options. This product diversification also will

make the Cooperative a more attractive vendor to

many school districts.

Cost Effectiveness

The Cooperative has entered a small, niche market

providing agricultural products to local schools.

At this time, there is little competition in this

market. This is especially true with the fresh,

washed, chopped, bagged, and delivered leafy

greens.

The Cooperative decided upon a selling price that

would be fair to its customers and, at the same

time, provide a reasonable profit. The management team considered the costs of production,

postharvest handling, and delivery. An accurate

estimate was made, and the management team

decided on a reasonable profit level. The price that

the Cooperative presented was acceptable to its

customers.

The strawberry market is particularly competitive

in Florida. Unlike the price setting possible with

value-added, leafy greens, selling strawberries did

not allow the Cooperative to set its price. To be

competitive, the management team had to monitor the weekly and daily selling prices for strawberries and set its prices accordingly. The Cooperative did not make as much money on the

strawberry trial as many participants had hoped.

They plan to grow strawberries again, but with

increased profitability. The management team has

taken the past year’s market prices and worked
36

backward to determine areas of production and

postharvest handling that can be improved. The

management team is hopeful that these improvements will enable the Cooperative to provide

strawberries at market prices and increase its

profit margin.

Figure 8. Children and teachers enjoy a healthful lunch, which includes fresh, leafy greens from the Cooperative.

Student Acceptance

Taste, texture, and aroma are very important

when selling food. These qualities are especially

critical when providing food to children. Foods do

not improve in taste, texture, or aroma after

canning, freezing, or processing. Fresh fruit and
37

vegetables are at their peak quality and are the

most appealing. The taste of fresh, leafy greens

produced by the Cooperative was well received

by the children of Gadsden County School District. In fact, the children preferred the fresh, leafy

greens to their processed alternatives. The strawberries provided by the Cooperative passed the

taste test with flying colors, as evidenced by the

children’s enthusiastic patronage of the salad bar

and the popularity of the strawberry desserts.

According to J’Amy Petersen, food service director of the Gadsden County School District, increases in student participation in the School

Lunch Program have been attributed to the highquality, fresh fruit and vegetables. Faculty, staff,

and school district maintenance personnel have

also increased their use of the school cafeteria

during this time.

Administrative Acceptance

The Gadsden County School District Food Service

is the main customer for the Cooperative. There

are approximately 8,700 students throughout 15

schools in the county. Gadsden County serves an

average of 6,700 lunches and 3,500 breakfasts

daily. In addition to the School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, Gadsden County participates in the

Child and Adult Care Feeding Program and the

After-School Snack Program. During the summer,

the school food service provides meals for several

4-H and Bible school camps.

The Gadsden County School District Food Service

considers itself a “learning laboratory,” interested

in testing new varieties and items that will provide children additional food choices. School

meals must meet established Federal nutritional

requirements, but the specific foods and how they

are prepared are up to the local food service. The

produce sold by the Cooperative has been important in guiding the school feeding program toward promoting better eating habits among

children in accordance with USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

A big factor in the administrative acceptance of

the Cooperative’s products by the Gadsden

County schools is the enthusiastic reaction from

children to the fresh fruits and vegetables.

The economic benefit of buying produce from the

Cooperative also affects administrative acceptance

of the Cooperative. The Cooperative provided the

Gadsden County schools an opportunity to

purchase high-quality, fresh produce items at a

lower cost than that charged by larger produce

vendors. This competitive edge for local small

farmers was realized even before participation in

DOD’s DVD program. The DVD program’s

purchase of fresh produce for schools makes the

business arrangement even more attractive. The

opportunity to buy fresh, healthful fruit and

vegetables locally was a real benefit, both to the

Gadsden County School District Food Service and

the Cooperative.

Administrative acceptance of the Cooperative was

also influenced by the good working relationship

developed with food service directors and managers. Many of the Cooperative’s attributes and

business practices, including professionalism,

courtesy, purpose, seriousness, accountability, and

commitment, contributed substantially to the

administrative acceptance.

Deliveries

The Cooperative takes responsibility for the

transportation and delivery of the fresh, leafy

greens to the schools in Gadsden County and

other school districts. Some school district food

services have preparation kitchens at each school.

Other school districts prepare meals at one or

more central kitchens and then distribute the food

to the individual schools. From a logistics standpoint, delivering produce to central kitchens is
38

much easier. Because the Cooperative has adopted

a “How can we help you?” attitude toward meeting its customers’ needs, it delivers product to

schools as part of its overall service to food service

directors.

Reliable transportation was needed for the Cooperative to start and stay in business. They invested

in a used, single-axle, refrigerated trailer that can

hold over 2,000 pounds of leafy greens. A Cooperative participant drives his own truck, pulling

the trailer, for deliveries.

Gadsden County encompasses 518 square miles,

and deliveries to every school in the county

require substantial effort. Over time, regular

deliveries have resulted in good business and

interpersonal relationships between the Cooperative and the school cafeteria managers. Table 8

(appendix 4) shows a typical delivery schedule for

Gadsden County. The Cooperative makes every

effort to deliver early in the morning for the

convenience of cafeteria managers and workers.

