About Farmer goes to Market

In the past, consumers knew the farmers who grew their food. Separated then typically by only a processor, a wholesaler and a grocer, the consumer easily trusted the simple chain that delivered the food. Today, a complex web of anonymous companies and people inhabit space between the farmer and the consumer. By one estimate, for instance, it now takes 57 companies to make and deliver a can of chicken noodle soup. The result? “ Separation anxiety,” an ever-widening gulf between the consumer and the farmer -- physical, mental and emotional. And anyone sowing seeds of misinformation can find fertile ground in the strained channels of communication along today’s food-chain.

At the end of that chain, grocery retailers -- the only representative many consumers now experience face-to-face contact with -- often find themselves serving as the farmer’s proxy, suddenly responsible for fielding questions from consumers about what that farmer does with our food supply and its potential impact on their health.

At the other distant end, farmers are left perplexed over how food is marketed and sold to consumers and why supermarkets choose the sometimes confusing product messages they communicate. 

If information is not flowing freely between these two stakeholders then the whole food-chain can bear the consequence of a confused or even frightened consumer.

Farmer Goes to Market is designed to shore up this information gap, to provide direct answers to common questions, such as:

• “Does this milk have hormones in it?
• “Are the hormones in meat and milk causing our youth to mature faster?”
• “What does antibiotic-free mean?”
• “By eating fruits or vegetables am I digesting harmful pesticides?”
• “Are there any “family farms” left?”
• “Is biotechnology good for me?”
• “Are modern-day agriculture practices sustainable?”
• “Do farmers really take good care of their animals?”
• “Is all food traceable down to the farmer who produced it?”

If you’re attending the N.G.A. Annual Trade Show and Supermarket Synergy Showcase, visit the Farmer Goes to Market pavilion located in the center of the trade show floor. Inside, you can ask a real life farmer the questions your customers ask you. Discuss the issue you’re most concerned about. Get answers unfiltered…direct from the best source. While you’re there, visit the chef’s station, where you can taste the fresh products these farmers help produce daily.

Nowhere else  can you see the food-chain coming together so vividly. In the end, we’ll re-connect these two powerful food-chain stakeholders, eliminate misinformation and build a continued dialogue for earning consumer trust.

Don’t miss Farmer Goes to Market :

• Equip yourself to become an indispensable link in the food chain
• Arm yourself with non-biased information to educate your customers
• Connect with a ready, continual resource you can immediately turn to when you face future questions regarding farm issues
• Increase your confidence to answer often quite complex inquiries over today’s food issues 

Farmer Goes to Market: Real farmers. Real grocers. Real answers.