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West Virginia Farm Direct Marketing: A County Level Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2015

Cheryl Brown
Affiliation:
Agricultural and Resource Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
Jesse E. Gandee
Affiliation:
Augusta Systems Inc., Morgantown, WV
Gerard D'Souza
Affiliation:
Agricultural and Resource Economics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

Abstract

To understand the factors that influence farm direct marketing, a linear regression model is estimated to test the relationships between county-level direct market sales and socioeconomic, agricultural production, and location characteristics for West Virginia. The results show that higher median housing value, increased population density, a younger population, a greater number of direct market farms, more diversity of fruit and vegetable production and closer proximity to Washington, D.C., increase direct market sales. The results have implications for other states with a large proportion of small and part-time farmers, many of whom are located in close proximity to metropolitan areas.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2006

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