Produce auctions are a means for farmers to gather in order to sell their products directly to wholesale,  institutional and food service buyers. Following are minutes from a meeting of potential growers and buyers in Kentville, 10 Jan 08

Thanks for your interest in assessing the possibility for a NS Produce
Auction.  The minutes of our meeting on Jan 10 are pasted below.  Not
all of you were able to attend but you can see what was discussed.

We are now requesting funds to conduct a feasibility study and will
keep you posted. 

Regards, Ralph


Minutes for Produce Auction Information Session in Kentville, NS 
Jan 10, 2008, 1 – 4 pm

There were 30 attendees.

Spirit of Nova Scotia Vision
Celebrate the Spirit of Nova Scotia as a beacon in our lives and
catalyst in our communities. 

Environment Team Vision
In our vision, Nova Scotia has rich top soil, clean air and water,
resilient farm and fishing communities, and healthy, local food for all
citizens.  We engage and inspire all Nova Scotians to celebrate and
protect this inheritance for future generations.

Ralph Introduction

- background of Spirit of NS env’nt team – read out vision,
etc.
- local food groups growing
- story of produce auction in Elmira, wholesale, auctioneer or
dutch clock system
- would provide a place where growers from NS could link up with
buyers
- growers bring it and not bring anything home
- quality is transparent since best quality gets highest price
(teachable moments)
- farmers learn about cleaning, sorting, learn what buyers want.
- Average price and quality has gone up over the years (let market
sort itself out)
- Elmira auction open May: Tues & Fri; June-Oct: Mon/Wed/Fri;
Oct-Nov: Tues/ Fri)

Introduction (participants introduced themselves)

Flow of ideas of brainstorming

Questions and comments:

- not open to public, although open to all wholesale buyers
- invite restaurant association next time

Challenges

- include outlying areas
- regulations? Permit/licence?
- Grade standards? Canada #1 (for shipment) – for retail has to
comply with certain standards, different standards for different buyers
- For export – CFIA has to be involved
- Quality will be figured out over time
- Buy-in from growers and buyers is needed
- Sustainable management structure could takes years to develop
- Food safety
- Traceability - hard to identify lot? (in Elmira – produce
auction co-op on boxes, farm sticker on box, etc)
- Refrigeration (buyer responsible for transportation)
- Seasonal supply
- Not selling all year round.  The 52 week supply is a myth, but
much easier to buy from large growers abroad. Large retailers had no
back door sales but now Sobey’s is going back full circle
- Consistency of supply and quality might be a problem
- Supply or outbid (buy)
- Inflated cost (difference between sale in auction and market
price for consumer)
- Side deals would undermine consistent supply and quality, volume
(governance important)
- Need enough volume to keep auction going to keep growers and
buyers coming (Ralph)
- human nature, business, it will happen (Ralph, stick together in
Elmira because all Mennonite)
- Risk for producers to increase volume while getting the auction
going. What if not enough (Karen)? Nelson in Elmira resisted having
quota for products (took a couple of years to figure out)
- Not such a big deal for large growers, but could be devastating
(it would start out small – to see how to make it work)
- May not be fair to increase risk to grower – important to know
that there will be structural adjustment
- What was growth for producers in Elmira?
- CEDIF, community development fund, business plan – should pay
dividends
- Grower needs incentive to stay with auction
- Higher population density in Ontario
- Sean – what’s incentive for grower to stay?
- Time constraint to get to auction (rep at auction for several
producers would be good)


