More than 167,000 U.S. farms produced and sold $8.7 billion of edible food commodities directly to consumers, retailers, institutions and local food intermediaries in 2015, according to Marlo Johnson, director of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service for the Great Lakes Region. Direct farm sales included both fresh foods and processed or value-added products such as bottled milk, cheese, meat, jam, cider, wine, etc. 

According to the results of the first Local Food Marketing Practices Survey, California, with $2.9 billion in direct farm sales of food, accounted for 33% of the U.S. total. Other states with high values of direct farm sales of food included Michigan ($459 million), New York ($441 million), Pennsylvania (439 million) and Wisconsin ($431 million).

Farms selling food directly to institutions, including schools, universities, hospitals and intermediaries who locally branded the product, such as wholesalers and processors, brought in the most revenue at $3.4 billion. The next category, at $3 billion in sales, was from about 115,000 operations with direct-to-consumer sales, such as on-farm stores and farmers markets. Sales directly to retailers, including supermarkets, restaurants and caterers, were $2.3 billion from over 23,000 operations nationwide. 

Most farms selling directly to consumers sold through outlets such as farmers markets and on-farm stores. Pennsylvania led the U.S. in the number of farms selling directly to consumers, with more than 6,000 operations engaged in direct-to-consumer sales. California led in direct-to-consumer sales, earning $467 million. Michigan ranked seventh in the country in this category, grossing $132 million, while Ohio tied for ninth at $108 million. 

The survey also concluded that more than 80% of all direct-market food sales occurred within 100 miles of the farm, and that most farms selling to consumers were less than 20 miles from their largest grossing marketplace. Only 8% of farms selling directly to consumers across the nation did so via online marketplaces, though 73% of all farms using direct-marketing practices had internet access.

About 300,000 people were involved in making decisions for the farms that sold directly in 2015. Of these, 62% were men and 38% were. The survey also found that 77% of farms who direct-marketed were established farmers, having farmed 10 or more years, and that 14%  were U.S. military veterans. 

For additional survey results, visit the survey online, or  the Quick Stats database.

Source: USDA