Dreams

Dream: A foodshed economics based on social equity, a healthier environment, community wealth and financial success. Internalize as many inputs and value-chain steps for each crop or meat into the local foodshed. Keep energy and materials inputs as well as foodshed participants as local as possible. Within each foodshed, each step of the value chain is locally owned (see Ownership Box in pamphlet).

Dream: A buyers’ network based on fair (negotiated) pricing and price security for local growers, sorters and packagers; reliable deliveries; year-round supply contracts; a wide assortment of foods and deliveries custom-designed to purchasers’ food needs. Buyers ensure reliability, consistency and quality (e.g., food safety and post- harvest handling requirements demanded by wholesale markets).

Dream: By 2020, 25% of all cash receipts for food are spent on local foods and their value chains. And, direct farm/ranch sales in each agro-ecoregion are 15% of total gate sales.

Dream: Expansion of La Montanita and affiliated coops ensure consistent volume and compete or form alliances with prime vendors for both in-State and interstate food deliveries.

Dream: State and federal option and futures contracts accelerate institutional purchases of local foods. New sources of capital scale up and re-configure the local food economy from sympathetic financiers and funders. The new food system provides loans and mobilizes investments to increase the reliability of the local foodshed value chain. Insurance contracts and certification costs are scaled to size of the local market. Revised local, State and federal tax rules encourage a local food economy.

Dream: Value-added products include as many local ingredients as possible, processed locally. New Mexico food businesses cluster to create new markets for value-added products.

Dream: The physical components of a local value-chain infrastructure are built.

Dream: The value chain reconfigures for more efficiency and recycling.

Dream: University extension, nonprofits and concerned businesses educate the public on value chains, the need for food production transparency and clear product differentiation based on embedded values and well as price. Foodshed Assessments of value chains for specific crops and meats.

Dream: Local foodshed and eventually all imported food are bar-coded with their value-chain history. The USDA and NMDA record imports into states.

Dream: Government, nonprofit and the private sector players scale and custom design their financial instruments and services (loans, investments, government payments, taxes, grants, fees, insurance) to the local foodshed and mid-size markets. Banks, especially locally owned banks, “green line” their investments, give loans to local enterprises, and cycle investment and loan interest payments back to

Dream: Growers, processors and retailers pursue promotions that clearly contrast local foods with mass-marketed imports. Local food-related organizations collaborate, develop or change existing agricultural promotion, business planning and research to further the local foodshed food economy.

Dream: Workers along the value chain have safe, healthy working conditions with living wages/take-home pay.

Dream: Financial literacy, marketing skills and trans-disciplinary skills transfer to locavore farmers and ranchers and intermediaries by seminars, conferences, workshops, schools and agency education.