Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-9q27g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-20T19:40:33.292Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

West Virginia Farm Direct Marketing: A County Level Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Cheryl Brown
Affiliation:
Agricultural and Resource Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Jesse E. Gandee
Affiliation:
Augusta Systems Inc., Morgantown, WV
Gerard D'Souza
Affiliation:
Agricultural and Resource Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Abstract

To understand the factors that influence farm direct marketing, a linear regression model is estimated to test the relationships between county-level direct market sales and socioeconomic, agricultural production, and location characteristics for West Virginia. The results show that higher median housing value, increased population density, a younger population, a greater number of direct market farms, more diversity of fruit and vegetable production and closer proximity to Washington, D.C., increase direct market sales. The results have implications for other states with a large proportion of small and part-time farmers, many of whom are located in close proximity to metropolitan areas.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA. 2005. Farmers' Market Growth: 1994-2004. Internet site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/FarmersMarketGrowth.htm (Accessed March 2005).Google Scholar
Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), USDA. 2002. Alphabetical Listing by City of West Virginia Markets. Internet site: http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/StatesAVestVirginia.htm (Accessed April 2004).Google Scholar
Anselin, L.Exploring Spatial Data with GeoDa™: A Workbook. Revised Version March 6, 2005. Spatial Analysis Laboratory, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Internet site: http://sal.uiuc.edu/csiss/pdf/geodaworkbook.pdf (Accessed June 2005).Google Scholar
Blanchard, T., and Lyson, T.. “Access to Low-Cost Groceries in Nonmetropolitan Counties: Large Retailers and the Creation of Food Deserts.” Proceedings of the Rural Diversity Conference, November 2002.Google Scholar
Boone, H.N. Jr., Schaeffer, R.V., and Lewis, J.L.. “Consumer-Driven Agriculture as a Means to Promote Rural Income and Employment Opportunities: A Case Study of West Virginia.Applied Research in Economic Development 1,2(2003): 1932.Google Scholar
Brown, C.Consumers' Preferences for Locally Produced Food: A Study in Southeast Missouri.American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 18(2003a):213-24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, C.Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Production in West Virginia.” Unpublished manuscript, West Virginia University, 2003b.Google Scholar
Buhr, B.L.Case Studies of Direct Marketing Value-Added Pork Products in a Commodity Market.Review of Agricultural Economics 26(2004):266-79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eastwood, D.B., Brooker, J.R., and Orr, R.H.. “Consumer Preferences for Local versus Out-of-State-Grown Selected Fresh Produce: The Case of Knoxville, Tennessee.Southern Journal of Agricultural Economics 19(1987): 193-94.Google Scholar
Ellison, G., and Glaeser, E.L.. “The Geographic Concentration of Industry: Does Natural Advantage Explain Agglomeration?The American Economic Review 89(1999):311-16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Food Processing Center (FPC). Attracting Consumers with Locally Grown Products. Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. 2001.Google Scholar
Gale, F.Direct Farm Marketing as a Rural Development Tool.Rural Development Perspectives 12(1997):1925.Google Scholar
Gallons, J., Toensmeyer, U.C., Bacon, J., and German, R.. “An Analysis of Consumer Characteristics Concerning Direct Marketing of Fresh Produce in Delaware: A Case Study.Journal of Food Distribution Research 28(1997):98106.Google Scholar
Govindasamy, R., Hossain, F., and Adelaja, A.. “Income of Farmers Who Use Direct Marketing.Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 28(1999):7683.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Govindasamy, R., and Nayga, R.M.. “Determinants of Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Market Visits by Type of Facility: A Logit Analysis.Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 26(1997):3138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greene, W.H.LIMDEP Version 8.0 Econometric Modeling Guide Volume 1. Econometrics Software, Inc. Plainview, NY, 2002.Google Scholar
Henneberry, S.R., and Agustini, H.N.. “An Analysis of Oklahoma Direct Marketing Outlets: Case Study of Produce Farmers' Markets.” Selected paper prepared for presentation at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Tulsa, OK, February 2004.Google Scholar
