Bravo to the Piedmont Environmental Council’s Buy Fresh, Buy Local program. When the National Good Food Network met in Chicago on November 18-20, the inaugural event brought together small local farmers across the nation to discuss the serious growth potential for local food and its producers. One of the models discussed? Why our very own Loudoun County, cited for its direct-market success and 10-year agricultural plan, called the “200,000 Acre Solution,” with lots of small truck farms, ranging from 2/3 -100 acres, in addition to wineries and cattle operations:
Loudoun’s story is encouraging. In 1997, it set out to double its agricultural output in 10 years in order to strengthen its rural economy and character. The county reports it has done much better than that, raising agricultural output from $27 million in sales in 1997 to an estimated $70 million in 2007.
And as Rose Jenkins wrote in the latest issue of The Piedmont Virginian, we’re seeing abundant examples of small farmers prospering across the region as selling local is a business model that works.
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