Assessing Financial Sustainability of Small-Scale Farms in North Carolina
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 26, 2019
- Creator
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Huber, Alexandria
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Public Policy
- Abstract
- This honors thesis examines the financial sustainability of small-scale farms in Durham and Orange Counties in North Carolina that grow produce, keep poultry, small ruminants (e.g., sheep and goats) and small camelids (e.g., llamas and alpacas) and produce other agricultural products. These farms are generally characterized as local and environmentally conscious due to a wider variety of crops produced and a greater focus on a smaller area of land often leading to lower pesticide use, better irrigation and soil improvements. Quantitative and qualitative data for a representative sample of small-scale farms focusing on their financial viability, sources of non-farm income, allocation of factors of production (e.g. land, hours worked, hired labor, capital investments), marketing and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics were collected through 21 in-person structured interviews. Farms were categorized as either sustainable, quasi-sustainable or unsustainable, and the data were analyzed for factors correlated with financial sustainability. These categories were dependent on three primary variables—whether the farming was the primary operator’s primary occupation, gross farm income covering operating costs (including income for the operator) and the use or absence of additional sources of income to subsidize operating costs. Eight of the farms were considered financially sustainable, four quasi-sustainable and six financially unsustainable. Number of years as primary operator and experience seemed highly important in determining financial sustainability. Operators that were not farming as their primary occupation stated their desire to farm full-time but were financially limited. Quasi-sustainable farms were more likely to use web-based advertising and utilize U-pick operations. Quasi and unsustainable farms were more likely to use federal, state and local assistance programs, but more research is required to determine the direction of the relationship between these factors. Government programs focused on new farms, such as establishing sustainable practices in land management, seem highly beneficial as well as grants for infrastructure across all sustainability groups. Durham and Orange counties are wealthy counties, which makes the findings difficult to generalize beyond college towns.
- Date of publication
- spring 2017
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Funding: Carolina Global Food Program Summer Scholarship
- Funding: Tom and Elizabeth Long Excellence Fund for Honors
- Advisor
- Jagger, Pamela
- Degree
- Bachelor of Arts
- Academic concentration
- Public Policy
- Honors level
- Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2017
- Language
- English
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