As farmers experience ever declining incomes, many have turned to
directly selling their products in local markets. Expanding local
markets for agricultural products connects producers directly with
consumers, increasing farmers' incomes by eliminating the middleperson.
Food and dollars stay in town, transportation costs are minimized, and
a connection between farmers and the community is fostered. Using
farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and new state
marketing and inspection programs, a new turn towards local markets has
begun. As these markets expand, local food systems are being rebuilt to
replace the centralized, corporate ones currently in place. Below are
the rules and trends that are driving such a transition.
Farmers Markets
The number of farmers markets in the United States has grown 63
percent in the last six years, according to the USDA. The USDA's 2000
farmers market directory lists 2,863 farmers markets, up from 2,410 in
1996 and 1,755 in 1994, when USDA began collecting the data. Sales at
farmers markets will total $1 billion in 1999, with most of the money
going directly to small family farmers. In addition to a profusion of
farmers markets, several online websites have started to directly
market agricultural products to consumers as well.
Laws
and codes pertaining to farmers' markets generally provide regulations
on locations, hours, and format. The best code (such as the one
highlighted here) ensures that farmers' markets are kept for farmers.
More Information:
Prior to 1999, Georgia levied ad valorem taxes for some agricultural
commodities, such as fruit and nut trees and livestock. Legislation
passed in 1998 relieved small scale farmers of this additional burden.
For other crops, such as ornamental trees and shrubs, the possibility
of ad valorem taxation was eliminated.
The legislation is noteworthy not because of the tax impact- farmers
will save about $ 2.5 million a year, or an average of less than $
20,000 per Georgia county- but because it targets those tax cuts to a
well defined "family farm" scale agriculture.
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The WIC Farmer's Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) is a small program
but a significant program because it acknowledges the role of farmers'
markets in sustaining small farmers and local communities.
The
Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) is associated with the Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children,
popularly known as WIC, which is administered in cooperation with the
States by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of USDA. WIC provides
supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education at no
cost to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding
post-partum women, and to infants and children up to 5 years of age,
who are found to be at nutritional risk.
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Colleges and Universities, especially the nation's land grant
universities are a perfect laboratory for policies that support
locally-grown and/or organic food supplies. The University of
Wisconsin's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems completed a
survey of schools in 1998 and
identified a handful that had policies in place that supplied their
food service departments with significant quantities of locally grown
and/or organic food.
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In 1967, the Wholesome Meat Inspection Act and the Wholesome Poultry
Products Act authorized states with inspection programs certified by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as "at least equal to" the
federal program to inspect meat and poultry products for distribution
within a state's borders. An adversarial relationship between state
programs and the USDA and little interest in direct marketing caused
many of the programs to be dropped. Today, meat producers interests in
niche markets and marketing have resulted in 25 state meat inspection
programs being reinstated and expanded across the country.
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The Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) is a program
established by USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). Under the
program, CCC makes grants to States and Indian tribal governments to
provide coupons to low-income seniors that may be exchanged for
eligible foods at farmers markets, roadside stands, and community
supported agriculture programs.
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This Iowa county has a two-pronged policy approach to encourage the
production and use of locally grown organic food. First, there is a
property tax rebate for farmers who convert from conventional to
organic farming practices. The second approach is a mandate that the
County purchase locally grown organic food through its food service
contractor.
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Vermont has passed legislation (
VT Act 145 of 2006)
that tries to strengthen the connection between schools and local
farmers and farm products. Although relatively a small program, the
training and food processing programs are excellent features to support
local food production.
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Farmers' markets are for farmers directly selling what they produce.
However, as the markets have proliferated, some retailers have been
allowed to set up their own stands to sell produce from out of the
state and the country. Some cities such as Dallas, Texas, have set up
their code to clearly delimit how a farmers' market is to be organized,
and who will be allowed to sell at it. The code keeps the markets true
to their name.
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As another form of direct marketing, Community Supported Agriculture
(CSA) began in over 30 years ago in Japan - where it is known as
"teikei", meaning "putting the farmers' face on food". In the CSA
model, citizens buy seasonal shares in a local farm, receiving weekly
deliveries of vegetables and other produce. As shareholders, members
often form a close relationship with the farmer(s), directly sharing
the uncertainties and rewards of the season, often helping with
planting and harvesting. Farmers benefit by having a stable,
predetermined market to grow for, reduced marketing costs, and
financial stability from pre-season "seed money" paid up front. Nearly
all CSA's in the US use sustainable, organic methods of cultivation,
are small (2-20 acres) in size, and serve local customers. Lacking
supportive laws, CSA's have nonetheless seen tremendous growth in the
US and now number over 1,000.
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The Berkeley School District passed a food policy requiring school
cafeterias to serve organic foods to its 9,500 students. The policy
explicitly makes a commitment "to increase the amount of products
purchased from local farms". To fund the initiative, a portion of the
$650,000 the district currently spends on cafeteria food is allocated
for local organic food. Organizers have also sought bulk discounts from
growers and manufacturers. In addition, school sponsored gardens are
expected to provide a significant percentage of the necessary food.
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