Field Notes July 2021

Nothing says July like a homemade lemonade stand. While lemon groves may be a rarity on Oklahoma farms, farmers and ranchers in the state do use that same strategy of connecting directly with customers to improve their bottom lines – but how many? By how much? How are those numbers changing? In this issue, we try to answer those questions.

We also take a look at the latest USDA numbers on the farm share of the food dollar – that is, for every dollar you spend on food, how many cents end up in a farmer’s pocket?

At least one Oklahoma farmer has found a path to profits by propagating pollinators. You can watch an interview with her, and other Oklahoma pollinator experts, in a recent Oklahoma News segment.

But first, David Redhage takes us “way down yonder to the pawpaw patch” with a review of a new book on a fruit that’s sold almost entirely via direct marketing.