Articles
WHO WILL PRODUCE HIGH QUALITY, NUTRITIOUS VEGETABLES IN THE FUTURE?
Article number
841_79
Pages
545 – 548
Language
English
Abstract
Eating a wide variety of fresh, healthy, fruits and vegetables requires an adequate supply that is reasonably priced.
The future vegetable supply chain will require that we have enough producers that are well trained and understand how to efficiently meet this growing demand for healthy nutritious vegetables; however, current trends do not reflect this growing need.
At the beginning of the twentieth century there were over 13 million people working on farms, but by the end of the century that number declined to less than three million.
The average age of the current American farmer is 55.3, with 26.2 percent of farmers over 65. In many of Texas urban areas such as Austin, Dallas and Houston there is a growing demand for fresh, locally grown produce, but there is not enough local production to meet this demand.
The urbanization of the late nineteen hundreds has also created a generation gap between our stewards of the land and the current generations.
The purpose of this study was to identify local markets and begin to understand why there are so few provincial growers to supply this growing market for locally grown produce.
In this initial phase we surveyed farmers reasons for growing and the motivating factors behind their occupational choice.
This study found that family and enjoyment were the most significant reasons for farming.
The future vegetable supply chain will require that we have enough producers that are well trained and understand how to efficiently meet this growing demand for healthy nutritious vegetables; however, current trends do not reflect this growing need.
At the beginning of the twentieth century there were over 13 million people working on farms, but by the end of the century that number declined to less than three million.
The average age of the current American farmer is 55.3, with 26.2 percent of farmers over 65. In many of Texas urban areas such as Austin, Dallas and Houston there is a growing demand for fresh, locally grown produce, but there is not enough local production to meet this demand.
The urbanization of the late nineteen hundreds has also created a generation gap between our stewards of the land and the current generations.
The purpose of this study was to identify local markets and begin to understand why there are so few provincial growers to supply this growing market for locally grown produce.
In this initial phase we surveyed farmers reasons for growing and the motivating factors behind their occupational choice.
This study found that family and enjoyment were the most significant reasons for farming.
Publication
Authors
P.T. Lillard, S.R. King
Keywords
farmer, producer, age, motivation, farmers¿ market
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