The need as indicated by stakeholders

Innovations in specialty crop production and food systems are identified as a need by a broad group of government, academia, and industry stakeholders. A government report focused on research for food and agriculture noted that “the challenges that faced agriculture mid-20th Century were single-focus challenges to increase production, today’s challenges require high impact, transdisciplinary and convergent research” including a focus on technology and advancements for specialty crops (USDA, 2023). The NSF Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate inaugural roadmap indicates that global competitiveness hinges on harnessing technology's power to bridge long-term goals and productivity.

In academia, the Association of Public Land Grant Universities and the Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy—Science and Technology Committee identified needs in their 2019 Science Roadmap for Food and Agriculture (https://bit.ly/2K2JNYh). Included were: a) competitive U.S. food and agricultural producers; b) economically and environmentally sound food and agricultural systems; c) supply chains that can adapt to unforeseeable shocks; and d) safe, healthy, and affordable foods.

Industry groups, such as the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) identify similar needs. In the IFPA Future Trends Report, priorities identified included markets (e.g. labor, on-farm technology, biosecurity, trade), consumers (e.g. technology, price), and technology advancements (e.g. mechanization and automation, supply chain, food loss and waste, water). Similarly, the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance identified scientific breakthroughs, technological innovation, and data-enabled decision-making as needs that must be addressed to drive long-term profitability for specialty crop industries (SCFBA, 2023).

In addition to these stakeholder needs, project members draw on their working relationships with industry associations and programs to frame research and extension activities, and future collaborative work. In 2025, S-1088 participants represented 23 states across the U.S., spanning the country from the Northeast to the West Coast. This widespread group of researchers is uniquely positioned to identify cross-cutting needs of U.S. stakeholders.

 Importance of the Work

Strong, adaptable produce businesses are important contributors to societal priorities for food, nutrition, health, and rural communities. Moving forward, innovation throughout all aspects of specialty crop food supply chains will be critical (Klerkx and Begemann, 2020; Western Growers, 2022). We focus our activities on the economics of innovation that impacts markets, supply chains, and policy dimensions for specialty crops and food systems.

Food:

For the past decade, overall consumer spending on food has steadily increased, with only a slight decrease during the 2009 recession and 2020 COVID-19 (USDA ERS, 2024). The total 2023 U.S. food expenditure was $2.6 trillion. Even with an overall upward trend, buying patterns can shift rapidly. COVID-19 impacted retail purchase patterns among produce categories (fresh, frozen, canned, dried) and retail purchase methods (online, in-store, delivery) (Jensen et al., 2021). These shifts in purchase patterns continue to impact food retailers, especially smaller retailers, who are less likely to participate in online food sales. Sales at food service outlets, including restaurants, schools, and hotels declined rapidly as consumers turned to buying fresh produce almost entirely through the retail channel (Chenarides, L. et al. 2021). but by 2023 expenditures on food-away-from-home had rebounded (USDA ERS, 2024). At the same time, there is evidence that the pandemic potentially solidified consumer interest in direct-to-consumer market outlets such as community supported agriculture (Hobbs, 2020).

A large percentage of retailers identify the produce department as one of the top three most successful in generating sales and driving traffic (Progressive Grocer, 2019). The popularity of fresh produce offers considerable potential for enhanced marketing revenues if producers can recognize and harness opportunities. Consumers continue to demand new foods, new characteristics, and foods produced in unique ways (Newton et al., 2020; Bir et al., 2019; Chen et al., 2018; Govindasamy et al., 2018; McFadden and Huffman, 2017; Rana and Paul, 2017). Although the U.S. agricultural market is currently dominated (in terms of volume) by foods produced with conventional practices, alternative production practices have emerged and the number of differentiated specialty crops continues to grow. For example, certified organic acreage increased by 189 percent to 3.5 million acres between 2000 and 2019 (Carlson et al, 2023).

