Farm direct sales are a substantial part of the U.S. food economy, but the market includes more than farmers markets and farm stands. In 2022, 116,617 farms sold food directly to consumers for $3.263 billion, while 60,332 farms sold local or regionally branded products directly to retail markets, institutions, or food hubs for $14.202 billion. The figures below separate those channels, measurement periods, and definitions so the scale of direct farm marketing is easier to understand.
Contents
- U.S. direct-sales scale
- Consumer-facing channels
- Retail, institutional, and intermediary buyers
- States and regions
- Distance, metropolitan markets, and people
- How channels changed from 2019 to 2020
U.S. direct-sales scale
The latest national Census of Agriculture figures in this set are for 2022. The 2022 Census Volume 1, Chapter 1: U.S. National Level Data counted 116,617 farms selling food directly to consumers. Those farms reported $3.263 billion in consumer-direct sales.
The same 2022 census counted 60,332 farms selling local or regionally branded products directly to retail markets, institutions, or food hubs. That channel produced $14.202 billion in sales. These are separate channel measures: a farm can participate in consumer-direct sales and in business or institutional channels.
USDA’s 2022 Census of Agriculture data release reported $17.5 billion in 2022 food sales through direct marketing channels, including unprocessed and value-added food. After inflation adjustment, that total was 25% higher than in 2017. Sales through retail, institution, and intermediate channels reached $14.2 billion, up 33.2% from 2017 after inflation adjustment. The number of farms using those channels more than doubled to 60,332 between 2017 and 2022.
The 2022 totals are not interchangeable with the older local-food series. USDA’s 2017 Census of Agriculture Highlights: Direct Farm Sales of Food reported that 147,307 farms sold locally produced food through direct marketing practices in 2020, with $9.0 billion in sales. That 2020 total was 3% higher than 2015. Differences in year, scope, and channel definitions matter when comparing these figures.
Consumer-facing channels
In 2020, direct-to-consumer local-food sales totaled $2.9 billion, according to the USDA local-food highlights. Seventy-seven percent of farms with local-food direct sales sold directly to consumers. On-farm stores or stands and farmers markets together accounted for $1.7 billion, or 59%, of direct-to-consumer sales.
The channel breakdown shows how consumers reached farms and farm products:
| 2020 direct-to-consumer channel | Sales |
|---|---|
| On-farm stores or stands | $1.231 billion |
| Farmers markets | $514 million |
| Community Supported Agriculture | $225 million |
| Roadside stands away from the farm | $252 million |
| Online marketplaces | $312 million |
| Other outlets, including pick-your-own | $415 million |
On-farm stores or stands were the largest named outlet at $1.231 billion. Farmers markets generated $514 million, while Community Supported Agriculture generated $225 million. Roadside stands away from the farm generated $252 million, and online marketplaces generated $312 million. Other direct-to-consumer outlets, including pick-your-own, generated $415 million.
The product mix also had multiple layers. Among farms selling directly to consumers in 2020, 42% sold fresh food and 75% sold processed or value-added food. These percentages describe farms, not shares of sales, so they should not be read as a dollar split between fresh and processed products.
The USDA Local Food Marketing Practices Data release provides the 2020 context for these consumer channels. It also identifies local or regional food for the survey as food transported less than 400 miles or transported within the state where it was produced.
Retail, institutional, and intermediary buyers
Farm direct marketing also reaches buyers other than individual consumers. In 2020, direct sales to retailers totaled $1.9 billion. Sales to institutions and local intermediary businesses totaled $4.1 billion. Institutions and intermediaries accounted for 46% of 2020 direct-food sales, while direct-to-consumer sales accounted for 33%.
The number of participating farms was sizable. In 2020, 40,675 farms sold food to institutions and intermediary businesses, and 24,137 farms sold food directly to retailers. The buyer categories overlap with the wider direct-marketing picture, so these counts should be used as channel-specific measures rather than added to every other farm count.
Fresh and value-added products appeared in both business-facing channels. Fresh commodities made up 56% of 2020 sales to institutions and intermediary businesses. Among farms selling to those buyers, 19,655 sold fresh commodities and 22,533 sold processed or value-added commodities. For direct sales to retailers such as grocery stores and restaurants, fresh foods represented 62% of 2020 sales.
