Friday, July 15, 2022

Ag Commish Promotes Local Food Resources

 Ag Commish Andrew Gipson issued the following statement. 

Today, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson addressed local food opportunities and resources available to the public during a press conference held at the Mississippi Farmers Market. The Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) currently offers several resources for finding local food and agricultural products. Commissioner Gipson discussed seven ways consumers can find local products: 

  • Search for local farmers markets near you at msfarmersmarket.com 
  • Find a local u-pick agritourism farm near you at msagritourism.org 
  • Farmers can register for free, and consumers can buy locally from farmers at msfarmmarketplace.com 
  • Subscribe to the in-print and online bimonthly Mississippi Market Bulletin at msmarketbulletin.org 
  • Shop the best of everything Grown, Raised, Crafted and Made at genuinems.com 
  • Buy livestock on the hoof, and custom process or buy retail from any one of our several USDA processors. 
  • Join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm location by purchasing an interest in farm produce and products, egg shares and herd shares. 

“Due to various supply chain disruptions and labor shortages around the nation, our agency recognizes the concerns facing Mississippians to provide for their families,” said Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson. “However, I want to assure our citizens that there is no reason to worry about any potential food shortages.” 

Commissioner Gipson acknowledged the challenging times farmers are facing with elevated input and transportation costs. Farmers are experiencing increasing costs of fuel, fertilizer and other input costs. Rising food prices do not translate into increased profits for farmers.  

“Less than two percent of the American population are farmers,” continued Gipson. “That means that less than two percent of our nation is responsible for providing food, fiber and shelter to the remaining 98 percent. That's a tall order, and we should do all we can to support our farmers. Even with record-high gas prices, the fertilizer shortage and inflation, our Mississippi farmers and ranchers have not quit. They continue to provide in order to sustain our livelihoods during these difficult times.” 

Commissioner Gipson encouraged the public to shop local farmers markets. Farmers markets provide an opportunity for consumers to purchase local produce and other food products including meat, dairy, and eggs. He invited the public to shop at the Mississippi Farmers Market, as well the more than 70 additional farmers markets located in Mississippi. The Mississippi Farmers Market is open on Thursdays seasonally from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. The public can visit www.msfarmersmarket.com to find a local farmers market. 

An additional option to buy direct from farmers is through one of the over 100 agritourism operations in the state. Agritourism is a business on a working farm, or other agricultural enterprise that offers an educational and fun experience for visitors while generating supplemental income for the owner. Many of the operations in Mississippi include u-pick farms. These unique farms allow visitors to pick the fruits and vegetables they want. This is a great way to purchase produce that can be frozen and preserved for future. To find an agritourism operation near you, visit our websitemsagritourism.org and download the Mississippi Agritourism mobile app. 

Another major resource of local food supply is the Mississippi Farm Marketplace, an online portal developed by MDAC to connect farmers and consumers looking to purchase direct from growers. This initiative for an accessible consumer-to-producer marketing tool was a direct result of the negative impacts COVID-19 had on food supply chains and produce availability. The Mississippi Farm Marketplace website allows farmers to list their available commodities for sale direct to the public, as well as labor needs on their farms through the job listings. All commodity listings are categorized and registered with availability start and end dates to ensure seasonal products are advertised accurately. The Mississippi Farm Marketplace is free to the public and easily accessible via computer or smart phone. Find fresh produce or advertise your agricultural commodities by registering at msfarmmarketplace.com.  

The Mississippi Market Bulletin is the state’s #1 agricultural newspaper that provides the latest agriculture news and updates, while also directly connecting buyers and sellers from around the state. For a yearly subscription fee of only $10.00, Mississippi subscribers can list up to two advertisements per issue for any agriculture related item, along with their location and contact info. This in turn allows readers to know exactly what products are available in their area. Currently, the Mississippi Market Bulletin services over 35,000 paying subscribers across the United States and runs an average of 2,500 ad listings per issue for various agriculture commodities around the state. To learn more about the Mississippi Market Bulletin, visit msmarketbulletin.org

Consumers can find the best of everything Grown, Raised, Crafted and Made in the Magnolia State through MDAC’s flagship program Genuine MS®. The Genuine MS® program is a branding initiative to promote and bring attention to the incredible range of Mississippi products. At genuinems.com, the public can find locally produced products from 255 members located around the state and includes farms, ranches, agritourism operations and small businesses. The Genuine MS® Store, located inside the Mississippi Farmers Market in Jackson, Miss., features a selection of over 200 Genuine MS® products. The store is open every Thursday and Friday from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Genuine MS® is also currently developing an online store system and inventory with pre-packaged gift options available for shipping. For more information on this advantageous program, visit genuinems.com and follow Genuine MS® on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

