Getting Local in Illinois

One of the themes of this blog is local food production.  This is not necessarily a philosophical position, but rather a recognition that commoditization of agriculture and long-chain distribution practices go hand-in-hand, and that both are vulnerable to niche market insurgencies.  As economic sanity is restored, a large percentage of the population will demand that their food be locally produced to a much greater extent.  People may not be willing to pay $75.00 for a toy truck made in America, but many more will pay a 25% premium for locally produced food.  This is not all about dollars and cents, it's about a re-setting of priorities.


Local food production is a pretty hot topic, but few people actually believe that this movement could impact the current food distribution paradigm to any significant degree.  An organization called FamilyFarmed.org has been involved in the movement in the Midwest.  Recently it produced a report which estimates that in Illinois many corporate consumers would spend up to $23 million annually on locally produced fruits and vegetables.  Those corporate entities include Whole Foods and Chipotle.


From an article about the report in Medill Reports:

In the past, “commodity pricing of fruits and vegetables made it very difficult [to compete] with warm weather farmers,” said Slama. But the picture has changed. “Transportation costs being what they are, consumer and trade buyers all want local food, which is opening up the market, particularly in Illinois,” he said. That means opportunity for family farms to connect with the wholesale market, according to the report.

Realistically, local food distribution, including traditional commodities, is unlikely to impact the market to a very large extent anytime soon (unless fuel energy interests are able to keep current prices stable or push them higher).  However, this report gives some credence to the belief that more small farmers will be able to make a living in the future by marketing their products locally.  Eventually the movement could provide a growing number of traditional commodity farmers better wholesale market exposure, and the freedom to leave Wall Street to its own devices.


Read the full report here.