Población Objetivo

In 2007, the 100-Mile Foodshed sold $6.7 billion in agricultural products and incurred $5.6 billion in production expenses. Between 2002 and 2007, income from sales increased by 43.3%, while production expenses increased at the same rate, by 43.7%. Average sales per farm increased by only 35.6%, suggesting that there are fewer farms remaining profitable. For farms to stay profitable, many farmers may look for other sources of income. Figure 1.17: Farm Income and Expenses

FIGURE 1.17

Farm Income and Expenses

2002 2007 % Change Market Value of Products Sold All 100-Mile Foodshed Farms $4,699,188,000 $6,732,916,000 43.3% Average per 100-Mile Farm $108,684 $147,415 35.6% All US Farms $200,646,355,000 $297,220,491,000 48.1% Average per US Farm $94,245 $134,807 43.0% Production Expenses All 100-Mile Foodshed Farms $3,919,634,000 $5,631,053,000 43.7% Average per 100-Mile Farm $90,654 $123,290 36.0% All US Farms $173,199,216,000 $241,113,666,000 39.2% Average per US Farm $81,362 $109,359 34.4% Government Payments Received All 100-Mile Foodshed Farms $69,508,000 $71,391,000 2.7% Average per 100-Mile Farm* $8,925 $5,973 -33.1% All US Farms $6,545,678,000 $7,983,922,000 22.0% Average per US Farm* $9,251 $9,523 2.9% Farm-Related Income All 100-Mile Foodshed Farms $139,728,000 $284,107,000 103.3% Average per 100-Mile Farm $10,140 $17,959 77.1% All US Farms $5,859,226,000 $10,489,874,000 79.0% Average per US Farm $9,421 $15,133 60.6% Net Cash Income All 100-Mile Foodshed Farms $988,790,000 $1,457,361,000 47.4% Average per 100-Mile Farm $21,649 $31,908 47.4% All US Farms $40,514,055,000 $74,581,098,000 84.1% Average per US Farm $19,032 $33,827 77.7%

*Net Cash Income is calculated as follows:Market Value of Products Sold – Production Expenses + Government Payments Received + Farm-Related Income = New Cash Income

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calculates the net cash income for the aggregated 70-county area as compared to the United States. The top five most profitable counties include Richmond (Staten Island), NY, Sussex, DE, Nassau, NY, Dorchester, MD, and Atlantic, NJ. For this study,

profitability is calculated as net cash income. Five counties report a loss for 2007, including Philadelphia, PA, Howard, MD, Montgomery, PA, Pike, PA, and Monroe, PA.

Although not reported on the county level, the 2007 Census of Agriculture asked operators to report how much of their household income is generated from farming. Nearly 80% of all

American farmers report that less than half of their household income is generated from farming; however, about 50% of principal operators report being full-time farmers. This difference illustrates that many farming families rely on a spouse to take a full-time job for medical benefits or, less frequently, retirement benefits. It also illustrates that many full-time farmers work

second jobs during the winter or growing seasons.

Farmers all over the country, and especially in Greater Philadelphia’s 100-Mile Foodshed, are looking to other sources of farm-related income to increase their profitability.

Farm-related sources of income include agritourism and recreational services, crop and livestock insurance payments, dividends or payments from a

cooperative, or other agricultural services, such as planning, plowing, spraying, animal boarding, or animal breeding (excluding horse breeding). Farm-related sources of income can include “off-farm” income, but they must be related to the agriculture industry. Income from farm-related activities doubled between 2002 and 2007 within the Greater Philadelphia food system. While income derived from agritourism is the fastest growing source of income for farmers in the 100- Mile Foodshed, it only makes up about 9% of all farm-related sources of income. See Figure 1.18: Sources of

Farm-Related Income for the

100-Mile Foodshedfor a visual

breakdown of farmers’ farm-related income, which does not include the sale of agricultural products.

By far the largest category of farm-related income is “other farm-related income sources.” USDA defines this broad category as income derived from animal boarding, animal breeding (excluding horse breeding), state fuel tax refunds, farm-generated energy, and other income sources not explicitly mentioned.

Excluding Philadelphia, which has a number of nonprofit and educational farms, the counties reporting a loss in farm-related income may have more lifestyle farms than production farms. The counties with the most profitable farms on average range from large production counties like Sussex, Delaware, to urban counties like Richmond, New York, to those with more farms specializing in direct marketing, like Atlantic, New Jersey, and Nassau, New York.

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Fernbrook Farms

Burlington County, New Jersey Fernbrook Farms is a diversified farming operation with a variety of on-farm revenue sources. The property is a third-generation farm on preserved land. For-profit enterprises such as a wholesale nursery, a bed and breakfast, and a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program supplement the nonprofit education center, which operates farm-to-school outreach, nutrition workshops, and summer camps for youth.

In the 2008 growing season, the CSA provided shares to 160 members from six acres of on-farm production and supplements from other farms for things like sweet corn. Leftovers went to Farmers Against Hunger or local pig farmers. The Farm-to-School programs run by the education center are expanding and staff coordinate some parts of the statewide Farm to School Network. There are plans to expand on-farm production to include eggs and grass-fed meat and to recruit more members to the CSA.

Also of interest is who is benefiting from federal payments. Between 2002 and 2007, 53% more farms in the 100- Mile Foodshed received government payments (7,788 farms in 2002

compared to 11,951 farms in 2007), but the total amount of payments only increased by 2.7%, meaning that

average payments per farm decreased by 33.1%. For the United States as a whole, government payments increased by 22%, but 18% more farms

participated (707,564 farms in 2002 compared to 838,383 farms in 2007). The predominantly agricultural counties of Sussex, DE, Lancaster, PA,

FIGURE 1.18