Local Food Systems

By Audrey Kolde, NCAT Agriculture Specialist

Growing up, the only cut flowers I ever saw were the ones handed out at dance recitals: a rose from a proud parent or a carnation from the teacher. These classic blossoms—roses, carnations, and chrysanthemums—make up the “big three” of the cut flower world. They’re reliable, hardy, and grown for scale. But over the past two decades, bouquets have evolved into something far more diverse, textural, and beautiful.

The switch to diversity can be traced back to a pivotal moment in U.S. trade policy. In 1991, the Andean Trade Preference Act began opening the door to duty-free flower imports from Colombia. By 2012, the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement made Colombia’s position as the dominant supplier of cut flowers to the American market untouchable. While this surge in low-cost imports made bouquets more affordable and abundant, it also hurt domestic wholesale flower farms, which couldn’t compete on price alone.

Finding a Niche and the Digital Floral Revolution

Close-up photo of lavender-colored sweet pea blossoms.

Sweet pea blossoms make a fragrant addition to bouquets.

Confronted with this challenge, U.S. flower farmers began to adapt. Instead of pursuing the wholesale giants with resilient, shippable blooms, they embraced their unique strength: growing delicate, fragrant, seasonal flowers that could not withstand long-distance transport. Local farms carved out a niche, offering sweet peas, dahlias, ranunculus, and garden roses—blooms that thrived in nearby soil but couldn’t be shipped in a box.

Social media accelerated this shift: Instagram and Pinterest introduced consumers to lush, wild, and seasonal bouquets. People’s preferences began to shift; they no longer just wanted a dozen roses. Instead, they sought flowers with unique textures, captivating fragrances, and compelling stories. Social media also gave local farmers a direct connection to consumers and florists, allowing them to bypass traditional wholesale channels. This increased visibility on digital platforms transformed previously overlooked flower varieties into sought-after blooms, sparking a grassroots revival of local flower farming.

The Rise of Direct Sales

The local food movement of the 2010s led to a shift in consumer values towards sustainably grown flowers. Many shoppers began seeking “American Grown” labels, desiring not only beauty but also environmental and ethical accountability. This demand gave rise to more direct marketing, including flower CSA subscriptions and an expanded presence of fresh flowers at farmers’ markets. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this trend, when weddings, festivals, and large gatherings were canceled and wholesale orders from florists, event planners, and retailers were scaled back dramatically. What began as a crisis response evolved into a lasting business model as farms transitioned to e-commerce and direct-to-consumer sales, with many farmers quickly adapting by launching online shops, subscription flower boxes, and local delivery services. Small and mid-size flower farms can bypass traditional wholesale channels, strengthening grower-consumer relationships and creating new revenue streams. Direct-to-consumer sales have become a cornerstone of the modern floral industry.

Easy Blooms to Start Growing

Large row of orange zinnias growing on a farm.

Zinnias are an easy flower to start with when adding cut flowers to a specialty-crop operation. Photo: Audrey Kolde

Growing and selling flowers is an easy shift for diversified farms. Summer annuals such as zinnias, sunflowers, cosmos, gomphrena, and celosia thrive in a wide range of climates and are easy to grow and sell. These “cut-and-come-again” flowers can be harvested multiple times throughout the season. For example, a single 100-foot row of zinnias or cosmos can yield 1,000 to 3,000 stems over a season, while gomphrena may produce 3,000–4,000 stems. With just a few rows, you can bring buckets of flowers to market each week. On ¼ to ½ acre, growers often supply local florists, farmers markets, or bouquet subscription services. Adding herbs like basil, mint, or rosemary offers both fragrance and foliage for arrangements.

