« Older Entries | Main |

Connecting Farmers Markets to a New World of Opportunities

May 8th, 2012 at 2:36 PM by Debra Tropp, AMS Branch Chief, Farmers Markets and Direct Marketing

Editor’s note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.

A young boy looks over the fresh fruits and veggies with his mother at a farmers market in Mississippi. By listing their market in the National Farmers Market Directory, market managers open their market up new customers. Photo courtesy Natalie Maynor

A young boy looks over the fresh fruits and veggies with his mother at a farmers market in Mississippi. By listing their market in the National Farmers Market Directory, market managers open their market up new customers. Photo courtesy Natalie Maynor

Spring is in the air and it’s time to gear up for the outdoor market season. People are looking for fresh fruits, veggies and other goodies from their local farmers markets, and with a couple clicks of the mouse, the USDA National Farmers Market Directory makes the search easy.

While the directory holds obvious value for market customers, it is just as valuable to the farmers markets themselves.  Getting listed in the directory is a great way to increase a market’s visibility.  If your market is already listed, you can use the same link to make sure the information we have online is accurate and up-to-date.

In an age where smartphone applications and websites are created using datasets like the geocodes from our directory, having a listing in the directory can put your market information right at a customer’s fingertips.

Several application developers use our directory datasets in their farmers market apps. For example, Real Time Farms meshes our data with their own listings of farms and restaurants, painting a detailed picture of local farmers and farmers markets.  We can’t wait to see what will be developed next!

Besides being a marketing tool that displays market locations, operating hours and products offered, the USDA National Farmers Market Directory is the go-to resource for decision makers,   researchers and community planners.  With over two million page views last year, the directory is used on a regular basis to better understand the size and scope of the farmers market sector.

The USDA National Farmers Market Directory. With a few easy clicks, market managers can add their farmers market to the more than 7,000 markets already listed in the directory.

The USDA National Farmers Market Directory. With a few easy clicks, market managers can add their farmers market to the more than 7,000 markets already listed in the directory.

Because the directory relies on self-reporting by the farmers market, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) tries to reach out to market managers at least once a year to get updated information.  This year’s directory update is open to new and existing farmers markets through June 5th. Updates submitted during this month-long solicitation will be visible in the online directory by June 26th.

Markets with several locations should list each location separately.  If market managers include an email address, we’ll send them a link to an easy update form when it’s time to update their information again next year.

Getting listed in the directory is very easy.  Market managers should visit our site to start the simple process of adding their market to the directory, and in just a few minutes, they’ll be opening themselves up to a whole new world of potential customers.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Farmers Market |

Introducing the Regional Food Hub Guide: An Innovative Tool for Growing Local Food Systems

April 26th, 2012 at 9:41 AM by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan

Editor’s note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.

Regional Food Hub Resource Guide. The guide is a collection of information, resources and background on everything needed to develop or participate in a regional food hub.

The new Regional Food Hub Resource Guide is a collection of information, resources and background on everything needed to develop or participate in a regional food hub.

What can farmers and ranchers do if they’re interested in selling locally but don’t have the resources to run their own trucks, processing plants or marketing strategies?  What can institutional buyers, –like schools, hospital and retailers — do to offer more local food to their customers? A regional food hub is one possible answer.

Regional food hubs – businesses or organizations that connect farmers and buyers by offering a suite of production, distribution, and marketing services – can play a critical role in developing stronger supply chains for local food.  They can also help address the infrastructure challenges that many small and midsize producers face when trying to break into local markets, and help aggregate products from smaller local and regional producers.  Food hubs can also support food access, regional economic development and job creation.

Last week, at the National Good Food Network (NGFN) Food Hub Collaboration Spring 2012 Conference in Chicago (sponsored by USDA and the Wallace Center at Winrock International), USDA released our new Regional Food Hub Resource Guide, a collection of information, resources and background on everything needed to develop or participate in a regional food hub. The guide presents a series of key questions about the current state of food hub development and examples from operating food hubs. It also outlines the role that food hubs can play in regional food systems; their innovative business models; and their economic contributions to local communities. It describes funding opportunities and other resources, best practices, and additional strategies for anyone interested in developing regional food hubs.

Customers shop for produce at the Central New York Regional Market. This market is one of more than 170 food hubs in the country.

Customers shop for produce at the Central New York Regional Market. This market is one of more than 170 food hubs in the country.

