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Mickey’s Kansas Roots: High Tunnels & Elderberry Fields

Back in Kansas Mickey shows us his high tunnel at KC Farmyard and Casa Somerset’s elderberry in which Mickey is the caretaker.

In the evening we joined more members of the AgriCluster AMERICAN HEARTLAND ELDERBERRY COLLABORATIVE to learn about fruit and specialty crops on a tour of Gieringers Family Farm

Siri Leonard a member of American Heartland Elderberry Collaborative works on the Growers Subcommittee shaping good Elderberry growing processes, standards, and stewardship.
Here Tom Buller is enjoying the special tour around the farm. We are thankful to have Tom jump in to help lead up our structural framework. We are lucky to have his expereience in building the business bones and legal 
frame-raising of a new AgriCluster! Tom has elderberry on his land and thinking about more! 
Robert Leonard who has been with the AgriCluster since the early days! He and wife Siri have their elderberry in the ground and adding more. He is involved with plans to strengthen the market of elderberry. Next to Robert is a farmer we are wooing. Jacob of JET FARMS. GOT ELDERBERRY YET?

As it turned dark we dropped Lori Trojan our Elderberry Story teller and core member off at her WILD IVY HERB FARM. Next farm visit we can take a look at Loris elderberry and Mark Allison seen below who has elderberry at his Fossil Creek Winery. Mark also has the agritourism bus The Miami Trolley!

Loris elderberry and Mark Allison with elderberry at his Fossil Creek Winery

Stay tune as the co-chairs visit more members of the elderberry AgriCluster American Heartland Elderberry Collaborative!

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Local value-added products aren’t cute. They’re insurance.

Lionberry 's Weekly Delusion and Re-illusion Update.

People act like small batch is a hobby.

Nope.

Every bottle from a small farmer is a value-added product inside a value food chain.

That chain is made of humans, not container ships.

If global trade gets tariffed to death, or the truckers strike, or a war kicks off, or a fuel shortage hits, or a natural disaster…guess what?

Walmart will not be driving to Thailand for pineapple juice.

Local food is the only thing that can actually disrupt the global supply chain — in a good way.

And here’s the delusion:

Everyone thinks “we’ll connect with the local farmers when we need them.”

Nope.

If the shelves go empty, it’s already too late.

Now is the time to get the relationships built. The value chain in motion. 

Now is the time to slot locals in the stores — even if it’s as “novelty items” at first on a local farm shelf.

Because when the global pipeline hiccups?

The people who will actually feed your region

aren’t the ones with the biggest warehouses.

Shop local or… we’ll be learning how to season cardboard and call it rustic.