Farmers offered advice for marketing local food

Farmers are being shown how to connect more directly with consumers thanks to a guide published by Lloyds TSB Agriculture.

The Signpost Guide to Local Food offers an overview of the local food ‘revolution’, as well as advice on how to capture more value in the food chain.

It looks at the routes to market for fresh, local produce, as well as key the points anyone marketing local food should consider.

‘No hard and fast rules to success’

Peter Sobey, head of agriculture at Lloyds TSB said farmers could benefit from the interest in local food, which was likely to increase as people became more concerned about the environment and reducing food miles. 
 
“Given the scope and complexity of the different routes to market and the broad range of food types that could be marketed locally there are no hard and fast rules to success,” he said.
‘Additional income’

“But with the likely increase in demand for local food making use of local food markets has the potential to bring much needed additional income to farm businesses.”

Copies of the guide are available from local Lloyds TSB Agricultural Managers.