Farms that market their goods directly to consumers tend to create more jobs in their own regions than those that don’t, a university study has found. For every $1 million worth of output, farms that sell directly via farmers’ markets, produce stands, community-supported agriculture and other such outlets generated nearly 32 jobs in the Sacramento area, according to the study led by University of California-Davis researcher Shermaine Hardesty.
In contrast, non-direct marketers created only 10.5 local jobs for each $1 million in output, the study found. It’s not that more conventional producers don’t create jobs; it’s that the jobs that serve them tend to be more far-flung. Direct marketers in Hardesty’s study purchased 89 percent of their inputs within the region while the non-direct marketers purchased 45 percent of their inputs locally.