WHAT’S IT WORTH?

The article that follows was written by Shizue, Content Coordinator at Kickapoo Coffee Roasters.  In last week’s coffee newsletter, Shizue shared a glimpse into how pricing works in the coffee industry, connecting issues associated with commodity pricing to the impacts a volatile market have on the coffee producers.   We invited her to share a slightly expanded version of this article with our broader membership as her article represents issues in our food system that apply to all of us, whether you are a coffee drinker or not.  Commodity pricing plays a role in agriculture, perhaps more than any of us may realize.  Anything from raisins to chocolate, coffee to potatoes, avocadoes to lettuce, milk, and the list goes on.  As a farmer with fixed costs and family members to feed, working off of a volatile commodity market is less than reassuring and in many cases proves to be less than sustainable.  When prices are based on perceived values and market demands instead of the true cost of production, it often leaves producers holding all the risk.

In this article, Shizue poses the basic question “How do we value our producers?”  We encourage everyone to be an informed consumer and eater.  The system will only change when we as consumers demand the change.  How we value our producers—both those growing and producing in our local markets as well as those more distant from us who grow products we consume are important.  The fact that many producers around the world are forced to sell to a market at a loss for their hard work is heartbreaking.  Are we willing to pay the price our producers need to stay in the game and live a sustainable life?  We’re not talking about their ability to build extravagant homes, take vacations and drive expensive cars.  We’re talking about making sure the return they get for the product they produce is enough for them to continue to farm in another year, feed their families and provide for their basic needs, and hopefully have a little bit left over so they can invest in their future.  The reality is, if we don’t support our community of growers, we will continue to lose more small farmers.  We hope you’ll take a moment to read this article and want to thank you for being part of a more sustainable food system!—Farmers Richard & Andrea

WHAT’S IT WORTH?

By:  Shizue Roche Adachi, Kickapoo Coffee Roasters

A coffee farmer walks his fields in Peru.

On August 20th, the international price for green coffee (C-Price) plummeted to less than 97 cents per pound, the lowest it’s been in 12 years. And it’s not bouncing back. With an average cost of production hovering around $1.04 per pound, the market is now paying most farmers less than it costs to grow, cultivate, and process their coffee. Coffee farmers are already the least economically empowered players in the coffee supply chain, and now they are being asked to carry the financial burden of a system that’s failed them.

So, how did we get here? Like many industries, the true economy of coffee has been manipulated by speculation. Composed of a relatively small group of individuals, the financial sector holds an immense amount of economic power over the market. And they wield that power for their benefit, profiting off of a volatile commodity price while producers face uncertainty and instability.

At its foundation, the coffee industry is made up of an intricate web of relationships that tether coffee farmers and farmworkers to millers, roasters, exporters and retailers, and ultimately to coffee consumers worldwide. But the needs and interests of this interconnected community have been drowned out by those of speculators, traders, and investors. The C-Price, as with any commodity, dips and jumps in relationship to perceived value. It bears no responsibility to the true value of a coffee bean. And this is why our farmers can grow coffee in good faith, only to have to sell to the market at a loss. The market is not invested in the long-term sustainability and success of the coffee industry. It is interested in short term profits.

In an article published by the Specialty Coffee Association, the SCA’s Chief Sustainability Officer posited that we may lose half of our coffee farmers by 2030, forced out of livelihood that may have supported multiple generations before them. This loss is not only threatens the world’s coffee supply, it threatens the welfare of coffee producers around the world and the future of coffee farming as we know it.

While explaining the fluctuations in the C-Market demands a fuller explanation than can be captured here, what it really comes down to is a question of how we value producers. This is what happens when the market isn't held accountable to farmers. This is what happens when the industry confuses opportunities for quick profits with good business. This is what happens when we fail our producers and take their livelihoods for granted. And this is when Kickapoo Coffee's commitment to #RaisetheBar by setting a minimum price to farmers irrespective of the C-Price holds real weight.

In 2017, Kickapoo Coffee announced a guaranteed minimum price of $2.75 per pound to our farmers. This baseline commitment creates the economic security for farmers to see a future in coffee. And now, even though the C-Market price has fallen, we’re raising our minimum. This year, we’ll be writing contracts with a minimum price of $2.85 per pound.

While we can never rid ourselves of the commodity market, the specialty coffee industry can divorce itself from this degrading pricing model. Specialty coffee depends upon the producers who dedicate themselves to furthering their craft and exceeding market standards. And yet most industry players continue to base their prices on the commodity market.

