GROWING THE CUSTOMER BASE FOR FARMERS MARKETS: SUPPORTING RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED CONSUMER RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1029669
• Grant No.: 2023-68006-38984
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $635,978.00
• Proposal No.: 2022-10384
• Project Start Date: Jan 15, 2023
• Project End Date: Jan 14, 2026
• Grant Year: 2023
• Program Code: [A1601]- Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities: Small and Medium-Sized Farms

Recipient Organization
UNIV OF WISCONSIN
21 N PARK ST STE 6401
MADISON,WI 53715-1218

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
The overarching goal of this project is to strengthen the capacity of farmers markets to attract new consumers to purchase products from small and medium sized farms. To accomplish this, the Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) partnered with communication researchers who specialize in food systems. Our first objective is to identify current and potential farmers market consumer segments with an emphasis on individuals underrepresented at farmers markets. We will do this by conducting a national survey. Informed by those findings, we will test messaging strategies on social media through partnerships with diverse farmers markets. This innovative approach will allow us to examine the efficacy of message frames at increasing interest in farmers markets among audience segments. Thirdly, we will incorporate our findings into an expansion of FMC's free evaluation resources and messaging resources (a new communications toolkit and an updated National Farmers Market week toolkit). Lastly, we will conduct a series of webinars to allow for regional dissemination of our findings and resources through partnerships with Extension's national Community, Local, and Regional Food Systems Team and the North American Food System Network. Our project addresses the "small and medium sized farms" program priority area because it will encourage a new generation of customers to purchase food directly from small and medium sized farms at farmers markets. Many farms rely on farmers markets to provide this kind of high-level marketing support.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
604	6299	3030	100%

Knowledge Area
604 - Marketing and Distribution Practices;

Subject Of Investigation
6299 - Marketing, general/other;

Field Of Science
3030 - Information and communication;

Keywords

farmers markets

audience segmentation

direct marketing

social media marketing

Goals / Objectives
The overarching goal of this project is to strengthen the capacity of farmers markets to understand and attract new consumers to purchase products from small and medium size-farms. This project will help direct-to-market farmers prepare for the next generation of consumers. We aim to empower markets to cultivate relationships with new consumers to small and medium size-farms who sell at the markets. To accomplish this, we have four main objectives:1) Identify and describe new consumer segments for direct-market channels through a national survey.2) Work with market operators and state associations to test the efficacy of different message frames based on audience segmentation using readily actionable targeting variables from dominant social media platforms.3) Expand evaluation and messaging resources for market operators and farm vendors.4) Encourage regional adoption of these strategies through strategic partnerships.

