Adding Value and Reducing Food Loss for Small-Farm Seed Growers

Project Overview

FNE23-059
Project Type: Farmer
Funds awarded in 2023: $24,070.00
Projected End Date: 11/30/2026
Grant Recipient: Sistah Seeds
Region: Northeast
State: Pennsylvania
Project Leader:
Amirah Mitchell
Email
Sistah Seeds

Commodities

  • Vegetables: other, peppers, tomatoes
  • Miscellaneous: other

Practices

  • Crop Production: food processing
  • Farm Business Management: value added
  • Sustainable Communities: sustainability measures

    Proposal summary:

    This project will investigate the economic viability of creating added-value products from the edible by-products of wet seed processing. The project aims to reduce on-farm food loss while creating additional income streams for seed producers. The objectives of this project are 1) to quantify the edible food loss generated by small-scale seed production on our farm, 2) to develop added-value products, compatible with our seed production practices, that can reduce the quantity of wasted food, and 3) to measure the additional inputs of labor and other resources required to create these added-value products. To accomplish these objectives, Sistah Seeds will process seed crops in an off-site commercial kitchen and weigh the edible by-products. A Kitchen Coordinator will be hired to develop and create added value products. Sistah Seeds will compare the labor hours and waste creation involved with typical seed processing against the labor hours and waste diversion involved with adding added-value production to seed production. Additionally, Sistah Seeds will assess the production costs associated with adding added-value production to the seed operation. Outreach for the results of project will primarily occur through virtual presentations, available to the online public and distributed through the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, and through SARE Research and Education Grant LNE 22-446. Additional outreach will be done through presentations at conferences, including the bi-annual Northeast Seed Growers Conference.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    This project seeks to reduce on-farm food loss while creating additional income streams for small-scale seed producers. Our objectives are:

    1) to quantify the edible food loss generated by small-scale seed production on our farm.

    2) to develop added-value products, compatible with our seed production practices, that can reduce the quantity of wasted food

    3) to measure the additional inputs of labor and other resources required to create these added-value products.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.