1. 1 Road to Riches; Marketing Organic Products

2. 2 Why should I consider growing Organic for Farmers Markets?  Organic market segment fastest growing 15 to 21% / year, rest ~ 3%  Tiny > 3% market, EU ~ 35% market  Demand exceeding supply, imports by $200 million

3. 3 Organic vs Conventional  Organic food sales in U.S. grew to $16.7 billion in 2006  Growth rate was 21%  Total food sales ~ $600 billion YearSales ($ million) Organic Food Growth (%) Total Food Sales ($ million) 19973,566--443,724 19984,27219.8454,071 19995,04318.1474,678 20006,10421.0498,379 20017,35920.6521,831 20028,62417.2530,612 200310,38120.4535,406 200412,25015.3544,141 200513,80015.7556,791 200616,71820.9598,136

4. 4  Organic fruits and vegetables $6.7 billion, 39% total  Growth rate was 24% in 2006  Projected to reach $8 billion when 2007 figures reported

5. 5  USDA Certification regulations 2002  Grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, 36 mo wash out period. Animals - outside  Grown according to Organic Plan  Audited by 3 rd party

6. 6 How we did the study  Developed 10 questions, 4 demographics  English and Spanish  3 student interviewers  Table, University Banner, clip boards, souvenir cups  Offered to read as needed

7. 7 Location of market (# in survey) No. Vendors Est. Sat. Customers Est. Sat. sales (total) % Hispanics Eureka Springs (79) 14220$1,850-- Springdale (101) 12 to 15 200$2,000- $2,500 15% Fayetteville (125) > 50~3,000$20,0001 to 2%

8. 8 What did we Learn?  > 300 respondents  Most, > 60% had graduated from college, 10% professional or PhD  Compared to10% of AR population at large graduated from college

9. 9  In addition to the volume of sales, Fayetteville had the highest % PhD’s and professional degrees  Eureka Springs the greatest % BS grads  Springdale had greatest % High School or GED’s

10. 10  Older 41% > 56 years. Older  >89% were white, Hispanic 3+% Asian 3-%  63% female  60% BS degree or higher.

11. 11  77% said at least once or 2x per month  39% said they been buying it for 7 years or more  77% buy organic fruits and vegetables. Poultry – 3%  42% said they are buying organic at Farmers Markets. 20% re health food store

12. 12  80% said they would buy more organic if priced similar to conventional  70% said “organic” is different than “natural”  72% said organic foods were “more safe” than conventional. 23% said “as safe”.

13. 13  Free from chemicals 36.4%  Better Nutritional Quality 16.1%  Better Taste 12.8%  Environmentally friendly 10.1%  Other 3.3%  Fewer Harmful Bacteria 2.0%

14. 14  Brown, 2002, review markets1940 – 2000  # 1) Quality of offerings, 87% rated good to excellent, 98.5% much better quality than retail  #2) Direct contact with grower/farmer  Support for local agriculture  Convenient/ atmosphere  Lowest concern for price  Support for organic

15. 15  A) Pesticides 45%  B) Negative Environmental Impact 9.8%  C) Genetic Modification (GMOs) 9.2%  Circled all answers 7.8%  D) Nutritional Value 7.5%  E) Harmful Bacteria 6.2%  F) Other 3.6%

16. 16  Support Local Farmers 42%  Fresher Produce 24%  Better Quality than Retail Stores 9.8%  Farmers Market Foods are Safer 4.2%  Support Fair Trade 1.3%  Other 1.3%

17. 17  Customers at NWA farmers markets are well educated, females with money  More than ¾ of these customers are frequent organic food buyers  The organic food they purchase (prefer) most is fresh fruits and vegetables  Less than ½ of those customers are purchasing a majority of their organics at farmers markets  The market for ORGAINC is there but is it worth it?

18. 18  Creative Genius Artisan re beef in NE Grass- fed Natural  What do customers want? (hot topics) Know the farmer – trust, keep money local, Anti – (Big ) Business Care of Environment NO to pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics, YES to animal welfare, outdoors, fresh, natural

19. 19  Artisan – a person manually skilled in making a particular product. Artisan farming is farming in harmony with livestock, land and nature.

20. 20  Texas longhorn – tell the grass fed story, the way nature intended  Many grass-fed  Comments re no hormones, antibiotics  All Natural

21. 21  Marketing – younger shoppers (Xers) – product must have a story – romanitize it.  Don’t have to agree. Just give them what they want and don’t argue.  You don’t have to grow – get someone else do it.

22. 22  May 13- 14. Mt Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center  May 15-16. Winrock Rockefeller Institute, Morrillton  Will cover organic horticultural production.  Contact; Heather Friedrich; 479/575-2798  heatherf@uark.edu

23. 23