Under the agreement, Erickson's Diversified Corporation of Hudson, Wis., will buy select vegetables from the Hay River Produce Cooperative during the upcoming growing season.
Hay River is a new cooperative that consists of six farms in western Wisconsin.
Erickson's officials approached LSP about setting up a marketing agreement with local farmers after the grocer stopped carrying pork produced by Premium Standard Farms last fall. Erickson's dropped Premium from its 18 stores in Minnesota and western Wisconsin after family farmers and consumers representing LSP and the Missouri Rural Crisis Center talked to store officials about the mega-hog operation's extremely bad environmental and community record in Missouri. As a result, when they dropped the Premium Standard line, store officials reiterated their desire for quality food products raised locally by sustainable family farmers. LSP has conducted a series of meetings with store officials to determine how to create mutually beneficial marketing agreements that link Erickson's customers with local producers. The Hay River agreement is the first formal marketing arrangement to come out of these meetings.