Here at USDA, the Agricultural Marketing Service has taken the lead in food hub research. Last year, AMS created a food hub portal, which includes the latest research, news and information about food hub development across the country.  Working with partners, AMS identified more than 170 food hubs operating across the country. I met some of them at the Chicago conference, like Johnice Cross of GROWN Locally in Decorah, Iowa, which has been coordinating with producers in Northeast Iowa to distribute a wide variety of their products to wholesale institutions, distributors and local schools, and Haile Johnston of Common Market which connects nearly 100 local producers with communities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

AMS produced the Regional Food Hub Resource Guide in partnership with the Wallace Center at Winrock International, the National Good Food Network, the National Association of Produce Market Managers and the Project for Public Spaces, as part of the National Food Hub Collaboration. Our ongoing work together will include developing a national food hub community of practice, continuing current research on food hubs business model and understanding the role that food hubs are playing in communities across the country.

You can learn more about food hubs and other local food infrastructure in the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass, a narrative full of case studies and multi-media tools. I encourage you to look through the KYF Compass and its accompanying map to see where USDA is supporting food hubs in your region.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Regional Food Hub |

USDA Announces New Farm to School Program to Improve the Health and Nutrition of Kids Receiving School Meals

April 24th, 2012 at 11:14 AM by Deborah Kane, National Farm to School Director, U. S. Department of Agriculture

Editor’s note: Cross-posted from the Let’s Move! blog.

 
USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan discovers “Abe Lincoln tomatoes” during her visit to Southern High School in Anne Arundel county, MD.

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan discovers “Abe Lincoln tomatoes” during her visit to Southern High School in Anne Arundel county, MD.

Last week USDA released a new farm to school grant program designed to help give children a sense of where their food comes from and increase the availability of local foods in schools. Joined by students at Southern High School in Harwood, MD, as well as school and elected officials, Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan made the announcement in an on-campus greenhouse.

One of the first things she noticed when she walked into the greenhouse was the Abe Lincoln tomato seedlings. President Abraham Lincoln created the United States Department of Agriculture 150 years ago. At the time, there were farmers everywhere, but today that is no longer true. In fact, young children, increasingly removed from agriculture, are more likely to recognize corporate logos than carrot tops growing from the soil.

I was thrilled to discover that students at Southern High not only can recognize carrots growing in the soil, they understand the very important difference between dirt and soil — “Don’t treat my soil like dirt!” is oft repeated sentiment among agronomists. These kids also know their farmers. Lunch featured fresh, locally-grown asparagus (Godfrey Farms, Queen Anne’s County), carrots (K&A Farms, Talbot County), lettuce (BayWater Greens, Wicomico County and Chesapeake Greenhouse, Queen Anne’s), and tomatoes (Hummingbird Farms, Caroline County).

In keeping with dietary guidelines to consume lots of fruits and vegetables, half the plate at Southern High consisted of fruits and vegetables, and they were locally sourced as well.

In keeping with dietary guidelines to consume lots of fruits and vegetables, half the plate at Southern High consisted of fruits and vegetables, and they were locally sourced as well.

As we struggle with obesity and associated diet-related diseases, farm to school programs like the one at Southern High give us a viable tool to help children make lifelong healthy eating choices. They also are a great way to channel school food dollars into regional agricultural communities. With this new grant announcement, we hope to enhance schools’ ability to work with regional producers, create economic opportunities for food producers of all kinds, and empower schools to increase or augment programming that builds food literacy among the nation’s children.Helping schools find and procure regionally produced food is directly tied to the USDA’s strategic plan and a key component of the USDA Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food (KYF) initiative. In addition to being a key priority for USDA, farm to school activities also align with broader Administration efforts – certainly First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative – to increase healthy food options in schools.

I’ve heard the Deputy say that farm to school is “pitch perfect.” Others must agree. Within a half hour of the announcement, we’d already received the first letter of inquiry for this exciting new program. Authorized by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and now administered through USDA’s Food and Nutrition Services, we expect to award up to $3.5 million to innovative farm to school programs across the country. Applications are due on June 15, 2012.

Congratulations to the students and staff at Southern High School and to our colleagues in Maryland, where every county in the state participates in farm to school activities. Indeed, our hope is that school cafeterias championing U.S. agriculture and proudly promoting regionally sourced foods that meet or exceed school nutrition standards will one day be the norm, not the exception. Abraham Lincoln would be proud.

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and Deborah Kane, USDA’s National Farm to School Director, enjoy lunch at Southern High School with FFA students.

USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan and Deborah Kane, USDA’s National Farm to School Director, enjoy lunch at Southern High School with FFA students.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Farm to School |

Apply to Make a Difference: Farmers Market Promotion Program Grants Available

April 5th, 2012 at 6:07 PM by Arthur Neal, Deputy Administrator, AMS Transportation and Marketing Program

[Editor's note: Cross posted from the USDA blog.]
The Greensgrow Farms mobile food delivery system. With the help of an FMPP grant, Greensgrow Farms has used this truck to supply residents of the Camden/Philadelphia area with fresh, healthy, affordable foods. (Photo courtesy of Greensgrow Farms)

 The Greensgrow Farms mobile food delivery system. With the help of an FMPP grant, Greensgrow Farms has used this truck to supply residents of the Camden/Philadelphia area with fresh, healthy, affordable foods. (Photo courtesy of Greensgrow Farms)

Every day, thousands of local farmers and ranchers work hard to ensure that their communities have access to a diverse range of fresh, healthy affordable foods.  While nutritious food is a cornerstone of society’s physical health, a vibrant community also includes sustainable economic opportunities.  By funding projects that support these goals, USDA’s Farmers Market Promotion Program continues to make a difference for farmers at the local level.

The Farmers Market Promotion Program provides grants to eligible entities through a competitive application process (grants.gov).  This year, nearly $10 million is available for farmers markets, community supported agriculture, road-side stands and other direct marketing operations to assist in expanding and promoting market opportunities for local farmers and ranchers.  At the same time, efforts supported by these funds will help make nutritious, local foods more available in communities across the United States.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) administers these grants.  In 2011, we funded nearly 150 projects, including a grant to Greensgrow Farms Neighborhood Markets in Camden, N.J.  Because of organizations like Greensgrow Farms, Farmers Market Promotion Program funds are being used to make a difference.  They are using the support from USDA to develop neighborhood farmers markets and establish a mobile food delivery system in low income areas of the city.  Participating markets will accept electronic benefit transfer (EBT) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) transactions.  They are also creating a food hub that will utilize refrigeration and processing equipment to keep foods fresh.  Food hubs are innovative business models that bring farmers, distributors, aggregators, buyers and others in the supply chain together to ensure that the regional small and midsize producers get access to the infrastructure they need to grow their business.

This year, we’re looking for projects that will continue to expand healthy food choices for all Americans – especially in food deserts or low-income areas.  Producer associations, nonprofit corporations, agricultural cooperatives, local governments, economic development corporations, regional farmers market authorities, public benefit corporations and tribal governments committed to promoting the goals of the Farmers Market Promotion Program are encouraged  to apply during this  2012 grant season.

Visit our website for program information and to find out more about previously funded projects.  You can also visit grants.gov to learn about the application process or to apply for a grant.  Your electronic application must be received by May 21, 2012 to be considered.

Tags: ,
Posted in Farmers Market, Grants |

USDA and Hawai’i public charter school partner for local, traditional foods

April 3rd, 2012 at 1:37 PM by Alton Kimura, USDA Rural Development Hawaii

On the southwest coast of the big island of Hawai‘i, USDA is partnering with Kona Pacific Public Charter School on a project to restore eight acres of land to the ancient Kona Field System of agriculture and then use traditional cultivation techniques to produce traditional foods for students and the community.

In 2010, USDA Rural Development awarded the school’s supporting non-profit a three-million dollar direct loan through the Community Facilities loan and grant program. The loan funded the purchase of a 38-acre parcel that contains a portion of the field system, an organic farm, and an elementary school campus. The loan will also enable the construction of two new buildings totaling 6,000 square feet, tripling classroom space.

With the help of a Community Facilities loan from USDA Rural Development, Kona Pacific Charter School will construct new classroom buildings and develop a traditional field system.

“Without USDA funding, some students in Hawaii would be left out in the cold, or at least the rain!” says Chris Hecht, Executive Director of Kona Pacific Public Charter School in Kealakekua, HI. “In the past, our school, like other Hawaii public charter schools, has had to be creative in regards to facilities. Schools have utilized shipping containers, tents, and other temporary structures as classrooms for their students, even though they are public school students like their peers in neighborhood schools. In partnership with the USDA, we’re providing students a modern learning environment that supports them in doing their best.” 

Under the guidance of cultural practitioners, students will help restore the traditional field system by dividing the land into long, narrow fields that run mauka-makai  (from the mountain to the sea). The fields will be delineated by rock walls (kuaiwi) that will serve as both plot and planting boundaries. Further divisions (lo‘i) perpendicular to the kuaiwi will create smaller planting areas. In these terraced plots descending the slope of Mauna Loa, students will cultivate sweet potato, paper mulberry, breadfruit, dryland taro, bananas and other crops grown in elevation zones linked to each species’ moisture requirements.

