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Cited by 13Supply Chain and Inventory ManagementAgricultural economics and policiesOrganic Food and Agriculture

Farmers’ markets or the supermarket? Channel selection in small farming businesses

Open access
Cortes, Juan David, Jackson, Jonathan E., Cortes, Andres Felipe·2024·New England Journal of Entrepreneurship
DOI 10.1108/neje-07-2022-0045
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Abstract

Purpose: Despite the abundance of small-scale farms in the USA and their importance for both rural economic development and food availability, the extensive research on small business management and entrepreneurship has mostly neglected the agricultural context, leaving many of these farms' business challenges unexplored. The authors focus on informing a specific decision faced by small farm managers: selling directly to consumers (i.e. farmer's markets) versus selling through aggregators. By collecting historical data and a series of interviews with industry experts, the authors employ simulation methodology to offer a framework that advises how small-scale farmers can allocate their product across these two channels to increase revenue in a given season. The results, which are relevant for operations management, small business management and entrepreneurship literature, can help small-scale farmers improve their performance and compete against their larger counterparts. Design/methodology/approach: The authors rely on historical and interview data from key industry players (an aggregator and a small farm manager) to design a simulation analysis that determines which factors influence season-long farm revenue performance under varying strategies of channel allocation and commodity production. Findings: The model suggests that farm managers should plan to evenly split their production between the two distribution channels, but if an even split is not possible, they should plan to keep a larger percentage in the nonaggregator (farmers' market/direct) channel. Further, the authors find that farmers can benefit significantly from a strong aggregator channel customer base, which suggests that farmers should promote and advertise the aggregator channel even if they only use it for a limited amount of their product. Originality/value: The authors integrate small business management and operations management literature to study a widely understudied context and present practical implications for the performance of small-scale farms.

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Crossref · 10.1108/neje-07-2022-0045

Cites

66 of 66 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Smaller producers tend to rely on direct channels due to limited production volumes and capital constraints, whereas larger producers are structurally better positioned to supply intermediated channels.

    “Smaller producers tend to rely on direct channels due to limited production volumes and capital constraints, whereas larger producers are structurally better positioned to supply intermediated channels, utilizing higher efficiency in terms of sales volume [2,23,27,40].”

    From Who Reaches the Consumer? A Network Analysis of Market Reach Factors of Slovakia's Short Food Supply Chains (2026) · cites this paper as [40]

  • Organic certification provides advantages in extended channels, particularly in markets where consumers demand value-aligned products.

    “However, this form of product differentiation also provides advantages in extended channels, particularly in markets where consumers demand value-aligned products [5,40,41].”

    From Who Reaches the Consumer? A Network Analysis of Market Reach Factors of Slovakia's Short Food Supply Chains (2026) · cites this paper as [40]

  • Organic production appears to be particularly valorized in distant and urban markets, where demand is concentrated and willingness to pay for value-oriented products is higher.

    “Organic production appears to be particularly valorized in distant and urban markets, where demand is concentrated and willingness to pay for value-oriented products is higher [5,40].”

    From Who Reaches the Consumer? A Network Analysis of Market Reach Factors of Slovakia's Short Food Supply Chains (2026) · cites this paper as [40]

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Authors
Cortes, J. D., Jackson, J. E., & Cortes, A. F.
Affiliations
  • Providence College (US)
  • Sacred Heart University (US)
Corresponding author
Cortes, Juan David
ORCID
Venue
New England Journal of Entrepreneurship
Publisher
Emerald
Published
2023-08-15
Volume
27
Issue
1
Pages
40-62
ISSN
  • 1550-333X (ISSN-L)
  • 2574-8904
DOI
10.1108/neje-07-2022-0045
OpenAlex
W4385807379
Cited by
9
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2
FWCI
2.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • New England journal of entrepreneurship (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management Information Systems › Supply Chain and Inventory Management
  • Social Sciences › Safety Research › Agricultural economics and policies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Organic Food and Agriculture
Keywords
farmers' markets, channel selection, small farms, direct sales, channel assignment, farm revenue, computer simulation, small business management, agricultural entrepreneurship, rural economic development

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