All measures of the Kentucky produce market — the numbers of farmers, sales, types of crops, acreage, produce auctions, retail outlets, on farm and roadside stands — are growing almost faster than zucchini.
They add up to a record-breaking $33 million boost to the state’s economy expected by year’s end.
The numbers that tell this story come from a new University of Kentucky College of Agriculture survey of produce farmers. The survey was conducted by Tim Woods, associate professor of agricultural economics extension.
Woods and his associates Matt Ernst and Kevin Heidemann asked produce growers what crops they’re planting this year and what markets they will use to sell what they have grown. The information collected reflected positive increases in virtually every category.
While a few years ago the bloom may have fallen off of produce — fruits and vegetables require effort to grow and get to markets, and are not a simple replacement for tobacco — that’s no longer the case. Consumer demand for quality produce is strong and increasing.
Produce “seems to be going through a renaissance,” Woods said.
The farmers themselves are optimistic. The survey asked them to forecast their sales for the next three years. About 38 percent expect their sales to stay the same, but 31.9 percent think their sales will increase somewhat, and 12.6 percent think their sales will increase substantially.
About 13,000 acres of Kentucky land are used for commercial vegetable operations, and production per acre is increasing. Commercial fruit acreage is about 2,800 acres, a decline from the survey of three years ago. That’s because some apple and peach acres were lost, but fruit production value remains steady, due to strong price projections in 2012.
In the early 2000s, a number of produce cooperatives formed to help farmers get their produce sold, but they didn’t last. Produce sales have continued to increase, though, because farmers are selling through diverse and higher-value channels. One significant channel is produce auctions.
Kentucky’s first and now largest produce auction, Fairview, was started in Christian County by a Mennonite community in 1998. Other produce auctions are held in Lincoln County, Bath County, Henry County, Casey County and Hart County. Collectively they’ll generate $5 million to $7 million this year.
More than 17 percent of the survey’s respondents said they had sold more than 10 percent of their produce through a produce auction in 2011. That’s the highest percentage of growers using produce auctions since the surveys began in 2001.
Kentucky’s produce auctions “attract buyers from Chicago to Murfreesboro, Tenn. They’re a great venue for our small to medium producers,” said Woods, who expects that Fayette County will eventually have its own produce auction.
For now, the closest produce auction for central Kentucky growers is in Crab Orchard, in Lincoln County. Woods said that it is doing well and continuing to grow.
As a service to farmers, the UK College of Agriculture’s website includes reports of prices for produce sold through the state’s produce auctions. This practice no doubt encourages more farmers to try this venue instead of having to stay all day to sell directly to customers.
Direct sales at farmers markets — once about the only venue for produce growers — are up, though the percentage of farmers selling only there has dropped as farmers experiment with other ways to sell. The number of farmers markets has grown from 40 in 1998 to 151 in 2012.
At the same time, 101 of Kentucky’s 120 counties have at least one community farmers market. That is in response to consumers’ demands for fresh produce. Woods said he occasionally hears concerns that the produce market is, or will soon be, saturated, but he believes that’s far from true.
Demand for fresh produce also comes from restaurant owners. Winchell’s, the Good Foods Co-op and numerous other local restaurants buy produce for their dining customers from farmers at their doors or at the farmers’ markets.
“I try to point producers to local restaurants,” said Woods. “The National Restaurant Association says that the No. 1 trend now is local produce and local meat.”
The survey suggests that the restaurant market channel has the greatest potential to increase produce sales significantly. Twenty-nine percent of the producers reported selling directly to restaurants. Such sales are often the first step into selling local produce wholesale, when a farming operation grows in size.
In 2005, the state started a program to promote sales of produce to Kentucky’s state resort park restaurants. Kentucky’s MarketReady program offers materials that help growers sell directly to restaurants. Restaurant Rewards and MarketMaker are similar state programs.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) memberships and farms that offer either you-pick operations or roadside stands are also increasing. The Kentucky Farm Bureau’s Certified Roadside Market, which reported 100 members in 2011, connects with the interest in agritourism.
More than 10 percent of the survey respondents had produce sales of $100,000 or more, a much higher percentage than in the 2009 survey. Other signs of industry growth include the number of wineries in Kentucky (only four in 2004, 66 now) and increasing sales of local produce to local schools.
Woods admits that growing produce is not an easy way to farm.
“It’s still labor-intensive,” Woods said, “but for farmers who are doing a good job of grading, cooling, and getting their produce to market, they’ll get rewarded.”