1 Foods Working Group, 1998-2001 - Twelve ERC food-related projects working in conjunction with a variety of UMN resources to foster development and launching of local food system.
2 Animal Processing, 1999-2000 - ERC task force with UMN and community livestock agricultural interests to examine regional animal processing capacity to support area livestock farmers.
3 Apple Blossom Drive, 1999-2001 - UMN Center for Urban & Regional Affairs working with local government on development issues and options in scenic area within prime agricultural acreage in Winona County.
4 Apple Crisp marketing & value-added products, 1999-2002 - Two-phase initiative to develop value-added apple products with support from UMN Carlson School of Management and Department of Food, Science and Nutrition.
5 Community Energy Self-Reliance, 1999-2004 - Local community group working on municipal wind energy model, possibly using hydrogen fuel technology, with background support from the UMN Institute of Technology and others.
6 Country Heritage Adventures, 1999-2001 - Group of agri-tourism interests working on marketing opportunities/strategies and supported by UMN Carlson School of Management students.
7 Directory of Farms, 1999 - UMN Community Assistantship Program student initiative to compile listing of farms and business supporting southeast Minnesota 's local economy.
8 Down Lighting, 1999-2002 - Community leader-directed effort to encourage use of down-lighting technology to conserve energy and protect the night-time sky as a natural resource. Also provided consultation to UMN Facilities Services.
9 Featherstone Greenhouse, 1999-2000 - Design of inexpensive, portable grow house model to extend growing season and increase vegetable diversity options, with advice and support from UMN COAFES faculty.
10 Finding Food in Farm Country, 1999-2001 - UMN-supported research assessing financial flow associated with food production and purchasing in southeast Minnesota and its effect on the regional economy.
11 Food Choices (SE MN), 1999-2001 - Land Stewardship Project initiative to design a major element of a local food system featuring sustainably-raised food products, supported by a variety of UMN resources.
12 Full Circle Greenhouse, 1999-2002 - Model development of energy efficient greenhouse to extend growing season for vegetable production, with consultation from UMN Department of Horticultural Science.
13 Hiawatha Fund (Sustainable Finance for Rural MN ), 1999-in progress - This long-term initiative was established to develop a base of sustainable financing to support in-region enterprises (farms, small businesses, entrepreneurs, etc.) by providing pools of accessible equity capital to replace a debilitating dependence on debt capital that often defeats efforts aimed at sustainable development.
14 Omega Cooperative Development, 1999 - 2000 - Development of an in-region producers' cooperative as defined by consumer-based research to determine consumer-based marketing trends.
15 Renewing the Countryside, 1999-2001 - Financial and editorial assistance on publication of book featuring rural success stories, including several from southeast Minnesota , in support of UMN Northeast Regional Partnership.
16 Resource Asset Survey, 1999 - Initial region-wide issues survey research to set agenda for ERC, undertaken by a Community Assistantship Program student in cooperation with MN Department of Natural Resources.
17 Root River Market, 1999-2000 - Community-based local food system project to open new cooperative grocery store in Houston , MN , a rural community that had lost all of its grocery stores owned by outside interests.
18 Selective Review of Docs, 1999 - UMN student researcher reviewed pertinent documents and research reports containing information useful to ERC's agenda.
19 Badgersett Hazel Development, 2000-2004 - Two-phase initiative to commercialize hazelnut production as a sustainable woody agriculture crop alternative; support from UMN COAFES and CINRAM.
20 Consumer Survey ( SE MN ), 2000 - Extensive consumer research funded through ERC's Southeast Minnesota Foods Working Group.
21 Paradise Prairie Products, 2000-2003 - Development of a community-based food business with support of a UMN Carlson School of Management student and other UMN resources, including 'By Design.'
22 Portfolio of ERC Projects, 2000 - Publication and distribution of portfolio of ERC-funded projects completed by a UMN Carlson School of Management student.
