Food Leakage Calculator

The local food revolution is in full swing. Farmers markets, farm to school programs and community-supported agriculture (CSA) subscriptions are enjoying a tremendous amount of attention and success.  But not every region has begun to participate in, or to realize the potential of, increased self-reliance in food sectors.

 
With the BALLE Food Leakage Calculator you can collect data on the self-reliance of your own state and county, and calculate business opportunities that currently exist in local food production for your region.
 
The BALLE Food Leakage Calculator uses data from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Survey 2007 Agriculture Census to calculate the degree of self-reliance in your community in six different categories of food production:
 

• Beef
• Pork
• Poultry & Eggs
• All Dairy Products
• Fresh Fruits
• Fresh Vegetables

 

Additionally, the calculator computes what business opportunities exist as your community approaches complete self-reliance in production in each category. These estimates for business opportunities are based on local demand, estimated using national data about consumer expenditures in food sectors and the population of your region. Please note, climate, soil quality and a myriad of other factors play into whether specific crops or livestock represent a business opportunity in your region. See methodology here. The calculator also handily displays farm data about your county, and the commodity sales values of common crops and animals sold in your region.
 

You will NOT be able to load the calculator below unless you've already purchased access. 

To load the BALLE Food Leakage Calculator click the button below: 

 
 
Be sure to check out BALLE's other leakage calculators:
  

 

Learn more about data sources and methodology behind the Food Leakage Calculator.
Please let us know about your experiences and report any problems by contacting us directly.