Growing Local - Phase III

Census of Agriculture research: 

The analysis of 1997-2017 USDA Census of Agriculture data assessed changes to food and agriculture in Western North Carolina in relation to the federal tobacco buyout and to efforts to develop markets for locally grown food as a market for the region’s farms. Major findings include: 

• Burley tobacco production is mostly gone from this once tobacco-dependent region. By 2017, the region mostly lost tobacco production with less than two percent of burley-producing farms remaining. 
• Alongside the loss of tobacco production, significant farm loss occurred in the region. As agricultural economists predicted, with the loss of tobacco, the region experienced a dramatic loss of farms with loss rates exceeding state and national levels. The data show the decline in total farms generally paralleled decline in farms producing tobacco. 
• Production of food crops, specifically fruits and vegetables, increased in the region. The increase in vegetable and fruit production marks the transition away from the non-food production of tobacco. In relation to local food campaign activities, growth in the production of vegetables and fruits is especially meaningful, because fresh produce is the mainstay of local food markets in the region. Data also show that a preponderance of vegetable and fruit production is occurring on small acreage, a scale especially suited to production for direct-to-consumer markets.
• Production of food for local markets increased. Alongside the decline of tobacco production and the rise in vegetable and fruit production, direct-to-consumer marketing activities increased among farmers in the region. In relation to the rest of the state and the nation as a whole, the data show that higher levels of local food activity have occurred in the region with significantly more farms engaged in direct-to-consumer sales as well as in the production of the fresh vegetables and fruits. Because the local food campaign in Western North Carolina was one of the first in the country and because it predated any comparable campaign at the state level and growth in the market for local food nationally, these comparisons are meaningful and also point to the impact of campaign activities on the region’s farming base.
• Markets for local food are in flux. Overall, findings show that the region’s farming base has and continues to be shaped by the end of tobacco as well as the effort to build local food markets. The data show clearly that the destabilizing loss of tobacco has continued to impact overall farm loss at the same time that the focal point of farming has shifted toward the production of food for local markets. 

Research on the impact of local food and farm experiences: 

Overall the research demonstrates that direct experiences with local food and farms are a powerful way to cultivate interest in food and food production, instill a concrete sense of being in community, and activate engagement with the food system. Farmers markets and on-farm events are highly social spaces where participants can interact and learn about farming and food production. Findings show the impact of these experiences on participants: 

• Increased curiosity about local farms and food production
• Increased knowledge in relation to food, farming, and food production 
• A stronger sense of being in community particularly among those who participate in local food and farm events with some regularity
• Belief in the power of their actions and in collective action -  Participants see the impacts of their actions (i.e., spending their money on local food directly supports local farmers and farmers’ abilities to continue producing food) and their actions in combination with the actions of others to support the region’s local food system and impact their communities in positive ways 

Inspired by their experiences, individuals made changes to their lifestyles to prioritize supporting local farmers and food production. Moreover, they became vocal advocates for farmers markets, farms, locally grown foods, and local food production more broadly with friends, family, neighbors, and other people in their social spheres. Regular farmer market shoppers especially became promoters for “their” farmers market and farmers. Actions inspired by experiences with local food & farms included: 

• Shopping differently - buying more locally grown food and purchasing directly from farmers at farmers markets and at farms 
• Eating differently - with the seasons, more healthfully, more fruits & vegetables, cooking more, trying new foods
• Asking grocers to source food from local farms
• Patronizing restaurants that source local food 
• Encouraging friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, etc to shop at farmers markets, to visit farms, to buy locally grown foods
• Supporting local political candidates who support local agriculture
• Reaching out to elected representatives to express views on issues affecting local agriculture

2019 Appalachian Grown farmer survey:

• Farmers felt market opportunities were stable or increasing in 2019 - 89% felt there were the same number of market outlets or more market outlets available to them compared to 2018.
• Farmers reported increases in several market outlets in 2019 - The greatest number of farmers reported increased sales in CSAs (59%), online (55%), farm stores (53%), agritourism (52%), and farmers markets (50%).
• Farmers expected to increase sales and expand into new market outlets in 2020- the greatest number of farmers expected to expand into or increase sales in farmers markets (47%), restaurants (42%), and farm stands (36%).
• Farmers faced multiple challenges in selling to local markets - among the most frequently cited challenges were production challenges, marketing, and competition (with both local and non-local products).
• Farmers used specific strategies for building relationships with their customers -  building relationships with customers is vital for farmers growing food for local markets. In keeping with findings from interviews with leader farmers, the highest rated strategies were sampling their products (84%), using social media (79%), and sharing their farm story (78%).
• Farmers used specific strategies to find new buyers. Top strategies included meeting new buyers at farmers markets, word of mouth from other farmers, connections made by ASAP staff, and hosting on-farm events. The biggest strategy, meeting buyers at farmers markets confirms findings from research with local food entrepreneurs, who noted the importance of farmers markets for finding farms and sourcing local food for their businesses.