23 Sirolli Project, 2000-2001 - Region-wide economic development training, working in cooperation with UMN Extension Service and the Southern MN Initiative Fund.
24 Value-Added Supply Chain, 2000-2001 - Supply chain analysis conducted by Department of Applied Economics graduate student working with a select group of southeast Minnesota food producers.
25 Waste Wood Fuel, 2000-2002 - Community-based MN Department of Natural Resources and UMN College of Natural Resources research project focusing on recycling opportunities for region's waste wood supply.
26 Building Local Tourism Marketing Capacity, 2001 - 2003 - UMN Tourism Center all-day local tourism development seminar and consultation; support for 7 area tourism initiatives to build local capacity to undertake tourism marketing research.
27 Centro Campesino, 2001-2002 - UMN Center for Urban and Regional Affairs with UMN Community Assistantship Program student researching regional migrant housing needs.
28 Education for Sustainable Communities, 2001-2003 - Introducing sustainability-based curriculum materials into area junior high and high schools through efforts of UMN Extension Service, College of Education , and a UMN Community Assistantship Program student.
29 Farm Stories Book Project, 2001-2009 - Sponsored author Gary Holthaus to write a book that reports on the state of agriculture in southeast Minnesota, driven by a vision of an ag/food system that sustains abundant biological diversity, attends to land, human and animal health, and provides opportunities for farm families to survive in place and smaller communities to flourish. Titled, From the Farm to the Table: What All Americans Need to Know About Agriculture, the book was published in December 2006 by the University Press of Kentucky as the first in its series, Culture of the Land: A Series in the New Agrarianism. ERC sponsored Holthaus in a series of regional discussions that explored farmers' experiences and insights into how we can create sustainable and vibrant land-based communities by adhering to fundamental agrarian values.
30 Farms to Schools, 2001-2003 - Local food initiative leaders developing new marketing opportunities for producers with schools and other institutional buyers, supported by UMN student and Department of Epidemiology.
31 Food & Community, 2001 - Overview paper to provide context for emerging local food network undertaken by holder of UMN Endowed Chair for Agricultural Systems (COAFES).
32 Food Business Development/Finance, 2001 - Short-term finance and business development training offered through UMN Carlson School of Management adjunct faculty member.
33 Food Network ( SE MN ), 2001-2004 - Start-up effort to launch a food distribution network comprised of area food producers; a limited liability corporation was formed, supported by a variety of UMN resources.
34 Fresh Food Supply Chain Model, 2001 - Hiawatha's Pantry/Full Circle Cooperative venture to mount a supply chain system model, supported through a variety of UMN resources.
35 Networking for Future, 2001 -2002 - UMN Community Assistantship Program student working with Blandin Foundation to assess communication technology options for inter-connecting rural communities.
36 Social Capital and Communication, 2001-2002 - Dutch researcher, in cooperation with UMN Department of Applied Economics, gathered information on communication issues associated with emerging activities around local food systems in southeast Minnesota .
37 Agronomy Class ? Community Forum, 2002 - A dozen UMN agronomy students and faculty spent two days in southeast Minnesota with ERC board members and agricultural/natural resources project leaders.
38 Alternative Swine, 2002 -2003 - Area hog farms working together with UMN faculty on swine housing alternatives and practice improvements based on on-farm experience.
39 Asset Survey II, 2002 -2003 - Regional issues/assets mapping survey, undertaken by graduate student from the UMN Humphrey Institute for Public Policy, as a way to focus priorities for the ERC's Board of Directors.
40 Birds/Grazing Practices, 2002 -2003 - UMN graduate student working with 6 area farmers on grazing practices and their effects on wild bird populations in southeast Minnesota .
41 Financing Sustainable Agriculture, 2002 -2003 - Land Stewardship Project research study undertaken by UMN Community Assistantship Program student examining financial resources for sustainable farmers.
42 Forest Resources Management, 2002 -2003 - Region-wide forest landscape visioning project in cooperation with MN Forest Resources Council, supported by UMN student, to be used to guide potential project funding.
