Grown in 417-land
Find fresh food, here and now, that's good for you and the earth. It's that simple.
(page 1 of 8)
 |
"Almost every Western nation buys my seeds for its botanical gardens. We even sell to Disneyland!" —Jere Gettle |
That demand is expanding the number and diversity of our farmers as well.
Jere Gettle of Mansfield dreamed of being a seedsman. Now, at the age of 27, he is a botanical cross-breed of Indiana Jones and Grand Ole Opry founder George Dewey Hay. His time is spent finding lost seeds and offering them in his catalog all the while hosting monthly music and garden festivals.
At 18, William Coticchio has spent half his life in agriculture already. Determined to stay in that business, he has carved a niche for himself, pioneering products
like micro greens for local markets. His focused and calm demeanor can fool you. In person, his boyish features give him away, but on the phone, he could be 30. He has a sense of purpose and drive that are absent in many 18-year-olds you are likely to meet.
Kip Glass is edging up on retirement from UPS. A pilot, he has made a name for himself with the chicken, a flightless bird. He decided to raise a few naturally for his own consumption and for the health benefits. Then he raised a few more, and then a few more after that. Now he raises thousands every year and has added turkey and pork to his output.
These are just three of hundreds of farmers who have found a growing success in local agriculture and a growing market for their goods right here in Southwest Missouri.
Gettle's seeds sprout into local fruits and vegetables around the world. Coticchio's greens are found in our finest restaurants. Glass' chickens are found just about any place they can squeeze a beak under the door, from private homes to local markets and restaurants.
Eating Local: It's Catching On
As trends go, food grown in 417-land is infinitely accessible. Excluding snacks, you have the opportunity to try local food three times a day. You can grow your own in the back yard, stop by a farmers' market, buy directly from a farmer or shop your local market. Supermarkets such as Price Cutter have sections sponsored by AgriMissouri in many of their stores featuring local honeys, jams and other products.
While farmland continues to sprout houses between here and Branson, the rate of that particular trend is slowing. According to a July 2007 study of farmland prices by the University of Missouri division of Agricultural Economics, 77 percent of farmland is being bought by farmers who intend to farm the land. That number is up seven percent over 2006.
One of the reasons is a renewed interest in local food, according to Lane McConnell, a marketing specialist with the Missouri Department of Agriculture. The popularity of farmer's markets and local food networks are cultivating new opportunities for farmland.
“There are both mom and pop operations at the farmers' markets and there are people doing this as their livelihoods," McConnell says. “They are doing good business. It is also a way for kids to come back to the farm and not inherit their grandma and grandpa's way of farming."
Jere Gettle:
Seeds of Better Health
In 1998, at the age of 17, Jere Gettle sent out his first Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalogue to 550 people. He tracks down lost botanical treasures, offering them up in a catalog with a print run of now more than 95,000.
He smiles at you from the inside cover in his red western wear. Gettle is as much showman as seedsman. His monthly Heritage Day Festivals attract thousands to his Pioneer Town in Mansfield. His two-day August Heirloom Garden Show features bluegrass, gospel, folk and country music in abundance.
Gettle says local agriculture and local lore are what make his business. Regions like the Ozarks are like a lifeboat for heirloom varieties.
“We've got quite a few local varieties," Gettle says. “Anywhere it's kind of rural, the older people kept these varieties going."
