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Marketing locally produced foods: Consumer and farmer opinions in Washington County, Nebraska

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2007

Mindi L. Schneider  and
Charles A. Francis
Mindi L. Schneider*
Affiliation:
Department of Development Sociology, 119 Warren Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
Charles A. Francis
Affiliation:
Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, 68583-0915, USA
*
*Corresponding author: E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Local food system potentials were studied in Washington County, Nebraska. As a departure from most studies of locally based systems, farmers were surveyed in addition to consumers for potential participation. Data about the current food system and opinions and preferences for local production, marketing, and purchasing of food were collected using self-administered mail questionnaires. The response rate was 35% for the farmer survey and 37% for the consumer survey. Results indicated that, on the farming side of the food system, conventional corn and soybean production and marketing predominated in Washington County, and farmer interest in producing for local markets was low. Consumers reported a high level of interest in purchasing food from farmers' markets, local grocery stores, local restaurants and directly from farms, and indicated a willingness to pay a price premium for local foods. They also reported that quality and taste were the most important factors in food purchase decisions, but environmentally friendly production and support for local farmers were also important. We conclude that there is tremendous potential for local marketing of farm products, but that there is a large gap between consumer demand and willingness of farmers to meet this demand. Further study of motivations and opinions of farmers is needed, in addition to determining production thresholds for the number of farms and farmers needed to meet local food demands.

Keywords

consumer surveyfarmer surveydirect marketinglocal food systemscommodity crops
Type
Research Article
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 20 , Issue 4 , December 2005 , pp. 252 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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