Value-added products bloom on the prairie
Rapid City, South Dakota
Zita Kwartek knows a good thing when she sees it. “When I first saw this farm, a double rainbow appeared, a sign to me that this special place would provide inspiration and a livelihood from the land. That’s when I gave it the name, ‘New Hope Farm,'” explains Zita, of the 45 acre farmstead located four miles south of Rapid City, South Dakota. Packed with entrepreneurial energy and a constant openness to new product ideas, Zita’s business illustrates how a farm can thrive with a core base of produce combined with a variety of value-added products.
By the late 1990s, her local market proved ready for her next specialty food business: dried tomatoes. An on-site enclosed dryer utilizes only the sun to dry the tomatoes, a process that takes longer than a commercial dryer using electrically heated air. According to Zita, the sun dried process enhances the flavor. Paste tomato varieties work best for drying as they have less water content and a richer overall taste, typically taking between two days and two weeks to dry depending on the weather. One pound of fresh tomatoes dries to about one ounce. “My profit margin on tomatoes skyrockets with the added-value drying process,” Zita comments. A three ounce package retailed for about $4.25 with bulk pound sales to restaurants at $16.
Adding some crunch to her product line, Zita developed her own specialty granola, Prairie Harvest Gourmet Granola. “I got into granola because nobody was doing it locally and it would draw a lot of repeat customers interested in a healthy food,” Zita says. Drawing from a variety of basic recipes, Zita developed six granolas, each with multi-grains and fruit and creative names such as “Apple Pan Dowdy” and “Blueberry Buckle.” Right now she can process her specialty items in her home kitchen and is looking into becoming certified by the state as business expands.
To compliment her farmers’ market sales, Zita runs a booth at about ten area craft shows, finding her specialty food products and fresh produce appealing to craft show customers. “The more free samples I give out at craft shows, the higher my sales,” advises Zita. “I try to source as many of my ingredients locally, ideally organic or naturally grown.” She also sells seasoned sunflower seeds and is experimenting with vinegars and jellies.
Ask Zita about plans for New Hope Farm’s future and she’ll excitedly give you an array of ideas underway. An area winery, Prairie Berry Winery, utilizes only local fruits and buys Zita’s rhubarb and potentially a new prolific berry hybrid she is experimenting with growing, Wonderberry. “New ideas in agriculture and food tend to take awhile before they get to South Dakota,” comments Zita. With that in mind, she is working with other local farmers to start next season what may be the first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in South Dakota.