Receiving payment for the Cooperative’s products

involves working closely with food service personnel and DOD. A three-copy invoice register is

used to record the type, amount, and price of the

products delivered to each school. DOD uses the

Electronic Invoicing System (ELVIS) for payment

to the Cooperative. The ELVIS form contains the

same information as the register. The ELVIS form

and a copy of the signed register are sent to DOD

in Jacksonville to be processed and then sent on to

Columbus, OH, for payment. The process usually

takes 30-60 days. The Cooperative adheres to a

strict financial plan to ensure an adequate cash

flow between pickup, delivery, and payment.

A typical delivery begins with the participant

entering the school kitchen and meeting the

cafeteria manager. The participant is dressed in a

shirt that has the “New North Florida Cooperative” printed over one pocket and the name of the

person over the other. The leafy greens are

brought in and stacked neatly in cold storage. The

Cooperative demonstrates courtesy, provides

convenience, and protects the high quality of its

products by taking this extra step. The cafeteria

manager then signs the invoice and keeps one

receipt for the school district payment procedure.

The Cooperative keeps one copy for its records.

The importance of interpersonal relationships

between the Cooperative management and the

cafeteria managers and the opportunity for feedback as deliveries are made cannot be overemphasized. The Cooperative gets immediate reaction to

its produce as deliveries are made and is able to

plan accordingly.

The People of the New North Florida

Cooperative

This pilot project deals with many aspects of

agriculture and marketing, including development of a cooperative, helping small farmers,

dealing with value-added products, offering

technical assistance, providing benefits to minority farmers, promoting interagency cooperation,

and market development. Each of these vital

aspects of the pilot project was integral to the

success of the New North Florida Cooperative,

but underlying these elements are the small

farmers who make up the Cooperative. They are

now able to improve their quality of life and

create opportunities for a better future. They

receive a fair price for their produce, sell larger

quantities than before, and have their produce

marketed by a reputable cooperative. These

benefits allow the farmers to concentrate on what

they do best, growing crops. It enables them to

save time and earn money.

There are currently 13 farmer members from the

local farming community with varying backgrounds and experiences in the Cooperative.
39

Figure 9. Spencer Lewis and his family are participants in the Cooperative.

Spencer Lewis operates a 30-acre farm in Jefferson

County with his wife and young son. Lewis, who

farms full time, says, “Working together with the

Cooperative has allowed me to reduce my acreage. I grow 54 rows of leafy greens on 1 acre, and

make more money using less land.”

Willie Morgan operates a 30-acre farm in Gadsden

County. He is also employed off the farm with the

prison system.

Richard Conrad and his wife Myra own a farm of

approximately 20 acres in Malone, FL, and farm 2

acres of fruit and vegetables. Mr. Conrad works

off the farm at the local paper mill, and Mrs.

Conrad is a part-time beautician.

Martha Hasty, along with her husband Wally,

farms 10 acres in Jackson County. She is also

employed off the farm with the U.S. Postal Service.

Danny Sylvester is a Jackson County business

owner and farms at the Cooperative’s central site.

Minnie Hall is a retired public service worker who

farms and assists in value-added processes at the

Cooperative’s central site.

Elease Varner is a retired school teacher who

farms part time and assists in the value-added

processes at the Cooperative’s central site.
40

Portia Holmes is a nurse part time. She farms part

time and participates in the value-added processes at the Cooperative’s central site.

Jimmy Williams and his wife Patricia are small

business owners and operators. They farm at the

Cooperative’s central site.

Rev. Walter Franklin, a Jackson County minister,

farms on the Cooperative central site.

Shepherd Myrick works off farm for the State

Department of Forestry in Jackson County. He

farms on the Cooperative central site.

Jay Hall and his wife Dawana farm on the Cooperative central site. He is in the military, while she

provides legal counsel to the Cooperative.

The Cooperative has enabled them to combine

their energies and limited resources to seize

valuable business opportunities. This experience

has improved their individual farming operations

and their potential for economic gain.
41

Abernathy, Donna F., May/June 1998. A Legacy

Lives On-Cooperative Approach Helps Black Growers

Succeed. Rural Cooperatives Magazine, Rural

Business-Cooperative Service, USDA.

American School Food Service Association, November 1998. School Foodservice & Nutrition: Town

& Country Challenges.

Bureau of the Census, Census of Agriculture, 1992.

Geographic Area Series, Florida State and County

Data. U.S. Department of Commerce.

Duyff, Roberta Larson, 1996. The American Dietetic

Association’s Complete Food & Nutrition Guide. The

American Dietetic Association.

Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities

Homepage, http://www.ezec.gov

Food and Nutrition Service, Child Nutrition

Programs, http://www.usda.gov/fcs/nsclp.htm

Hardenburg, Robert E., Alley E. Watada, Chien Yi

Wang. The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables,

and Florist and Nursery Stocks. USDA, Agricultural

Research Service. Agricultural Handbook Number

66.

Lewis, Edger L, 1994. Opportunities for Vegetable

Processing Cooperatives in the South and Southeast.

Agricultural Cooperative Service, USDA, ACS

Research Report 122.

