MAGAZ INE FOR GRADUATE ALUMNI OF ARTS AND SC IENCES AND ENG INEER ING VOL. 3 NO. 2 FALL 2008

ALMA MATTERS

PLUS: TRACKING TROUBLE IN PARADISE n GREEN DAY n NOT A LOT OF BUNK

LifeFarmFarmers across New England have an ally in DorothySuput, G92

onthe

LIFE FARM

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ONTHE

When farmers have run out of options, they turn to Dorothy Suput and The Carrot Project.

FARM

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B Y R O B E R T B O C H N A K P H O T O G R A P H S B Y M E L O D Y K O

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their wings and propel their small bodies across the barnfloor, leaving clouds of dust and feathers in their wake. It’sdifficult to tell what has set them off. It could have been trig-gered by the arrival of Dorothy Suput, G92, and farmowner Lee Straw a few moments earlier. Or maybe it’s thedogged persistence of a photographer as she moves closerand closer to the chickens in search of the perfect shot. But

who really knows? They are, after all, chickens and their behavior, atleast on this day, will remain a mystery.

Before the chickens came along, Lee Straw wasn’t happy either. Hisbarn was in trouble. Built during the early 1900s, the structure hadseen more than its share of New England weather, with its roof suffer-ing the most. If Straw didn’t do something he knew it was only a mat-ter of time until the barn was lost.“The roof was in such bad shape,”says Straw, who owns and operates Straw’s Farm in Newcastle, Maine.“I couldn’t put poultry or hay in the barn because it would get wet.”

Only a new roof, Straw believed, would save the barn and help hisbusiness remain profitable. In 2006, he approached a handful ofarea banks about securing a loan so he could hire some contractors.Each lender said the same thing: No.

And this is when Dorothy Suput got involved.

COMMON EXPERIENCESFarming, while rewarding for those who have made it their life’s work,isn’t easy. The days are long. The work is difficult. One day a tractor maybreak. Another day an animal may fall ill. Then there’s the weather,which can be unpredictable. Crops have been decimated by too muchrain, wiped clean by too little. Put together, these, and other factors,

make farming a constant challenge. To make matters worse, many farm-ers also have difficulty getting loans and other types of financing.

“I went from a six-digit income to farming full time,” says LisaRichards, who raises sheep, pigs, and chickens on her farm in Marlow,New Hampshire. “The banks wanted to see enough meat orders tocarry the payments on the loan for three years. Restaurants don’t placemeat orders for three years. They are looking for orders no longer thansix months out. Also, the banks wanted to place a value on mybreeding stock, to see how valuable it was. They went to the state agri-cultural website which stated that a normal, standard domestic sheepwas worth $20. The sheep that I have are Icelandic and valued at $400-$500 per animal. The banks wanted to say that my breeding stock wasworth $200, when it was actually worth much more. The same thinghappened with my pigs, which are also a rare breed.”

Richards, naturally, didn’t get the loan.Lisa Richards’ experience is, unfortunately, all too common for

small and mid-scale farmers in the New England area. As defined bythe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), small and mid-scalefarms are those whose annual agricultural sales do not exceed$250,000. These farms account for 90 percent of those in the UnitedStates. They often employ environmentally friendly practices and tendto be much smaller in acreage compared to larger farms, which canconsist of hundreds or thousands of acres.

The reasons why small and mid-scale farmers get turned down forbank loans are legion. For example, their local bank branch may nothave a loan officer who understands the business of farming. Theymay have insufficient credit history or collateral which is unacceptableto the lender. They may only have seasonal cash flow, which, in theeyes of a lender, would make a loan too risky. The list goes on and on.

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There are other options beyond the local bank when it comes tofinancing. The federal government, through the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (USDA-FSA), has a num-ber of programs that provide support to farmers across the country.But small and mid-scale farmers often encounter difficulties whenapplying for this type of support, especially when it comes to commod-ity programs (i.e., those that provide financial support for farmers whoproduce specific crops like wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, etc). Thistype of funding is typically directed to large farms, as detailed in a 2007USDA article titled “The Importance of Farm Program Payments toFarm Households.”According to the article,“large farms are more likelyto receive farm program payments and, as a group, they receive thebulk of payments simply because most payments are paid per acre.”

