Enlighten us, oh Commissioner of the Dept. of Ag!

Ahh...

Another beautiful morning in New England!

The Public Radio Kitchen blogger meetup last night was fabulous! In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, the Public Radio Kitchen is the all-things-food-&-wine blog that is hosted by the staff at WBUR 90.9 radio. It's a great stage for Mass. bloggers to share info with the Commonwealth, WBUR listeners and wbur.org readers.

Scott Soares, the Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture came to speak to us about the "local scene." The local ag scene, that is. In my world of local food, he's a renegade, and if you ever get to meet him, you can tell he has a true passion for making agriculture in our state sustainable and great.
Not surprisingly, the Commonwealth (I love addressing our state this way; it sounds so regal) is a forerunner in many of the local food and agriculture initiatives and statistics that make me giddy.

For example, according to the 2007 National Agricultural Census:

• Massachusetts is 1st in New England for direct sales of farm products to consumers. At $42M in direct sales, Massachusetts farmers were responsible for 40 percent of New England's total.


• Massachusetts ranks 9th nationally in total value of direct sales, following states such as California, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington.


• More than 80% of Massachusetts farms are family-owned. Over 95% fit the category of "small farms" according to the USDA definition of sales below $250,000.


• Female farm operators account for 29% of the farm operators in MA, up from 21% in 2002. (YOU GO GIRL!)


• Worcester County is the #1 county in the Commonwealth for direct sales of agricultural products.


• The number of farmers markets increased to 202 in the 2009 season (22 of which are in Boston!)

Mass Ag Facts & Statistics http://www.mass.gov/agr/facts/index.htm

Scott also let us know of many other new intiatives in the state, including:

• A Dept. of Ag. blog called The Great Outdoors!


• the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness


• the flourishing of agritourism (you all should visit the Savor Massachusetts website to get info on foodie events around the state)


• talk of portable poultry slaughterhouses (they'll come right to your door to kill those birds!)


• Australis, a fin fish facility that recirculates over 3 million gallons of water each day and is the only fish production site of its kind east of the M-I-S-S-I-S-S-I-P-P-I.


• Collaboration with UMass Extension to grow new and exotic kinds of foods that there's a market for. Ever tried Maxixi? How about caioba? These are two Brazilian types of cucumbers that UMass has been experimenting with during this last growing season.
• the work on a year-round Boston Public Market

We all feasted on some delicious potluck items. My favorite savory item was the roasted root veggies from Doves And Figs! I also had the pleasure of meeting Megan from Delicious Dishings. She made S'more bites. These little morsels of goodness were made from a graham cracker crust, a layer of gooey brownie, and a mini marshmallow, all held together with a toothpick! It was like an indoor, bite-sized version of the fireside S'more we all know and love.

I, on the other hand, brought a sad bag of Portuguese rolls (made in Fall River) and a 1/2 gallon of apple cider (made in Groton, MA). Not S'mores, but still got the job done.

After we were fully enlightened by Scott, we did a tour of the radio station!

Very cool. Have you ever been in a real live radio station? I have not, so this was a new experience for me. It made me fantasize about having my own radio (or TV) show! One day...

Thanks to PRK for hosting this event and I look forward to the next one!

Question of the Day: How are you planning on "going local" for the winter? In New England, it can be tough, but it can be done.

I plan on eating veggies I froze and squash/potatoes I have squirrelled away in a cool cabinet.