Community Food Systems Indicators:

Tools for Measuring Wisconsin’s Food

System

Colette Hershey

Program Assistant

Center for Community Economic Development

University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension

Laura Brown

Community Development Specialist

Center for Community Economic Development

University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension

I. How do we define local food systems?

II. Using data

III. Available data

- Production

- Processing

- Marketing and Distribution

- Consumption

Food Systems Indicators

Local foods initiatives are diverse and work in many

different aspects of the food system

Defining Local Food Systems

Local foods initiatives may have multiple goals

• improved nutrition-health and diet related disease

• environmental sustainability

• transparency and food safety

• food quality

• social justice

• social capital or relationship building

• rural or agricultural revitalization

• community economic growth and development

Defining Local Food Systems

There is no universally accepted definition for “local”

consumer or intermediated consumer perspective (Dunne, 2010, Zapeda, 2006).

proximity- distance, drive time, food-miles (Dunne, 2010, Darby 2008, King, 2010, Zapeda, 2006)

geo-political boundaries- states (Darby, 2008)

local ownership of farm (Low, 2011)

relationship to place (Marsden, 2000)

production techniques used

marketing channels used (Low, 2011)

size/scale (Low, 2011)

products (commodity versus non commodity crops)

quality relationships /supply chain (Marsden, 2000, King, 2010)

Integration of supply chain (Marsden, 2000)

Defining Local Food Systems

What is the question?

What information do we need to

answer the question?

Who will use this information?

How will they use it?

When is it needed?

How will we do it?

“Planning and Program Evaluation Worksheet.” University of Wisconsin-

Extension • Cooperative Extension • Program Development & Evaluation UW-

Extension http://www.uwex.edu/ces/pdande

Before we measure anything..

Wisconsin’s Local Food System

Production

Processing

Marketing and

Distribution

Consumption

Waste Management

Who is farming?

What are they producing?

What impact does this have on the

economy?

What do we want to know?

Are farmers processing

their own value-added

goods?

Are processors involved in

processing local foods?

Where are the processors

in Wisconsin?

How is this contributing to

the economy?

Community Food Systems Indicators

What marketing channels are farmers using?

Direct sales – intermediated sales? How is

this contributing to the economy?

Community Food Systems Indicators

What data is already available that may help us answer

these questions?

Production

Processing

Marketing and

Distribution

Consumption

Waste Management

Employment in farming

Size and type of farms

Sales

Restaurant trends

Culinary tourism trends

Direct sales

Numbers of farmers

markets

Sales of value-

added products

Processing business

sales and location

Production

• Employment in farming

• Size and type of farms

• Economic Impact

US Census of Agriculture- 2007 http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/

Wisconsin and the Agricultural Economy

The Economic Impacts of Agriculture in Wisconsin Counties

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/ag/wisag/

The Status of Wisconsin Agriculture 2011

http://www.aae.wisc.edu/pubs/status/docs/status2011.pdf

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets

• USDA Farmers Market Database

http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

• Searchable by state and city - not county

• Data must be downloaded every year

• Data is self reported so includes some errors

and duplicates

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets

USDA Agricultural Marketing Services Division- Farmers Market

Database http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets

USDA Farmers Market Database

http://search.ams.usda.gov/far

mersmarkets/

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets

USDA Farmers Market Database

http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets Low Income Access • USDA Food and Nutrition Service, WI Department of

Health Services • Information is available for public use but must be

requested via e-mail • County-level data is often unavailable or harder to

find. • Lack of data on expenditures on total sales at

farmers markets makes it difficult to compare farmers market sales made possible by Food Share, WIC, or SMFNP funds

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets

Low Income Access

369% Increase in sales

from 2008 to 2011

Data: USDA Food and Nutrition Service

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets

Low Income Access

Data from Wisconsin

Dept. of Health &

Family Services

Marketing and Distribution- Farmers Markets

Low Income Access

740% Increase in farms

and farmers markets

accepting FoodShare

Data: Wisconsin Dept. of Health & Family Services

Marketing and Distribution - Direct Sales

• US Agricultural Census - Value of Agricultural

Products Sold to Individuals for Human Consumption,

2002 & 2007 www.agcensus.usda.gov

• Desktop utility Quick Stats 2.0 Beta

Value of agricultural products sold directly to individuals for human consumption.

This item represents the value of agricultural products produced and sold directly

to individuals for human consumption from roadside stands, farmers‟ markets,

pick-your-own sites, etc. It excludes non-edible products such as nursery crops, cut

flowers, and wool but includes livestock sales. Sales of agricultural products by

vertically integrated operations through their own processing and marketing

operations were excluded.

