Direct farm marketing efforts, such as farmers markets and roadside stands, are more successful in communities with more nonprofits, social enterprises and creative industries, according to a team including Cornell researchers, who created a nationwide database of assets to help municipalities craft community-specific development plans.
While many municipalities seek to encourage direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing – an important factor in farmers’ livelihoods – the success of their efforts hinges on a wide array of community resources, or capital assets, with natural and cultural assets correlating most strongly with farmers’ success, the research found.
To explore differences between communities, Todd Schmit, M.S. ’94, Ph.D. ’03, associate professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and colleagues at Colorado State University and the University of Missouri created a database of assets for every county in the United States, breaking down these community resources in six areas: built, cultural, financial, human, natural and social.
Read more at: Cornell University
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https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/07/farm-marketing-success-linked-natural-cultural-assets