Local Food Supply Survey - Producers

The Local Food Initiative Project is an initiative of a group of like-minded community organisations that have come together with the aim to build more resilient local food economies.

Extending from the South East Food Plan, the aim is to identify barriers to local food production and consumption in order to identify practical solutions for producers, retailers and consumers.

All information collected will be held in confidence and individuals will not be identified in collating survey information in any way. We will not be providing any individual information to any 'authority', all submissions are anonymous.

We will be presenting survey results publicly in mid 2014 with the view to addressing and resolving barriers identified by producers, consumers and the supply chain.

The project has been initiated by FuturePLANS (Palerang Local Action Network for Sustainability) and is supported by SCPA - South East Producers, Southern NSW Harvest Association, SEE-Change, Permaculture eXchange and Canberra City Farm.

This survey is for local food producers of all types. We've tried to keep it short and to the point and it should only take a few minutes to complete.

Question Title

* 1. How would you best describe your role as a food producer?

Backyard - for home consumption only

Backyard - with enough to swap others for produce

Backyard - with excess available for sale

Small acreage (up to 20 acres)

Medium acreage (20-100 acres)

Large acreage (100+ acres)

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 2. Which of the following items are you currently producing?

Chicken

Beef

Pork

Duck

Lamb

Seafood

Vegetables

Fruit

Eggs

Flowers

Milk

Cheese

Yoghurt

Bread

Honey

Value Added (Jams, Pickles, Chutneys etc)

Other

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. Which of the following items would you consider producing?

Chicken

Beef

Pork

Duck

Lamb

Seafood

Vegetables

Fruit

Eggs

Flowers

Milk

Cheese

Yoghurt

Bread

Honey

Value Added (Jams, Pickles, Chutneys etc)

Other

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 4. How do you currently sell your product?

	Never	Sometimes	Always	N/A
Trade or swap (non monetary exchange)	Trade or swap (non monetary exchange) Never	Trade or swap (non monetary exchange) Sometimes	Trade or swap (non monetary exchange) Always	Trade or swap (non monetary exchange) N/A
Direct to consumers (via Farmers Market)	Direct to consumers (via Farmers Market) Never	Direct to consumers (via Farmers Market) Sometimes	Direct to consumers (via Farmers Market) Always	Direct to consumers (via Farmers Market) N/A
Direct to consumers (via a box scheme)	Direct to consumers (via a box scheme) Never	Direct to consumers (via a box scheme) Sometimes	Direct to consumers (via a box scheme) Always	Direct to consumers (via a box scheme) N/A
Direct to consumers (from farm-gate)	Direct to consumers (from farm-gate) Never	Direct to consumers (from farm-gate) Sometimes	Direct to consumers (from farm-gate) Always	Direct to consumers (from farm-gate) N/A
Direct to consumers (online)	Direct to consumers (online) Never	Direct to consumers (online) Sometimes	Direct to consumers (online) Always	Direct to consumers (online) N/A
Through specialty wholesalers	Through specialty wholesalers Never	Through specialty wholesalers Sometimes	Through specialty wholesalers Always	Through specialty wholesalers N/A
Through an aggregator wholesaler	Through an aggregator wholesaler Never	Through an aggregator wholesaler Sometimes	Through an aggregator wholesaler Always	Through an aggregator wholesaler N/A
Direct to restaurant	Direct to restaurant Never	Direct to restaurant Sometimes	Direct to restaurant Always	Direct to restaurant N/A
Direct to retail	Direct to retail Never	Direct to retail Sometimes	Direct to retail Always	Direct to retail N/A
As part of a co-op	As part of a co-op Never	As part of a co-op Sometimes	As part of a co-op Always	As part of a co-op N/A
At wholesale markets (e.g. livestock or fruit/veg markets)	At wholesale markets (e.g. livestock or fruit/veg markets) Never	At wholesale markets (e.g. livestock or fruit/veg markets) Sometimes	At wholesale markets (e.g. livestock or fruit/veg markets) Always	At wholesale markets (e.g. livestock or fruit/veg markets) N/A

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 5. How often do you supply?

Daily

Multiple times weekly

Weekly

Fortnightly

Monthly

Quarterly (seasonal)

Annually

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 6. What percentage of the food you produce do you supply for local consumption (within 160 km radius)?

100%

75%

50%

25%

10%

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 7. Which of the following best describes your production levels?

I sell out and have no excess

I sell out but could produce more

I have excess product to sell

I don't yet produce but would like to

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 8. Which of the following production methods do you use?

