Back to the Land: Keeping it Local by Amy Harris

Rick Lattin of Lattin Farms in Fallon Nev., knows organic farming is not going to make him rich. Lattin’s family has been farming in the Lahontan Valley for five generations. Fifty years ago, farmers earned a livable wage, comparable to the salary of a school teacher. Now only a handful of American farmers make a living growing food, Lattin said. Lattin has watched as industrial agriculture slowly wipes out small farmers and makes organic farming an economic struggle.

“Every workshop on organic farming starts out by telling people if you are here to make money leave the room now,” Lattin said. Lattin Farms’ 400 acres will be certified organic by 2012.

Lattin Farms is vying for the survival of small scale organic growers, a concept more recognizable as a picturesque landscape on the side of a milk carton than as a real way of life. Competing with industrial agriculture is a challenge for any small farm, and adding organic practices into the mix makes economic viability an even greater struggle.

“Farmers are asked to sacrifice their whole lives,” Lattin said. “Family farms are terribly threatened because they are not a sustainable economic model. Young people look at farming and say no way. They don’t want to center their lives around something that gives them little return. We need to figure out a way to make family farms more lucrative or we are in big trouble.”

Organic growers are still struggling financially to produce food despite the increased demand for local and organic products. Restaurant owners must spend much more money when they buy local and organic products and many consumers cannot afford to pay the premium the food demands. In addition to these monetary challenges, Nevada faces difficulties brought on by its desert location. (You can read more about Organic vs Industrial Farming here)

“One of the big challenges is our climate and weather and knowing how to grow in this weather,” Lattin said. “Growing in Nevada is different, we have a unique climate.”

Lattin is part of NevadaGrown, a non-profit organization that encourages and teaches about agriculture in the state. The organization helps people learn how to grow food in the local area, but some farmers export their products rather than sell them locally.

“Yerington is shipping onions to Georgia and most of the time you see Washington and Oregon onions in our stores,” Lattin said. “I’ll bet there are onions passing each other on the highways.”

Yerington farmers make more money selling their onions in Georgia where the food is out of season, Lattin said. The food distributed in the grocery store comes down to price instead of location, which explains why Nevada is simultaneously shipping onions in and out of state.

Local food advocates and restaurant owners have not overlooked the discrepancies in the food system. Thanks to books like Michael Pollan’s “The Omnivores Dilemma” and Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life,” food issues have gained increasing attention and several members of Reno’s community have not missed the cue.

Joe Horn, co-owner of Reno’s Dish Café and Catering, helped found Reno’s Slow Food chapter. Slow Food is an international member-supported organization that reconnects people to their local food system and helps raise awareness about food.

“Before 2007, I couldn’t even cook eggs,” Horn said. But now he has transformed from a novice cook to a Slow Food pioneer. “I went from one extreme to the other, and the key ingredient was awareness. The mission of Slow Food is to feed people really good food that sparks their interest in where their food comes from and encourages them to make wiser decisions about where they buy their food.”

Farmers and consumers run into a chicken and the egg scenario, Horn said. Farmers must simultaneously grow their products as they grow their market. Without increased demand from consumers, farmers cannot risk growing more food than they can sell.

“The biggest problem in Reno is that there is no distribution system,” Horn said. “Even if people want to buy local they don’t know how to get the food. We lack a mainstream distribution system so the average person can’t just walk in and buy local and organic food that is not incredibly expensive.”

Distributors do exist in Reno. The Great Basin Community Co-op carries local and organic products and several community supported agriculture (CSA) boxes are available to consumers. But getting local and organic foods into chain stores like Safeway and Raley’s is one of the goals of Slow Food.

Local Food Northern Nevada blogger Shelley Brant works to bring local food to the mainstream. The purpose of the site is to serve as an educational tool about where to find local food in Reno, Brant said.

“My true interest is food justice,” Brant said. “I’d like to see everyone have access to locally grown and organic food that is affordable for consumers and pays farmers a living wage.”

Reaching these goals demands action at the state level, Brant said. Laws in Nevada make it difficult for family farms to survive. Brant discovered community since becoming active in the local food scene. She also cited reasons why people should care about food issues.

“Childhood obesity is a very big reason to care about our food system,” Brant said. “Kids respond well to food if they know where it came from and are more likely to eat healthily. If we don’t bring children back into a food culture change will get more challenging.”

Twenty miles up the hill from Reno, Moody’s Bistro executive chef Mark Estee works extensively in the community to change the experience people have with food. From bringing local food education and awareness to classrooms to serving dinner in the barn of a local farmer, Estee does not accept no for answer when it comes to overcoming food issues.

“I don’t look at food issues as problems or challenges,” Estee said. “They are just another thing we have to overcome. I always ask why not? There is no such thing as the word no.”

Estee has been working with Gary Romano of Sierra Valley Farms for eight years. The partnership provides recognition and business to restaurant and farm. Unlike most small organic growers, Romano, his wife and son, are self-sustaining on the farm.

“Labor is the most expensive part of running a farm,” Romano said. “We scale to what we can do ourselves and with a few interns. We started with old equipment that was already on the farm, we live with less, and produce high value crops.”

Romano works to make farming more profitable and encourages younger generations to return to the land.

“I want to help young people get back into farming,” Romano said. “I’m trying to change the image that a farmer is a box of rocks and a pair of overalls.”

Growing food is not an easy task, Romano said. Farmers have to be irrigators, equipment operators, tillers, planters, laborers and marketers. But rewards exist for those who choose this lifestyle.

“It’s nice being your own boss,” Romano said. “You’re reaping the harvest of your labors literally and if I need more money I grow another crop. It’s pretty simple. Farming is great exercise and great for the mind and soul.”