These figures help explain why “farm direct” is broader than a face-to-face market visit. A local food business may sell at a farm stand, supply a grocery store, deliver to a restaurant, participate in a food hub, or work with an intermediary. The channel changes the buyer and route to market, while the USDA measurements distinguish the corresponding sales categories.
States and regions
Direct farm-food sales were concentrated unevenly across states in 2020. California led with $1.432 billion in direct farm-food sales. Pennsylvania recorded $600 million, New York $584 million, and Michigan $555 million. Maine recorded $342 million, followed by Washington at $323 million.
The remaining states in the supplied top group were Texas at $273 million, Oregon at $255 million, Massachusetts at $254 million, and Florida at $247 million.
| State | 2020 direct farm-food sales |
|---|---|
| California | $1.432 billion |
| Pennsylvania | $600 million |
| New York | $584 million |
| Michigan | $555 million |
| Maine | $342 million |
| Washington | $323 million |
| Texas | $273 million |
| Oregon | $255 million |
| Massachusetts | $254 million |
| Florida | $247 million |
Sales totals and farm counts tell different stories. California had 14,308 farms selling food directly in 2020, equal to 10% of the U.S. total. Texas was the only other state with more than 10,000 farms selling food directly. A state can therefore rank strongly by sales without having the same rank by number of participating farms.
At the regional level, the Southwest had 25,644 farms engaged in direct food sales in 2020. The Northeast had 26,707. These counts describe farms in the named regions and do not represent regional sales totals.
Distance, metropolitan markets, and people
Direct sales are often local in distance, but “local” has a defined measurement boundary. In the 2020 survey, 78% of farms selling food directly sold all of that food within 100 miles of the farm. Another 19% sold some food within 100 miles and some beyond 100 miles, according to the USDA Local Food Marketing Practices Data release.
The USDA survey’s broader local or regional definition was food transported less than 400 miles or within the state where it was produced. That definition is wider than the 100-mile measure, so the two distance statistics answer different questions: one describes the farm’s sales pattern, while the other defines the survey’s local or regional category.
Metropolitan counties were important locations for this activity. Fifty-seven percent of farms selling food directly were located in metropolitan counties in 2020, and farms in those counties accounted for 62% of all 2020 direct-food sales. This indicates that direct marketing involved both rural production and access to population centers, without implying that every sale occurred inside a metropolitan county.
People involved in farm decisions were also measured. Approximately 314,000 people were involved in decision-making for farms selling directly to consumers in 2020. Of those decision-makers, 57% were men and 43% were women. The measure concerns decision-making involvement, not total farm employment or the number of customers served.
How channels changed from 2019 to 2020
The USDA Economic Research Service reported almost $10.7 billion in edible food commodities sold through direct-to-consumer outlets and intermediary supply chains in 2020. In the Direct-to-consumer farm sales reach $10.7 billion in 2020, ERS said the total was nearly $2.8 billion, or 35%, higher than in 2019.
Growth differed sharply by channel. Farmers-market sales increased 11% from 2019 to 2020. Restaurant and grocery-store sales increased 13%. Farm-store, CSA, and other direct-to-consumer sales increased 79%, while sales to regional distributors increased 73%. Sales to local institutions declined 86%.
| Channel or buyer group | Change, 2019–2020 |
|---|---|
| Farmers markets | +11% |
| Restaurants and grocery stores | +13% |
| Farm stores, CSA, and other direct-to-consumer outlets | +79% |
| Regional distributors | +73% |
| Local institutions | −86% |
Farm size was another dividing line. ERS defined high-income direct-sales farms as operations with gross cash farm income of at least $350,000 in 2020. These farms increased direct sales by $2.4 billion, or 38%, from 2019 to 2020. ERS defined low-income direct-sales farms as operations with gross cash farm income below $75,000 in 2020; 85% of their direct sales went through direct-to-consumer outlets.
Taken together, the 2019–2020 figures show a market that changed unevenly across buyers and farm types. The national increase to nearly $10.7 billion was accompanied by stronger growth in farm-based consumer outlets and regional distributors, while local-institution sales fell sharply. The period-specific changes should be read as 2019–2020 comparisons, not as a forecast of later years.