@article{Uva:122632,
      recid = {122632},
      author = {Uva, Wen-fei L.},
      title = {An Analysis of Vegetable Farms' Direct Marketing  Activities in New York State},
      address = {2002-03},
      number = {640-2016-42850},
      series = {RB 02-3},
      pages = {66},
      year = {2002},
      abstract = {Farm retail marketing or farmer-to-consumer
direct  marketing is an important outlet for many New
York  vegetable products. Marketing direct to consumers
takes  special skills and abilities on the part of marketers,
and  also requires a favorable location with respect
to land  resources and local markets. Since many
farmers and direct  market managers lack the resources
and experience to  compete with supermarkets, it is
important for direct  marketing operators to differentiate
themselves from the  mass marketers. The goal of
this study was to analyze the  effectiveness of direct
marketing activities and marketing  strategies used by
New York vegetable farms. A survey  designed to collect
information on farm retail marketing  practices
from New York vegetable farms was conducted  during
the winter of 2000-20001. Results were  analyzed
based on business profiles of New York  vegetable
farms with direct marketing activities, marketing  channels
used, retail seasonality, product mix,  importance
of different direct marketing activities,  effectiveness
of different marketing and business  management tools,
and future plans for various marketing  activities.
The surveyed vegetable farms had average
total  farm sales of $274,311 and average retail sales  of
$123,612. Direct marketing to consumers was an  important
source of farm income for a majority of  the
surveyed New York vegetable farms with retail  marketing
activities. Sixty-nine percent of the  respondents
received more than half of their farm gross  income from
direct sales to consumers. However, vegetable  farms
with direct marketing activities generally did not  rely
on retail alone. Farms with higher gross sales  utilized
more marketing channels and depended more  heavily
on wholesale. May through October is the most  important
sales season for farmer-to-consumer  direct
marketing activities. The surveyed farms retailed  more
than just the items they produced. Purchased items  for
resale were an important avenue to expand product
line  and increase the volume of products available for
retail.  Three most commonly used direct marketing
methods were  roadside markets, farmers’ markets and
pick-your-own. Among  all the direct marketing components,
fresh farm products –  including fresh vegetables,
fruits, and meat products -  were rated as most
important to the operation by most  surveyed farms
(83 percent). Ice cream stand had the second  highest
rating but was only rated by 3 percent of the  surveyed
farms. Ornamental plants and holiday crops were  rated
number three by 43 percent and 54 percent of  farms,
respectively. The most commonly used promotion  tools
were “word-of-mouth” and “newspapers”, and  “labor
related challenges” and “competition in the  markets”
were the two major concerns among survey  respondents.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/122632},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.122632},
}