The USDA-FSA also provides loans to farmers through its directlending and loan guarantee programs. Both sets of programs are tar-geted toward farmers who have been unsuccessful attaining financingthrough banks or other lenders. The main difference between each isthat loans distributed through the direct program are made and serv-iced by FSA staff while guaranteed program loans are made by com-mercial lenders but guaranteed against loss by the FSA. Like with thecommodity programs, though, problems exist for small and mid-scalefarmers who apply for direct or guaranteed loans.

“These loan programs are specifically set up to assist farmers whoare unable to get financing elsewhere,” says Suput.“But these loans can’tserve all the needs that exist, monies aren’t always available, and it cantake a long time to get small amounts of money.”

Financial support is also available at the state-level but these pro-grams, according to Suput, vary from state to state and their resourcesare limited.

THE MIDDLEWOMANFarming runs deep in Dorothy Suput’s family. Both her parentsgrew up on farms, and each summer Suput would travel from herhome in Indiana to visit her grandmother’s farm in Nebraska. Suputdidn’t do much farming when she visited, choosing to ride combines,play at a nearby pond, and “harass the cows” instead.

“I thought the farm was fascinating,” says Suput, an urban andenvironmental policy graduate alumna. “It was a typical plains farm,a beef and corn operation. I really looked forward to going there, butI didn’t become really interested in agri-culture until after college.”

Suput graduated from Purdue Univer-sity with a bachelor’s degree in cellularbiology in 1986, and left for Switzerlandsoon after. She spent four years there,working first as a researcher at the FriedrichMiescher Institute and later as a regionalmarketing and sales representative forBoehringer-Mannheim (Switzerland) Ag.As she traveled across Switzerland onbehalf of Boehringer-Mannheim, Suputbecame reacquainted with agricultural pro-duction after immersing herself in the localculture during her free time.

“I acquired a different sensibility aboutwhat kind of agriculture was good,” saysSuput of her time in Switzerland. “I hikeda lot and the trails often cut through private

property, many of which were farms. I couldn’t help but notice thefarms and their relative connection to their communities. This led toconversations with farmers and people I met who lived in small towns.We talked about biodynamic farming (which focuses on environmen-tally conscious maintenance and preservation of farmland), organicagriculture, and other agricultural practices. I also noticed that there wasstrong support for buying local, which was something I never heardabout growing up in Indiana. From these experiences, it seemed to methat Switzerland had found a better way of doing agriculture.”

By this time, Suput had decided to take her career in a differentdirection. She had spent enough time in the lab to realize that a careeras a research scientist was not for her. Instead, based on her interest inpolicy and advocacy issues, she wanted to become involved in the non-profit world. This meant going back to school.

“I had a very strong science background before coming to Tufts,”says Suput.“Literally, 80 percent of the courses I took as an undergrad-uate were science-related, whether it was calculus, physics, chemistry,or biology. So, it didn’t make sense for me to go back to a science-based program. I chose UEP because it provided me with the chanceto learn about the whole nonprofit sector and get a better understand-ing of how agriculture worked in the United States.”

Suput’s master’s thesis, titled “Community Sponsored Agriculture inMassachusetts: Status, Benefits, and Barriers,” focused on sustainableagriculture and its benefits from an environmental, economic, health,and social perspective. Advocates of sustainable agriculture believe foodshould be produced in an environmentally responsible way and shouldhave the best interests of consumers in mind. This agricultural philos-ophy also stresses the importance of treating animals in humane waysand providing fair wages to farmers. On the ground, so to speak, a sus-tainable approach could involve avoiding antibiotic and growth hor-mone use on livestock, using pesticides and herbicides only whennecessary, rotating crops (which helps replenish soil nutrient supply),and minimizing food transport (and thus fuel) by selling to locally basedmarkets, restaurants, and other businesses.

After earning her master’s degree in 1992, Suput served as thenortheast regional organizer for the Campaign for Sustainable Agricul-ture and then as executive director of the Massachusetts Recycling Coali-tion. But after years of working for nonprofits, she decided to start oneof her own. In 2005, Suput founded The Carrot Project to support small

and mid-scale farmers seeking financing.Providing this support was a challenge inthe beginning, as there was little researchon this topic and other related issues.

“It became clear to me that there was alack of infrastructure to support smalland mid-scale farmers,” says Suput, hernonprofit’s sole employee. “We addressedthis by focusing on the financing gapsfacing them.”

