Assets

• MILKCO in Asheville, processing/bottling facility for milk
• Blue Ridge Ventures/ Family Central
• Farms
• Growing season that compliments other regions
• ECO, NROG, Charles Church
• ASAP, BRWIA
• Aware and supportive community
• Great farmers’ market in Boone, Asheville
• Money from tourism and Floridians (high end market)
• Agritourism is popular
• ASU volunteers, research, funding
• Warren Wilson
• Extension, 4-H, Ag teachers in High Schools
• Section 521 Agricultural Cooperative option
• Achieve economy of scale
• Media outlets: Mtn Times. High Country Press, Citizen Times, Mtn Express

Barriers

• USDA not supportive of small farms
• Lack of local policies to support small farms
• State level: no sales tax exemption for 1-3 years (high start-up costs)
• County: policies not applicable to scale of farms in WNC
• Lack of meat and dairy facilities
• Corporate concentration of food industry
• Lack of knowledge in public sphere of food policy and importance of food systems
• Public bio laws @ institutions

Questions

• How to make acreage profitable and keep it as natural as possible?
• How can we get funding to build our local food system/infrastructure?
• How can we affect policy at the local level?
• Who are our allies in local government?
• How do we link existing orgs and infrastructure to create a local food system?
• How can we raise the value of food to true cost accounting & keep it affordable to all income levels?
• How can we get policy makers and politicians involved?
• How can we involve the general population in this dialogue?