Marketing

San Diego County growers have a variety of conventional and direct marketing alternatives available to them locally. The potentially large size of the local and regional market combined with the ag-urban interface that characterizes local agriculture and the diversity of crops grown in the county agriculture offer unique opportunities for growers to sell their products. Large growers tend to use conventional channels and small-scale growers more often use direct marketing channels.

Most growers have the flexibility to use a combination of conventional and direct marketing methods to sell their products. This helps diversify the marketing options and potentially improve the returns from their operations. However, it is critical that growers take the time to research their potential markets. They must understand market trends and preferences of local consumers so they can identify needs, niches, and market windows that they might fill with crops they grow or products they sell. They must also evaluate their marketing options and determine the strategy or strategies that are best suited for their products, for the size of their operation and for their personality. Not every marketing alternative will work for everyone. Therefore, growers must develop a marketing plan that will allow them to find the right strategy or the right marketing mix of strategies.