Suput then decided to run a pilot pro-gram with a single farmer in the North-east. The goal was to help this farmer getfinancing from a local lending or grant-making institution. Suput would serve as,essentially, the middleman. But Suput did-n’t want just any farmer.

“We didn’t put out a big advertisement,because we were only going to work with

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one farmer,” says Suput.“We were looking for someone who understoodthat it might take five or eight months, instead of six weeks, to get a loan,someone who understood that we were a nonprofit and this was a pilot.”

Enter Lee Straw.

THE LONG AND SHORT OF ITThere were other ways to get the money. Lee Straw could have soldsome of his heifers. He had done it before. But this would have beena classic case of addition by subtraction. True, he would have a newroof and a functioning barn. But he would also have fewer cows and,thus, wouldn’t be able to sell as much milk. Before Straw had to makethis difficult decision, he was contacted by Dorothy Suput.

“I reached out to John Harker at the Maine Department of Agri-culture in 2006 and he suggested Lee Straw,” says Suput. “I contactedLee and he ended up being one of four farmers who submitted anapplication.”

The four applicants soon became two, with the final pair submit-ting full business plans to The Carrot Project.

During the pilot program outreach, Suput worked with JonathanJaffe and Lucy Miller. Jaffe, a Carrot Project advisory board member, isvice president and farm business consultant/farm tax specialist for FirstPioneer Farm Credit, ACA, and Miller is trustee of the Lawson Valen-tine Foundation. The foundation, which focuses on environmental jus-tice, sustainable agriculture, and food systems, would later become theinvestor behind Lee Straw.

Of the finalists, Straw had the strongest business plan, and was cho-sen for the pilot program after a conference call with Suput, Jaffe, andMiller.

“We talked about what type of an investment it would be, how secureit would be, and what the downsides were,” says Suput.“The foundationwanted to go ahead with the loan, with the caveat that they would takea percent interest on the property so they could protect their interests.”

With an agreement in place, the Lawson Valentine Foundation put$30,000 into a certificate of deposit at a local bank. The bank then pro-vided Straw with a loan and he was able to hire contractors to install anew roof and also increase the number of chickens he had by 600. Theinflux of chickens, which currently occupy the first and third floors ofthe barn, were pivotal in the months that followed.

“We were able to double the amount of eggs we were producing atthe time,” says Straw.“We had the demand, and the extra chickens paidfor the roof. That’s kind of the long and short of it.”

During the pilot program process, Suput was also working onanother significant project: a survey of small farmers in New Englandand New York. The survey would explore the financial challenges fac-ing these farmers and thus chart the future course of The Carrot Pro-ject. Survey data was assembled into a report published last summertitled “Are Northeast Small Farmers in a Financing Fix?”

“Over 700 farmers completed the survey,” says Suput, who creditsthe organization’s four-member working group with guiding theproject. “We found that 25 percent of small farmers who applied forfinancing can’t get the money they need and that many small farmers,particularly start ups and expanding businesses, could benefit fromalternative financing services and business technical assistance.”

With the survey results in mind, Suput moved forward. The firststep was enhancing the organization’s website.

“We added a financing resources page to the website,” says Suput.“This page helps farmers find agricultural lenders in their area andorganizations which provide technical assistance for planning and

managing their farms. We used to have a lot of one-on-one conversa-tions with farmers, but now we refer them to our website where theycan find what they need.”

According to Suput, the website will help beginning farmers inparticular. “There are different categories of farmers,” she says. “Thereare farmers who have been doing it for a long time or come from afarm family. These farmers are pretty familiar with USDA or FarmCredit programs or at least know that their family used to go to a cer-tain bank and trust to get a loan. These farmers are not necessarily thetarget audience for the financing resources portion of the site, but maycome to us if they are in a bind and need alternative financing, like LeeStraw did. The information on lenders and technical assistance is moretargeted toward beginning farmers and people who don’t come fromtraditional agricultural backgrounds.”

Suput plans to add more financing and related resources to the siteand, this winter, The Carrot Project and Strolling of the Heifers, a non-profit organization in Vermont, will unveil a new micro-loan program.The program will provide loans of $1,000 to $10,000 for small and mid-scale farmers in Vermont and Western Massachusetts (Berkshire,Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin Counties). Preference will begiven to farmers employing or moving toward sustainable and organicfarming methods and who are also active in local food networks.

