Pathways to Success in Florida’s Organic Market Study Results Persistence of Florida’s Small Organic Farms in the Face of Growing Demand for Organic Products Lindsay Fernandez-Salvador Farm Participants and Agroecological Regions
Mar 15, 2016
Pathways to Success in Florida’s
Organic Market
Study Results
Persistence of Florida’s Small Organic Farms in the Face of Growing Demand for Organic ProductsLindsay Fernandez-Salvador
Farm Participants and Agroecological Regions
Characteristics of Successful FarmsDefinition of farm success
* This study asked participants to rate various aspects of their farm operation in terms of successAnswer were averaged to give an overall “success score”
Aspect of Operation
Farms makes net profit (on average) of $20,000 annually
Farm provides half of household’s employment
Farm provides full household employment
I am able to expand in acreage/machinery/infrastructure
Farm provides lifestyle myself and my family enjoy
Results show that farms between 1 and 10 acres and over 600 acres have the highest success. One reason this could happen is because production on 10 acres or less is enough to satisfy the local markets, and production on 600 acres or more have the capacity to meet national and international demand. Farm operations between those size categories experience a situation in which they have too much product for the local market and not enough to successfully compete in the wholesale market.
o� 10� 20� 30 40� 50� 60
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
Time Farming Conventionally
Time (vrs)
Succ
ess
Scor
e
o� 5� 10 15 20� 25�
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
Time Farming Organic
Time (vrs)
Succ
ess
Scor
e
Predictably, success increases as farmers gain experience farming organically. Some of the reasons for this include gaining familiarity with methods and products that work for pest issues, establishment of customer base, and brand recognition. On the other hand, results show that success decreases the more experience a grower has farming conventionally (or non-certified). One possibility for this trend could be that long-time conventional farmers encounter difficulties adjusting to the size of the organic market and the marketing strategies.
1� 10� 100� 1000� 10000
Size of Farm (Acres)
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Succ
ess
Scor
e
Farm and Success Score
Creating a value-added product through intermediate processing is another pathway to success. For example, a pint of organic strawberries costs $2 on the market. The same pint of strawberries processed into organic jam costs $5 on the market.
Farm
Farm CSA
Farmer’s Market
Cooperative Other Farm’sCSA
Raw product fromcontracted smallacreage holders
Farm
On-SiteProcessing
Plant
On-Site FreshProduct Packing
House
WholesaleDistributors
ConventionalGrocery
DistributionChairns
Other natural foodstores
( e.g. Mother Earth)
e.g Wholefoods
e.g Publix
e.g Wal-Mart
* Examples of high-end edibles include micro-greens, rare vegetables and fruits and delicate export items.
Characteristic
Business strategy
Off-farm inputs
Access to market
Years farming organic vs. conventional
Type of crop
Size of farm (acres)
Principle market strategy
Successful Farms
Relies on ‘social contract’
Controls cost by minimizing use
Diversifies sales outlets
More time organic
‘High end edibles’*
<5 acres or >100 acres
Direct-retail
Struggling Farms
Has no ‘social contract’
Uses inputs regularly
Relies on one or two outlets
More time conventional
Mono crops (i.e. citrus)
Between 10 and 100 acres
Wholesale
Very Successful Direct-Retail Market Chain
Very Successful Wholesale Market Chain
Lindsay [email protected]
Study funded by Organic Farming Research Foundation.
Thank you to all the participating organic farmers.
Factors that Help and Hinder Farm SuccessThreats and contributions to farm’s success
Cert Standards 16%
Inputs 36%
Competition 29%
Labor 19%
Factors Contributing to Farm Success
Premiums 23%
Consumer Preferences 42%