Marketing and Distribution - Direct Sales

US Agricultural Census 2002 and 2007

www.agcensus.usda.gov Accessed 11-2011

Marketing and Distribution - Direct Sales

US Agricultural Census 2002 and 2007.

www.agcensus.usda.gov Accessed 11-2011

• In 2007 farms in Wisconsin marketing direct to individuals

for human consumption represented 9% of all farms

• The following counties were above the Wisconsin average

Marketing and Distribution - Direct Sales

US Agricultural Census 2002 and 2007.

www.agcensus.usda.gov Accessed 11-2011

Total amount of sales made directly to consumers(in thousands)

0

$1-$250

$250 - $499

$500 - $999

$1000 - $1499

$1500 - $2684

Marketing and Distribution - CSA

• US Agricultural Census - Number of Operations that

marketed products through Community Supported

Agriculture (CSA) www.agcensus.usda.gov Table 44

• Desktop utility Quick Stats 2.0 Beta allows you to find

county and regional data easily and download tables

• Local Harvest

www.localharvest.org

• Location of CSA Farms, Farmers

Markets, Restaurants, Coops.

• Not in a database format

Marketing and Distribution - CSA

• In the United States and in Wisconsin farms

that used CSA made up about 1% of the total

number of farm operations in 2007

• In 2 counties in Wisconsin CSA farms comprised

a greater percentage of all farms in 2007

Milwaukee County (8%)

Pepin County (2%)

Photo: Madison Area Community Supported

Agriculture Coalition.

Processing- Farms Producing Value Added

• US Agricultural Census Produced and sold

value added crops, livestock, or products,

2007 www.agcensus.usda.gov Table 44

Processing- Farms Producing Value Added

Percent of Value-Added Commodities

0-1%

2-3%

4-5%

6-7%

7-8%

Over 9%

US Agricultural Census 2002 and

2007. www.agcensus.usda.gov

Accessed 11-2011

• In Wisconsin an average of 3.6% of all farms produced and sold

value-added products in 2007

US Agricultural Census 2002

and 2007.

www.agcensus.usda.gov

Accessed 11-2011

Processing- Farms Producing Value Added

Processing- The Industry

• OVERVIEW OF NAICS CODES and how we chose these..

Processing- The Industry

• Data Sources

• Dept. of Workforce Development (by establishment:

range of employees, location)

• InfoUSA (by establishment: sales, # of employees,

location)

• Implan (by county: sales, # of employees)

• Caveats with each data set

• NOT looking for a contact list – there are others looking at

this

Location of Processors According to

4-digit NAICS Code

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!!

!!

!

!!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!!

! !

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!!

!

!

!

!

!

! !

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!!

!!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

! !

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!!

!

!

!

!! !

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!!

!

!!!

!

!!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!! !!!

!

!

!

!!

!!

!

!

!

!!!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!!

!!

!

!

!

!!!

!!

!

!

!

!!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

! !!! !

!

!

!

! !

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

! !

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

Plant Location by NAICS Code Classification

! Fruit and Vegetable Processing

! Dairy Processing

! Meat Processing

! Seafood Processing

Data: Department of

Workforce Development

Location of Processors According to

4-digit NAICS Code

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

! !

!! !

!

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

! !

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

Location of Fruit and

Vegetable Processors

Data: Department of

Workforce Development

Location of Processors According to

4-digit NAICS Code

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

! !

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!!

! ! !

!!

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!!!

!

!!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!!

!

!! !!!

!

!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!! !!!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!!!!

!

!!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

! !

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

Location of Meat Processors Location of Dairy Processors

Data: Department of Workforce Development

Number of Food Processing Plants in

Wisconsin

Number of Food Processors

0

1-4

5-9

10-14

Over 15

Data: Department of

Workforce Development

Number of Plants with fewer than 50

employees

Number of Food Processors

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

More than 10 Data: Department of

Workforce Development

Walworth County • Agriculture provides 3,780 jobs

• 76.4% are family owned

• 9% of farms sell direct to consumers (WI 8%, US 6%)

• Percent of farms direct marketing declined since 2002

• Value of products sold direct to consumers declined 30% since 2002

• 2.8 % of farms produced value-added products (WI 3.6%, US 3.6%)

• 1% of farms marketed products through CSA

• Percent of farms involved in agri-tourism and recreational activities declined since 2002

What does this say about our local food system? What questions does this data bring up?

Using the Data – Walworth County

Questions for Discussion

What indicators are you using?

How are you measuring progress?

What surprised you about this information?

How can you tie indicators work back to your

local programs and projects?

What’s missing?

List of Data References for Public Use

• Ag Census: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/

• 2011 Status of Wisconsin Agriculture:

http://www.aae.wisc.edu/pubs/status/docs/status2011.pdf

• Wisconsin Agriculture: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/ag/wisag/

• USDA Farmer’s Market: http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/

• Local Harvest: www.localharvest.org