Opportunities

- Teaching opportunities
- offload bumper crops
- carbon tax on foods could increase local procurement
- want to be involved from ground up (Sobey’s)
- educational opportunities for food safety training
- responsibility to customers to offer local/nutrition
- consumers want local
- need local produce
- to fill orders (turnip broccoli carrots, etc already have), need
contacts with local growers
- communicate which commodities are popular
- opportunities especially in early and late season
- Sobey’s involvement: would buy from buyer and help to educate
about safety and spec standards
- May encourage farmers to go into vegetable production (more
farmers)
- Organic section of wholesale market
- Not only big sale to big buyers – diversify market, integrated
direct marketing (usually growers have 2-3 elements to production, key
to increase sales through all three – would allow diversification,
visibility, product specialties, many small sales, minimize expenses and
maximize profits)
- in Elmira some buyers were consistent
- could allow to grow as business/operation (new market)
- Huge opportunities to small grower, assortment of food from
small producer, not individual sale
- PA could enhance institutional buyers
- Like the idea of a Dutch clock
- opportunity for finding special market, wouldn’t leave current
suppliers.
- There should be an aisle of produce for NS food in Sobey’s
stores – can increase supply
- Easier to sell closer to home than going to Halifax, save travel
time
- Growth will be there if big buyers come in
- Set up as co-op, every grower invested $1000, voting members –
buyers could invest, but not vote (regulated by commodity? Probably not
– in Elmira, most growers have mixed farms)
- Large farms could buy from smaller farms, opens doors
- New opportunity like Chinese vegetables
- Look at existing infrastructure (retail), networking still
happens, but opportunity to supply wholesale
- are all growers members? Tipping fee difference for non-members
maybe member pays smaller fee
- opportunity the way the industry is going without doubt, need to
keep growing (customer demand, change in eating habits), produce items
that could be grown in NS but not yet – trends moving away from
cabbage and turnip (young people not knowing what to do with it), must
capitalize on opportunity’s. It’ll go full circle again.
- Could Sobey’s agree to buying certain % to keep auction going?
We don’t want it to be rigid, but need to make viable
- maybe more medium and small growers sell to round out an order
for larger growers (become buyers), growers diversify, changing
commodity
- Grower has larger buyer base
- Networking at PA is important
- One-stop selling/buying
- Top-ups, fill-ins, coordinator on auction floor – to bring
large corporate farms in contact with smaller farms
- possible that will evolve
- Elmira, huge market, stats: 20 % of Nova Scotians buy
provincial, support local food market, 25 % growth in farmer’s
markets, can’t grow fast enough – thinks there’s huge opportunity
- We’re ahead of the curve for food security
- online auction (another auction – food facts, daily basis fax,
source, who pays for shipping. etc) or do both
- Oil’s $100 barrel, not a flash in the pan 
- it’s a shame restaurant, hotel reps not here, have trouble
sourcing local food – wholesale, but not established
- costs $ to pick up a little bit of stuff, could be good
- win/win