Through efforts of the State of Mississippi, local meat processing has expanded with two new USDA-inspected livestock slaughtering and processing facilities coming on-line in the southern part of the state, and two existing USDA-inspected facilities having completed expansions within the past nine months. This has increased processing capacity in the state and will help to alleviate the long wait times that many farmers have been facing. In the coming months, an additional USDA-inspected facility is scheduled to open, and an expansion of one of the existing facilities is expected to be complete. The construction of the new facilities and the expansions of current facilities are tripling Mississippi’s USDA meat processing capacity and allowing farmers more options to sell their meat products. Consumers can buy livestock on the hoof, and custom process or buy retail from any one of our several USDA processors. 

Commissioner Gipson encouraged consumers to join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm location by purchasing an interest in farm produce and products, egg share, or herd shares. In many cases, consumers will pay a subscribe fee to receive a certain number of boxes of product each week for a given number of weeks or during a season. Several CSA farms are listed on www.genuinems.com and msfarmmarketplace.com

“I realize these are difficult times,” said Gipson. “A lot of people have concerns about food availability and prices. So, I want to reassure all Mississippians that there are options available to them. The positive in all of this is that rather than worrying about it, there are a number of options for consumers to buy direct from farmers; therefore, we can do something about it.” 

Local Food Sources: 

Farmers Markets – msfarmersmarket.com 

Agritourism/U-pick Operations – msagritourism.org 

Genuine MS® – genuinems.com 

Mississippi Farm Marketplace – msfarmmarketplace.com 

Mississippi Market Bulletin – msmarketbulletin.org 

 

Visit mdac.ms.gov to learn more about the various opportunities and resources available to the public through the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce.   

 

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

NOOO0000oooo!
You must eat ze bugs! 🐜 🐛 🕷
Mississippi will obey!


Anonymous said...

Would love to buy raw cow's milk, cream, and cheese from a local farmer but the genius Legislature of the State of MS says I can only buy raw goat's milk in the State but only from a goat farmer with 9 goats or less. 35 states allow a dairy farmer to sell such cow's milk including conservative states like TX and AR as well as liberal states like CA and NY, but not supposedly "conservative, free market" MS. Love somebody the way MS Legislators love a business regulation.

Anonymous said...

Anyone seen the ads where Nicole Kidman is eating bugs? Totally consistent with Klaus Schwab's WEF white-papers. The un-read masses...totally oblivious.
..as the Satanic Global Elite totally destroy the energy and agricultural supply chains and Bill Gates, Ted Turner, China purchase and take control of the world's farmland. Radical Malthusian psychopathic murderers. And they have a "vaccine" for you.

Anonymous said...

Doris Berry produce next to Pearl High School is always well stocked

Anonymous said...

@12:07
You want the same luxuries that the elites have?
Think again, pleb.
Better tuck into a bowl full of “sustainable” white maggots! Yum Yum!

Anonymous said...

Insulation from Reality
Our grandparents and great grandparents were much closer to the realities of life than we are today. Many of them lived on farms and were close to, if not entirely, self-sufficient. Having canned food in the grocery store was great. No more long days canning food from the garden. But what if supply lines to the grocery store fails? This is being to happen. Right. Few people today have any idea how to can food much less what fresh food taste like. The difference between us and our forefathers is that they could survive if they had to rely completely on their own skills. Most of us could not. Andy Gibson is right we need to support farmers. We need to quit selling farmland to China. Most of us assume all of those things come from the grocery store and the electric company. The insulation from reality began in the first half of the 1900s as the developed world’s industry grew explosively after two world wars and the technological boost they provided. Today the overwhelming majority of people in the developed world are completely dependent on the existing infrastructure and incapable if surviving without it. And it's failing.

Anonymous said...

12:12 must you adorn your tin foil hat and rant on every post on any subject with your crazy conspiracy theories?

Anonymous said...

My father like many of my generation grew up on small farms during the depression. He said that they didn’t have any money but had plenty to eat unlike those living in large cities. Growing up although we didn’t live on a farm had enough acreage to have a couple of pigs, a calf we were raising and a nice garden. Unfortunately I didn’t inherit the love of growing a garden but I am a steady customer of Doris Berrys market.

