09-25-2024 Primetime - Flipbook - Page 14
14 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, September 25, 2024
FOOD
Value-added agriculture
Farmers think outside the
box to deliver more products
By Margit B. Weisgal, Contributing Writer
W
hen we were kids, we learned farmers planted crops, grew them, reaped
them and sold them. Pretty simplistic. Today, there’s a whole lot more to
it. This shift is due to them expanding what they have to sell and how they
market those items, changing those basic crops into something “value-added.”
Value-added products are defined by
the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) as having:
• A change in the physical state or
form of the product (such as milling
wheat into flour or making strawberries into jam).
• The production of a product in a
manner that enhances its value (such
as organically produced products).
• The physical segregation of an agricultural commodity or product in a
manner that results in the enhancement of the value of that commodity
or product (such as an identitypreserved marketing system, like
heirloom tomatoes.)
What does that mean? According to Kevin
Atticks, Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture,
“It’s taking existing products – agriculture
(crops, livestock, poultry), horticulture (flowers,
fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants), and/or
agronomy (soil management and field crops)
and turning them into something with a higher
sales price that allows farmers to generate
exponentially more revenue than the value of
their original crop. Those that benefit most
from value-added are smaller farms.”
There is one aspect that makes it viable
and worthwhile: economic linkages between
consumers’ preferences and farm practices.
Whatever the farm produces or modifies has to
be something current buyers see as valuable.
So, as with any product, marketing to the right
niche audience is what adds value.
“Depending on what you are planting and
cultivating, ‘value-added’ means you will make
more profit for you and your family,” Atticks
explains. “For example, let’s say you’re growing grapes. You can turn them into wine, vinegar, grape seed oil, juice, grape leaves, syrup,
jams, and jellies. And don’t forget raisins. By
changing the composition, these products
would generate far more revenue than just
selling them in their original form. Or, if you
grew wine grapes and table grapes, you could
do both. Our goal is to help farmers and their
families earn more from their farms.
“Grapes, as you can see, are a high-value
crop. In Maryland, we have over 1,000 acres of
grapes and over 100 wine producers. Wine is
a perfect example of value-add. Each acre of
grapes produces three to four tons of grapes.
The grapes can generate around $2,000 per
ton in income, which yields $6,000 per acre.
“Now, instead, ferment it. Turn it into wine.
That will end up generating approximately
$40,000 to $60,000 per acre. That’s significant.
It also means that you are now in three businesses with one crop: growing grapes, marketing wine and selling wine. Whiskey is even
more beneficial because grain prices are low.”
In addition to the Maryland Department of
Agriculture, Atticks calls on the University of
Maryland and its College of Agriculture and
Natural Resources that supports the population of the state through the University of
Maryland Extension.
About University of Maryland Extension
University of Maryland Extension applies
research-based practical education to improve
the lives of American families and to enhance
agriculture, business, and industry. Bryan
Butler is the principal agent at the Carroll and
Harford Counties’ offices for the University of
Maryland Extension, specializing in Agriculture
& Food Systems and the Agricultural Nutrient
Management Program. He spoke about valueadded agriculture, starting with a historical
perspective.
“Value-added agriculture has actually been
around forever. There’s just a greater focus on
it now. The farmers who are also good market-
ers are the ones who are most successful. And
there are lots of ways to accomplish valueadd. If you have an orchard, you can host
‘pick your own’ visitors, also called agritourism
(a farm that’s open to visitors), so it would be
pick your own apples, peaches, pumpkins or
watermelons.
“Some do community supported agriculture where consumers purchase shares
of what the farmer produces in advance of
the growing season. Some farmers are selling to local restaurants promoting ‘food to
table’ menus. For Marylanders traveling to
the Eastern Shore or heading to the western
part of the state, there are ice cream shops
on farms you pass on the way, a value add
for those with cows. And some larger grocery
chains are promoting locally grown food products or, at Thanksgiving, local turkeys.”
Fermentation
Another aspect of value-add, as mentioned
above with making wine or whiskey, is fermentation. “Those are only two of myriad ways to
employ fermentation to create new products,”
says Frank J. Coale, Ph.D., assistant dean for
strategic initiatives in the college of agriculture
and natural resources at UMD and professor in
the department of environmental science and
technology.
A brand-new major in Coale’s department
is fermentation science that aims to prepare
