Colorado Department of Agriculture identified the need to better understand how: a) the citizens of Colorado viewed the agricultural industry as a whole; b) the public perceives emerging policies meant to support or influence the role of agriculture in Colorado; and c) and how the Department's own programs were valued.
The entry of additional food hubs in a county may cannibalize sales of incumbent enterprises. Food hubs require more potential buyers in a market than traditional merchant wholesalers. Counties with a high level of social capital and that have small local food businesses may be able to lower the population threshold necessary for a food hub to be viable.
Across key local and regional markets (i.e., farmers markets, farm to school, food hubs serving other institutions, and restaurants) we estimate a$3.9million decline in sales (the most conservative estimate for direct sales losses) leading to a payroll decline of up to $585,000, and a total loss to the economy of up to $6.7 million from March to May 2020. Without immediate mitigation (in addition to the innovation supply chain solutions our producers are already creating themselves), we may lose many small, socially disadvantaged, and beginning farms and the important markets they serve.