Kona Pacific also participates in the USDA’s National School Lunch Program and the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. More than 65% of Kona Pacific students qualify for free or reduced-cost meals and depend upon the NSLP for a significant portion of their daily nutrition.

The school has begun discussion with USDA and private sector partners about the possibility of funding the construction of a production kitchen. The facility would be used for processing the harvest of these traditional crops, daily cooking of school meals using crops and animal products from the school farm, and production of value-added products by local family farms.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Loans & Support |

Urban Farm Supports Local Community

March 29th, 2012 at 12:10 PM by Molly McDonough, NRCS Pennsylvania

[Editor's note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.]

Located in the heart of a “food desert” in the city of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Joshua Farm is a unique one-acre operation that is growing produce for locals through the use of a seasonal high tunnel.

Founder Kirsten Reinford and daughter Havah at Joshua Farm, a unique one-acre operation in Harrisburg, Penn., that grows over 40 varieties of fresh produce for local families. 

Founder Kirsten Reinford and daughter Havah at Joshua Farm, a unique one-acre operation in Harrisburg, Penn., that grows over 40 varieties of fresh produce for local families.

The high tunnel (also known as a “hoop house”) makes urban farming possible and extends the growing season. Joshua Farm installed its high tunnel with the help of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Joshua Farm is managed by Harrisburg residents Kirsten Reinford and Joshua Mortiz. It grows over 40 varieties of fresh produce for over 45 local families. In just seven years, Joshua Farm has made a substantial impact on the community.

The farm is a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) business, where members share in the farm’s expenses in exchange for a portion of the harvest. Joshua Farm also allows members to provide volunteer labor as payment for CSA shares. 

The longer growing season the high tunnel enables allows both the farm and its shareholders to benefit from higher productivity. The result is that Joshua Farm has fresh fruits and vegetables from May through October. Shareholders receive a harvest selection on a weekly basis during the 22-week growing season. 

Joshua Farm is part of Joshua Group, a non-profit that offers tutoring, mentoring and scholarships to underprivileged students. Through the farm, the organization teaches inner-city students where food comes from and how to grow food. The farm also employs up to six students and offers small cooking classes for young people.

Vegetables growing in the high tunnel at Joshua Farm. The high tunnel, with funding assistance from NRCS, makes urban farming possible on small acreage and supplies fresh produce for longer periods to a large city population near Harrisburg, Penn. 

Vegetables growing in the high tunnel at Joshua Farm. The high tunnel, with funding assistance from NRCS, makes urban farming possible on small acreage and supplies fresh produce for longer periods to a large city population near Harrisburg, Penn.

Thanks to a separate USDA grant, Joshua Farm also sells organic produce directly to local residents using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly called food stamps, through the use of a swipe card machine. 

Joshua Farm provides a model for meeting food needs in an underserved community. But all communities benefit from stronger connections to food systems, and from having access to fresh, local produce.

USDA supports local and regional food systems across the U.S. through its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative and the KYF Compass. The KYF Compass is an online multimedia narrative with stories, pictures and an interactive map of USDA-supported activities in all 50 states.

With the KYF Compass, you can navigate USDA resources that support local food systems; meet farmers, ranchers, businesses and communities that are participating in local food chains; and learn about projects across the country.

Find out more about the High Tunnel Initiative.

Follow NRCS on Twitter.

Check out other conservation-related stories on the USDA blog.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Healthy Food Access |

You Asked, We Answer: FAQs About the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass

March 27th, 2012 at 10:43 AM by estarmer

[Editor's note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.]

It’s been a little over two weeks since we launched the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass, which includes a multi-media PDF narrative and an accompanying interactive map. Together, they’re designed to help you navigate USDA’s grant and loan programs and learn how USDA supports the development of local and regional food systems. You’ll hear about people across the country putting these resources to work. We hope you’ll be inspired and perhaps get some new ideas to try out on your farm or ranch or in your community.

We never intended to launch the KYF Compass and call it a day. This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term conversation about new opportunities in local and regional food. We’ve reached out to you through a webinar, over Twitter, in our blog and in events with stakeholders to hear your feedback and ideas. And you’ve certainly kept up your end of the conversation!