Specialty crop growers and handlers must rapidly adjust production and marketing practices in response to new crops, evolving production practices, and food characteristics (both visible and unobservable) and to differentiate themselves. The result is a proliferation of specialty crop offerings in a sector that was already highly fragmented. For example, a collaboration between Washington State University researchers, tree fruit growers, and industry representatives resulted in a new apple variety (Cosmic Crisp) designed to fulfill consumer demand for sweet to tart taste ratio (Hollenbeck, 2019). Work in Colorado has contributed to elevating the visibility and market access of Pueblo peppers in cooperation with cultivar breeders and community food coalitions (Colorado Department of Agriculture and Colorado State University, 2022).

Nutrition and Health:

Availability, accessibility, and affordability of fruits and vegetables continues to be a U.S. public health concern. Fresh fruit and vegetable consumption has an important role in the efforts to protect individuals against serious and costly chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes (CDC, 2018; CDC, 2020). A majority of consumers share concerns about fruit and vegetable product availability and quality, caloric and nutritional sufficiency, and product safety. Layered upon this, consumer tastes, preferences, and values shape purchase and consumption decisions. This has resulted in the multiplying of food production, process, and handling standards, certifications, and labels with claims concerning production characteristics, geographic origin, organic status, and other attributes. The use of these voluntary labelling programs enables firms to transform commodities into high value differentiated food products.

Even though consumers are currently eating more fresh fruits and vegetables per capita than in 1970, the average U.S. diet is still not aligned with the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans for fruit and vegetable consumption (Stewart and Hyman, 2019; USDA, ERS, 2020; CDC, 2018). Government efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption continue (USDA, ERS, 2020; USDA FNS, 2019; Minor and Perez, 2018; Cook, 2011). An example of a market model trying to promote access to local and healthy foods is Fresh Stop Markets (FSMs). FSMs are “pop-up” farm fresh markets in public spaces in food-insecure neighborhoods to provide local fresh produce on a sliding scale based on income. Evaluating farmers' willingness to sell produce through FSMs is crucial for assessing the replicability of the model in other regions of the country. Veggie Rx-type programs are also emerging, bringing stronger connections to produce, food lifestyles, and wellness together with a need to link market innovations with wellness research and practice. (Rossi and Woods, 2021, 2024; Biddle et al, 2023).

Rural Communities:

Specialty crops include a myriad of diverse commodities, markets, and supply chains– many of which are individually small in terms of national acreage or farm numbers. Yet, in aggregate, specialty crops production contributed nearly $75 billion to the total U.S. agriculture value of $355 billion in 2020 (USDA ERS, 2022) and the sector provides substantial local and regional economic contributions (Raszap Skorbiansky et al, 2021). When compared with grains, specialty crop markets tend to be “thin” with relatively few buyers and/or sellers and a high degree of price variability. Thus, they are typically fast-moving and high-risk (Hadacheck et al, 2022). Economic evaluation of emerging innovations to support these industries is needed to maintain profitability and robust local communities. Global competition is fierce. Although the overall U.S. agricultural trade balance has been positive for the past three decades, the first negative balance of $1.3 billion was recorded in 2019 . In contrast the U.S. specialty crop trade balance has been consistently negative for the past two decades (USDA ERS and FSA, 2024; USDA, ERS, 2024). Domestic fresh fruit and vegetable production have decreased significantly since 2000 (Young and Ribera, 2024) even as demand increased. Between 2000 and 2022 fruit imports increased from 36.6 to 54.8 percent of total U.S. supply and imported vegetables as a share of U.S. supply increased from 9.5 to 29.3 percent (Young and Ribera, 2024).

An often cited priority concern impacting the supply side of the U.S. fresh produce industry is labor availability and affordability (Hertz and Zahniser, 2013; Richards, 2018; Calvin and Simnitt, 2022; Eisele and Ohlemeier, 2024). The COVID-19 pandemic showed that disruptions to the availability of agricultural labor can have serious implications on the supply (and price) of food products. Because fruits and vegetables heavily depend on agricultural labor, any event that causes a large share of workers to become unavailable will significantly affect the produce supply (Richards, 2018; Rutledge and Merel, 2023). Therefore, it is important to understand how labor disruptions could impact rural communities and how markets adjust to these disruptions in the short and long term.

