Local food marketing growing

 Farmers selling their production through farmers markets, roadside stands or other local outlets account for a small but growing segment of U.S. agriculture as consumer demand for locally produced food is also increasing, according to researchers Sarah A. Low and Stephen Vogel at the U.S. Economic Research Service (ERS).

Farmers also sell their production through "intermediated" channels such as restaurants and retail stores, creating a $4.8 billion market for direct-to-consumer and intermediated local food sales, Low and Vogel said in an article in the November ERS Amber Waves.

Local marketing channel use varies with farm size, they said. Small and modest-sized farms (sales of less than $250,000) use direct-to-consumer channels more than large farms do, accounting for 73% of direct-to-consumer sales, while large farms account for 92% of intermediated sales.

Smaller farms favor farmers markets and roadside stands the most -- 35% and 34%. Large farms market through restaurants and retail stores the most but also use farmers markets and roadside stands.

Healthy food costs compared
 

Diets normally are a diverse makeup of foods -- some that are more healthful and some that are not as healthful -- and if the less-healthful foods are less expensive, individuals may have an economic incentive to consume the latter, according to Jessica Todd, Ephraim Leibtag and Corttney Penberthy at the U.S. Economic Research Service (ERS).
 

Using a unique price database, the three economists explored whether healthful foods cost more than less-healthful foods and if price differences vary across the country.
 

Their examination looked at several food groups: (1) whole grains versus refined grains, (2) dark-green vegetables and orange vegetables versus starchy vegetables, (3) whole fruits versus commercially prepared fruit snacks, (4) 1% and skim milk versus 2% and whole milk, (5) fruit juices versus fruit drinks and (6) bottled water versus carbonated, non-alcoholic beverages. They then compared prices per 3.5 oz. serving.
 

As expected, some healthful foods were more expensive than less-healthful choices, but in other cases, healthful foods were less expensive, the economists said.
 

In particular, whole grains were more expensive than refined grains across the country, from 23% higher in San Francisco, Cal., to more than 60% higher in non-metro New York and Pennsylvania. However, whole grains decreased in price between 1998 and 2006 by, on average, 5%.
 

In Our Opinion... 
 

Not buying what secretary's selling

By Andy Vance

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is commonly referred to as "the people's department."

President Abraham Lincoln declared it as such in his final address to Congress, and in many ways, the moniker is still apt.

Yet, the casual observer might think that USDA has become the federal government's public relations department in recent years.

Case in point: the recent efforts by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to whitewash the Obama Administration's numerous forays into more heavily regulating agriculture and rural America.

The first and perhaps most egregious example came last Tuesday, when Vilsack posted, via the USDA blog, a screed condemning Congress for attempting to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency regarding its efforts to regulate dust.

Read more

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 Career politicians may just need private-sector work

By Mark Klaus  

As the Republican presidential candidates continue to debate the issues and essentially assess their ability to succeed the man currently holding the title, it is almost becoming a tedious process of focusing on the debates themselves and then the even greater commentary that follows.

Most readers have probably been present at some agriculture venue that features a politician of some sort who comes fully prepared with a prewritten speech praising agriculture. Their introductions generally include the ways they have supported agriculture in the past.

I would rhetorically ask readers how many times such politicians come prepared with copies of their full resume, including work outside of the political arena. If it has happened, let me know.

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I can't believe you want to kill my horse

By Dr. Nevil C. Speer, PHD, MBA  

One of my columns last summer focused on a stop at Starbucks while on vacation. You might recall that our young clerk explained to the customer in front of us she wouldn't eat the marshmallow snack offerings - she was vegetarian. In fun, I questioned her about vegetarianism versus veganism.

The broader premise in her response was correct: marshmallows are derived from gelatin - a product derived from animal harvest and thus off limits to vegetarians. Her explanation, though, was incorrect: she explained that marshmallows are derived from horses' hooves (nope, hooves are keratin, not gelatin; not to mention we don't harvest horses in this country).

My intent for the column was to illustrate some of the complexities and broad misconceptions that surround the food system. Judging by the responses somehow I missed the mark. For example, one reader responded, "By insisting [horses] should be sold for meat, you drag their value down to the mere cents-per-pound meat price." Insisting horses be sold for meat - where did that come from? In fact, I never intended to delve into the horse slaughter issue.

Another respondent scolded me about including, "...a debate of vegetarians (good or bad) really has no place in a horse article." A "horse article" - are you sure? But it wasn't meant to be about vegetarianism either. And so it's probably the other way around - I should have NEVER mentioned horses in conjunction with the food system. However, given the young lady's explanation it just couldn't be avoided.

Well, so much for good intentions.