Recent UT Study Finds That Farmers Near City Centers Have Advantage

A recent UT study shows Knox area farmers can successfully compete with national producers of fruits and vegetables.

Economists Chuck Grigsby and Chad Hellwinckel found that within a 25-mile radius around Knoxville, local farmers are at least as efficient or more efficient in transporting their goods to market than national producers, such as those in California, Florida and Texas. Because of this advantage, Knoxville’s food system may be more resilient if a large proportion of local farmers are located near the city. This finding supports conservation of existing farms and long term protection of lands near cities for future farms, as the population continues to grow.

The researchers offered two ‘take home’ points for local policy-makers, in response to their findings:

• Farm conservation programs should focus on areas within a 25-mile radius of Knoxville to protect our food system from shocks to fuel prices.
• Local food infrastructure should be supported and encouraged (for example, farmers’ access to processing and aggregation centers).

The figure below shows farmers within the purple area have a locational advantage in transportation over food shipped conventionally from Florida, Texas, and California.

Dr. Hellwinckel had previously began assessing Knoxville’s Foodshed, a 50-mile radius around Knoxville, through the Plan East Tennessee project (see: Knoxville Regional Foodshed Assessment). In 2015, MPC and UT researchers continued evaluating the food system of Knoxville by looking into the feasibility of a food hub for our area that would assist smaller farmers in accessing different markets, such as grocery stores, hospitals and schools. Their findings in the Knoxville Regional Food Hub Feasibility Study pointed to the need for a local food coordinator position to work on growing the local food economy of Knoxville.

Grigsby, C., & Hellwinckel, C. (2016). Locational advantage and the impact of scale: Comparing local and conventional fruit and vegetable transportation efficiencies. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 6(3), 121–140.