Not only has Island Grown Initiative (IGI) gone into direct competition with local farms by taking away on-Island market share from them, but it is acting as the last word of on-Island farming to the outside world. I have argued repeatedly that IGI’s Thimble Farm should drop its policy of selling its products on Island only, so that the farm could sell its products off Island, for the simple reason that dumping that much product on the local market will take away market share from Island farms that need it to grow to a level of sustainability.

The idea that Island farms only represent three to four per cent of the on Island market, and therefore Thimble Farm does not compete with local farms, is a specious argument. Consumers are brand loyal, especially when looking for USDA-certified organic products. When the summer vacationers show up here, they want to participate in the local economy and will be more likely to experiment with locally-produced food, but have limited time and resources as they are here to rest. Displacing a serious portion of the 96 per cent of the Island food supply that comes from off Island is a decades-long process at the present pace, as off Island suppliers will not give up their market share without a fight. And that could mean a price war.

Wealthy vacationers may not question the high prices of locally-produced products, but the bulk of vacationers to Martha’s Vineyard are from America’s middle class; this group is very price conscious and comes here on a budget. As Martha’s Vineyard is in one of the poorest counties in Massachusetts, the local population is also very price conscious and will only buy local if locally-produced food has competitive pricing. This is what Namiko and I did. We priced our pea shoots and micro greens competitively and were embraced by the local population, but we knew that in order for our pricing to work we would have to sell regionally, as most family farms in America do. This is why we sought shelf space with Stop & Shop, the region’s largest grocer, as volume sales regionally would bring us not only to sustainability but we would finally be able to make a living since the crash in 2008.

Ken Debettencourt stated at a meeting at Thimble Farm that they needed a cash crop, and both Keith Wilda and I agreed with the principal of his statement. But the IGI Thimble Farm policy of selling only on Island has not changed. Keith has told me that growing basil for the off-Island market would be profitable for the farm.

If IGI is to be a real benefit to local family farms and Island residents, it must remove its products from the local markets and sell them off-Island and then take the profits from those sales to benefit local farmers. One way it could help is by building a professional wash and pack system that can print each farm’s labels on packaging that is bought by the truckload, getting the best possible price. This is how family farms all across America keep their labor and materials costs down, allowing them to be price competitive. Given the competitive choice, markets would rather buy locally. But for some reason — I have not been able to figure out why — IGI and Thimble Farm have done quite the opposite, going even further by creating a CSA (community supported agriculture) where consumers buy a share and collect farm products directly from the farm, further eroding market share for local family farms.

In a time when Southwest food production is collapsing due to drought and we are now importing produce from countries farther and farther away, we should be helping local farmers to fill the gap. I have called on IGI to be converted into a traditional farmers cooperative so that a professional wash and pack, cold storage, cannery and distribution system can be set up so local family farms can have their operating costs radically reduced.

Now that IGI have found themselves in a ridiculous confrontation with neighbors who haven’t a moral or legal leg to stand on, I hope they will embrace what all family farms across America know to be true, that if we farmers do not cooperate, we will wither on the vine, as our farm has done.

Lloyd and Namiko Hart
Oak Bluffs

The writers own Martha’s Vineyard Organics – Local Micro Greens – Pea Shoots.