By Scout Nelson
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the University of Minnesota (UMN), in collaboration with the Statewide Cooperative Partnership, have completed an extensive three-year project aimed at gathering baseline data on Minnesota's local and regional agricultural markets.
This endeavor, supported by a grant from the USDA Federal State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP), has culminated in the availability of valuable data and a strategic market development framework for public use.
Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen praised the Statewide Cooperative Partnership's significant contributions and highlighted the vast amount of information available to guide local and regional market efforts, offering new perspectives on equitably supporting Minnesota's agricultural sector stakeholders.
Dr. Hikaru Peterson, a professor of applied economics at UMN, highlighted the project's role in understanding Minnesota's small and medium-sized farmers' experiences and identifying effective support structures. The study used data from Minnesota producers, supply chain partners, and consumers.
The producer survey, a key component of this research, successfully reached many small, mid-sized, and emerging farmers, with 497 Minnesota producers participating. Only 37% of these participants were represented in the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
The supply chain and consumer surveys further enriched the data, shedding light on purchasing behaviors, preferences for Minnesota products, and barriers to buying locally.
Utilizing data from all three surveys, the Partnership developed a strategic framework consisting of seven priority areas and twenty strategies. These strategies focus on enhancing market opportunities for Minnesota producers, supply chains, and consumers, addressing aspects like procedural equity, tribal nation relations, outreach, and infrastructure development.
Key strategies under the seven priority areas include offering culturally appropriate technical assistance in multiple languages for emerging farmers, expanding local food programming in various consumer spaces, and collaborating with the USDA to improve Census of Agriculture participation among producers.
The comprehensive data reports and action framework are accessible through the Statewide Cooperative Partnerships website.MDA’s YouTube channel.
The Statewide Cooperative Partnership plans to continue its regular meetings to discuss data and market development needs, fostering collaborative approaches and relationships within the food system. These meetings are open to all interested parties.
Photo Credit: minnesota-department-of-agriculture
Categories: Minnesota, Business