Growers in California reaped one-third of the $8.7 billion in direct marketing of food nationwide, said USDA in its first-ever Local Foods report, based on 2015 sales of fresh and value-added products. Farms who sold directly to institutions or intermediaries, such as wholesalers or food hubs, took the largest share, $3.4 billion, of the U.S. total.
“The next category, at $3 billion in sales, was from approximately 115,000 operations with direct-to-consumer sales, such as on-farm stores and farmers markets,” said USDA. Some 23,000 operations sold directly to retailers and collected $2.3 billion from it.
Direct marketing provides an alternative for growers to selling their crops and livestock to processors. Local sales have gained interest due to the proliferation of farmers markets and the rising interest in local sources of food. More than 80 percent of all direct-market sales occurred within 100 miles of the farm, says the USDA report. Most farms selling to consumers were within 20 miles of their largest grossing marketplace. Pennsylvania had the largest number of farms, more than 6,000, selling to consumers, while California growers led in sales, with $467 million.