Local and Regional Food Systems

Showing 21-30 of 37 results

Food Hubs: The Next Evolution in Local Markets?

If you think the local foods movement is just a fad, think again. For the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has included restaurants and grocery store sales in its local food markets survey, and the sales are hard to ignore: nearly $5 billion a year in fruits and vegetables from local farmers. That […]

A man smiling in front of a copy of 'Tilling the Soil of Opportunity' with a pen in hand.

Rural Revitalization through Farm-Based Enterprise

The 10 U.S. counties with the greatest population losses between 2000 and 2003 are located in the western United States, and small towns are scrambling to save what is left of their communities. Like many other parts of the nation, western farmers are discovering that sustainably raised livestock and crops can help revitalize economies. And […]

ASD director Anthony Flaccavento drives a tractor during a farm tour

Helping Appalachian Farmers Tap New Markets

Gary and Cindy Laws’ journey to successful organic farming started in the tobacco fields of western Virginia’s hill country. Both raised on tobacco farms, they saw the crop’s pitfalls firsthand: a declining market, health risks associated with smoking and, most importantly to the Laws, the myriad chemicals used in tobacco production. But, like hundreds of […]

wholesale package resource guide

Wholesale Packing Resource Guide

This plain language guide is for farmers and ranchers interested in selling to supermarkets, produce distributors, restaurants and institutions.