The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has promoted the sale of foods locally for over two decades via business and community investments made by Value-Added Producer Grants, Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Grants, and most recently Regional Food System Partnership grants. However, the impact of these investments has only recently been better understood by recent program evaluations and additional data elements in the Agricultural Census.
A recent analysis of the 2022 Agricultural Census offers an encouraging outlook of local and regional food systems in the US, with significant growth in the number of farms reporting regional and local sales and rapid growth in the value of both direct sales to consumers and sales to regional and local markets. These findings highlight the economic impact of programs like those within the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) that support the development of markets for local, regional, and value-added products, and direct to consumer sales. It indicates additional benefits for communities receiving these investments given the important role that direct sales and local food systems play as multipliers that create ripple effects, boosting the economic and social benefits of every dollar spent throughout the community for producers and other community members.
Read more from NSAC’s recent analysis of the 2022 Agricultural Census below.
Growth in Regional and Local Food Economies
Agricultural sales to local and regional food systems provide a wide variety of benefits to farmers, consumers, and communities by providing diversified sources of farm income, healthy foods, resilient markets, and a decreased environmental footprint. Funds spent in regional food systems are considered multipliers, meaning that the value of each dollar spent in a regional food system is amplified beyond its initial value for community impacts.
In the 2022 Census, 116,617 farms reported more than $3.26B in direct to consumer sales, an increase of nearly $458 million from 2017 (a 16% increase), although fewer farms (a 19% decrease) reported engaging in direct sales. This is a 150% increase in the value of direct sales since 2012 but a decrease of 19% in the number of farms reporting direct sales since 2012. However, the decline in the number of farms reporting direct sales is largely due to the overall decline in the number of farms nationwide during this period. The proportion of American farms that reported direct sales remained relatively unchanged at just over 6% of all farms in 2012, 2017, and 2022.While direct to consumer sales remain a fairly consistent market opportunity among US farmers, the Census shows significant growth in institutional and intermediated local markets. Since 2017, there has been an increase in both the number of farms and the value of sales to retail markets, institutions, and food hubs for local or regionally branded products.
In 2022, 60,332 farms reported more than $14.2 billion in sales to retail markets, institutions, and food hubs for local or regionally branded products, an increase of 31,374 additional farms and more than $5 billion from 2017. The ability to identify longer-term trends in locally marketed foods is limited because regional and local sales were not reported in the 2012 Ag Census. However, this growth demonstrates the growing demand for local foods and how local and regional food systems can benefit both farmers and consumers. Even as the overall number of farms declined nationally during this period, the proportion of farms reporting local and regional sales more than doubled from just under 1.5% of farms in 2017 to just over 3.1% of farms in 2022.
Further analysis at the state level would identify helpful investment opportunities to build on the momentum of local and regional markets. For example, states that are seeing fewer farmers participating in direct to consumer markets but an increasing number in intermediated markets may want to invest in additional infrastructure to promote local foods in public institutions, such as schools, and continue local purchasing programs, such as the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program. These investments would offer opportunities for producers to scale production and sales while maintaining their focus on their local market.
From Small-Scale to Big Business: Growing Revenue from Direct and Local Sales
Although a smaller number of farms reported direct sales in the 2022 Census, more of those farms made $10,000 and above in direct sales revenue than in 2017 or 2012. In 2012, just 14% of farms with direct sales made $10,000 or more in direct sales revenue, which in 2022 grew to just over 21%. The growth in the percentage of farms with revenues of $50,000 or more, a 4% increase from 2012, is particularly encouraging.
Farms with local or regional sales also saw growth in sales revenue between 2017 and 2022, although that growth was in the mid-range revenue categories of $1,000-$49,000. In 2017, 22% of farms with local or regional sales reported that revenue to be less than $1,000, while in 2022 this shrank to only 16%. It is encouraging that farms are seeing revenue growth in local and regional sales channels.
The growing revenue from direct, local, and regional sales is supported by programs such as the Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) and Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP) that strengthen direct-to-consumer marketing opportunities and regional distribution networks. FMPP supports activities such as establishing or expanding farmers markets or developing consumer outreach and marketing materials. LFPP supports broader infrastructure for regional food systems such as facilities for aggregating, storage, or processing.
A Mix of Commodities Sold Directly to Consumers
The mix of commodities that are sold directly to consumers has remained relatively constant across 2012, 2017, and 2022, with the exception that the number of farms selling vegetables and melons directly declined by 20% since 2017. While the number of farms selling fruit and tree nuts directly to consumers remained steady (just over 19,500 farms), the value of fruit and tree nuts direct sales increased by 48% since 2017. The largest proportion of farms with direct sales to consumers are producing animal products, including beef cattle ranching, cattle feedlots, dairy and milk, hog and pig, poultry and egg, sheep and goat, and aquaculture farms.
Growing Value-Added Sales
Selling processed or value-added goods offers farmers opportunities for higher revenue and diversified sources of income, while also keeping a larger portion of profits in local communities and supporting economic growth. In encouraging news, the number of farms reporting processed or value-added goods sold increased by 13% from 2017 to 2022 and the value of those goods increased by 42%. As the number of farms in the country declined, the proportion of farms with value-added sales increased from 1.6% of farms in 2017 to 2% of farms in 2022. This is a sign that farms are responding to the benefits of value-added sales and the potential for additional revenue if direct sales are partnered with value-added goods.
This growth in value-added sales is supported by programs such as the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program that helps producers fund business planning, processing, and marketing for value-added products. With a VAPG grant, a farmer could purchase specialized supplies to produce and market artisan cheeses or invest in branding and packaging design to create a unique identity for their products, helping them stand out in local and regional markets.
Supporting a Rising Sector
The 2022 Agricultural Census highlights the remarkable growth and potential of local and regional food systems, reflecting the positive impact of USDA programs such as LAMP, LFPA, and Regional Food Business Centers in supporting these markets. While still a small share of the overall agricultural sector, the increasing revenue from direct, local, and value-added sales signals the growing importance of these systems in fostering farm viability, strengthening local economies, and meeting consumer demand for fresh, locally sourced food. Continued investment in infrastructure, outreach, and support for underserved producers will be critical to sustaining this momentum and unlocking the full potential of regional food systems to create a more resilient and equitable food future. These connections play a vital role in supporting a resilient food system that serves both farmers and consumers.