Project Methods
1) Identify and describe new consumer segments for direct-market channels through a national survey.Activity: Our national survey will ask individuals questions about online shopping preferences, preferences for different types of markets, motivations and challenges to shopping at farmers markets, communication behaviors, lifestyle factors, and background characteristics to segment consumers into current or potential farmers market shoppers.Techniques: We will work with NORC at the University of Chicago to use their nationally representative panel of Americans. We will also create an electronic version of the survey to share with farmers market managers to share with their customers.Data analysis: We will examine current and potential consumer segments with two approaches -- a deductive and inductive approach. Deductively, we will compare and contrast responses of survey participants who are younger and from more diverse groups. In addition, we will use an inductive segmentation technique called cluster analysis to validate and refine our audience segmentation framework. Once individuals have been assigned a cluster, other differences between clusters will be examined with ANOVA. Lastly, we will use regression analysis to uncover other trends in the data.Milestones & evaluation: We will evaluate this part of the project based on the identification of at least five distinct consumer segments from the data, with additional insights relevant to younger and diverse audiences.2) Work with market operators and state associations to test the efficacy of different message frames based on audience segmentation using readily actionable targeting variables from dominant social media platforms.Activity: Facebook and Instagram will be used as the message platforms for this project.Our study will be conducted by administering the social media accounts of participating farmers market managers to track a variety of outcome metrics.Techniques: We will partner with 12 farmers market managers in Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Participating farmers market managers will temporarily share administrative access to their accounts and receive our expertise and a set amount of funds ($12,000 total) to use for testing messages in their locations.Then, we will run two types of social media message tests:(1) Compare key messages for shopping at farmers markets: Based on our survey, we will test what messages resonate most with potential farmers market shoppers in generalas well as by demographics.(2) Targeted audience comparison: Using audience segmentation, we will identify audience targeting variables and test their efficacy with messages crafted for each audience segment.Stakeholder involvement: The leaders on our advisory team will help recruit 12 diverse farmers markets to work with. We will select markets that already actively collect data about visitors (e.g., customer surveys and customer counts). The recruitedmanagers will be involved with planning and implementation of the social media tests. Managers will give feedback on the messagesand then they will help to implement the tests as the messages will be posted through their social media accounts. They will also supply data about on-the-ground changes at their markets through customer counts and surveys to help us connect the social media ads to actual market participation.Data analysis: We will compare the performance of each ad tested based on ad effectiveness and engagement metrics. We willalso compare performance based on the type of community the ads ran in. We will havemarkets track customer traffic before, during, and after our social media campaigns, and conduct customer surveys to learn if new customers heard about the market via the social media posts.Milestones & evaluation: We will evaluate our social media tests as a success if 12 farmers market managers are recruited and our ads result in at least 100,000 social media engagements. A boost in market attendance will also be measured, with a target of 15%.3) Expand evaluation and messaging resources for market operators.Activity: With strategic insights from tour research, the FMC evaluation resources will be updated. FMC will provide a set of worksheets for each market type in the project to a) gather data on their reach, b) to make their own selection of the available metrics that are most useful for their market and c) to support their evaluation of this type of messaging for their market.Techniques: The new evaluation resources will include new metrics that prioritize messages that appeal to customers and include data collection methodsfor the markets to measure the frequency and average shopping level of the new shoppers. The content for the National Farmers Market Week toolkit will focus on social media, and for the new communication toolkit will include short videos, graphics, and fact sheets.Stakeholder involvement: We will collect feedback from our advisors and invite managers to provide feedback on drafts of the new content through an online meeting. Their feedback will be incorporated into the final content and we will share the content at our webinars.Milestones & evaluation: We expect at least 1,000 downloads of materials from the new evaluation and messaging resources. We will also track website visits to the resources, communication toolkit, and updated National Farmers Week toolkit. We will conduct an online survey by sharing a link to market managers to evaluate this part of the project. We will include questions about the utility of the new resources, and we will ask whether managers have used or will use the contentand ways to improve the content.4) Encourage regional adoption of these strategies through strategic partnerships.Activity: We will focus on three strategic partnerships: Extension, the North American Food Systems Network, and state farmers market associations in six states. One webinar will be aimed at Extension educators, and the style will be train-the-trainer. During the webinar, we will provide a curriculum that includes lessons learned from our survey and social media tests, how this data informs communication strategies for farmers market managers, techniques to use these strategies in social media, and a ready-made slide deck that educators can use for their own training. The next two webinars will share similar content but will be tailored to scholars, direct-to-market farmers, and food systems entrepreneurs.Technique: We will recruit participants for the webinars via the Community, Local & Regional Food Systems Extension listserv, the Extension Foundation listserv, the NAFSN listserv, and additional contacts cultivated by NAFSN. We will ensure that the content is also helpful for viewers to use asynchronously and archived as well for future use.Stakeholder involvement: We will seek input from advisors about the webinars. Participants will provide feedback about our materials.Milestones & Evaluation: We anticipate at least 225 participants between the three webinars and an additional 450 webinar views using the archived versions of the webinars. We will conduct a brief survey of webinar participants to learn if they feel prepared to use the content. For the Extension educators, we will also ask about their preparedness to offer their own training.

