How Can The Consumer Keep The Farmer On The Farm?
In today's day and age, we as a farming population are less than one percent portion of the population. Hence being an afterthought for the greater number of society around us, except when some of them put food in their mouths. Environmental groups, regulators, and corporate greed are tightening down on the farmers continually. The younger farm generation overall continues to leave the farm for a job in an office or one that pays better.
However, if we step back and look at the pattern in recent history of not only the farm industry but also the food system, we see their production practices have selected speed and stable shelf life over quality and nutritional content. Why is this? Well, industrial efficiency driven by short term profit became the focus, taking the dignity and purpose away from food as a nourishing substance. Then consider practices such as tillage systems, low grade fertilizer, genetic deviation from the originals, food preservatives changed to make things easier, and faster profits. Fast forward to today, and we have an industry of low-quality products and crop systems highly dependent on pesticides. We in the Grower's network can truly say we have a system that does the opposite. A producer true to the Grower's principles will, in time, produce quality and flavor far above the industry mediocre average.
Innovating as the young farmer may just be the opportunity that agriculture needs to be successful going forward. Two things to consider are using higher margin crops per acre and making the farm's biology more efficient. There are countless success stories in the Grower's network that prove the program drives higher quality results and ultimately produces products the consumer prefers over the industry average flavorless items.
Margin recovering value for these high quality farm products is the key. Diversifying markets will be the key by getting closer to the final point of sale with the individuals that value the quality the farm has grown. Farm stands, farmers' markets, supplement companies, grocery stores, CSA (consumer supported agriculture) subscriptions delivered boxes, or online sales directly shipped are all options. Below you will see the decision graph to follow up from last winter's Markets and Where To article. Take some time to go over this and see how it helps prioritize or rank each option. This has been pulled from Cornell University's Market Channel Guide to Market Selection Tool.
Take a survey yourself while in a few grocery stores. Go to the neighborhood one and then go to one in a wealthier area. Ask the random customers searching in the freezer for meat what they are looking for out of the product. You will be surprised to see how they make their buying decisions. Some will be simply buying on finding the lowest prices, while others are looking to trust that it is a good clean product. If you then discuss that you are a farmer growing X product, they often light up and the questions begin, giving you the opportunity to tell them how you produce a quality product better than most. This can be fun but also reassuring to see how much that consumer is searching for quality through the food desert they feel they are in, not able to find quality. Grower's producers loyal to the program truly have quality to be proud of on their farm. Good luck connecting with the consumer and showing them your value in quality.
This is an excerpt from the Winter Growers Solution (2026) written by James Schiltz, Technical Agronomist.
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