Open-ended discussion, next steps, important considerations

- what form auction will take (how to keep commitment?) –
membership fees?  contract?
- Need commitment from buyers too
- what is purpose? (objective of healthy farming communities,
otherwise lose legacy, also - food security)
- for producers/buyers – purpose to increase sales? More money
in farmers pockets
- market as beacon to bring together growers and buyers, to
increase production
- hard for local growers because of distribution channels, hard
for consumers to find NS products and for growers to market. New farmers
can test the water
- Now we’re losing farmers
- Dedicated buyers and opportunity buyers, address governance
issue
- Need business plan and feasibility plan
- get grant for business plan and feasibility plan, see if it can
go ahead
- growers may not grow more for an auction. They may be doing as
much as they can already
- things not being grown enough
- Goal is to displace imports
- PA provides a networking opportunity
- is their some other forum to get people together?
- how do you talk to 800-900 people, managing is a problem – can
sustain and grow farming? Lack of communication with farmers –
consumer profiling, want sweeter apples, etc.
- Retailer such as Sobey’s could give seminars, Laurie Jennings
– interested, Co-op Atlantic is interested too
- Accessibility of market, not going to see increase in profits,
driven by overall market price for similar products from elsewhere,
marketing the sustainability, weeds out weak and poor and best will rise
to the top. (subject to influence from overall market)
- Clarification: Local as NS
- Will consumers pay more for local?
- Slow change - consumers pay more for local (consumer wants
quality first – flavour profile difference in local products therefore
opportunity)
- consumers pay more in farmers market because they’re getting
more, depends who and how you’re selling. Produce auction is wholesale
market and is important in NS? YES! If small, if they can have it.
Understanding what you sell, who you’re selling to
- Wholesale market needed in NS
- are there enough people who can benefit? Not one shoe fits all
- What ifs are important – if farmer can drive 10 miles down the
road instead of 100, this is attractive.  Demand and money are there at
market…
- would it displace Halifax market? Some thought yes, but
wholesale of PA can complement retail
- saves on cost of fuel
- farmers get paid right away at PA, buyers pay cash right away.
- how far will grower want to drive to an auction? Geography not
set up well for people to drive long distances.
- grower in Cape Breton felt it would be worth it (large
buyer/seller)
- later on, could be potential to start other markets
- could get farmers together to buy/sell at auction
- Retail and wholesale market could be combined (seen in market)
- partners could be run out of facility one day a week,
seasonally.
- refrigeration critical. Feasibility study – ask if farmers
have refrigerated transportation. If not distribution limited
- What is quality?
- temperature not quality, insulated truck, how could it work for
big chain network, stays away from them because they don’t understand
quality, consumers like freshness of local product
- difference between freshness (impression at store) and quality
(if consumers can keep for long time in fridge, related more to storage
and length of supply chain)
- Does auction lessen time from field to fork?
- More and more people buying more frequently (possibility for
fresher food)
- We’re buying freshest and safest food in world
- postharvest handling huge (refrigerated truck) – room temp in
Aug, lost shelf life, ‘cold chain’ affects quality and longevity
- consumers buy what they will eat, buy for ½ meals, esp if not
far
- Produce auction 3 days/wk
- Business plan – distance, frequency, refrigeration, etc
- opportunity to reduce time to consumer with auction - yes
- Restauranteurs will buy frequently, lack of storage
- Producers can supply 3x/week - depends on farm, size, etc.
- governance issue – fresh pick not leftover
- market will sort that out, in Holland if not fresh, than right
away low price, buyers hooked up to laptops, communicated with their
buyers
- suggested coordinator on phone (to bid from office), camera,
picture, has bought a lot worse over the phone…
- online opportunity
- regulations (grade standards)
- buyer will know grade, judge on whether to buy them –
difference between rest
- cutting off market, offgrade produce may sell, someone may buy
it (value-added market may buy it) use for processing
- connection, networking
- negative shrinkage turn into positive gain
- Small scale processers for offgrade purchases
- list in advance of products and quantity – growers will
contact (day before) to give info to auction in advance to put online so
buyers know
- crisis management, time an advantage
- food safety chain intact
- building has to meet safety standards – HACCP, organic
integrity has to remain intact
- some farmers would call in before sale day
- opportunity for picking when it’s ripe and will have market
- some farmers may not take time to call in before sale day
- others skeptical that farmers would call – website could be an
option, registered producer could say what they have and buyer what
they’re looking for
- big idea, it’s good. Opportunity to move product – always
opportunity, but already have people call to ask to move stuff
- imp of cold transport – what about cost opportunity for
refridge courier (new business opportunity)
- opportunity for new wholesalers to develop
- our own truck to pick up?
- city corner stores increase (needs store) in future, cost of
transport – opportunity for more buyers to be created (too small for
wholesalers)
- opportunity for small business (no min order – not limited by
size of order)
- Soonest produce auction in place would be 2009
- no turn around before April
- doing feasibility studies and keep you informed in mtg Nov?
- Gaps in steering cmtte consider filling
- Value chain not represented
- ~9? on the fence, ~10? yes, no one saying no
- investors? Will be explored
- as CEDIF – seemed promising by show of hands
- matching funding and investor dollars,
- Tax credit possible
- We don’t want to be exclusive
- Farmers ad buyers are open to being contacted
- blind e-mail list to protect privacy
- important how choose to finance… eg. CEDIF, ACOA, tax credit,
other


Ralph C. Martin, Ph.D., P.Ag.,
Founding Director, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada
Professor, Department of Plant and Animal Sciences
Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada B2N 5E3
E-mail:   This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Website: www.oacc.info
Phone:   902-893-6679
Fax:       902-896-7095
 

Announcement of 10 Jan Meeting

Will a produce auction help us develop new channels to distribute local food in Nova Scotia?  Other produce auctions have provided a wholesale market for local farmers to auction their fruit and vegetables to local buyers.  In Ontario, the Elmira Produce Auction Cooperative has been very successful, growing over 60% in sales from their third to fourth year.  See "Better Farming" cover story here.

To discuss the possibilities for a Produce Auction in Nova Scotia, you are invited to join other potential growers and buyers on

Thursday, January 10, 1 – 4 pm
Cornwallis Room, Agriculture and Agri Food Canada,
Atlantic Food and Horticulture Research Centre,
Kentville
 
This initiative is sponsored by Spirit of Nova Scotia, a grassroots movement focused on purposeful society building. Our intention is to assure the society we enjoy in 30 years holds the same spirit as the one we cherish today.

For more information contact Ralph C. Martin This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , or 902-893-6679.