Survey Says: Consumers Support Farmers

Survey Says: Consumers Support Farmers

Trust in farmer performance and knowledge of where food comes from shine through in this year's Consumer Pulse Survey.

By Lydia Zerby

The relationship between consumers and agriculture is continuously evolving. The Iowa Food & Family Project’s (Iowa FFP) mission is focused on connecting consumers with timely and accurate information about modern agriculture and making connections to food. According to Iowa FFP’s latest Consumer Pulse Survey, consumers trust farmers to protect our air, soil and water while caring about how the food they eat is grown and raised.

Now in its 10th year, the survey gauges attitudes toward agriculture, perceptions of Iowa FFP and food behaviors. Survey findings give a pulse on perceptions as well as shape Iowa FFP content, events and activities.

The November 2022 survey fielded 652 consumers with 323 being connected to Iowa FFP through a Fresh Pickings eNewsletter subscription. Respondents’ age groups, income levels, education levels and geographic regions closely follow the state’s population.

Views of Iowa Food & Family Project

Iowa FFP’s focus on telling the authentic story about Iowa’s agriculture industry received a top performance rating from survey respondents.

81% of Iowa FFP subscribers believe the initiative is a trustworthy source of information, compared to 73% of the general population.

Food Habits and Behaviors

9 out of 10 consumers purchase their groceries in-store.

Quality, price and safety top the list as the most important food purchasing factors.

1 in 2 consumers indicate that sustainability is important when grocery shopping. Sustainability is important to consumers because they believe it is important to continue food production for future generations while protecting and preserving the environment.

The most influential items on food labels were found to be nutrition facts and ingredients.

Views of Iowa Agriculture

61% think about how the food they eat is grown and raised, up from 56% in 2020.

6 in 10 say they are knowledgeable about Iowa farming and agriculture.

“Excellent” and “good” ratings for farmer performance in protecting our air, soil and water have jumped from 54% to 72% over the past four years.

More than 90% of consumers agree that Iowa farmers are on the right track when it comes to food safety, innovative technology and building strong communities.

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