PPB February 2021

that food production will need to increase 70 percent to accommodate the planet’s projected 9.6 billion inhabitants. The United States, which is home to more than two million farms on more than 920 million acres, has plenty of agriculture land to rise to the challenge. According to Bloomberg, the nation’s cropland, when gathered together, would take up more than one-fifth of the 48 contiguous United States. When it comes to tending and harvesting this farmland, the United States has an abundance of laborers. The country’s food and agriculture sector supports more than 23 million jobs, which equals nearly 15 percent of employment, according to Feeding the Economy. Some of the country’s biggest produce crops include vegetables (U.S. farmers planted nearly 92 million acres of corn in 2019) and fruit of all kinds. However, consumers are hungry for nearly any farm-fresh, local fare. According to Forager, 96 percent of consumers say local food is the healthiest and freshest food available, and 85 percent would switch to a different grocer if that grocer carried more local food. Amid the pandemic, consumers have clamored for healthy foods that can boost their immune systems. The Produce Marketing Association reports a surge in sales of fresh and frozen produce beginning in March 2020, with year-over-year demand for produce up double digits. To help get consumers what they want and need during the pandemic, some farmers have shifted to selling directly to customers. Through models such as community- supported agriculture: farmers ship or deliver produce straight from the farm directly to customers, eliminating the grocery store altogether. However farmers sell their fare, they can use promotional products to reinforce the benefits of fresh produce and keep their name top of mind with retail grocers, farmers’ market managers and consumers. Promotional products can also help brands that market to farmers, such as fertilizer companies or farm equipment manufacturers, stay visible. In 2019, distributor sales of promotional products involving the agriculture industry topped $484 million, according to PPAI Research. Read on to learn more about cultivating business in this thriving market. Market Snapshot Each season brings new challenges for farmers. In 2017 and 2018, floods from multiple hurricanes wiped out entire crops. In 2019, farms grappled with historically poor planting conditions. And in 2020, the pandemic brought a whole new set of trials. With supply chains disrupted as schools, restaurants, cruise ships and other vital customers cancelled orders, many farms were forced to dump milk and dispose of fresh produce that could not be stored. The Produce Marketing Association estimates that at least $5 billion of fresh fruits and vegetables were wasted during the first few months of 2020 alone. Dairy Farmers of America estimates that farmers dumped as many as 3.7 million gallons of milk each day during the pandemic. While farmers were forced to discard staggering amounts of produce and milk, food banks felt a crush of families to feed. According to Feeding America, more than 80 percent of food banks served more people in 2020 than they did the previous year. Some food banks reported a 200-percent increase in visitors compared to the same time period in 2019. With more people than ever visiting food banks, Feeding America estimates that one in six Americans could face hunger. To help connect farms to food banks, numerous grassroots and regional programs have cropped up around the country, including The Farmlink Project and Mainers Feeding Mainers. Promotional products distributors can work with farms, food banks and communities on promotional campaigns to help get food where it’s needed most. States With The Most Farms These states lead the agricultural pack in terms of number of farms: State Number of Farms 1. Texas 248,416 2. Missouri 95,320 3. Iowa 86,104 4. Oklahoma 78,531 5. Ohio 77,805 6. Kentucky 75,966 7. Illinois 72,651 8. California 70,651 9. Tennessee 69,983 10. Minnesota 68,822 Source: U.S. Census of Agriculture State Number of Farms | FEBRUARY 2021 | 45 GROW