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05 market, to see if any farmers in the county would be interested in converting to vegetable production farm. Recor suggested analyzing how many acres of each product would be required to supply the needed amounts of broccoli, tomatoes, potatoes or other locally grown vegetables. A coordinated effort of gathering enough local farmers to produce the supply would need to follow. Barber said that a local broker -type person coordinate what is produced with what is needed would be critical to the success of any program. The county also needs to determine which farmers would be willing to try a new crop. Kleese noted that there needs to be market data to stimulate farmers to want to grow more vegetables, and encourage banks to lend money for these trial crops. The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association believes that there is more market for organic product than there are growers. A survey of the North Carolina market during 1997 -1998, funded by the Reynolds Foundation, collected data over a 15 -month period. The survey, which recorded product volume, price fluctuation, and where products came from, documented that over 85% of these products came from out of state. The project suggested preparing as enterprise budgets as the next step -- showing what the cost of production is compared to the end -cost data. This information could be taken to the bank or used to make a judgement call as to whether it is worth the risk to try new crop projects. Developing market data is critical factor to stimulate agricultural risk taking, without risking a substantial loss. Mandell asked about the possibility of apprentices for the program. Upcoming farmers could be linked with older farmers with active farmland, equipment, and experience. Morrow suggested that if a school /university issued a RFP for the production of large quantities of vegetables over a certain time frame, the farmer would have a guaranteed buyer for the product at a given price. That type of arrangement might provide enough insurance for traditional farmers to take a risk and switch from tobacco to vegetables. In addition, if banks see profit margins, they are more likely to lend money. Jacobs reported that their meetings with university /schools indicated that institutions prefer to deal with a broker, who could consider locally produced goods first. Community based childcare services was noted as another high volume vegetable purchaser. Food shoppers are willing to work with local producers to provide nutritious meals. A suggestion of child care services might serve as a model — they are small enough that we