This will be the first in a weekly series to answer frequently-asked questions that we’ve received since the launch of the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass. If you have a question about the Compass, map, or USDA programs related to local and regional food systems, please let us know! Use Twitter hashtag #KYF2 or send us an email at knowyourfarmer@usda.gov.

Today, we’re answering some of the questions you’ve asked about the map. But to make sure the answers continue to be accessible, we’ve posted them here for easy access while you are playing with the map.

Don’t forget to send in new questions for next week’s Q&A using Twitter or the email above.

Posted in The National Conversation |

D.C. chef helps cultivate good nutrition through partnership with GreenSchools!, U.S. Forest Service

March 26th, 2012 at 12:29 PM by Vicki Arthur and Tamberly Conway, U.S. Forest Service, Conservation Education

Mark Haskell has perfected the school garden recipe: a green thumb, a passion for home-grown food, culinary expertise and partnerships with GreenSchools! and the U.S. Forest Service  to whip up the excitement of urban school children connecting their garden to the food they eat.

“You can use a garden to teach all sorts of things,” said Haskell, a certified master gardener and CEO and chef of Friends and Food Inc. in Washington, D.C. “Before we started these projects, a lot of these kids didn’t know where the food that they see on their plates came from.” 

Forest Service and American Forest Foundation officials help students plant a garden at Barnard Elementary School in Washington, DC.

GreenSchools! is a partnership between the American Forest Foundation’s Project Learning Tree program and the Forest Service.  The school gardens and other activities developed through GreenSchools! are a complement to USDA’s People’s Gardens and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative.

The key to the GreenSchools! program is that it provides leadership opportunities for students to investigate their school’s environmental footprint and then take action to reduce it.  They help create a more green and healthy living environment by engaging their family, community members and the school’s administrators, teachers and support staff.

One of the more powerful learning tools used by GreenSchools! is having students establish school gardens, which sometimes includes building raised beds, tilling the soil, planting the seeds and harvesting the crops. Some of the harvest is used by the schools while other schools donate to local food banks.

The benefit of the gardens is that they serve multiple learning uses. Teachers can turn the garden into real-life lesson plans for math, science, history, art, social studies and literature. That’s where Haskell comes in, helping DC schools connect gardening to the work they’re doing in the classroom.  

“The key is to sit down with teachers and find out what they need to accomplish and show how we can do it in the garden,” Haskell said.

When students are outside learning in the garden, their imaginations are released and their bodies are moving.

In Washington, D.C., Barnard Elementary School students grow vegetables and donate them to Martha’s Table, a local community organization that provides needy children and families with nutritious meals.  “We are in the gardens all year round, not just in nice weather,” said teacher Geraldine Meredith.  ““We have a life-science standard about the cycle of life. What better way to learn than to see the garden grow in one season, die in winter then grow again.”

Editor’s note: This blog contains information provided by Project Learning Tree GreenSchools!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Uncategorized |

Increasing Access to Locally Grown and Healthy Food

March 23rd, 2012 at 2:27 PM by Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan

[Editor's note: Cross posted from the White House blog.]

Three years ago, I was asked to participate in the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, out of which grew the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative. In May 2010, we submitted a report to the President that made a series of recommendations for addressing the challenges of obesity and hunger, both of which stem from a lack of access to good, healthy food.  The report identified local food systems as a strategy to combat food access problems, and specifically called upon the USDA “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Initiative to provide technical and financial assistance to help communities grow and process their own food, and create jobs at the same time.

I’m pleased to report that we’ve made a lot of progress since 2009 – and we have two new tools to help communities learn about what we’ve done and tap into USDA resources to develop their own solutions. The new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass is a document packed with photos, video and case studies of communities building strong local food systems. Farmers’ markets, mobile produce vendors, farm to school initiatives, and food hubs are just a few of many examples highlighted by the Compass. The Healthy Food Access section shows how communities are using USDA resources to promote health and the local economy.

These students at Dayton Elementary in Dayton, Nevada harvest potatoes from their school’s garden. The story of how local food is helping increase healthy food access in their community, and many others stories like it, are in USDA’s new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass.

 These students at Dayton Elementary in Dayton, Nevada harvest potatoes from their school’s garden. The story of how local food is helping increase healthy food access in their community, and many others stories like it, are in USDA’s new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass.

USDA also developed an interactive map showing USDA investments nationwide related to local food systems. You can sort the data by theme and identify projects on healthy food access. The map is a great way to see what’s happening in your own community and learn from other successful projects.  Explore them, share them, and join the conversation over Twitter using the hashtag #KYF2.

