These people, called middlemen, consist of processors, distributors and retailers. Processors change or process raw goods, such as grapes, and create a new product, like grape jelly or grape juice. Processors package and sell their products, mostly to distributors. Distributors buy and store large quantities of processed products. They also buy produce or other goods directly from farmers, and then supply all of these products to retailers.
Retailers buy products from distributors.
They also can buy directly from farmers or from processors. In the end retailers sell products to consumers like you and your family. Bringing a product, also known as a commodity, from the farm and into the hands of the buyer, or consumer, is the basis of economics. While modern farming is a combination of many factors hard work, technology, conservation, and economics, to name a few farming is a risky business. For instance, natural conditions that cannot be controlled, such as drought, floods, wind, and excessive heat and cold spells, can reduce harvest yields and increase economic pressure on farm families.