Evaluating marketing channel options for small-scale fruit and vegetable producers

Abstract

An analytical framework and ranking system is developed to summarize the primary factors affecting marketing channel performance and to prioritize those channels with the greatest opportunity for success. An application of the model is conducted using case-study evidence from four small-scale diversified vegetable crop producers in Central New York. The relative costs and benefits of alternative wholesale and direct marketing channels are investigated, including how the factors of risk, owner and paid labor, profits, lifestyle preferences and sales volume interact to impact optimal market channel selection. Given the highly perishable nature of the crops grown, along with the risks and potential sales volume of particular channels, a combination of different marketing channels is needed to maximize overall firm performance.

Time and technique assessments of labor productivity on diversified organic vegetable farms using a comparative case study approach

“…This degree of variability was similar to that found in LeRoux et al (2010), who concluded that accurate farm financial assessments of small-scale farms needed to be done on a per-farm basis versus using more generalized enterprise budgets in order to properly account for the vast differences in sales, labor requirements, and other associated costs. Our data also support the conclusions of Conner and Rangarajan (2009), who noted large differences in the enterprise budgets generated by land-grant university research programs versus budgets based on actual farm data from organic diversified vegetable farms, resulting from the complexity of the operations and the smaller scale of production of each individual crop.…”

Policies Supporting Local Food in the United States

“…Findings from the USDA Agricultural Management Survey (ARMS) indicate that growers who work off-farm generally have fewer incentives to expand and become more efficient than do small growers who do not participate in alternative, off-farm marketing activities [12]. Time involved in customer relations, travel and delivery, processing and packing, and scheduled harvesting to meet the needs of direct marketing varies across direct-marketing venues, but is particularly extensive for farmers markets and u-pick operations [13].…”

“…Marketing risks faced by farmers when selling in local markets include price competition from multiple sellers with the same product and local angle, rejection based on quality requirements, inability to meet specifications and logistical requirements, and buyers reneging on contracts [13]. These concerns are not easily managed by the smallest farmers, particularly with differences in specifications and packaging across outlets.…”

Locational Advantage and the Impact of Scale: Comparing Local and Conventional Fruit and Vegetable Transportation Efficiencies

“…Farmers with local food sales tend to use more than one marketing channel for fresh produce (Lawless, Stevenson, Hendrickson, & Cropp, 1999;LeRoux, Schmit, Roth, & Streeter, 2010;Uva, 2002). These farmers may have larger farms, and thus have greater quantities of produce for sale at the farmers market.…”