Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T04:59:39.014Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Consumer demand for local produce at extended season farmers' markets: guiding farmer marketing strategies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2009

David S. Conner ,
Adam D. Montri ,
Dru N. Montri  and
Michael W. Hamm
David S. Conner*
Affiliation:
Michigan State University, CARRS, 309 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222, USA.
Adam D. Montri
Affiliation:
Michigan State University, CARRS, 309 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222, USA.
Dru N. Montri
Affiliation:
Michigan State University, CARRS, 309 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222, USA.
Michael W. Hamm
Affiliation:
Michigan State University, CARRS, 309 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1222, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: connerd@msu.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Locally grown food is gaining popularity and increasing its prevalence holds potential for broad social, economic and environmental benefits. Season extension technologies such as hoop houses offer a solution to limited growing seasons, a major constraint in many areas, enhancing efforts to supply locally grown food. This paper discusses research conducted at three Michigan farmers' markets, locations where Michigan farmers utilizing hoop houses currently sell their produce. The research measures consumers' willingness to buy local produce at extended season markets using a set of four complementary methods: dot poster surveys, written surveys, focus groups and experimental auctions. Building upon prior research on attributes that create value for local foods (spatial proximity, food quality and relationships between farmers and consumers), our results inform farmers' choice of marketing mix. We find consumers willing to pay a premium for large quantities of locally grown produce, with many placing highest value on products grown in Michigan. We conclude that extended season farmers' markets supplied by hoop house grown produce create an opportunity for farm viability and further development of the market for locally grown food.

