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Abstract
One of the key challenges that small farmers face is marketing their products. National and international
markets are difficult to tap into for small farmers due to their inability to compete with
large farm operators that dominate these markets. The objective of this study was to examine
marketing channels used by small Tennessee Farmers.
A mail survey was sent to 250 selected small farmers in Tennessee. Ninety-two completed responses,
representing about 37% response rate, were received. Over half of the farmers had off
farm employment. Preliminary analysis showed that 40% used direct marketing; 23% wholesalers;
16% retailers; 14% cooperatives and 4% contract.
More educated farmers tended to avoid middlemen. Farmers operating animal enterprises appear
to use middlemen more compared to crop producers. This may be due to feed and other costs involved
in maintaining animals. Farmers working off farm tended to use middlemen due to time
constraint. Farmers that took risk chose direct marketing reflecting their willingness to accept
lower profit if sales do not go as planned. The use of cooperatives is limited indicating that its
formation and growth is dependent on mutual trust among the members. The use of contract by a
very small percent of farmers may be a reflection of the challenge that small farmers face in generating
large volume of their products on a sustained basis which is usually demanded by buyers.