April 9, 2025
Think about your last visit to your local farmers market or the farm stand down the street. The vibrant colors, the fresh scents, the direct interaction with the person who grew your food or at least someone who knows how your food was grown…. it's a wonderful connection to your community.
You likely feel good about supporting local businesses and enjoying the freshest produce you can find. But beneath this local surface lies a fascinating and often surprising global web that makes it all possible.
A True Case of "The Mondays"
This past Monday morning served as a stark reminder of this interconnectedness for our company. We think of ourselves as a local farm, not one connected to companies around the world, but even our eyes were opened greatly that morning after news of new tariffs hit the wire.
Eight phone calls from different sales representatives painted a clear picture of how global events ripple through our daily work.
Our first call was from our high tunnel sales rep. We are waiting on replacement parts to assemble tunnels for the season, but we are now unsure of when said parts will arrive as they are now waiting for tariffs to be assessed. Even worse, we aren’t entirely sure what the new cost will be.
Next, our supplier of beneficial insects informed us that the tiny little creatures, shipped from Canada and crucial for our integrated pest management program, were no longer available at the price we locked in just last week due to the new tariffs.
The calls didn’t stop there.
- The fall mums we produce arrive to us from Central America.
- The plastic we use to cover our greenhouses comes from Canada.
- Most fertilizer is sourced from other countries.
- How about the burlap bags we use to pack sweet corn in? You guessed it, those come from China or another country over seas.
It's abundantly clear, agriculture in today's world is a deeply global endeavor.
A Family Farm with a Global Connection
While sometimes we think we’re just a family farm, we are a family farm that has a global connection as well. We’re blessed with an incredible team of employees that not only join us locally but come to Minnesota from places like Mexico, South Africa, and Ukraine.
So, while it’s our goal to grow the highest quality plants, fruits, and vegetables for you all locally, it’s important to take a minute to remember what all goes into getting that one tomato from the vine to your plate.
- Where did the seed begin its life?
- What about the fertilizer that nourished it?
- Where did the materials for its packaging come from?
When we begin to unravel these threads, we realize that even the most local food experience is intricately woven into the fabric of a global network.