“Chittenden Bank is going to administer the loans,” says Suput.“The Carrot Project will do all the due diligence on the applications,review business plans, put together the loan committee, do site visits,and whatever else is necessary such as connecting farmers with busi-ness planning assistance. Once we’ve decided who will get the loans,we will contact Chittenden Bank and let them know who will bereceiving them and for what amount.”

KEEPING IT LOCALThe furthest that any of Lee Straw’s farm products go after leaving hisfarm is 65 miles. This means that his milk, eggs, and lamb can be

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found in a variety of local markets near his Maine home.On the other hand, the average distance an American meal travels

is 1,500 miles, according to the Center for Urban Education aboutSustainable Agriculture (CUESA). This long-distance transport byland, sea, and air can have detrimental effects on the environment.Take California, for example. In 2007, as part of a report titled “FoodMiles: How Far Your Food Travels Has Serious Consequences For YourHealth and The Climate,” the Natural Resources Defense Council(NRDC) found that in 2005 “almost 250,000 tons of global warminggases released were attributable to imports of food products—theequivalent amount of pollution produced by more than 40,000 vehi-cles on the road or nearly two power plants.” The report also goes onto say that, because of this food travel, “Three hundred tons of sootyparticulate matter were released into the air—the equivalent of morethan 1.2 million cars or 53 power plants.”

Beyond the environmental impact of this travel, food quality canalso be affected. The CUESA notes that “in order to transport foodlong distances, much of it is picked while still unripe and thengassed to ‘ripen’ it after transport, or it is highly processed in factoriesusing preservatives, irradiation, and other means to keep it stable fortransport and sale.”

Based on their proximity to consumers, though, the food pro-duced by small and mid-scale farmers is not subject to these pitfalls.These farmers also play pivotal roles in the economies of local com-munities.

“When people are supporting locally grown food, they are obvi-ously supporting a local business,” says Jennifer Hashley, director ofTufts’ Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Scienceand Policy’s New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (NESFP). “Thismeans that the dollars that go into a local farm stay within the com-munity. Farmers need to pay their employees and purchase fuel, sup-plies and materials, which are usually ordered and purchased fromfellow local businesses.”

Ultimately, in a time when people are more health-consciousand environmentally aware, there is something compelling aboutknowing where your food came from and who produced it.

“I can defend what I produce in that it’s a healthy choice for theconsumer and they can be comfortable that the environment isbeing protected to the best of my ability,” says Lee Straw.

Adds Lisa Richards, “I feel like I’m feeding my community by giv-ing them healthy eggs, meat, milk, yogurt, and organically grown veg-etables. It’s a good feeling.”

FARM FRESHDorothy Suput and Lee Straw leave the chickens and walk down thesteps leading out of the barn. Outside, they talk for a few moments asa steady rain begins to fall. Their conversation covers a multitude oftopics, from farming to what they have planned for the weekend, andthen the photographer, who has been snapping photos all along, posesa question.

“Can I buy some eggs?”With this, Lee Straw heads toward the dark opening of the barn. A

few minutes later, he emerges carrying a few cartons of eggs. He passesthem out, explaining that they are complimentary and laid thatmorning. This would make the eggs approximately eight hours oldand some of the freshest a person could find.

Exchanges like these happen every day on farms from Maine toCalifornia and are about more than eggs and other items produced onthe farm. They are also about building community, protecting theenvironment, and supporting businesses that may be small, butwhose impact can be felt on a global scale.

“I’ve always felt that we need a diversified farming sector,” saysSuput. “Right now, infrastructure and support systems are weightedor geared toward the largest farms. We need small farms. We needlarge farms. We need farms that produce multiple products. Weneed farms that are focused on one thing. It has to do with quality,quantity, how it is produced, and where it’s coming from. But toachieve this we have to support small and mid-scale farmers, which iswhat The Carrot Project is trying to do.” AM

The Carrot Project is located in Somerville, Massachusetts and is sup-

ported by Farm Credit Northeast AgEnhancement, the Lawson Valentine

Foundation, a component fund of the Maine Community Foundation,

NESARE Sustainable Community Grants Program, The Sandy River

Charitable Foundation, and Trillium Asset Management. More informa-

tion can be found at HTTP://WWW.THECARROTPROJECT.ORG/ or by

e-mailing info@thecarrotproject.org.

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