The new Comida Buena's online virtual food hub, has connected Deming's Rockhouse Farm owner Jason Nicoll (seen here in his greenhouse) to Revel, a restaurant located in Silver City.Revel's staff (from right to left:
Kelsey Patterson, Brian Patterson and
Jessiey Westenberger) with the first shipment of the tomatoes they purchased online from Rockhouse Farms.Silver City, NM: Connecting small, rural farmers to larger market opportunities is no easy task. Separated by many miles and sparse communication networks farmers in Southwest New Mexico have long been stifled in their opportunities to ramp up production. Access to new and expanded markets for regional farmers means more local food production and leads to increased revenues.

Carton, Hidalgo, Grant and Luna Counties have hundreds of farmers that generate millions of dollars of income. Large farms in this region grow crops to sell to well established brokerages and have a, more or less, guaranteed market. The National Center for Frontier Communities' (NCFC) Comida Buena Project is working to offer the same type of sale services for small and midsize farmers looking to expand or begin production.

The National Center for Frontier Communities, located in Silver City, received a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Local Food Promotion grant. The resulting three-year program, Comida Buena, intends to increase market opportunities for farmers, ranchers and food producers in southwest New Mexico.

NCFC Program Specialist, Ben Rasmussen said, "The overall goal of this project is to help food producers of all sizes reach their production goals and to increase the purchasing of local foods by local grocers, restaurants, institutions and other intermediary markets."

In late February, the organization began a small scale, test distributions for a digital food hub. By aggregating produce from regional farms and distributing it through a centralized channel, the online food hub reduces transportation costs for the grower and allows them access to new markets. This service offers convenience to both ends of the system, providing a one-stop shop for buyers and transportation and marketing services for producers.

"We are starting out small this spring, with a few products from several farms and a few markets. This gives us a better idea of transportation costs while allowing us to generate interest to build up a solid inventory for late summer, at which point I expect booming business," Rasmussen said.

The timing is excellent, there are several new small farm cooperatives springing up, both in metro areas like Albuquerque and Las Cruces, and in more rural areas, like Mora. Rasmussen adds, "With these networks, all attempting to do virtually the same thing, we can access even more markets and help fill gaps in production while servicing the small to midsize farms and paying the producers between 90 and 100 percent of the sale price."

Jason Nicoll of Rockhouse Farm, located outside of Deming, has tailored his production based on the previous years' sales, but in recent years has seen his sales plateau.

Nicoll said, "I could basically grow double what I am doing now, if there was a market."

Nicoll grows a number of crops on his farm including lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, okra and eggs. As a skilled farmer, Nicoll grows a consistent, quality product, and with the aid of the new online food hub, his products have found eager new markets in Silver City.

Silver City's newest downtown restaurant, Revel, has been placing weekly orders through the online food hub, developed by the Cominda Buena project, for Rockhouse Farm's tomatoes.

Revel's co-owner, Jessiey Westenberger said, "From the start we want to keep things as local, organic and sustainable as possible. It's what Brian and I have been doing for years. We also want to keep as much money in the local economy as possible."

The tomatoes Revel purchases from Rockhouse Farm, are fresh, usually picked within the last 48 hours, often times that morning at their peak ripeness. Buyers get the freshest product available and support the local economy by buying local.

Rasmussen said, "By starting small and getting a feel for the economics of running the hub, it allows slow, calculated growth to meet the large demand. And by demonstrating increased business opportunities for existing growers, we hope to inspire a few new ones as well. "

Comida Buena is registering local growers and purchasers interested in participating in the online food hub. For more information, contact Rasmussen at (575) 597-0032, email brasmussen@swchi.org or visit the website at http://frontierus.org/.

LFPP Funding for Comida Buena was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant 16LFPPNM0002. Contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.

About the National Center for Frontier Communities (GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION)
The National Center for Frontier Communities (NCFC) is a research and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the health and quality of life in frontier America. NCFC gives a voice to people and programs in frontier communities and raises awareness of frontier issues to policy makers, agencies, and the public.

Headquartered in Silver City, NM, NCFC serves as a central point of contact for referrals, information exchange, and networking among geographically separated communities.

For more information visit: www.frontierus.org.