• Farmers entering new market outlets were influenced by a number of factors - the top factors identified were increased market opportunities, increased production, and improved relationships with buyers. The latter, improved relationships with buyers, is consistent with the research that shows that the quality of relationships between farmers and buyers is key to farmer success.

2020 Appalachian Grown farmer survey:

Findings from the 2020 survey show the highly adaptable nature of the region’s smaller scale farms and equally the presence of a supportive community, which gave farmers options and enabled them to transition to different market outlets in the midst of a disruptive pandemic. 

• Fifty-three percent of farmers reported fewer local market outlets to sell their product to in 2020. This was a significant change from the 11 percent reported in 2019, demonstrating the impact of the pandemic. For many, the loss of restaurant sales was the biggest disruption—74 percent of farmers reported decreased restaurant sales due to restaurant closures and reductions. 
• Because of the adaptable nature of the region’s small and diversified farms, most were able to pivot to new market outlets and establish relationships with new buyers. In addition to farmers markets, many farms opened or ramped up sales through farm stands, online stores, and CSAs, with a significant number turning to these outlets for the first time in 2020.
• Farmers experienced production challenges as a result of the pandemic. Sixty-three percent reported challenges in sourcing supplies and equipment like seeds, feed, inputs, packaging, tools, and machinery. Fifty-five percent reported challenges in processing their animals due to closed or delayed meat processing facilities. Thirty-nine percent reported challenges in finding and hiring workers or apprentices.
• Despite the challenges, many farmers reported customers’ increased interest in and dedication to buying local food. Nearly half of all farmers surveyed reported higher sales in 2020 than in 2019—though this is a drop from the nearly 60 percent who reported higher sales at the end of 2019. 
• With the pandemic continuing, nearly 80 percent of farmers reported planning to adjust their farm/business plans again in 2021, including increasing or diversifying production, expanding online sales platforms, and altering marketing strategies. 
• Eighty-five percent of farmers reported that their farm business would remain viable even if restrictions continued in 2021. 

Local food entrepreneur research: 

This research investigated the experiences of local food entrepreneurs - individuals who operate a food related business with a focus on local food - to understand their motivations for working with local food, the challenges they experience, and the strategies they use to make local food financially viable. The findings of this research reveal that local food entrepreneurs have a significant and unique role to play in supporting the vitality of the region’s local food economy. 

• Local food entrepreneurs link “quality” to the capacity to develop personal market relationships with farmers. Personal market relationships are central to local food entrepreneurs’ decisions to link their businesses to local farms and other local food enterprises. They are key to cultivating quality, which entrepreneurs conceptualize broadly to include tangible attributes (like freshness and flavor) as well intangible non-market values tied to transparency, trust, and community and environmental wellbeing. Sourcing food from local farmers and other purveyors of local food is a means to not only procure exceptional products, it is a means to support the development of a different kind of food system, one that provides an alternative to industrialized food production. 
• Local food entrepreneurs use different strategies to navigate tensions between local food and market realities. Local food entrepreneurs have a vital role to play in local food system building efforts precisely because they are working in the spaces where local food intersects with the realities of the dominant marketplace. In this context, they have employed strategies to both shift societal food norms and industry standards as well as accommodate them. 
• Local food entrepreneurs support the creation of a regional culture that values local farms and food. Entrepreneurs see the impacts of their efforts - in influencing the diversification of locally produced foods, in creating an environment that supports more local food entrepreneurs, and in engaging the public with food in meaningful ways and changing the way they eat. Through their strategies to create more space for local food and make it financially viable for their businesses, local food entrepreneurs are strengthening the importance of non-market values and helping to create a regional culture that values and supports local food production.  

Farmers market research: 

This research assessed the effectiveness of various resources and support for farmers markets. This led to content developed for market promotions, workshops, market leadership summits, and promotional activity kits for markets. Farmers Markets, especially rural, low resourced markets have limited staff time, so the most effective forms of support were those that reduced cost and made the most of limited staff and resources, but provided the structure that allowed individual markets flexibility to customize. This includes multimarket events, and turn-key promotional kits, such as a “love your market” social media contest or a newly created dot survey kit to engage customers, and health and wellness fairs to expand outreach. Options for at-market interactive promotional resources and display materials were limited by COVID related “touch free” restrictions for customer engagement. Instead, welcome to the Market videos for virtual market promotion and customer engagement, allowed managers to give virtual walk throughs to increase customer familiarity with market customs.