Technical Feasibility

Members of this committee have a long history of building industry and government partnerships to address research and extension priorities for specialty crop markets. Past projects and publications illustrate their ability to secure competitive grant funding, obtain necessary data, and develop case studies or other analyses that are appropriate. Every research approach (e.g., survey, experimental, analysis of retail scanner or other secondary data, simulations) has challenges and limitations. A significant value of working together is that the team members can give and receive feedback on data collection, compare the characteristics of specialty crop supply chains across states, leverage our collective resources to respond to emerging and pressing research needs, and collaboratively solve problems for the benefit of stakeholders in our respective states.

To achieve our goals, we may encounter barriers such as decreased funding and institutional support for some research and extension activities due to financial and staffing shortages at key government partner agencies (e.g., USDA NIFA, USDA ERS). That said, as researchers, we are problem solvers and adaptable as needs emerge. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, S-1088 members in multiple states mobilized to support specialty crop supply chains and other agricultural producers through collaborative research initiatives and integrated outreach partnerships with industry organizations, non-profit organizations, and state and federal agencies.

Advantages of a Multistate

Specialty crop supply chains that connect consumers and producers take many different forms and present a variety of unique research needs. Inter-state collaboration offers significant benefits, and a continuing multistate effort to facilitate coordination is desperately needed. Programs focused on economic considerations of fruit and vegetable production and marketing have historically received less attention relative to commodity crops or meat animal production. Many agricultural and/or applied economics programs have one, very few, or no faculty members focused on these products. Given limited human resources, states face research and extension capacity constraints when trying to respond to the plethora of specialty crop sectors and issues that need to be addressed.

Although they may differ in their details, economic and supply chain challenges for individual fruit and vegetable production and marketing are often similar within regions. Conducting research and developing materials through collaborative efforts or obtaining information and resources from another nearby state, and adapting it to local circumstances, offers a more efficient approach to this work. Furthermore, as fruit and vegetable production and processing are seasonal, many industry stakeholders have a presence in several states, resulting in S-1088 members overlapping in the industry stakeholders they support. Finally, consumer demand assessments frequently include a broader geographic area than a single state as sales are widespread (nationally and internationally).

A particular advantage of multistate efforts focused on specialty crops is the ability to coordinate and share data. Data, core to economic research, is notably sparse for specialty crops (Johnson, 2024) and current S-1088 members often collaborate on data collection. For example, the Gardner Food and Agricultural Policy Survey, conducted by members from the University of Illinois and Purdue University, monitors public perceptions of issues relevant to the politics of the food system, including topics relating to produce. Over time, more than 10,000 U.S. consumers have been surveyed as a part of this effort. Results have led to the publication of 31 outreach reports with more than 30 media appearances. S-1088 members also collected data from households regarding their food shopping behaviors and household food waste to determine the relationship between household time use, food waste quantities, and the value of their food waste. Separately, online and telephone survey data was collected to determine how households that are food insecure or live in limited access food environments value attributes of online grocery shopping services. Members investigated if households' self-reported use of or barriers to using online grocery influenced their valuation or attributes such as delivery speed and window, refund policy, and hypothetical programs such as a certified picker and protective produce packaging that are designed to encourage the purchasing of fruits and vegetables online.

Our long-term goal continues to be referred to as the leading group of academics that offers economic information and data-driven results about the impact of technology, consumer preferences, and other supply chain considerations on specialty crop markets in the United States. We have a long history of answering the most pressing economic, marketing, and policy questions facing specialty crop markets and our members have contributed to new knowledge in this arena at the state, national, and international levels. Pooling expertise and leveraging the impact of our deliverables through high-profile venues will allow us to maximize impact on a broad-based societal issue such as economics of innovation in the specialty crop food supply chains.