Free Range/Pastured

Organic (not certified)

Organic (certified)

Conventional

Biodynamic

Grain-fed

Sustainable

Humane Choice

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 9. What, if anything, stops you supplying produce for local consumption?

Don't produce enough

Don't know where to sell

Too hard

It's not important to me

Demand too inconsistent

Prices not good enough

Red tape (council, food authority etc)

Processing for product not available locally (e.g. meat processing)

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 10. Thinking about supplying. What is your preferred distribution method?

	Would not consider	Low preference	Satisfactory	Preferred option
Swapping with other producers (at a regular market)	Swapping with other producers (at a regular market) Would not consider	Swapping with other producers (at a regular market) Low preference	Swapping with other producers (at a regular market) Satisfactory	Swapping with other producers (at a regular market) Preferred option
Online (pickup on farm)	Online (pickup on farm) Would not consider	Online (pickup on farm) Low preference	Online (pickup on farm) Satisfactory	Online (pickup on farm) Preferred option
Online (you deliver)	Online (you deliver) Would not consider	Online (you deliver) Low preference	Online (you deliver) Satisfactory	Online (you deliver) Preferred option
Online (central delivery/collection)	Online (central delivery/collection) Would not consider	Online (central delivery/collection) Low preference	Online (central delivery/collection) Satisfactory	Online (central delivery/collection) Preferred option
Local retail shop	Local retail shop Would not consider	Local retail shop Low preference	Local retail shop Satisfactory	Local retail shop Preferred option
Central delivery point for a box scheme	Central delivery point for a box scheme Would not consider	Central delivery point for a box scheme Low preference	Central delivery point for a box scheme Satisfactory	Central delivery point for a box scheme Preferred option
Local Farmers Market	Local Farmers Market Would not consider	Local Farmers Market Low preference	Local Farmers Market Satisfactory	Local Farmers Market Preferred option
City Farmers Market (e.g. Canberra, Sydney)	City Farmers Market (e.g. Canberra, Sydney) Would not consider	City Farmers Market (e.g. Canberra, Sydney) Low preference	City Farmers Market (e.g. Canberra, Sydney) Satisfactory	City Farmers Market (e.g. Canberra, Sydney) Preferred option
Farm Gate	Farm Gate Would not consider	Farm Gate Low preference	Farm Gate Satisfactory	Farm Gate Preferred option

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 11. Would you be prepared to pay a levy to be part of a local farmers' co-op/not-for-profit (for marketing/administration costs?)

Yes

Maybe

If so, how much per annum?

Question Title

* 12. Which of the following would assist you to grow your business to supply food locally?

	Not very helpful	Somewhat helpful	Helpful	Very helpful
Advice/education about marketing my produce	Advice/education about marketing my produce Not very helpful	Advice/education about marketing my produce Somewhat helpful	Advice/education about marketing my produce Helpful	Advice/education about marketing my produce Very helpful
Establishing contacts with local retailers and customers	Establishing contacts with local retailers and customers Not very helpful	Establishing contacts with local retailers and customers Somewhat helpful	Establishing contacts with local retailers and customers Helpful	Establishing contacts with local retailers and customers Very helpful
Advice/education about growing food organically/sustainably	Advice/education about growing food organically/sustainably Not very helpful	Advice/education about growing food organically/sustainably Somewhat helpful	Advice/education about growing food organically/sustainably Helpful	Advice/education about growing food organically/sustainably Very helpful
Being part of a region-based marketing brand	Being part of a region-based marketing brand Not very helpful	Being part of a region-based marketing brand Somewhat helpful	Being part of a region-based marketing brand Helpful	Being part of a region-based marketing brand Very helpful
Being part of a regional producers group	Being part of a regional producers group Not very helpful	Being part of a regional producers group Somewhat helpful	Being part of a regional producers group Helpful	Being part of a regional producers group Very helpful

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 13. If you were to supply through a local co-operative would you be prepared to agree to a quality standard or growers agreement?

Yes

Maybe

Other (please specify)

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* 14. What do you see as the main barriers to local food production and consumption?

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* 15. What should we do to build more resilient local food economies?

Question Title

* 16. To assist us in identifying local food clusters, please indicate the postcode you produce in.

Postcode

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* 17. Let us know your name and email address if you'd like to be kept further informed about our Local Food Initiative project. If you prefer not to put your contact details here but would like to be kept informed please email us at admin@permacultureexchange.org.au with Local Food Initiative in the subject line.