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This is Larry Lev from Corvallis with a few comments based on the discussion and emails. It is great to live in a place where people care so much about food and agriculture.

Katy Coba talked about the three legged stool that supports Oregon agriculture. I would say that even 10 years ago that stool was commonly regarded as having only two legs. The within Oregon market was viewed by most as a small relatively uninteresting part of the US market for Oregon products. The recognition that Oregonians represent a viable market for many Oregon farmers has only slowly developed over the last decade.

Emily started out the hour with a vocabularly lesson on the term "locavore". There is another bit of agricultural jargon that people may be interested in -- "NPR farmers". Coined in Virginia, it refers to exactly the types of farms and types of market channels discussed on this show. I think it also captures the concerns with elitism and high prices that many emailers have noted.

I also want to provide some addional context about the size of this locally-oriented agriculture within Oregon agriculture. Overall Oregon farmers sold $4.9 billion (with a "B") of products in 2007. Farmers markets are the most visible form of this locally-oriented agriculture. My estimate is that total farmers market sales in 2007 were $30 million or less than 1% of the value of what Oregon farmers sold. CSAs were also mentioned. There are about 50 CSA farms in Oregon. Their members represent less than 0.5% of all Oregon consumers.

Local markets have become a viable and thriving component of Oregon agriculture. They can certainly use your support. But looking at it from the producer side, it is important that supply and demand both grow together. A dramatic and rapid increase in supply could result in many unhappy and out of business farmers.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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