Farmer Direct Marketing Newsletter - April/May 1999

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The USDA sponsored Santa Fe Farmers Market Conference

Agricultural Marketing Outreach Workshop for Limited Resource Farmers - Information and Remarks by Under Secretary Michael V. Dunn

Update on the Burlington, VT, Public Market Feasibility Study

Report on USDA Farmer Direct Marketing Focus Groups Held in Memphis, TN

Features:

1997 Census of Agriculture and Direct Marketing

Announcements:

"Law and the New Agriculture:   Direct Marketing and Local Food Systems" - Neil Hamilton of Drake University's 4-day course to be offered this summer

Community Food Security Coalition Workshops

New in Print/Audio - Publications/Tapes about Direct Marketing:

Getting Food on the Table:  An Action Guide to Local Food Policy (Community Food Security Coalition)

From the Field to the Table: Suggested Food Handling Guidelines for Open-Air Farmers' Markets and Fairs (ECOnomics Institute)

Audio Tapes from "Cultivating the Harvest:  Inland Northwest Small Acreage Farming Conference

Return to Farmer Direct Marketing Newsletter Index to view previous editions

USDA Activities:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) joined the Friends of the Santa Fe Farmers Market in hosting a workshop Feb. 4-6 in Santa Fe, NM, to address the issue of attracting minority farmers and customers to farmers and public markets. 

The 3-day roundtable discussion brought together farmers market managers and others involved in direct marketing from the South and Southwest.  These regions have large Hispanic populations, which should be encouraged to participate more fully as consumers and vendors in farmers markets.  The panel discussed ways to maintain, enhance, and further develop satellite and permanent farmers markets and to strengthen and sustain small farm agriculture throughout these regions.  It also dealt with topics that contribute to greater participation by all minority farmers and consumers.

"The challenge is to continue to make farmers markets equally accessible to everyone," said Enrique E. Figueroa, Administrator of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).  "Access to healthful fresh fruit and vegetables for the underserved consumer is a critical objective of AMS' work in farmer direct marketing."

The proceedings of this roundtable will be made available on the web in the coming months.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored a marketing outreach workshop for limited resource farmers March 24-26 at the Agricenter International in Memphis, TN.  The workshop was a joint effort with Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA.

"These are challenging times, particularly for small farmers," said Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. "The goal of this event is to help limited resource farmers maximize their economic potential by helping them develop effective marketing plans."

One hundred fifty-four limited resource farmers from Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee attended the event.  About 500 additional participants attended the various workshops in which several USDA agencies participated.  Product quality demonstrations on beef cattle, fruits and vegetables, goats, hogs, and poultry were conducted.  Additionally, there were field tests for soil analysis, tillage, irrigation, and trees/agroforestry.

"AMS sees this workshop as a multifaceted outreach effort that will help small farmers learn how to improve the marketability of their products and enhance their knowledge of the techniques and resources available to them through State and USDA agencies," said AMS Administrator Enrique E. Figueroa.

Remarks by Under Secretary Michael V. Dunn (As prepared for delivery)
Marketing Outreach Workshop
Memphis, Tennessee
March 24, 1999

"Introduction

Dr. Figueroa spoke to you earlier about the Small Farms Commission, and I’d like to take a few minutes to talk about a few of the actions USDA has taken to carry out the recommendations made by the Commission.

The first speaker to address the Small Farms Commission, Dr. Rick Welsh, talked about the emergence of two "food streams" shaping the structure of today’s agriculture.

One of these streams is contract production, and the other is direct marketing.   Now USDA has always been interested in, and done work on, farmer direct marketing, but as a result of the Small Farms Commission Report, we have stepped up our efforts considerably.

The framework for these efforts is the USDA Farmer Direct Marketing Action Plan, and that’s one of the things I’m going to talk to you about this afternoon.   I’ll also tell you about some other USDA programs that focus on the small farmer and direct marketing.

USDA Farmer Direct Marketing Action Plan

The USDA Farmer Direct Marketing Action Plan was developed last July by the Agricultural Marketing Service.  The Plan is aimed at helping small farms, that is farms with less than $250,000 in annual gross receipts, or about 94 percent of all farmers in the United States.