This expectation to follow the commodity market is like expecting a local farmer selling heirloom varieties of popcorn to determine their price per pound according to the price of corn harvested for livestock feed. Or like asking an artisan chocolate maker to price their truffles based on the price of the Hershey’s bar at the gas station. Not only is this a ridiculous expectation, it’s a degrading one, with significant financial repercussions to those least empowered in the trade of coffee: the smallholder farmer.

The market won't change until we make it. Someone, somewhere, is always paying the true cost. So let’s put people above profits and give our farmers the dignity of a living wage.

To learn more about our minimum price guarantee to farmers and our campaign to #RaisetheBar, check out our website at kickapoocoffee.com.

Kickapoo Coffee co-owner, Caleb Nicholes, visits with a
member of the Adenisa Association in 2018.

Strawberry Day…We had so much fun!

by Andrea Yoder

This past weekend we hosted our annual Strawberry Day CSA event.  We had a gorgeous, sunny day for the party and were thrilled to have over 200 CSA members in attendance!  While we had many members who were enjoying their first visit to the farm, we also enjoyed seeing some of our longtime members and friends return to enjoy the day. We also had a group of happy campers enjoy a night under the stars in our valley! 

   

We started the party with a picnic potluck lunch, and let me tell you this was one of the best potluck

spreads I think we’ve ever seen!  We also enjoyed delicious iced maple latte made with Kickapoo Coffee’s cold-pressed coffee, Castle Rock Organic Dairy’s milk and Alvin Miller’s organic maple syrup.  The other cold beverage treat we enjoyed was a special batch of strawberry-basil kombucha made by NessAlla with HVF strawberries and basil!  Once we had all satisfied our mid-day hunger, we piled onto 5 wagons and ventured to the fields.  Our first stop was near the kale and collard field. Farmer Richard walked the field with some of the members on his wagon. Together they decided red curly kale was the first variety we should harvest for this week’s boxes. 

                                                                                                                                                                   

 Next stop along the way was at our Hammel Farm.  At this stop we checked out the broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage crops that will all be ready for harvest within the next few weeks.  We jumped back on the wagons and circled around the farm to get a good look at the peppers, tomatoes and tomatillos….all of which are looking great!!  Along the way we had the opportunity to answer a lot of excellent questions about the crops, the land, farming techniques, methods for controlling pests, how do we decide what to grow and how much and even a few equipment questions that I had to recruit some help from the crew members.  We were very impressed with the interest and thoughtful questions everyone asked this year!

After we left the Hammel Farm, we journeyed to our final stop along the tour….the strawberry field!!!  Everyone was anxious to start picking and eating the warm, juicy strawberries.  You could smell their aroma as we got close to the field and we were all in strawberry heaven!  After careful instructions from Farmer Richard, everyone got busy picking strawberries.  Farmer Richard, ever the teacher, created a lasting memory for the day when he had the opportunity to pick strawberries with a young CSA kiddo.  As Richard reflected on the day, he lamented that there were so many people and so little time, but this little guy “made my day.”  Richard taught this little guy how to pick strawberries.  Did you know that strawberries like to hide?  Well, they do and the trick to picking them is learning how to “find them.”  His student quickly caught on and filled his pint container in no time.  He handed it off to his mom and got started on another one!  If you can’t tell, Richard has a soft spot in his heart for children and I’m sure he’ll remember this strawberry day picking experience years from now after this youngster is grown up and moving on to college and beyond!

After strawberry picking we were all hot and ready to enjoy a bowl of refreshing strawberry ice cream.  I think it’s safe to say that EVERYONE loved the ice cream…Captain Jack was right, it is some of the best strawberry ice cream we’ve ever tasted!  A big thanks to the folks at Castle Rock Organic Dairy for making this special batch of ice cream just for us!    

 It takes many hands in the community to make this day a success.  Richard and I would like to thank all of our crew members who worked hard to get things ready for the day and many of them helped with the party as well.  A big thanks to our friends Bob & Carol who helped prepare food for the potluck. They were a joy for me to cook with and made the process of preparing hot dogs and chili sauce for over 200 people seem like no big deal.  We’d also like to thank Pam & Jim for their help with sharing Richard’s beautiful wood products at this party.  It was quite a display of unique, one-of-a kind products made from specially selected trees we’ve harvested.  We’ll have more things to share with you by the Harvest Party, just in time to start your Christmas shopping!
  

 All in all it was a great day.  We appreciate everyone who carved out time to come visit our farm and be part of the day with us.  We love getting to meet our members face to face and be able to share a little piece of our daily lives with all of you.  Your joy and appreciation for the work we do is what encourages us to continue doing what we do.  Thanks again!