Robert Paterson's List: Ag Rory

Less than one week later, Ells and a small entourage of Chipotle executives touched down in nearby Jefferson City and drove to Kremer's 150-acre farm. They had come to ask about buying naturally raised pork from Kremer and a group of local farmers who had banded together to form a cooperative. Under the Heritage Acres label, the farmers dedicated themselves to raising hogs humanely, layering the floors of their pens with hay, giving them access to fresh air and eschewing such practices as clipping their tails and plying them with antibiotics. The co-op's approach jibed with what Ells was trying to do at Chipotle: in 2000 the classically trained chef and company founder committed to serving humanely raised, sustainably grown food at his restaurants, including meat and dairy products that are free of antibiotics and hormones. A few days later, Chipotle handed Heritage Acres its first major contract, for 5,000 pounds of pork per week, which it has since raised to 10,000 pounds —about 7 percent of Chipotle's total take. "They ensured our survivability," says Kremer, who's since been able to add 15 new farms to his co-op.

Eating locally grown produce is noble, but it's seldom easy at Winston-Salem's restaurants.

Chefs don't always want to spend time dashing off to the farmers market or from grower to grower.

Farmers often don't want to devote hours and gas delivering restaurant to restaurant.

This year, the Winston-Salem Downtown Partnership is trying to help by linking chefs and restaurant owners with farmers who sell at the Downtown Farmers Market.

The restaurants interested in the plan include Meridian, 6th and Vine, Zevely House, Caffe Prada, WS Prime, Winston's Eatery and Chelsee's Coffee House, said Amy Garland. Garland is an art-gallery owner and freelance marketer who organized the farmer-restaurant partnership for the farmers market.

Some downtown restaurants already have been buying from the farmers' market "so this isn't brand new, but some of them just hadn't thought of it," Garland said. The partnership will give the restaurants table cards to promote dishes on their menus made with local food.

"This is all patron-driven," Wyner said. "Since 1994, green markets in Florida have grown more than 100 percent. I think the state simply hasn't recognized the phenomenon yet. They are still tied to huge agricultural operations and interests. They're not geared to people who want to buy and eat local."

Small-scale growers and farmers tend to suffer, Wyner said. That's especially true of those who have a few hens and want to sell farm-fresh eggs. The state insists that even a few backyard eggs must be driven to a central facility to be "safely" bathed in bleach and water. Not only does that waste fossil fuel, it makes the eggs old and potentially exposes them to all sorts of contamination. Some small egg producers have resorted to "selling" their hens to purchasers to get around the problem.

Brenda Gibbons and her husband Jim have operated St. Lucie County's only USDA-certified organic vegetable farm in Fort Pierce since 2000. They sell lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and other seasonal veggies at farmers markets in Fort Pierce and Vero Beach.

While the USDA has offered exemptions from inspections on many organic veggies, several area farmers prefer to label their crops "100-percent natural" to get around the onerous paperwork, Gibbons says.

Gibbons herself has run into packaging requirements with her lettuce. If the bags are sealed, she becomes a "food processor" and must pay hefty fees for on-site inspections. That's why the bags remain unsealed, she says.