"This spring, a second-generation strawberry farmer in California stood in his fields with two generations of farmers by his side. Rows of ripe, red berries glistened in the sun - perfectly edible, yet destined to go unharvested because they were too small to end up in grocery stores. The farmer had already paid for the land, plants, water, fertilizer, and labor, but without a buyer, it didn't make economic sense to pay workers to harvest the fruit."
"Every year in the U.S., 30% of fruit and vegetables grown by hard-working farmers never leave the field, primarily because it doesn't meet appearance standards like size, shape, or color. More than 36 billion pounds of surplus produce went unharvested or unsold on U.S. farms in 2023, representing an estimated economic loss of $13 billion. Consider strawberries alone: 400 million pounds are plowed under or left behind annually."
"There's a better way. It starts with rethinking the way Americans value the food that's left in the field: produce that's perfectly delicious and nutritious, even if it's a millimeter too small. That's where secondary markets come in, turning waste into opportunity. Secondary markets buy what the primary market won't take, then channel it into ingredients for buyers and processors where appearance doesn't matter, without sacrificing taste or quality."
Thirty percent of U.S. fruits and vegetables never leave the field because they fail appearance standards, resulting in over 36 billion pounds unharvested or unsold in 2023 and $13 billion economic loss. Farmers often find harvesting uneconomical despite sunk costs, leading to millions of pounds like 400 million pounds of strawberries plowed under. Secondary markets can purchase cosmetically imperfect produce and sell it to processors or ingredient buyers, expanding sellable ranges and potentially increasing marketed yield up to 20% per NC Extension. Redirecting surplus to secondary markets preserves nutrition, farmer revenue, and reduces waste.
Read at Fortune
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