Starting Point
In our first year as an association we built a solid base of 52 members. This was a good start and I am hopeful that more of the industry joins in. This base provides the resources we need to support our efforts to build a healthy and competitive industry.
Risk Management
2022 was a year of freezes and floods and it helped to focus our attention on our need for disaster relief and other government funding that enables the industry to manage these risks. At our first Board meeting this year we appointed Peter Chaires (current Secretary and Treasurer) to be our Government Affairs Director. Our goal is to develop a clear connection to the programs that are available and share this with our members.
How much can we make?
As we learn more about bamboo farming we realize the important things that we don’t know. We think most growers would like a more clear expectation about how much money they can make as a bamboo farmer. We have learned a lot about the cost of building a farm, the plants, the ongoing caretaking cost and the market for shoots. But as our harvests have not validated our expectations of shoot production in these early years we need to understand this better. As part of this, Greenfield Bamboo has stepped up to facilitate the 2023 shoot harvest for farmers that are interested. The idea is to increase the acreage harvested from the roughly 40 acres of the last 3 years to 160-210 acres, and to harvest consistently and timely, resulting in a potential 200,000+ pound harvest. This would not only put more money in farmers’ pockets but give us real data for understanding the harvest in the early years.
Wood Value
In addition, the FBGA is working to develop the wood market. We would like to define and enable all of the 10+ sales channels we have identified. This includes textiles (sheets and shirts) to biochar to wood slats to bio-plastics and everything in between. We are attempting to map out mechanical harvesting, logistics and partnerships for all of the sales channels. This may take some time but if we want customers banging on our doors for our product we have to clear the way to the markets.
Website
We have a website developed for FBGA that will be turned on in the next 2-3 weeks. This will be a source for current events, research information, networking, statistics and status of projects. Coming soon!
IFAS
We are very pleased that the IFAS Team has successfully been granted $75k in Seedit money to fund their (our) projects for the next 18 months. We plan to list the projects on FBGA’s website and their ongoing status. IFAS is planning a Field Day in March to help us use soil moisture data to conserve water and save money.
Our agenda is ambitious and exciting. We look forward to your feedback and support.
