Genesee County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan

Summary (continued)
As Genesee County’s farming sector evolves away from dairy and towards vegetables this has important
impacts for the local service economy. For one, expenditures by the vegetable farming sector tend to be
more localized as compared to the dairy farming sector. On average, 44 cents of every dollar spent by the
Genesee County vegetable farming sector remains in the County, while 23 cents of every dollar spent by
the dairy farming sector remains in Genesee County. This disparity arises from the dairy sector’s reliance
on feed and feed products (60 percent of expenditures), which is largely imported from outside of the
County.
Along with expenditures being more localized from the vegetable farming sector, the demands of the
vegetable sector differ significantly from dairy. Vegetable farms rely more on agricultural service firms
which provide custom work on pesticide applications. As vegetable production has grown in the County, so
too has the number of agricultural service firms – up 40% between 1987 and 1997.
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Agricultural Trends Profile for Genesee County, New York 5