Farm Program

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The mission of WEI's North Circle Project, now it its third year, is to promote the health and integrity of rural communities and to address and
eliminate rural poverty by supporting small family farms through
sustainable and organic agriculture. The scope of the project includes small-scale farms in East Central Minnesota, Northwestern
Wisconsin, and the St Croix Valley. The North Circle Project
seeks to improve economic opportunities for local producers as well
as strengthen community support and involvement with local farmers through
partnerships, advocacy and education. The project will eventually include a new
business venture involving a certified kitchen and processing facility for farmers involved in the North Circle collaboration.

HOW DOES THE NORTH
CIRCLE PROJECT DO THIS?

NORTH CIRCLE PROJECT FARMER AND PRODUCER COLLABORATIVE

This year we will be launching a small pilot project to support local organic producers. This pilot project will test the potential and success of locally grown organic produce and products in local grocery stores, cafes and resturants. This year, the North Circle Project will be comprised of 4 to 6 local producers. 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PURCHASE NORTH CIRCLE PROJECT PRODUCTS?

When you purchase North Circle produce or products, you know you are helping support small family farms and producers located in East Central Minnesota. You also know your food is fresh and pesticide free. Through our North Circle ads, logo and website, community members have the opportunity to get to know each producer and where their food is being grown or made. Suppliers of North Circle products will be providing community customers with the opportunity to support business practices and educational community partnerships that

CHALLENGES TO AGRICULTURE IN EAST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA
Our nation's farmers earned less producing crops in 2005 than they did in 1969,
even though productivity had doubled. The biggest losses are in the traditional
agricultural states, including Minnesota.
From 1985 to 2005, farmland decreased 9.5% in Minnesota, adding up to a loss of 2,900,000
acres and 16,400 farms. In Chisago County, where the Women's Environmental Institute is
located, and seven surrounding counties in Minnesota, a staggering 64% of farms
suffered net losses in this same time period. Protecting farmland is imperative
to our present and future food security. If more and more farmers can no longer make a living, where is the money we
spend on food going? In 2005, farmers made an average of 22 cents for every
dollar spent on food. According to the National Sustainable Agriculture
Information Service, this is down from 33 cents farmers were making in 1970.
Processing, marketing and distribution now claim the majority of the food
dollar.

BUY LOCAL CAMPAIGNS
Local growers face numerous challenges when marketing their products, one of
which is a lack of small-scale local infrastructure that would allow them to
reach new markets. The North Circle Project will soon help solve this problem
by enabling growers to work together to create new value added products. Our
project will add organic produce and products to an already emerging St. Croix
Falls Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign that has captured the interest of a growing
number of consumers.

WHY GO ORGANIC?
The North Circle Project is based on fastest growing agricultural market and
one that is still available to small family farms working in collaboration with
one another. This is the market for organically certified produce and value-added
products. Organic foods are grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or
fertilizers that may not only be harmful to the health of farmers, consumers
and the environment. Organic inputs, such as manure, compost, and labor, are
all things a family farmer does not need to pay for, which help keep the farm’s
expenses low. Organic foods also fetch a price premium of 25% to 200% more than
conventionally grown foods, which means higher profits for the grower. Lower
costs and higher profits mean higher overall earnings for small family farms.

According to John E. Ikerd, Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics, University of Missouri Columbia:


"Organic farmers do not have to become a part of the industrialized food system.
Organic farmers can join with other small farmers
in developing an alternative
food system that can coexist with, and someday displace, the global-industrial,
corporately-controlled
food system. Independent organic farmers may well lose
the battle to keep industrial agribusiness from dominating the mass production

and mass distribution of organic foods. But, smaller, organic farmers can still
compete effectively for the fast-growing and profitable
organic niche markets –
both locally and internationally. And more important, small-scale organic
farming can be carried out by means
that are ecologically and socially
sustainable over the long run, whereas, industrial organic production cannot. The sustainable
agriculture movement offers the best hope for the future
success of small-scale, independent organic producers."
-The Architecture of Organic Production

NORTH CIRCLE
PROJECT STAFF

Jacquelyn Zita, Project Supervisor. Jacquelyn is a women’s
studies scholar, educator and farmer. She is a professor at the University of Minnesota and former Chair of the
Department of Women’s Studies. She has an undergraduate degree in Biology and
Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Washington University.
She is locally known as “The Apple Lady” on Amador Hill and has managed the
Amador Hill Organically Certified Apple Orchard (now run by WEI) for nearly a
decade. Jacquelyn brings to the North
Circle project her experience as an educator and
administrator, plus her extensive knowledge in biology, environmental health
issues, environmental justice studies, and organic farming. Jacquelyn is also
Vice President of the Friends of Wild River State Park.

María Regan-González, Program Coordinator. María is an
Americorps VISTA volunteer with experience in international sustainable
developmentand community organizing. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Minnesota in Global Studies: Environment
and Sustainable Development and Spanish. María previously worked in the MN
Department of Agriculture’s Sustainable Agriculture Program. She also was a
past researcher at the University of Minnesota investigating the various effects of
sustainable development projects in Latin America
and has worked for two non-governmental organizations implement food security
projects abroad. María believes that the local and organic foods movement is a
great way to address a number of domestic and international issues such as poor
nutrition, environmental degradation and loss of small family businesses and
community ties.

NORTH CIRCLE PROJECT ADVISERS:

Dana Jackson, Associate Director of the Land Stewardship
Project, a Minnesota-based conservation organization, and co-founder of the
Land Institute who has a long history of advocacy for sustainable agriculture.
Dana has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University
and has published several books on sustainable agriculture. .

Shereen
Naumann, local farmer at Leap of Faith Farm, North Branch, Minnesota
where she raises poultry and grows fruits and vegetables for direct market to
local community members.

Mary Vancura, a LEED certified Civil Engineer, holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, an MBA from Augsburg College and is currently in a MS Civil Engineering program at the University of Minnesota. Mary believes that healthy local food consumption is important as it decreases the amount of energy necessary to transport the food we eat. Sharing meals and eating fres produce from her parents garden is one of her favorite activities.

Collie Graddick, WEI Board Member and North Circle Advisory,
an Agricultural Consultant with the MN Department of Agriculture (MDA) managing
the MDA/ US Environmental Protection Agency’s Urban Pesticide Educational
Initiative program. Formerly a regulatory advisor with MDA Seed, Noxious Weed
and Pesticide Regulatory Program, Collie has worked with MDA for 12 years.
Previously a County Extension Agent in Auburn, Alabama, and a marketing coordinator at Cargill-Nutrena,
Collie earned a BS in Plant Science from Fort Valley State College in Georgia and an MS in Plant and Soil Science from
Tuskegee University
in Alabama.

William Shafer, an emeritus professor in the Department of
Food Science and Nutrition at the University
of Minnesota. His
research is focused on the nutritional impact of fruit and vegetable
processing.

GROUPS THAT HAVE SUPPORTED
THE NORTH CIRCLE
PROJECT

Americorps
VISTA
Initiative Foundation
The Center for Urban and Regional Affairs Community Assistantship Program
The
Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture
Sustainable
Agriculture Research & Education
Marketing
Assistance & Research Solutions
The
Land Stewardship Project
St. Croix Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local

DONATE TO THE NORTH CIRCLE
PROJECT!

Please consider donating to the North Circle Project. We need your support to continue promoting local and sustainable agriculture in Minnesota and Wisconsin. See donation options at the top of the page.