Adding Value: Bouquets

As your skills grow, bouquet design becomes a natural next step—this is where creativity meets profitability. In busy markets, pre-made bouquets facilitate faster sales. Slower-paced markets allow for a more interactive experience, allowing customers to choose their own stems for a custom bouquet. Either way, refreshing your knowledge of basic bouquet-building techniques increases your product’s value. Learn which flowers function as focal, fillers, line flowers, and greenery, and plan your growing season with color palettes and design in mind. Kraft paper wrapping, flower food packets, and a polished table setup help elevate your market presentation. Flowers naturally lend themselves to visual marketing, so use your social media to showcase blooms in context—on a table, in a vase, or as a gift. Adding a social mission (like donating bouquets to hospital wings, elder homes, or community centers) creates emotional connection and buyer loyalty. You can also build scarcity-driven marketing strategies through limited CSA shares, preorder-only focal bouquets, or subscription deliveries to homes and offices.

Harvesting and Post-Harvest Handling

Mixed bouquets of sunflowers, zinnias, and other blooms on display at a Farmers Market table.

Bouquets for sale at a Farmers Market table. Photo: Nina Prater

To ensure top-quality blooms, proper harvesting and post-harvest care are crucial. Cut flowers early in the morning or late in the evening with sharp, sanitized floral snips to minimize stem damage and maximize water uptake. Immediately place stems in clean buckets filled with cool water and preservative (homemade or commercial). Strip leaves below the waterline to reduce bacteria, and move flowers to a cool, shaded area—or ideally a CoolBot-equipped cooler (34–38°F)—as soon as possible.

Leveling Up Quality

Using cucumber netting or flower support mesh helps produce straighter stems. Low tunnels and caterpillar tunnels protect crops from wind and rain, extending the growing season. Shade cloth can prevent petal burn and help grow longer stems, while row cover (like Reemay) provides light frost protection and speeds up early growth. Insect netting blocks common pests without the use of chemicals, and drip irrigation keeps foliage dry, preventing diseases such as botrytis and powdery mildew. These lightweight, movable tools are well-suited for use on plots ranging from ¼ to 1 acre and make it easy to adapt quickly to changing conditions.

Beautiful Profit

Flower farming isn’t just a source of income—it’s a fulfilling lifestyle that balances creativity and connection to your local community. Lynn Byczynski, author of The Flower Farmer, has inspired growers since 1997 with the message that well-managed flower farms can earn $25,000 to $30,000 per acre through direct sales. Income varies based on marketing, crop choice, and local demand: farmers’ markets may bring in $500–$2,000 per week, while CSA subscriptions often sell for $15–$25 per share per week.

Start Blooming

Engaging in flower farming can be a deeply rewarding endeavor, whether your motivations are a desire for profit, a passion for horticulture, or a combination of both. This vibrant industry offers an opportunity to cultivate stunning blooms while honing your skills in planting, nurturing, and harvesting flowers. As you immerse yourself in the art of flower farming, you’ll discover the intricacies of soil health, seasonal cycles, and sustainable practices that not only enhance your yields but also connect you to the beauty of nature. With each season, you’ll witness the fruits of your labor come to life, fostering a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that grows alongside your expertise in this blossoming field.

References

Byczynski, Lynn. The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower’s Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers. 2nd ed., Chelsea Green Publishing, 2008.

Flower farming is making a comeback as gardeners grow a local niche. 2023. The Produce News. https://theproducenews.com

DTC flower sales have blossomed during the pandemic. 2021. Bloomberg Second Measure. https://secondmeasure.com

Related ATTRA Resources:

Specialty Cup Flower Production and Marketing Publication:

https://attra.ncat.org/publication/specialty-cut-flower-production-and-marketing/

Podcast: A Flower Farm Blossoms:

https://attra.ncat.org/a-flower-farm-blossoms/

Other Resources:

Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers

Growing for Market Magazine: Getting started with Cut Flowers Part 1: The Why and How of it

Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification: Cut Flower Resources

North Carolina State Extension: Cut Flowers

By Maura Henn, NCAT Local Food Systems Specialist

What do farmers markets, locally owned grocery stores, and community compost centers have in common?

If you answered they are all part of a functioning local food system, you would be right. If you had asked me that question six years ago, I may have been able to make the connection that they had something to do with food, but my answer would have ended there! Even though I had managed a farmers market, worked at cooperative grocery store, and regularly sought out and enjoyed locally produced food, it wasn’t until I started working at NCAT that I realized that I had been participating in local food systems my entire life.