43 Winona Farm Project, 2002 -2003 - On-farm model development of waste wood burner to cook recycled institutional food for animal feed, using a graduate student from UMN Institute of Technology to undertake preliminary feasibility research.
44 Centro Campesino II (Financial Stability in Farmworker Organizations), 2003 - A UMN Community Assistantship Program student reviewed funding resources and opportunities and authored a report entitled "Building Financial Stability in Farmworker and Rural Latino Organizations." This study became a part of the leadership capacity-building toolkit for Centro Campesino.
45 People's Geography Project, 2003 - Five UMN graduate students from a "People's Geography Class" created a team project that focused on raising a regional sensibility for southeast Minnesota ; this was developed through conversations between the graduate student team and ERC staff and directors. The team's final report, "Observations from the People's Geography Class for the Experiment in Rural Cooperation," drew together a wide variety of information on southeast Minnesota 's natural resources and physical, economic, and social landscapes.
46 Worth of the Woods, 2003 -2005 - Sponsored UMN graduate student, Katie Hawkins, to study the ecological and economic value and services of forested landscapes in southeast Minnesota. In 2003, Ms. Hawkins completed a literature review on ecosystems and their valuation to determine how these services can be measured and evaluated. In 2005, Ms. Hawkins completed a white paper on the valuation of forest ecosystems in SE MN. The Experiment also helped to fund her thesis research on riparian buffers, which includes an interactive computer model to help landowners explore buffer options most suitable for their land.
47 Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs), 2004-in progress - Establish a regional team of leaders interested in the region's renewable energy future. Create a strategic vision and renewable energy and conservation plan for the region, reflecting a mix of energy sources, to lay the groundwork for implementing renewable energy projects that meet regional needs.
48 Food Network Business Plan (see SE MN Food Network report), 2004 - Four graduate students and a faculty member of UMN Department of Applied Economics produced a professional, versatile, quality business plan for the Food Network.
49 Future Choices (Big Picture), 2004 -in progress - The initial project goal was to design local development frameworks to assist in making community land-use decisions; the frameworks were to evolve out of local principles established through a citizen-engaged process. Ideally, a regional development framework was to be created to give us a picture of what citizens want the region to look like in 20 years. ERC did not rally the citizen support needed for such an effort. ERC is now working with individual organizations and communities on land-use issues. ERC is supporting the Hiawatha Valley Partnership in its design and distribution of an educational presentation to heighten awareness of development pressures in communities along the Mississippi River between Red Wing and Wabasha.
50 Human Capital Fund, 2004 -in progress - A fund established by the ERC board to build regional human resources capacity by providing registration fees to workshops for board members and other southeast Minnesota citizens.
51 Finding Food in Farm Country 2007 - Expanded on a 2000 FFFC project. ERC held public events and sponsored the development of educational tools to help grow regional food systems, such as Ken Meter's economic analysis of the food and farm economy of southeast MN, and Erin Meier's ReFest presentation on food systems.
52 Grocery Store Demand for Local, Organic Farm Products in SE MN - Gigi DiGacomo, UM Senior Fellow in the Endowed Chair in Agricultural Systems Program of the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, surveyed and analyzed by region, Minnesota grocery store's demand for local, organic farm products.
53 MN Grape Growers Association - In collaboration with the NW and WC Regional Partnerships, we sponsored a growers profile and economic impact study of MN's grape and wine industry by the UM Dept. of Applied Economics for MGGA.
54 Citizens for a Healthy Dodge County - Worked to make Dodge County the first southeastern county with local foods information on the localfoods.umn.edu website. Produced a brochure for the group.
55 Red Wing's Riverbend Market Cooperative - ERC co-sponsored UM speakers at a series of gatherings to raise awareness and build the Riverbend Market Cooperative. Community leaders learned about ways to build a new food system for the area. The Cooperative now has its own website.
