The Practical Reason: As humans, we can be a little particular about how we do things. It's good to have people you trust providing you with the things you need. Food is one of those things you need. Your farmer is the person who grows and cares for the food you eat; he/she is also the person you can talk to about it. Want to try a new veggie? Order a custom CSA? Understand food lingo? The artisan food maker? They're making a living(hopefully!) off of the food they're making. Passionate producers know what went into your food, they'll have the answers to questions a grocery store can't. And if there's one thing you should be able to ask questions about, it's the food you eat.
More practical resources: USDA's Farmer's Market Directory, Lexicon of Sustainablity's Know Your Farmer Interviews
The Economical Reason: Supporting your farmer will strengthen your local economy and revitalize your community. Eating locally and regionally cuts down on transportation and storage costs. Buying directly from your farmer through a CSA or at a farmers' market is generally cheaper than the grocery store and returns more profit to the farmer than when you purchase indirectly. Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms -- continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community. Source: here
More economical resources: How Local Food Grows Local Economies, Why Buying Local Is Worth Every Cent
The Ethical Reason: Exchanging money for a good or service is akin to voting for it. Every purchase you make is a vote cast. This means every purchase is a chance to vote for what you value. When you know your farmer and food producer, you know how your food is grown, made and where it comes from. It's an opportunity to support and promote what you deem important, from organic to sustainable to humane to community-oriented to educational. When you know your maker, you know what's important to them and you can vote for the food producers who live your values.
More ethical resources: What Voting With Your Fork Means, 10 Ways To Vote With Your Fork
The Holistic Reason: We know you've heard it before; we're a little detached from our environment in these modern times. Buildings don't offer the same atmosphere that the actual atmosphere does. As family farms declined over the last century, fewer people worked in communion with the land. Knowing your farmer allows you to connect with your roots. And by roots we mean the practice of agriculture that allowed us humans to survive and thrive over tens of thousands of years. Experiencing the earth produce food, and knowing the farmer who cultivates it, means engaging with the magical cycle that keeps us alive. Your farmer is the key to that cycle and the natural world. Much in the same way, artisan food makers keep traditions alive by going beyond the mass-produced norm with the best ingredients and old-world methods to create foods that harken back to the days before big food took over.
More holistic resources: Local & Regional Food Systems, The Benefits of Eating Locally Grown, Seasonal Food
The Human Reason: Farmers. Their job is more important than athletes and actors combined without any of the accolades or rewards. Farming is tough. It's physically demanding, livelihood is dependent upon the weather (which is never as predictable as Doppler wants you to believe), and it's not particularly lucrative. But it's essential. If we ever want to take back our food system we have to support small food business owners. The cider makers, the farmstead cheesemakers, heirloom grain bakers, healthy living innovators and sustainable butchers are imperative to our food system. So get to know your farmer and food maker and say thanks.
More humanist resources: Small Food Brands, Big Successes, Successful Barnraiser Food Creators, Thank A Farmer