The goal of this Plan is to identify and promote the development of marketing opportunities for small farmers by conducting and supporting research and providing information on farmer direct marketing activities in the public and private sectors.

In the next 2 and a half years, USDA will create new direct marketing networks and a one-stop information clearinghouse.  We will develop training and information programs for farmers market managers and small farmers.  And we will conduct feasibility studies to expand the development of farmers market facilities.   That’s what we will do.  Now let me tell you about some of the things we’ve already done.

For those of you who have access to the Internet, AMS recently launched its Direct Marketing Web Page.  It’s aimed at small and medium-sized producers and others interested in learning more about farmer direct marketing.

The site features a monthly newsletter, publications, a direct marketing bibliography, and a schedule of national and regional conferences and workshops.  It covers a variety of topics and also links to Federal, State, university and other websites relating to direct marketing.

The updated National Directory of Farmers Markets was published in December 1998.  The Directory lists 2,746 farmers markets that operate throughout the United States, up from 2,410 in 1996.  It gives a comprehensive summary of market locations, contacts, telephone and fax numbers, and days and hours of operation.  It also makes note of which markets participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, and food gleaning or food recovery programs.

The Farmer Direct Marketing Bibliography was developed to facilitate access to resources by producers, vendors, market managers, consumers, and others interested in the farmer direct marketing of agricultural products.  It includes works from private industry, academia, and State and Federal Governments, dating back to 1980.  The Bibliography is divided into 24 functional categories and can also be accessed on the Internet.

We’ve also set up a Farmers Market Hotline, an 800 number that allows the caller to find out all about USDA-sponsored farmers markets.   Farmers, vendors, customers, and market cooperators can dial 1-800-384-8704 to get recorded information on dates, times, directions, and other information associated with participating in the USDA-sponsored markets on Federal property.

Last July, USDA held a Farmers Market Symposium in Washington to identify farmer direct marketing issues and opportunities for small farmers.   Operators of farmers and public markets, State officials, academics, and others came together to share their thoughts on the direction that USDA should take in supporting marketing facilities.

This symposium was part of a larger USDA initiative which includes five Farmer Direct Marketing Focus Group sessions.  The first session was held in Sturbridge, MA, in December and included direct marketing representatives from 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States.  The second and third sessions were conducted in conjunction with the annual convention of the North American Farmers Direct Marketing Association in January, in Grand Rapids, MI.  The last two focus groups are meeting here this week.

Pilot Project--Opportunities for Limited Resource Producers to Supply a School Lunch Program

USDA is also involved in a direct marketing project in Florida--and this one has a twist.  We were able to use our knowledge of commodity procurement and combine it with what we know about direct marketing.  It’s been so successful, that we hope it will serve as a model to help other small farmers.

AMS, USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Florida A&M University, and the West Florida Resource Conservation and Development Council joined forces to help limited resource produce growers in the Florida Panhandle directly supply a school lunch program. The pilot project is a little better than midway through its second year of operation.

The New North Florida Cooperative, a group of small farm operators, concentrated on the Gadsden and Jackson County school districts as their market.  Their goal was to provide leafy green vegetables on a schedule that would meet the menu plans of the school food-service directors. By the end of the last school year, the Coop produced, processed, packaged, and delivered an average of 1,500 pounds of turnip greens, collard greens, and kale every 2 weeks, and are keeping up that pace this year. They also produced strawberries and blackberries that were sold to the schools for desserts and as additions to the School Breakfast Program.

They are dependable, reliable, and they are building a solid reputation for quality.   This project is an exciting example of teamwork and commitment of which the New North Florida Cooperative and the Gadsden and Jackson County School Districts can be very proud, and USDA is very proud to have played a role in this project’s success.

Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program

Another USDA program that helps small farmers has been around for a long, long time.   Through the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP), AMS provides matching funds to State departments of agriculture or other State agencies for a wide range of research and service projects aimed at improving the marketing and distribution of agricultural products.

Identifying new or higher valued market outlets for farm products, finding ways to get products to consumers more efficiently, and developing new or more effective marketing service programs at the State and local level are common themes among FSMIP projects.

With Federal funds of 1.2 million dollars available for allocation to the States for each of the past 4 years, FSMIP typically has provided support to 25-30 projects per year.

