Innovative Marketing Opportunities for Small Farmers: Local Schools as Customers

Excerpts from the report Introduction: Obstacles facing the small farmer have been recognized, and efforts have begun to ensure their continued contribution to U.S. agriculture. Local limited-resource farmers in northern Florida, together with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), West Florida Resource Conservation and Development Council (WFRCDC), and Florida A&M University (FAMU), are working to better the financial situations of the farmers through innovative marketing strategies. These limited-resource growers formed a cooperative to increase their farm income by introducing improved methods of marketing value-added agricultural products, while encouraging innovative farming techniques. AMS, NRCS, WFRCDC, and FAMU came together as a working group with a mutual concern for small farmers and the family farm. The working group established this pilot project in early 1997 and concentrated on assisting small farmers in the region to increase the prosperity of their family farms. This report provides the results of the 2-year pilot project