Progress 01/15/24 to 01/14/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audiences in the past reporting period include farmers who vendat farmers markets, farmers market managers/operators and food systems professionals with the purpose of increasing revenue for small- and medium-sized farmers in the United States and enhancing the economic vitality of rural America. -FMC promoted the project on the That's Agra Tastic podcast -Bret Shaw presented results at the Minnesota Farmers' Market Association annual meeting -The team presented results to seven farmers market state association leaders -Results were also presented at the annual Ohio Farmers Market Conference The team also prepared for more outreach in Y3 of this project by securing presentation opportunities at the annual InTents Conference and the Agriculture and Human Values Society Conference, in addition to preparing for an Extension webinar and another podcast Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through meeting with our advisory committee and sharing results from Y2 of project, we increased knowledge among practitioners about marketing strategies for farmers markets. We presented results to our advisors about the performance of messages and gathered insights for how to best translate this information via the forthcoming farmers market communications toolkit.For the Minnesota Farmers Market Association, results were presented and reached over 100 participants (many of which were farmers/vendors at farmers markets or market operators). Results were similarly shared with the Ohio Farmers Market Association. Numerous presentations, Webinars, and podcasts are planned and underway in Y3. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As described, in this reporting period (Y2), the project was discussed at the 'That's Agra Tastic' podcast,theMinnesota Farmers' Market Association annual meeting, and the annual Ohio Farmers Market Conference. The team also presented results to seven farmers, market state association leaders and other food systems professionals throughout advisory committee meetings and other communications. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Identify and describe new consumer segments for direct-market channels through a national survey. In Y3, our first article about these results will be published (it has been accepted). This article focused on actionable marketing insights for farmers market vendors and managers will be open access to ensure wider dissemination. We also have plans to submit additional articles based on this data. Results will also be translated and incorporated as actionable recommendations associated with specific resources for a communications toolkit. A draft of this toolkit was created in Y2 and during Y3 will be refined, designed and shared nationwide via conferences, media releases and online networks. 2) Work with market operators and state associations to test the efficacy of different message frames based on audience segmentation using readily actionable targeting variables from dominant social media platforms. As described, these tests were completed, and graphics and slide-decks (for non-academic audiences) were created. In Y3 of this project, we will focus on incorporating those tools into the toolkit and we will complete a peer-reviewed publication based on these results. 3) Expand evaluation and messaging resources for market operators and farm vendors. A draft of the resources has been completed in Y2 and in Y3 we will refine this content based on feedback from farmers, farmers market managers and the advisory team. The resource will include graphics, slide-decks, the survey questions, and briefs. In Y3, we will attend the InTents conference and solicit feedback directly from the attending farmers/farmers market managers. 4) Encourage regional adoption of these strategies through strategic partnerships. To encourage adoption of these strategies in Y3 we will present at InTents and the Ag and Human Values conference. At InTents, we will also have a table to discuss one-on-one with attendees to learn more about their ideas for feedback. We will work with our advisors on this grant in Y3 to present at an Extension webinar, which will be recorded and available afterward. We also have additional state-focused meetings lined up for presentations in addition to another national podcast. We will issue a press release related to the first article that we published. When the toolkit is complete, the resources will be shared through FMC's farmer network as they promote National Farmers Market week. We will also send out press releases to relevant agricultural media to highlight our most actionable results and drive traffic to the resources we create.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Identify and describe new consumer segments for direct-market channels through a national survey. As described in our last report, we were able to meet this goal (identifying consumer segments) during the first reporting (Y1) period. During this current reporting period (Y2), we further analyzed the data and submitted it for publication. The publication was accepted and will be published in the next reporting period (Y3). During this reporting period (Y2), the team also did more data analysis and prepared a second paper which will be submitted soon (Y3). This upcoming paper focuses on marketing recommendations to help farmers attract and retain customers at farmers markets. 2) Work with market operators and state associations to test the efficacy of different message frames based on audience segmentation using readily actionable targeting variables from dominant social media platforms. During the reporting period (Y2), we accomplished this goal. We worked with 12 farmers markets in six states to promote their markets and tested different messages. The results were translated into two products, including graphics and slides that explain the methods and results in a way that is relevant to farmers and farmers market managers. 3) Expand evaluation and messaging resources for market operators and farm vendors. These resources will be developed in year 3 of this project. We made significant progress on this goal during this reporting period. We drafted these resources and began collecting feedback from farmers and farmers market associations to finetune these tools and share them in Y3. 4) Encourage regional adoption of these strategies through strategic partnerships. Although full regional adoption of our strategies are planned for Y3, in this second reporting period (Y2) we successfully laid the groundwork to accomplish this goal. We have been working through our advisors, comprised of state farmers market association leaders and others and additional state association leaders and Extension learning networks to prepare to disseminate our findings and toolkit through media releases, online toolkits, Webinars and archival videos. In Y2, a second press release was drafted (to be shared in Y3), and conference presentation spots were secured at InTents and the Ag and Human Values Conference. We also began planning for an Extension webinars and a podcast in Y3.

