As noted on page 2, long-term research shows that smaller farms now make up over 90 percent of all U.S. farms. However, they earn only 35 percent of our nation’s gross income from farming. Larger farms earn 65 percent (ERS, USDA).
Blaming big farmers and food companies for the loss of small farms and local farm income is a mistake because food systems around the world need sustainable economies-of-scale to deal with food insecurity and global warming. Local food systems have the same need for efficiency.
Local economies can be developed if farms and food processing operations are locally owned and passed from generation to generation. This requires effective farm and food business models that allow smaller, well-organized landowners and farmers to compete against imported (non-local) brands in local and regional institutions, restaurants, and grocery stores.
Most importantly, this competition must be based on brand benefits that increase the supply of healthy and affordable foods that are also good for our land, water, wildlife, and local economies.
The fact that we (small farmland owners) still own 90 percent of the farms in this country can be turned to our advantage.
Production Units and Farmer-Owned Retail Food Brands
With the above in mind, my company is developing a farmer-controlled business model for sustainable local food systems. Our model is designed to build economies-of-scale in local agriculture by pooling small farms and gardens in landowner-controlled “production units” – without selling land or taking on more farm-level debt. As used here, a production unit is group of contiguous and nearby farm leased to one farmer by the owners. As explained below, our company facilitates these lease/purchase agreements.
Our services are designed to, 1) Help farmland ownership retain ownership within local farm families over the long-term, 2) Attract local investors, as minority shareholders, in these privately owned farms and farming operations, and 3) Build farmer-owned retail food brands to support planned farmland succession, help finance profitable food processing operations, and pay living wages to farmhands and food workers.
Consumer Demand
The Organic Trade Association estimates that the growth in consumer demand for USDA-Certified organic foods is double that of conventional products. Organic foods come from farms that use regenerative practices to rebuild soil, water, and wildlife resources. Given the Covid experience, we believe that demand is even higher for a wide variety of branded specialty and organic foods from local farmers and gardeners.
Planning
To ensure sufficient production and processing capacity for local brands, our company will work for landowners who are interested in forming local production units. As agents for these landowners, we will prepare business plans to guide discussions with prospective production unit managers, food chain members, the general public, and investors.
We will start with informal meetings with landowners and farmers on the need for farmer-owned brands and on production unit organization and operation. These discussions will cover farm sizes, soils, terranes, and distances between farms for their effects on capital and operating costs, markets, and income.
We will NOT share farm-level data among participating landowners or with the farmers who might bid on unit management contracts. First draft business plans will show only aggregated numbers from available public data sources and farm visits.
If the landowner/farmer discussions go well, we will discuss our preliminary plans with local commodity buyers, including grain companies, cattle feeders, and wholesale produce companies. Depending on landowners’ desired crop and livestock combinations, we will also meet with local food processors on the costs and timing to prepare new products for consumer market tests. The results of these talks will be used to refine our initial business plans
Public Information
With the refined plans in hand, and with our support, participating landowners will host public meetings to attract local investors. These meetings will give production unit management candidates an opportunity to introduce themselves and explain why they want to manage a production unit and build farmer-owned retail food brands.
The public meetings will be followed by private meetings with each landowner and family to evaluate the results of public meetings. These family meetings will include their legal and financial advisors.
With sufficient investor interest, preliminary business plans will be further refined prior to contract discussions. These talks could extend over several weeks or months. For each production unit, talks will start in private meetings with interested investors, landowners, and the farmer selected to manage the unit. All parties will be encouraged to bring their legal and financial advisors. Subsequent contract discussions will include commodity buyers, food processors, and the owners and decision makers for institutions, restaurants, and grocery stores.
Community Economic Development
Since landowner-controlled production units are a new concept in agriculture, we are not asking landowners and farmers to pay for preliminary planning and related services. We are asking vendors and other local food chain members to fund production unit planning, including initial market research and public meetings.
Massena Farms
Our company will not accept fees for real estate transactions, farm management, marketing, accounting, or audit trail services. Nor will we accept payments from vendors, lenders, and investors.
ROI for our services will depend on a negotiated share of new income and profits from commodity and brand sales.
Page 3 on this website explains local market issues and our approach to working with experienced beef cow-calf families, feeders, and local packing companies.
Page 4 summarizes my qualifications, introduces my business partners, and outlines my family history in farming.
Please contact me for an appointment.
Jim Steffen, President
Massena Corporation
402-317-2639
jim@massenafarms.com
Revised: 10-06-26