Released: January 18, 2008

Growing Growers Program Helping Kansas City Area Get Local Foods

OLATHE, Kan. – A rapidly rising number of Americans now want to know about the origin and care of the food they eat. Organically grown fruits and vegetables are becoming a staple in grocery store produce sections. Nationwide, the number of farmers markets has reached an all-time high. Restaurants have begun to specialize in dishes prepared from locally grown foods.

Growing Growers – a university-aligned training program – has been working to help the Kansas City area prepare for and meet this increasing demand. Since 2004 it has placed more than fifty apprentices on local farms. They’ve hosted an annual workshop series to teach sustainable agriculture and also organized conferences to promote and connect local producers.

“We have a lot more to do, though, because so many Kansas Citians are becoming part of what appears to be a long-lasting ‘eat healthy’ trend. We’re taking applications now and will start training another group of farm apprentices in March. Our new series of public workshops on market farming will begin March 15,” said Ted Carey, program coordinator and a Kansas State University Research and Extension horticulturist, based at K-State’s Olathe horticulture center.

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

Carey said past apprentices already have attracted national media attention with what they’ve done since graduating. Stephanie Thomas of Spring Creek Farm near Baldwin City, Kan., was the subject of a 2007 National Public Radio interview. Hilary Brown and her Local Burger restaurant in Lawrence, Kan., were part of a Sundance channel TV documentary called “Big Ideas for a Small Planet.”

“Not every Growing Growers apprentice goes on to farm, but all of them leave the program with an increased understanding of the work that goes into growing our food and running a business,” he said.

In addition to working on local farms, apprentices receive one-on-one training from a host-farmer, attend seminars and farm tours, and receive books selected by local farmers and experts

Area residents interested in learning more about or applying for a 2008 apprenticeship can look on the Web at http://www.growinggrowers.org  or contact program manager Laura Christensen at 816-805-0362 or growers@ksu.edu.

The application deadline for 2008 is March 1, Christensen said. A limited number of scholarships are available. The non-refundable training fee for the apprentice program is $300, which covers all training fees, books and other resource materials.

“We recommend applying as soon as possible so we have time to match apprentices with the farm best suited to them.” she said. “In many cases, apprentices can choose whether they want to work shorter hours as a volunteer or longer hours as a paid employee. Either way, they’ll get their hands dirty and learn about farming from a real farmer.”

Growing Growers also offers monthly public workshops from March through November.

“The workshops are a required part of the apprenticeship program,” Carey said. “But, we time the series to avoid conflict with the area’s farmers market schedules, so practicing producers can come, too. A few workshops are day-long, but most meet Monday afternoons.”

This year the program is expanding to include a focus on organic and sustainable fruit production, developed in cooperation with the Kansas Fruit Growers Association.

The workshops typically include a farm tour in the Kansas City area, as well as an in-depth look at topics that range from soil nutrients and specialized equipment to post-harvest handling practices and business management. Local producers and university Extension specialists lead the discussions.

For the public, the workshop registration fee typically is $15 to $30. The 2008 workshop schedule of topics is on the Web at http://www.growinggrowers.org/workshop.htm.

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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