Value-Added Agriculture Brings Billions in Profit to Small-Scale Farmers
The USDA recently released a nation wide agricultural report which shows that small-scale farmers in the US produced an extra 10 billion through value-added agriculture and creative marketing in 2007. The study looks at the period between 2002 -2007, during which time there was an 80% increase in value added agricultural sales. More recent studies suggest the figure of added sales could now be 20 – 30 billion.
There are many reasons for this success, including increased interest in local or sustainable foods, the popularity of community supported agriculture (CSA) programs and farmer creativity in offering on-farm activities or producing ready made foods and preserves from fresh seasonal produce.
The opportunities for small-scale Canadian farmers are very comparable. It would certainly be interesting to take a look at the numbers here in Canada.
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