Three selected examples to illustrate benefits from the successful collaboration that occurred in the current S-1088 project follow:

COVID-19:

COVID-19 had profound impacts on food systems, both for short-term adjustments and long-term structural change. Many S-1088 members collaborated to provide research and extension on high-profile needs including impacts on  online marketing of food, agritourism and direct marketing events , and local and regional food systems. Multiple S-0188 members participated in a local food systems response project to rapidly gather data from consumers and industry and share adjustment strategies across sectors in response to COVID-19. A local food vitality index was developed to help inform specialty crop supply chain actors about food marketing channel development (Rossi and Woods, 2023; Rossi et al, 2020). Several members contributed to articles published in a special issue of Applied Economics and Policy Perspectives that highlighted strategies and best practices that allowed local and regional food businesses to stay viable during the pandemic.

Labelling

Product labels convey information to consumers, particularly focused on production practices that are not directly observable. A better understanding of food labeling strategies offers significant benefits to firms involved in food manufacturing and processing, as well as researchers who examine factors affecting linkages to nutrition and health outcomes. Understanding consumer preferences is vital for understanding the future market of products grown using specific practices. Multiple S-1088 members conducted research on labeling strategies. For example, the impact of color-coded Nutrition Facts Panels (NFP) on consumer behavior to reveal new insights into label effectiveness in guiding healthier food choices of snacks and fresh produce. Another project focused on increasing grower knowledge of potential benefits from labeling products produced with best management practices as well as increased consumer knowledge. Members from multiple states evaluated aspects of state labeling programs (e.g., Grow LA, KY Proud). Members from Washington, Mississippi, and Texas collaborated to assess the impacts of labeling on purchase intention for blueberries and cranberries. Members from California and Utah evaluated consumer reactions to labels for local independent food co-op promotions and consumer preferences for specialty/artisan bakery goods. At Colorado State, researchers are studying the incentives of food retailers to support investments in innovative food assistance access programs and best practices for retailers to support new market or production practices.

Wildfires, Vineyards, and Grapes:

West coast wildfires impacted specialty crops across the region, particularly the grape and wine industry. The S-1088 project convened a special symposium held during the 2023 SAEA meetings on this issue with project members from Oregon, California, Utah, and Kentucky discussing the economics of risk, market loss measurement, agritourism considerations, and strategies for risk mitigation in the event of future fires. The specialty crop industry in the U.S. is characterized by high value enterprises with adjacent enterprises like agritourism, food processing, land development for residence. The S-1088 project provided a mechanism to bring economists together to discuss the unique, complex, and economically significant market issue and policy response that would otherwise prove difficult.

Likely Impacts

With its multistate focus, the research generated by S-1088 members can reach all aspects of fruit and vegetable production, processing, marketing, and consumption. Outcomes of the proposed project objectives will provide benefits for businesses, government agencies, and technical assistance providers who seek to improve performance with better information and assessment of areas where markets could be more efficient or effective. The research outcomes generated by S-1088 will be a valuable input to improve the ability of the government, academic, and industry programs to develop products that target consumer preferences and needs. Our work will provide research-based information on the benefits and cost of participating in alternative marketing channels, as well as the effectiveness of policies to address remaining barriers for participation. Results can enhance supply chain effectiveness by providing evidence about the methods, policies, and organizational structures that yield the best outcomes for producers, consumers, and marketing channel intermediaries. In partnership with industry, government, and non-profit organizations, we will facilitate and evaluate new marketing channels for specialty crops.

New or differentiated specialty crops and production practices continue to emerge at an ever-increasing pace. Project team members will develop and update studies related to marketing issues that affect both producers and consumers, including studies which assess producer acceptance and willingness to use production/processing practices, novel technologies that address consumer needs; short- and long-term costs and benefits of adopting innovations at the farm and industry levels; impacts from policy and industry-led programs; global supply, trade, and consumer preferences; consumer demand for various products attributes; and supply chain innovations.