Hill, R.C., Griffiths, W.E., and Judge, G.G.. Undergraduate Econometrics. New York: John Wiley, 1997.Google Scholar
Kezis, A., Gwebu, T., Peavey, S., and Cheng, H.. “A Study of Consumers at a Small Farmers' Market in Maine: Results from a 1995 Survey.Journal of Food Distribution Research 29(1998): 9198.Google Scholar
Krummel, D.A., Gordon, P., Newcomer, R.R., Lui, X., Christy, D.M., and Holmes, A.. “Dietary Intakes and Leisure-Time Physical Activity in West Virginians.West Virginia Medical Journal 97(2002):295301.Google Scholar
Lockeretz, W.Urban Consumers' Attitudes Towards Locally Grown Produce.American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 1(1986):8388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyson, T.A., Gillespie, G.W. Jr., and Hilchey, D.. “Farmers' Markets and the Local Community: Bridging the Formal and Informal Economy.American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 10(1995):108-13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyson, T.A., and Guptill, A.. “Commodity Agriculture, Civic Agriculture and the Future of U.S. Farming.Rural Sociology 69(2004):370-85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, S.M.Characteristics of Farmers' Market Vendors in West Virginia. Master's thesis, West Virginia University, May 2005.Google Scholar
Morgan, T.K., and Alipoe, D.. “Factors Affecting the Number and Type of Small-Farm Direct Marketing Outlets in Mississippi.Journal of Food Distribution Research 32(2001): 125-32.Google Scholar
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA. 2002 Census of Agriculture. Historical Highlights: 2002 and Earlier Census Years. Washington, D.C.: NASS, 2004.Google Scholar
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA. 2002. 2002 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1 Chapter 2: West Virginia County Level Data. Internet site: http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/volumel/wv/st54.2.002_002.pdf (Accessed February 2005).Google Scholar
Natural Resources Analysis Center (NRAC). Personal Communication. Division of Resource Management, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 2002.Google Scholar
Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG). Northeast Farms to Food, Understanding Our Region's Food System. New England Small Farm Institute, 2002.Google Scholar
Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau (PDUSCB). Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Counties of West Virginia: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2003. Internet site: http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2003-01-54.pdf (Accessed February 2005).Google Scholar
Rosenthal, S.S., and Strange, W.C.. “The Determinants of Agglomeration.Journal of Urban Economics 50(2001): 191229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schatzer, R. J., Tilly, D.S., and Moesei, D.. “Consumer Expenditures at Direct Produce Markets.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 21(1989):131-38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shaffer, R., Deller, S., and Marcouiller, D.. Community Economics: Linking Theory and Practice (Second Edition). Blackwell Publishing, Ames, IA, 2004.Google Scholar
Steele, C.J.Why U.S. Agriculture and Rural Areas Have a Stake in Small Farms.Rural Development Perspectives 12(1997):2631.Google Scholar
Thilmany, D., and Watson, P.. “The Increasing Role of Direct Marketing and Farmers Markets for Western U.S. Producers.” Western Economics Forum (April 2004): 1925.Google Scholar
U.S. Census Bureau (USCBa). Table DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000.Google Scholar
U.S. Census Bureau (USCBb). Table 2b. Population in Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas Sorted Separately and Their Geographic Components in Alphabetical Order and Numerical and Percent Change for the United States and Puerto Rico: 1990 and 2000.Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLSa). TablelA. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group. Internet site: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpid01av.pdf (Accessed February 2006).Google Scholar
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (USBLSb). Table 1A. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by expenditure category and commodity and service group. Internet site: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpid02av.pdf (Accessed February 2006).Google Scholar
West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA). “First-Ever Agritourism Survey Reveals Business Owners' Concerns.” Market Bulletin (June 2005). Internet site: http://www.wvagriculture.org/images/6-05%20MB-pg.%202%20Agritourism.pdf (Accessed June 2005).Google Scholar
Wolf, M.M.A Target Consumer Profile and Positioning for Promotion of the Direct Marketing of Fresh Produce: A Case Study.Journal of Food Distribution Research 28(1997): 1117.Google Scholar