Agriculture of the Middle

Research, education and policy strategies that keep farmers and ranchers on the land

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Connections: How Can Farmers and Specialty Food Manufacturers Connect?

Many specialty food manufacturers are sourcing ingredients from small and mid-sized farms. But how do manufacturers and farms find each other and how are the matches made? What can manufacturers and farmers do to make and maintain a good relationship? This fact sheet provides you with insights and recommendations.

Beyond Fresh and Direct fact sheets are part of a project exploring the opportunities and challenges small and medium-size farms encounter when they seek to enter the rapidly-growing specialty food marketplace as either ingredient suppliers or manufacturers themselves. The project included:

  • A survey of specialty food manufacturers in California, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin in 2015, and
  • Interviews with selected manufacturers and farmers who supply manufacturers in four broad food categories: dairy; grain and baked goods; processed meats; and processed fruit, vegetables, nuts, and herbs


Continue reading:

Connections: How Can Farmers and Specialty Food Manufacturers Connect? (PDF)

Project Team:
Larry Lev, Oregon State University, Project Director
Gail Feenstra, University of California-Davis
Shermain Hardesty, University of California-Davis
Laurie Houston, Oregon State University
Jan Joannides, Renewing the Countryside
Robert P. King, University of Minnesota

This project was supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2015-68006-22906 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Filed Under: Guides for Producers and Extension Educators, Publications

What We Do

  • Education
  • Policy
  • Research

Publications

  • Definitions
  • Background Reading
  • Research
  • Guides for Producers and Extension Educators
  • Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Studies
  • Teaching Materials
  • Food Hubs Map
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Contact our webmaster: mmmille6@wisc.edu

Current funding support provided by United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the Multistate project, NC-1198, “Renewing an Agriculture of the Middle: Value Chain Design, Policy Approaches, Environmental and Social Impacts”(2017 -2022).

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