Keywords

locally grown foodhoop housesmarketing mixattributes
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 251 - 259
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Pollan, M. 2008. Beyond the Bar Code: The Local Food Revolution. Available at Web site: http://www.bioneers.org/pollan (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
2.Pollan, M. 2006. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin Books, New York.Google Scholar
3.Kingsolver, B. 2007. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life. Harper Collins, New York.Google Scholar
4.Oxford University Press, USA. 2007. Oxford Word of The Year: Locavore. Available at Web site: http://blog.oup.com/2007/11/locavore/ (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
5.Porter, M.E. 1985. Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. Free Press, New York.Google Scholar
6.Lancaster, K.L. 1974. A new approach to consumer theory. Journal of Political Economy 74(1):132–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Zepeda, L. and Li, J. 2006. Who buys local food? Journal of Food Distribution Research 37(3):1–11.Google Scholar
8.United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service. 2007. Farmers Market Growth. Available at Web site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateS&navID=WholesaleandFarmersMarkets&leftNav=WholesaleandFarmersMarkets&page=WFMFarmersMarketGrowth&description=Farmers%20Market%20Growth&acct=frmrdirmkt (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
9.Michigan Farmers Market Association. 2007. About MIFMA. Available at Web site: http://farmersmarkets.anr.msu.edu/AboutUs/AboutMIFMA/tabid/1376/Default.aspx (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
10.Hunt, A.R. 2007. Consumer interactions and influences on farmers market vendors. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22(1):54–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Brown, C., Miller, S.M., Boone, D.A., Boone, H.N.J., Gartin, S.A., and McConnell, T.R. 2007. The importance of farmers markets for West Virginia direct marketers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22(1):20–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Griffin, M.R. and Frongillo, E.A. 2003. Experiences and perspectives of farmers from Upstate New York farmers' markets. Agriculture and Human Values 20:189–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Hilchey, D., Lyson, T., and Gillespie, G.W. 1995. Farmers' markets and rural economic development. Cornell University Farming Alternatives Program, Ithaca, NY.Google Scholar
14.Lev, L. and Stephenson, G. 1998. Analyzing three farmers' markets in Corvallis and Albany Oregon. Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis, OR. Available at Web site: http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/publications/techreports/TechReport2.pdf (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
15.United States Department of Agriculture Michigan Farm Services Agency. 2007. Available at Web site: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/stateoffapp?mystate=mi&area=home&subject=landing&topic=landing (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
16.United States National Arboretum. 2007. USNA-USDA Zone Hardiness Map, North-East US. Available at Web site: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/hzm-ne1.html (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
17.The Natural Gardening Company. 2007. Frost Free Dates throughout theUnited States. Available at Web site: http://www.naturalgardening.com/shop/frostdatesa-n.htm (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
18.High Tunnels. org. 2007. High Tunnels Welcome. Available at Web site: http://hightunnels.org/ (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
19.Selfa, T. and Qazi, J. 2005. Place, taste, or face-to-face? Understanding producer–consumer networks in ‘local’ food systems in Washington State. Agriculture and Human Values 22(4):451–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Brown, C. 2003. Consumers' preferences for locally produced foods: a study in southeast Missouri. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 18(4):213–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Zepeda, L. and Leviten-Reid, C. 2004. Consumers' views on local food. Journal of Food Distribution Research 35(3):1–6.Google Scholar
22.Darby, K., Batte, M.T., Ernst, S., and Roe, B. 2008. Decomposing local: a conjoint analysis of locally produced food. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 90(2):476–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23.Conner, D.S., Campbell-Arvai, V., and Hamm, M.W. 2008. Value in the values: opportunities for pasture-raised livestock products in Michigan. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 23(1):62–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.Swenson, D. 2006. The Economic Impacts of Increased Fruit and Vegetable Production and Consumption in Iowa: Phase II. Regional Food Systems Working Group Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. Available at Web site: http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/files/health_0606.pdf (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
25.Meter, K. and Rosales, J. 2001. Food in Farm Country. Crossroads Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN. Available at Web site: http://www.crcworks.org/ff.pdf (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
26.Marsden, T., Banks, J., and Bristow, G. 2000. Food supply chain approaches: exploring their role in rural development. Sociologia Ruralis 40(4):424–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27.Conner, D.S., Knudson, W.A., Hamm, M.W., and Peterson, H.C. 2008. The food system as an economic driver: strategies and applications for Michigan. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition 3(4):371–383.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28.Cantrell, P., Conner, D.S., Erickek, G., and Hamm, M.W. 2006. Eat Fresh Grow Jobs, Michigan. Michigan Land Use Institute, Beulah, MI. Available at Web site: http://mlui.org/downloads/EatFresh.pdf (verified 29 December 2008).Google Scholar
29.Lyson, T. 2000. Moving toward civic agriculture. Choices 15(3):42–45.Google Scholar
30.Conner, D.S. and Levine, L. 2006. Circles of association: the connections of community-based food systems. Journal of Health and Environmental Nutrition 3(1):5–25.Google Scholar
31.Smith, A., Watkiss, P., Tweddle, G., McKinnon, A., Browne, M., and Hunt, A. 2005. The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, UK. Report No.: ED50254 Issue 7.Google Scholar
32.Patterson, P.M. 2006. State-grown promotion programs: fresher, better? Choices 24(1). Available at Web site http://www.choicesmagazine.org/2006-1/grabbag/2006-1-08.htm (verified 20 July 2009).Google Scholar
33.Bellows, A.C. and Hamm, M.W. 2001. Local autonomy and sustainable development: testing import substitution in local food systems. Agriculture and Human Values 18(3):271–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34.Born, B. and Purcell, M. 2006. Avoiding the local trap. Journal of Planning Education and Research 26(2):195–207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35.Hinrichs, C.C. 2003. The practice and politics of food system localization. Journal of Rural Studies 19:33–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36.Winter, M. 2003. Embeddedness, the new food economy and defensive localism. Journal of Rural Studies 19:23–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37.Kezis, A., Gwebu, T., Peavey, S., and Cheng, H. 1998. A study of consumers at a small farmers' market in Maine: results from a 1995 survey. Journal of Food Distribution Research 24(1):91–99.Google Scholar
38.Govindasamy, R. and Nayga, R. 1996. Characteristics of farmer-to-consumer direct market customers: An overview. Journal of Extension 34(4) [online journal].Google Scholar
39.Howard, P.H. 2006. Central coast consumers want more food-related information, from safety to ethics. California Agriculture 60:14–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
40.Lev, L. and Stephenson, G. 1999. Dot posters: a practical alternative to written questionnaires and oral interviews. Journal of Extension 37(5) [online journal].Google Scholar
41.Kruskal, W.H. and Wallis, W.A. 1952. Use of ranks in one-criterion variance analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association 47:583–621.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
42.Massey, F.J. 1951. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov test of goodness of fit. Journal of the American Statistical Association 46(253):68–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
43.Huberman, A.M. and Miles, M. 1994. Data management and analysis methods. In Denzin, N. and Lincoln, Y. (eds). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage Press, Thousand Oaks. p. 428–455.Google Scholar
44.Buzby, J.C., Fox, J.A., Ready, R.C., and Crutchfield, S.R. 1998. Measuring consumer benefits of food safety risk reductions. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 30(1):69–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
45.Conner, D. and Christy, R. 2004. The organic label: how to reconcile its meaning with consumer preferences. Journal of Food Distribution Research 35(1):40–43.Google Scholar
46.Hoffman, E., Menkhaus, D.J., Chakravarti, D.F., Ray, A., and Whipple, G.D. 1993. Using laboratory experimental auctions in marketing research: a case study of new packaging for fresh beef. Marketing Science 12:318–338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
47.Kremen, A., Greene, C., and Hanson, J. 2004. Organic Produce, Price Premiums, and Eco-Labeling in U.S. Farmers' Markets. Report No.: VGS-301-01. USDA Economic Research Service: Washington, DC.Google Scholar