Shop Local, For Farmers Sake

We know how buying local produce and other organic products benefits us all Californians as consumers. Local produce and nearby farmers market food is always  fresh, often free of pesticides, and tastes delicious. But do you know how shopping local helps farmers?

Your contributions can go a long way, and farmers benefit from your decision to purchase their produce instead of buying from a chain store. Supporting farmers means supporting your community, keeping your food safe and fresh, and protecting the environment.

Support Your Nearby Farmer Market, Community & Economy

The profits stay in the local economy. Local farmers are local businesses. When you buy locally, twice the money stays within your community. Many national corporations don’t keep their money within the community and tend to have multinational or overseas interests. Local farmers use other local businesses for advertising, accounting, banking, printing, and much more.

Many farmers also have partnerships with other local produce markets, farmers, and other nearby farmer markets keeping money within the community. A dairy farmer might work with another local farm to provide feed for their cows, or use a local delivery company for milk deliveries. Keeping your money in your local economy is vital to the life of your town, region, or city. So many towns fall victim to the curse of the corporate industries that don’t keep money in the local economy, leaving ghost towns behind when businesses shut down. Another bonus that comes from supporting local farms is job creation. The more money farms make from our support, the more they can hire workers to meet the demand. In a world where the job industry is tough and competitive, this is a major bonus.

Supporting the community makes it stronger. Farmers are as much a part of the community as you, your neighbor, and your family.

Local businesses often support the community in many ways, from sponsoring little league teams to donating items or funds for charity events. It’s important to keep the community strong and vibrant by supporting one another and working together. Communities are based on relationships, and the stronger your relationship is with your local farmers, the better your experience will be. Often, when buying a local product, you buy it directly from the farmer or producer, with no middle man to collect extra profits.

You can buy products directly from local farmers by going to farmer’s markets or participating in a home milk delivery program.

When you buy a local product from the farmer, they can tell you exactly how it was made and what process it’s gone through to get from their farm to your table. This gives everyone a peace of mind in knowing that you’re getting a product that’s safe from chemicals, and pesticides.

Dairy Farmers Care!

Farmers are families. The agriculture business in North America is dominated by large companies that sell products in grocery stores across the continent. They are owned by corporations and operate strictly for as much profit as they can. When you buy products from local farms, your money isn’t going to a huge conglomerate that makes millions of dollars in profits every year. You are not contributing to the luxury vacation fund for a stuffy CEO who likely doesn’t even live in the country.

Instead, you’re helping a little girl get ballet lessons or sending a little boy to day camp. Farmers work to put food on the table for their families. Since these are mostly family run farms, farmers usually care more about the products they produce, and likely wouldn’t sell you something they wouldn’t serve their own family. You can be sure that a farmer cares about their customer and their product more than the stuffy CEO.

Local Dairy Cows are Happier Dairy Cows.

Local dairy farmers are also more inclined to take better care of their cows than larger corporations and keep them happy, healthy, and nurtured. The happier a cow is, the more milk it will produce, ensuring that the farmer’s success stays positive. Dairy farmers spend a lot more time with their cows than big companies and therefore know their herd very well. If a cow gets sick, they can reach it before it gets any worse or the sickness spreads to any other cows.

One farm in Ontario, Canada, actually provides waterbeds for their cows. According to their team, milk production went up about 20 percent after the introduction of these waterbeds as well as other technology designed for the cows’ comfort. Many small farms also use “milking robots,” which automatically milk the cow when it’s ready. This means that the cow is determining when they are ready to milk, and are following their own schedule. This produces more milk in the long run.

Invest in the Future

The future is bright. The more you support buying local, the more we can ensure that farmers stay in business and can keep providing delicious products over time. With a demand for more local products, farmers can also expand their businesses and branch out with their products. This means more business relationships with other local companies, and more local products that make it to the markets. If everyone started focusing on supporting local farmers now, it will pave the way for more farmers to grow their businesses in the future. Our children, and their children, will grow up in a more sustainable world that relies on local, fresh farm produce instead of processed foods.

With more farmers providing their goods at markets and for local home milk delivery, you can also be sure that the environment is better protected. Local farms are better for the environment than large corporate farms because the food has to travel less distance. This means that the amount of gas produced by the company is reduced. If you participate in a home milk delivery program, glass bottles can be reused and recycled effectively and continuously. This cuts down on the amount of production used to create the products and therefore, less pollution caused by factories.