Publications

Progress 01/15/23 to 01/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:We reached public audiences during this reporting period to build initial interest in our future study results through press releases issued by the Farmers Market Coalition and UW-Madison: Press release FMC: https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/news/press-releases/ Press releases UW-Madison: https://ecals.cals.wisc.edu/2023/12/29/grant-awarded-bret-shaw-receives-usda-nifa-funding-to-grow-the-customer-base-for-farmers-markets/ https://cias.wisc.edu/local-and-regional-food/agriculture-of-the-middle/university-of-wisconsin-and-farmers-market-coalition-awarded-usda-afri-grant-to-grow-customer-base-at-farmers-markets/ We are aware of at least threearticles resulting from this work that would reach business and agricultural audiences: WisBusiness https://www.wisbusiness.com/2024/uw-research-project-aims-to-expand-farmers-markets-customer-base/ Wisconsin Ag Connection: http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=47&yr=2024 Morning Ag Clips: https://www.morningagclips.com/growing-the-customer-base-at-farmers-markets/ During this reporting period, we also formed our advisory committee. These advisors will connect the work of this project to audiences once results are ready to share. We report hat we had excellent communication with our committee through virtual calls and emails. The advisory committee includes state association leaders from Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, Vermont, Wisconsin in addition to researcher at Colorado State and outreach specialists from Extension, the North American Food Systems Network, and the Texas Center for Local Food. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Through meeting with our advisory committee and sharing initial results from this project, we increased knowledge among practitioners about potentially growing the customer base for farmers markets. This initial presentation of results included information about farmers market shopping behavior, activities other than shopping that attendees engage with at farmers markets, motivations and challenges faced by individuals attending farmers markets, etc. These results will eventually be packaged in a format easier for broad adoption (i.e., toolkits and webinar), however, this initial sharing with advisors provided immediately actionable insights to these statewide and national farmers market leaders to inform their outreach strategies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During this reporting period, we formed our advisory committee and had excellent communication with our committee through virtual calls and emails. This communication lays the groundwork for the next steps of our project (social media tests). Our outreach activities during this period also helped initial knowledge of our project activities reach various audiences. These activities included: Press release UW-Madison: https://ecals.cals.wisc.edu/2023/12/29/grant-awarded-bret-shaw-receives-usda-nifa-funding-to-grow-the-customer-base-for-farmers-markets/ https://cias.wisc.edu/local-and-regional-food/agriculture-of-the-middle/university-of-wisconsin-and-farmers-market-coalition-awarded-usda-afri-grant-to-grow-customer-base-at-farmers-markets/ Press release FMC: https://farmersmarketcoalition.org/news/press-releases/ These press releases were also shared on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We are aware of at least three articles resulting from this work that would reach business and agricultural audiences: Morning Ag Clips: https://www.morningagclips.com/growing-the-customer-base-at-farmers-markets/ WisBusiness https://www.wisbusiness.com/2024/uw-research-project-aims-to-expand-farmers-markets-customer-base/ Wisconsin Ag Connection: http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=47&yr=2024 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?1) Identify and describe new consumer segments for direct-market channels through a national survey. Over the next year, we will refine our analysis and seek to publish results in relevant journals. We also have been in contact with researchers who may be interested in doing additional analysis with this data to expand the reach of our project. 2) Work with market operators and state associations to test the efficacy of different message frames based on audience segmentation using readily actionable targeting variables from dominant social media platforms. Our initial plans will be further developed and refined with our advisory committee in the next reporting period. We will finalize the selection of farmers markets which will participate in the test and run the tests in the next reporting period. 3) Expand evaluation and messaging resources for market operators and farm vendors. These resources will be developed in year 3 of this project. 4) Encourage regional adoption of these strategies through strategic partnerships. We will continue to collaborate with our state partners to ultimately encourage regional adoption of results in the next reporting period. We will offer our advisors state-specific data for the states which are participating in the social media tests and we will run the social media tests. The Webinar about lessons learned in the social media tests along with the toolkit with other insights from our research will be delivered in Year 3.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? 1) Identify and describe new consumer segments for direct-market channels through a national survey. We were able to meet this goal during this reporting period. To meet this goal, we created a survey which will be a tool for other researchers and practitioners to use in the future. This tool received feedback from our partners. We worked with the public opinion research organization NORC to pilot a survey using this tool and, after making adjustments, it was fielded. The data collection included 5,141 respondents which included ample representation of younger people, lower SES and people of color allowing us to make marketing inferences about groups that can often be hard to reach in survey sampling. We used the data to identify consumer segments. Deductively, we found distinct differences in respondents by key considerations such as age, gender, and food recipient status. We also conducted a cluster analysis. We identified six initial consumer segments (health-focused, values-driven, casual, practical, comfort-seeking, and indifferent) using cluster analysis. We presented initial results to our advisory committee for feedback. 2) Work with market operators and state associations to test the efficacy of different message frames based on audience segmentation using readily actionable targeting variables from dominant social media platforms. During the reporting period, we made significant progress on planning our message tests. Based on our survey results, we determined that a message test focused on key themes (health, environment, fun, and farmers) would be appropriate. We also identified that a campaign focused on remembering the farmers market would be a logical choice given our survey results and that a campaign focused on SNAP recipient status would be appropriate. These ideas were developed with our advisory committee and will be further refined in the next reporting period as we finalize the plans for our test. 3) Expand evaluation and messaging resources for market operators and farm vendors. These resources will be developed in year 3 of this project. 4) Encourage regional adoption of these strategies through strategic partnerships. Although regional adoption of our strategies will not take place until materials are ready (Y3), we are laying the groundwork for successful regional adoption of strategies through building trust and a practice of collaboration with our advisors, as we have offered numerous opportunities for feedback from our advisors and been responsive to it. We also offered our advisors the option to do additional survey data collection that is state-specific to them.

Publications