Logan, Michelle, 1996. The Packer: 1996 Produce

Availability and Merchandising Guide. Vance Publishing Corporation, Lincolnshire, IL.

Namken, Jerry C., E. Eldon Eversull, David S.

Chesnick, 1995. Value-Added Contributions by

Agricultural Cooperatives. Rural Business and

Cooperative Development Service, USDA, RBCDS

Research Report 135.

References

National Commission on Small Farms, 1998. A

Time to Act A Report of the USDA National Commission on Small Farms. USDA.

Newton, Catherine L., 1931 Vitamin Content of

Turnip Greens, Collards, Cantaloupes, and Peaches.

Georgia Experiment Station, Georgia State College

of Agriculture.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1994. Understanding Cooperatives: The American System of

Business. Cooperative Information Report 45,

Section 1.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1994.

Understanding Cooperatives: Cooperative Business

Principles. Cooperative Information Report 45,

Section 2.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1994. Understanding Cooperatives: The Structure of Cooperatives.

Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 3.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1994. Understanding Cooperatives: Who Runs the Cooperative

Business? Members. Cooperative Information

Report 45, Section 4.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1994. Understanding Cooperatives: Who Runs the Cooperative

Business? Board of Directors. Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 5.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1994. Understanding Cooperatives: Who Runs the Cooperative

Business? General Manager and Employees. Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 6.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1995. Understanding Cooperatives: Financing Cooperatives.

Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 7.
42

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1995. Understanding Cooperatives: Income Tax Treatment of

Cooperatives. Cooperative Information Report 45,

Section 8.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1994. Understanding Cooperatives: Legal Foundations of a Cooperative. Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 9.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1995. Understanding Cooperatives: Strategic Planning. Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 10.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1995. Understanding Cooperatives: Cooperative Business Management Functions. Cooperative Information Report

45, Section 11.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1995. Understanding Cooperatives: Base Capital Financing of

Cooperatives. Cooperative Information Report 45,

Section 12.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1995. Understanding Cooperatives: Farmer Cooperative Statistics.

Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 13.

Rural Business-Cooperative Service, 1995. Understanding Cooperatives: How to Start a Cooperative.

Cooperative Information Report 45, Section 14.

Trupo, Paul, Charles Coale, C. Gene Haugh, Dixie

Reaves, George Norton, 1998. Southwest Virginia

Shipping-Point Market Project Phase 2. College of

Agricultural and Life Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association,

1980. Leafy Greens, A Nutritional Treasure. United

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, Alexandria,

VA.
43

Appendixes
44
45

Appendix 1

 Gadsden County School Food Service Menus

Breakfast

 Monday, Oct. 26, 1998

Apple Juice

French Toast with Syrup

Ham Pattie

Choice of milk

 Tuesday, Oct. 27, 1998

Fruit Juice

Chicken Biscuit

Choice of Milk

 Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1998

1/2 Banana

Assorted Cereals

Graham Crackers

Choice of Milk

 Thursday, Oct. 29, 1998

School’s Choice

 Friday, Oct. 30, 1998

Happy Halloween!

Orange Juice

Pancake with Syrup

Sausage Pattie

Choice of Milk

Lunch

Fish Fillet on Bun with Tartar Sauce

Macaroni Cheese

Green Peas

Hush Puppies

Orange Slices

Choice of Milk

Spaghetti

Tossed Salad with Dressing

Hot Garlic Bread

Peach or Pear Slices

Cookie or Bar

Choice of Milk

Sliced Turkey with Gravy

Steamed Rice

Seasoned Greens

Hot Cornbread

Frozen Fruit Juice Bar

Choice of Milk

Chili

Cinnamon Bun with Raisins

Carrot and Celery Stocks

Mixed Fruit Cup

Choice of Milk

Chicken Filet on Bun with Condiments

Lettuce and Tomato

French Fries

Halloween Cake and 3 oz. Ice Cream Cup

Choice of Milk
46
47

Appendix 2

Department of Defense Order for Supplies or Services Form
48
49

Appendix 3

April Lunch Menu for Jackson County School District
50
51

Appendix 4

Table 8. Delivery schedule for Gadsden County Schools on March 10, 1999

School Cafeteria Delivery time Amount of Number of

manager (A.M.) leafy greens students served

(lbs.)

Havana H.S. Alonza McBride 6:15 72 382

Havana M.S. Bettye Brown 6:30 72 400

Havana E.S. Shirley Candate 6:45 132 900

St. John E.S. Mary Vickers 7:45 72 400

Shanks H.S. Geraldine Jackson 8:00 100 1,100

George W. Lillian Green 8:30 150 850

Monroe E.S.

Carter Doreen Rittman 8:45 none this time, 850

Parramore M.S. but usually 90

Stewart St. E.S. Paula Milton 9:00 140 800

Greensboro Emily Mahaffey 9:30 250

H. & M.S.

Greensboro E.S. Loretha Rittman 9:45 90 550

Gretna E.S. Mitchell Williams 10:00 60 430

Chattahoochee E.S. Catherine Roberts 10:30 114 500

Chattahoochee Regina Butler 10:45 60 150