Marketing & Specialty Foods

Many small-scale farmers are responsible not only for growing their crops, but also for selling their products. Agricultural marketing can include selling to wholesalers, distributors, retailers, restaurants, and consumers. "Direct marketing" is the term for growers selling their products directly to consumers, whether at a farmers market, from a farm stand, or through community supported agriculture (CSA) programs.

Over the years, the UC Small Farm Program has helped develop innovative marketing channels to help small-scale farmers add value to their products. Below are some general marketing resources.

Marketing types

More detailed information about specific types of marketing:

• Specialty Foods
• Farmers Markets
• Agritourism
• Rural Cooperatives
• Value Added Products
• Cottage Foods
• Niche Meats

Recent articles

• Exploring Wholesale Market Options (2017)
  On June 13, 2017, the Small Farm Program partnered with UCCE Small Farm Advisor Margaret Lloyd to conduct a tour of wholesale produce markets for Sacramento region farmers. Learn more about the San Francisco Wholesale Produce Market, Cooks Company, Earl's Organics, Good Eggs and Bay Cities Produce
• YoCal Produce Cooperative: The Growers' Story and the Cooperative Principles (2012)
  History and analysis of a cooperative made up of early organic farms in Northern California's Capay Valley during the 1980s, as told by former members.
• California agritourism operations and their economic potential are growing (2011)
  This peer-reviewed research article discusses results of the first statewide survey of California agritourism operators, published in California Agriculture.
• Determining Marketing Costs and Returns in Alternative Marketing Channels (2008)
  This case study of three farms in Northern California compared the economics of marketing through farmers markets, CSAs, and wholesale channels.

Family Farm Series: Marketing for the Small Farmer

Originally developed in the 1980s, this series of publications provides an introduction to small-scale farming topics.

• Marketing Cooperatives
• How to Establish and Operate a Roadside Stand

Additional marketing resources

• Publications from ATTRA
  Publications that address the topics of organic marketing, direct marketing, and value-added processing.
• Fruit and Vegetable Market News from USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
  USDA Agricultural Marketing Service follows market prices of specific commodities and compiles the information in Market News Reports.
• Manage Your Farm Risk: Resources For Farmers and Ranchers
  Planning for marketing strategies can help lower risk.
• Agricultural Marketing Publications, Rutgers University 
• North American Farmers' Direct Marketing Association