Released: March 05, 2007

Growing Growers Taking ‘07 Apprentice Applications

OLATHE, Kan. – A subculture living within 200 miles of metro Kansas City is getting bigger and better.

As a result, the area – including K.C. – is already eating better, according to Ted Carey, program coordinator for the Growing Growers program. More locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables are showing up in restaurant fare, grocery stores and farmers markets. Plus, an ever-increasing amount is coming from certified organic farms.

The Growing Growers program is a cooperative effort that has influenced this growth. As part of its apprenticeship program, it networks successful market farmers with new and aspiring growers. It also provides professional development training that’s helping existing farmers improve and expand.

“The metro area has more farmers markets and market farmers than ever before. But, the demand for locally grown products is still bigger than the supply,” said Carey, who is a Kansas State University Research and Extension horticulturist at K-State’s Olathe Research Center.

Nearby community-supported agriculture programs are turning away people who’d like to be members, Carey said. Both grocery stores and restaurants are reporting they’d like to get more locally grown products than currently are available.

For those who’d like to help fill that demand, Growing Growers is now accepting apprentice applications for the 2007 growing season. The program offers two approaches to this on-the job training at an area host farm:

* Work at least 20 hours a week for regular wages – which sometimes can include room and board.

* Work a minimum of four hours a week as a volunteer.

This year, those accepted as apprentices will have to pay $150 for books. A U.S. Department of Agriculture grant helped the four-year-old program get started, but Growing Growers now is having to become self-sustaining.

Apprentices will still have free access, however, to the program’s series of monthly study sessions, workshops and tours at nearby sites in both Kansas and Missouri. The series also is open to other would-be local growers and any established growers wanting to develop a particular aspect of their operation.

“A good number of our graduates are already working in farming or in some aspect of local foods. Several have started their own farms. Others are working for existing farms and looking for their own land,” Carey said. “Some have been very creative about finding ways to put their new skills and knowledge to use.

“One apprentice, Hilary Brown, went on to start the Local Burger restaurant in Lawrence, using almost all local meats and vegetable products. A couple of graduates have found you can turn a big back yard into a niche garden – one that supplies an unusual herb or a vegetable used in ethnic recipes.”

Those interested in apprenticing should contact the Growing Growers program manager by e-mail (growers@ksu.edu) or phone 913-488-1270. She can direct them through the application process, which includes visits to possible host farms.

Later, Kelly also will supply some of the apprentices’ one-on-one training.

More information about the overall Growing Growers program and its various offerings is on the Web at http://www.growinggrowers.org.

That page now includes a link to a new service – a listserv for current market farmers interested in (1) asking questions of or sharing information with peers, (2) combining orders with peers to qualify for discounts on bulk purchases of seed and other supplies, and (3) receiving peer and Growing Growers information and ideas on ways to become more efficient and effective.

The Growing Growers program is a cooperative effort of Kansas State University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, the Kansas Rural Center and the Kansas City Food Circle (a community organization).

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Kathleen Ward
kward@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News