The2010 season has been a great one for gardeners in the county! It is exciting to see a swell in local agricultural products and interest. Our county boasts two small, growing Community Supported Agriculture farms. Many long-time gardeners and farmers continue to “grow their own.” Cook County Extension, the Northwoods Food Project, Master Gardeners, and school gardening programs are active. Eggs, goat meat, fish, bread and more are available direct-from-the-farm. And community and school gardens bless our residents with access to good soil for growing food and sharing conversation with neighbors. It is heartening to see local food production on private land, through partnerships, and in community and municipal lands.
One question still unanswered in Cook County’s agricultural future regards access to affordable, open land for farmers. Local governments are struggling with this throughout the Northland. However, nowhere in northeastern Minnesota is the affordability of land as much an issue for farmers as it is here in Cook County.
There are many wanting to farm in Cook County and throughout the Northland, who cannot afford or access hayfields or old fields to reclaim for a community food source. Many young people and families will leave our community for places where an agricultural infrastructure and affordable lands are available. At the same time that new “wannabe” farmers grapple with affordability and access, another dilemma faces longtime farm families. There are existing farmlands in our county that will soon pass generations. These families are struggling with the decision between the economic incentives—to divide/develop and sell—or hold onto family farmlands. Currently, there is little economic incentive or gain to holding onto family farmlands and the possibility of not being able to maintain or hold onto family farms is very real. It is a heartbreaking proposition that our county leaders and EDA can help solve.
Creative answers have been found in places like Boulder, CO, where land is also at a premium. But it has taken a strong stance on the economic and cultural importance of local agriculture by county, tribal and city leaders to make significant changes.
In an election season, it is time for all who care passionately about local food and historic farmlands to share with current and potential leaders the importance of access to affordable land. Local food— potatoes in Moose Valley, wild rice in our lakes, eggs and meat on Maple Hill, or maple syrup from the ridgeline, is a part of our economic and cultural history, part of our present, and a part of our future that deserves some political attention.
Kristin Wharton
Good Nature Farm
Colvill, MN
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