In recent years there has been renewed interest in local agriculture. There are a variety of reasons for this. USDA’s website lists benefits to communities that include “support for local farmers, job creation, economic diversification, attracting reinvestment and growth, keeping food dollars within the local economy, and reducing food insecurity.” For the individual consumer, benefits include fresher, better tasting food, access to varieties and foods not commercially available, a reduced carbon footprint, recreational opportunities, and participation in efforts to support the aesthetic benefits of open land by keeping land in their communities in farming. Better food safety and more nutritious food are often cited by consumers as reasons for seeking local food. Whether or not local food is safer or more nutritious than commercially produced food is a contentious issue. Each of these issues deserves more discussion that is set forth briefly in the paragraphs below. 

There remains in the United States a romantic notion that contributes to support for local farmers. This support is subjective and often highly selective, e.g., it does not extend to large hog farms. There are practical reasons for supporting local agriculture. Land in farming is often more aesthetically pleasing than a few more blocks of houses or commercial development. Farmland, depending upon the type of farming, offers benefits to water quality when compared with typical urban hard surfaces. Local farms can contribute to food resiliency, discussed further below.

Local agriculture, at least those farms near urban areas, tend to focus on high value crops that are labor intensive. Many of these jobs are seasonal and suitable for teenagers. It is not hard to find people with fond memories of working on farms when they were high school students. Parents see this as a more wholesome activity than many of the other activities in which high school students engage. There are off-farm jobs created among suppliers, processors, farmers markets and other players in the chain of commerce that bring fam products to the consumer. 

People want to invest in communities that are attractive. To the extent that local agriculture contributes to this, it can be an important part of attracting reinvestment in communities and promoting growth. To the extent that a community is dependent on few or even a single industry local agriculture can provide some, albeit probably limited, economic diversification. Keeping dollars in the community works well as a slogan. That it has economic substance is a more dubious proposition. Economic theory does not support it. Economic theory suggests that specialization and trade promote greater wealth.