Local Sales from Farms Higher than Believed

On Friday, November 4, USDA’s Economic Research Service released a report entitled “Direct and Intermediated Marketing of Local Foods in the United States” that assesses the relative scale of local food marketing channels throughout the country.  Using information from the 2008 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), the report found that marketing of local foods, via both direct-to-consumer and intermediated channels, grossed $4.8 billion in 2008 – about four times higher than estimates based solely on direct-to-consumer sales.  A summary of the report can be found on the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition web page