Expand Your On-Farm Market’s Reach In A Click Or Two
May 1, 2015 
Christina Herrick
How much would you pay to have your business reach 90,000 people?
Hundreds of dollars? Thousands?
What would you say if I told you that type of exposure is FREE and provided by the government.
That’s right.
In the third quarter of 2014 — the peak of farmers’ market season — the USDA’s farmers’ market directory logged 89,472 unique page views.
You might think reaching 90,000 people nationally is a tad bit impractical if your operation is a local business. But, the local food movement continues to build, which no doubt helped contribute to those high page views.
Consider this, where would someone from out-of-town or new to your area find out information about local on-farm markets or farmers’ markets? What if they don’t know your operation’s name? That’s the purpose of USDA’s directories.
Now that I have your attention, it’s worth pointing out that you can voluntarily list your operations through the USDA farmers’ market, on-farm market, CSA, and food hub directories. USDA defines the parameters for each directory differently (click here to read exactly what the difference is).
The farmers’ market directory has been in existence for many years and continues to build momentum as consumers seek local sources. The CSA, on-farm market, and food hub directories were announced during the National Farmers Market Week in August 2014, and the usage of these new directories continues to build. There are now 8,340 farmers’ markets listed in the national directory.
“According to the 2012 Census of Agriculture, 50,000 farmers and ranchers nationwide are now selling to local retailers, and 150,000 are selling their products directly to consumers,” says Greg Rosenthal, public affairs specialist with the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS).
How The Search Works
Visitors to USDALocalFoodDirectories.com can choose the specific directory to search. From there, a user needs to supply a zip code and can search for operations as close as 5 miles and as far as 200 miles away. Users can narrow their search by products offered (which ranges from baked goods, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, juices, to wine/spirits/beer/hard cider). There is also an option to search for specific payments accepted, whether cash, checks, credit or debit cards, and also the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Those searching for your business can view a mapped location, your business’s operating hours, and months in operation, as well as products available and forms of payment accepted. The entry links to your operation’s social media and external website.
How You Can Get Your Operation In This Directory
You can create or update a directory for your operation by visiting the same URL, USDALocalFoodDirectories.com. It begins with a search for an operation based on name or city. From there, you can choose to update an existing entry. Or, if your operation is new to the directory, the site walks you through the entire process.
Existing directory entries can be updated weekly, if you like. Updates take up to two days to be applied to the listing, after the USDA screens the new information submitted.
“We try to encourage people to update at least four times a year,” says Ed Ragland, an economist with the USDA’s AMS. “You can update it as often as you’d like, your current product offerings or something special going on at your market. The more you use it; it can improve the communication to your customers.”
How This Directory Can Benefit You
Naturally, Ragland says, the goal is to continue to boost the number of listings in each of the directory.
“That information has, in turn, led to greater attention on farmers markets and possibly government funding to government programs to enhance farmers’ markets,” says Ed Mahoney, professor emeritus at Michigan State University’s department of Community Sustainability.
Mahoney says that the House Appropriation Subcommittee on Agriculture is considering an agritourism directory as well.
And there’s really no downside to adding your on-farm market to this listing. These directories are free to participate in. It is a nationwide directory, and as Ragland points out, the more you participate in the directory, the better chance you have being found and enticing new customers.
Ragland also mentioned that the farmers’ market directory is particularly beneficial because several apps, such as Farmstand, Locavore, and U.S. Farmers Market Finder use the information in the directory for their app searches.
“By being in this directory, your business is more apt to be connected to new technology that’s available that everybody’s using,” he says.
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