National Organic Program

And the last program I’m going to talk about this afternoon is our National Organic Program.  Organic farming has traditionally been the domain of the small farmer, with many organic farmers selling their products directly to the public.

In recent years, the organic industry has grown at a steady annual rate of between 22 and 25 percent.  A recent study shows growth in nearly every product category.   Although one of the major market barriers is limited supply, it is predicted that the market will reach 6.6 billion dollars by the year 2000.

We are working hard to make USDA’s National Organic Program a reality. When we published proposed organic standards in December 1997, we received more than 275,000 comments.  This is the largest public response USDA has ever received for a proposed rule.

When we issue the final rule, and the program is implemented, we anticipate that an even wider variety of organically produced products will be available for domestic and international consumption through a greater number of markets.

One of the 8 policy goals described in the Small Farms Commission Report says USDA will "Emphasize Sustainable Agriculture as a Profitable, Ecological, and Socially Sound Strategy for Small Farms."  To reach that goal, several USDA agencies will work together to target consumers to explain what organic food is and how it’s produced.   We will also target farmers--those who currently grow organic crops and those who are potentially interested.  In addition to explaining the new standards, we will give farmers access to information on how to make the transition to organic farming.

Conclusion

I hope I’ve made it clear today that USDA is committed to developing and implementing programs that recognize the importance of small farms, and that will help small farmers build on their strengths and equip them to compete successfully.

The projects and programs I’ve talked about today--the Farmer Direct Marketing Action Plan, the pilot project on partnering with local school districts, FSMIP, and the National Organic Program--are only the beginning.  USDA will continue to strive to help small farmers identify and take advantage of marketing opportunities and strategies that will ensure their survival and help them grow."

In the fall of 1996, a Public Market Steering Committee was formed by the Women’s Agricultural Network (University of Vermont), Vermont Department of Agriculture, the City of Burlington, and the Burlington Community Land Trust.  In August 1997, the committee contracted with the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) to collect data and perform some elements of a feasibility study. PPS developed a report which suggested a 20,000-square-foot facility could succeed in Burlington.  In the fall of 1998, a joint effort by Wholesale and Alternative Markets (W&AM) and the Public Market Steering Committee resulted in a cooperative agreement between AMS and the Burlington Community Land Trust. 

As part of an ongoing project, W&AM staff met with the Burlington Public Market Steering Committee on March 11 to review the progress made on the feasibility study concerning the construction of an indoor, year-round public market in Burlington.   A W&AM-sponsored survey of Vermont producers and a series of follow-up focus groups were completed last month.  The survey was designed to measure the willingness and ability of Vermont producers to participate in the market.  As a result of the producer survey and focus groups, the Steering Committee voted to go forward with the Public Market project and decided to seek capital funding during the current State legislative session.

For more information about the Burlington, VT, Public Market Feasibility Study, Contact Arthur Burns (USDA, Wholesale and Alternative Markets) at (202) 720-8317 or arthur.burns@usda.gov

Report on USDA Farmer Direct Marketing Focus Groups Held in Memphis, TN

Two farmer direct marketing focus groups were held with producers and facilitators in Memphis, TN, on March 24-25.  These sessions were scheduled to coincide with the Agricultural Marketing Outreach Workshop, cosponsored by USDA and Southern University, which convened at the Memphis Agricenter International on March 24-26.  Working in conjunction with Cornell University, the focus groups were a continuation of the process of identifying direct marketing issues and opportunities for small farmers as outlined in AMS' Farmer Direct Marketing Action Plan.  Input from regional direct marketing facilitators, service providers, and growers is important in understanding relevant geographical concerns associated with direct marketing.  Their input will also assist AMS in framing a more comprehensive direct marketing program in USDA.

The 1997 USDA Agricultural Census included direct marketing for the second time.  Direct marketing in this case is defined as "Agricultural products sold directly to individuals for human consumption."  Using these data, it is possible to discuss changes in farmer direct marketing from 1992 to 1997.  The data collected track the number of farms involved in direct marketing, the value of  the products, and the average sold per farm.  The table below illustrates the data broken down by States.  Negative growth rates are highlighted in red.