Anonymous said...

Doris Berry produce next to Pearl High School is always well stocked.

The best.

Anonymous said...

12:12, at least get the name right. You obviously have not even see the ad.

Anonymous said...

@1:34 - It is sad how Americans have become so detached from nature. I'm 68, grew up on a small farm, helped my mother preserve food we grew, including canning, pickling, dehydrating and freezing. We also had a couple of milk cows, so I learned to make cheese, butter, yogurt, buttermilk and ice cream. Now that I'm retired, I grow a lot of vegetables and fruit which I preserve just as I learned growing up. There is hope for the younger generation. Two of my nieces, young mothers themselves, asked me to teach them how to can and pickle foods. We have a great time in the kitchen with music and a little wine while we work. So far this summer, I have canned 4 quarts of my homegrown tomatoes, canned dill and bread and butter pickles with my cucumbers, frozen 4 gallons of our blueberries and a gallon of okra.

Today, I'm going to ferment some cayenne and other hot peppers, the same way the Tabasco and Sriracha are made. When the cabbage is ready to pick this winter, I'll make sauerkraut by fermentation, too.

We can afford to buy whatever food we want, but nothing beats the flavor and freshness of preserving food we grow ourselves. It has become a post-retirement hobby for me, and I love that the younger generations are interested in it, too.

Anonymous said...

Up around Batesville and out from Como you can buy half a cow and have it processed and packaged for just shy of 1800 bucks. You can't afford gas to get out there to pick it up, but, anyway...it's waiting for you if and when you get out there to the farm. And you can tour the place and buy a cowboy hat there too. I tell my kids, "You can be whatever you wanta be...even an Ag. Commissioner".

No supply chain issues with the Captain said...

I would have enjoyed chatting it up with "The Hat" Gipson the other night at the Captain D's in Pearl. But seeing how at 6:44 p.m. and I was the only customer in the place ready to place an order to "dine in", a conversation ensued between Stacey Abrams working the cash register and AOC general flit around administration on duty, I was notified that the lobby I was standing in closed at 6.

I really didn't want a plate of the Whitefish as it was noted on the menu board to be a "product of Vietnam" and the catfish was kind of a turn off being noted as a "product of China". Maybe they should offer up "Bennie's own Hushpuppies".

So I ate "locally" elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

Out of curiosity, what do real farmers think about Andy?

Anonymous said...

He was on TV news getting more free airtime. Got to give him credit for self promotion. Looks like he is now wearing makeup .. Maybe he’s prepping for a Sunday TV preaching gig. Reminds me of Jimmy Swaggart.

Anonymous said...

How does one pronounce Captain Ds in Mandarin? And why doesn't 'the hat' arrest people for selling Texas Hot-house maters calling them fresh, garden raised Scott County produce picked yesterday.

Anonymous said...

@1:42 WEF white-papers are "conspiracy theories"? A filmed commercial is a "conspiracy theory"? Bill Gates becoming the largest owner of farmland is a "conspiracy theory"? What exactly is your definition of a "conspiracy theory"?

Anonymous said...

Just because it deserves - needs - to be repeated. At least twice:

"It is sad how Americans have become so detached from nature. I'm 68, grew up on a small farm, helped my mother preserve food we grew, including canning, pickling, dehydrating and freezing. We also had a couple of milk cows, so I learned to make cheese, butter, yogurt, buttermilk and ice cream. Now that I'm retired, I grow a lot of vegetables and fruit which I preserve just as I learned growing up. There is hope for the younger generation. Two of my nieces, young mothers themselves, asked me to teach them how to can and pickle foods. We have a great time in the kitchen with music and a little wine while we work. So far this summer, I have canned 4 quarts of my homegrown tomatoes, canned dill and bread and butter pickles with my cucumbers, frozen 4 gallons of our blueberries and a gallon of okra.

Today, I'm going to ferment some cayenne and other hot peppers, the same way the Tabasco and Sriracha are made. When the cabbage is ready to pick this winter, I'll make sauerkraut by fermentation, too.

We can afford to buy whatever food we want, but nothing beats the flavor and freshness of preserving food we grow ourselves. It has become a post-retirement hobby for me, and I love that the younger generations are interested in it, too."

Yep. TL/DR: Read it. Every word.


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In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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