The many success stories highlighted in the Compass show just how much progress our country is making when it comes to healthy food access. In New Haven, Connecticut, a city where one in four people live in poverty, a Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan from USDA helped construct the first full-service grocery store in the inner city in 2011. Elm City Market created 100 new jobs for local residents with salaries starting at twice the minimum wage.  But the community didn’t stop there: the store is sourcing over half of its products from producers within 200 miles of the city. The store reports brisk business, serving community members that previously lacked access to the products grown just miles away from them.

Retail infrastructure like Elm City Market is just one way that USDA is expanding access to healthy, local food. Schools are another place where we’ve made tremendous progress – by investing in new school kitchen equipment to help cafeterias store and use more local food; by getting kids active in school gardens through our People’s Garden School Pilot; and by developing a toolkit for producers and school foodservice personnel on farm to school programs. KYF2’s Farm to School Team traveled to 15 schools around the country to learn about how they’re making change and document it in a summary report. You can read about this work and more in the Compass section on Farm to School initiatives. We will also be posting lots more stories on the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food blog.

We’ve come a long way since 2009, but there’s no question that we still have miles to go. We can’t expand healthy food access if we limit ourselves to one or two strategies; it’s about using every tool in the toolbox to create community-specific solutions. Local food systems are one strategy with the potential to reap many benefits. I could not be more proud of the role USDA is playing in supporting this exciting, innovative, and life-changing work, nor more grateful for the strong support we receive from the First Lady and the President.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Healthy Food Access |

The Best Food Distribution Models for Small and Mid-Sized Farmers

March 22nd, 2012 at 12:09 PM by Adam Diamond, Agricultural Marketing Specialist, and James Barham, Economist, AMS Transportation and Marketing Program

[Editor's note: Cross-posted from the USDA blog.]

Small and mid-size farmers are common in farmers markets, but they often face particular obstacles when trying to sell products in markets like grocery stores, restaurants, hospitals, and schools.  As part of our work in the Transportation and Marketing program at USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), we explored this issue in our recently released study, Moving Food Along the Value Chain: Innovations in Regional Food Distribution. 

The study included eight food organizations that are overcoming the infrastructure and logistics challenges that smaller producers face.  The in-depth interviews, research, and thorough analysis contained in this report focus on four themes: timely infrastructure investments, stand-out products complemented by effective marketing, the benefits of an informal network, and the need for strategic partnerships.

For the first theme, we found that businesses are more successful when their investments match their growth.  For example, during their early business development, the Oklahoma Food Cooperative decided to use a church basement as a warehouse and focus on developing their unique online ordering platform and farmer-customer communication.  As the business matured, they eventually leased a proper warehouse to manage the co-op.  Their innovative online marketing platform, designed to address their needs, has been successfully adapted by businesses around the country with similar communication challenges.

Red Tomato, a non-profit based in Boston, demonstrated the second theme—the need for producers to create products that will stand out in the marketplace with the help of effective marketing.  This can include developing products that appeal to regional consumer preferences and values.  One of Red Tomato’s signature brands is Eco Apple™.  Red Tomato works carefully with apple producers to make sure that Eco Apple™ apples are grown according to specific environmental standards favored by local consumers.  By meeting those standards, Red Tomato can help market Eco Apple™ to get a better price for the farmer.

We also found that producers could benefit when participating in an informal network.  Members in the network can band together to help each other meet the constantly shifting demands of diversified food markets.  Virginia’s Appalachian Sustainable Development was able to effectively organize a regional network of small and mid-sized farmers to produce local organic foods for specialty stores and regional grocery store chains.

The last theme is the need for businesses to build strategic partnerships that leverage their strengths.  Businesses need to identify what they’re good at, as well as what they’re not so good at, and then get help from the right people.  In California, Growers Collaborative, a nonprofit-managed network of farmers committed to local food production, quickly discovered that their strength was in training and marketing, not in distribution and logistics.  By forming a strategic partnership with an existing specialty produce distributor, Grower’s Collaborative could concentrate on the things they knew how to do well, and do them even better.

Our research and the resulting study shows how flexible distribution models can be financially sustainable enterprises, meet the rapidly changing demands of consumers, and bring higher returns to producers.  By analyzing what has and has not worked within these eight successful businesses, Moving Food Along the Value Chain: Innovations in Regional Food Distribution, provides lessons to build on, blunders to avoid, and inspiration to draw from. 

Visit our website for more information on food hubs and distribution models.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Business Structures |

« Older Entries | Main |