A local food system refers to the network that connects local producers and consumers, promoting the consumption of locally-grown food. A local food system includes the overlap and collaboration of five key sectors: production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste management and food recovery. Though there is not a federally established definition of local food, it is generally accepted that local food is food that travels the entire supply chain, from production to waste management in the same locality.  

Buying local foods strengthens local economies and helps keep family farmers farming. It also creates a connection between consumers and local farmers that enhances both individual and community health. Efforts such as urban farms, community gardens, farmers markets, locally-owned small grocers, and composting programs all contribute to local food systems.

Here is a breakdown of what makes up the local food system:

Production is the act of cultivating land and growing crops as well as raising, feeding, and breeding livestock. Production can also include fishing, hunting, and foraging. Local farms and ranches, community and school gardens, and urban farms are all examples of places where local food production takes place.

Processing transforms raw ingredients, physically or chemically, into value-added products through butchering, cooking, baking, curing, fermenting, and milling. Processing may also include harvesting, packaging, and combining raw products that can then be found in restaurants, bakeries, or grocery stores using local ingredients. Entrepreneurs using community kitchens to prepare small batches of their latest recipes, or school kitchens prepping fresh vegetables for a salad bar as part of their Farm to School program are examples of processing in action.

Distribution includes how we move the food we eat from farms, ranches, and processing sites to farmers markets, grocery stores, food cooperatives, food hubs, community supported agriculture (CSA) programs, and wholesalers. Distribution also includes the transportation and business logistics needed to make it all happen.

Consumption, probably the simplest process to explain, is the joyful act of eating the locally produced and processed food through a wide array of physically safe, affordable, and culturally acceptable places, including home kitchens, institutional cafeterias, shelters, schools, workplaces, hospitals, concessions, cafes, restaurants, and food banks.

Waste Management and Recovery: Often managed by municipalities, waste management can take on a few different forms, such as weekly curbside trash and recycling pick-up. Some communities have compost services to help reduce the amount of fruit, vegetables, and yard waste that is deposited in landfills or garbage incinerators. Food recovery is a form of waste management. Also known as food rescue, food salvage, or surplus food redistribution, it is the practice of gleaning edible food that would otherwise go to waste from places such as farms, produce markets, grocery stores, restaurants, or dining facilities and distributing it to local emergency food programs.

Of all the processes of local food systems, food recovery is the one I think has the most opportunity for expansion within communities, which can help deliver safe and edible food to people who need it. Gleaning programs allow for unsold food to be donated to food pantries, food access programs such as community fridges, or even directly to consumers. When I was a full-time college student who also needed to work full time to cover rent and living expenses, I relied heavily on the “red tagged” food that was made available to staff at the local food cooperative where I was employed. The red tagged food was available to take home free of charge because it had met its sell-by date. I look back now and realize I had been a recipient of a gleaning program. Without that supplemental source of food I would have had a hard time managing all that was required in both schoolwork and my job.

As with all aspects of local food systems, one vital ingredient is present in each sector: people. Without people growing, preparing, selling, eating, and mindfully disposing of food byproducts, local food systems would not exist. Some are called to the profession of farming and ranching and choose to market their products locally—a vital part of the local food system. Those of us who aren’t farmers or ranchers still have essential roles to play in the system. We all participate in our local food system in one way or another. Those of us who are able can choose to invest in these local systems by supporting local farmers, sharing our garden yields with neighbors, installing a compost system in our backyard, or countless other actions we can take as members of a local food community. Local food systems are for everyone, and everyone has a place within them.

ATTRA Resources:

Episode 376: Talking ‘Health in the Hood’ with Asha Walker – ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture

Episode 337. ATTRA and SARE: Building Local Food Systems in Montana – ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture

Start a Farm in the City – ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture

Composting: The Basics – ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture

NCAT Marketing Tip Sheet Series – ATTRA – Sustainable Agriculture

Additional Resources:

Local and Regional Food Systems Resource Guide | Agricultural Marketing Service

National Gleaning Project