NC1198: Enhancing the Resilience of Agriculture and Food of the Middle: Building for the Future

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Active

Project Menu

SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[01/07/2023] [12/05/2023] [12/07/2024]

Date of Annual Report: 01/07/2023

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 11/07/2022 - 11/09/2022
Period the Report Covers: 10/05/2021 - 11/07/2022

Participants

William Nganje (Administrative Advisor), Lindsey Day Farnsworth (U of Wisconsin - Madison), Hikaru Peterson (U of Minnesota), Michelle Miller (U of Wisconsin - Madison), Philip Howard (Michigan State U), Analena Bruce (U of New Hampshire), Thomas Bass (Montana State U), Keiko Tanaka (U of Kentucky), Kate Clancy (Independent Food Systems Consultant), Jan Joannides (U of Minnesota), Catie DeMets (U of Wisconsin - Madison), Sarah Lloyd (U of Minnesota), Andrew Stevens (U of Wisconsin - Madison), Florence Becot (National Farm Medicine Center - Marshfield Clinic Research Institute), Jill Fitzsimmons (U of Massachusetts), Michaela Hoffelmeyer (Penn State U), Michael Haedicke (U of Maine), Christopher Morris (Iowa State U), Becca Jablonski (Colorado State U), Lauren Gwin (Oregon State U), Kathy De Master (U of California - Berkeley), Marcia Ostrom (Washington State U), Clare Hinrichs (Penn State U), Mary Hendrickson (U of Missouri), David Conner (U of Vermont), Shoshanah Inwood (Ohio State U), Catherine Brinkley (U of California - Davis), Patrick Baur (U of Rhode Island), Tara Conway (U of Minnesota).

Brief Summary of Minutes

Welcome by new administrative advisor and chair, introductions & agenda review

Project updates by NC1198 members (see Outputs/Activities on pp. 2-3)

Overview of several recent papers at the intersection of the climate crisis and food systems with a focus on methodological limits and opportunities followed by a discussion of climate change and food systems research needs/opportunities for NC1198.

Break out group discussions on needs/proposal ideas based on the 2022-2027 NC1198 objectives, paraphrased as follows: 1) Governance structures and the efficacy of values-based food supply chains, 2) Effects of systemic disruptions (e.g., Covid-19, climate change) on mid-scale food supply chain resilience, including on social equity and environmental justice; and 3) Capacity to jointly investigate, address, and communicate policy issues related to mid-scale producers/supply chains. Two main priorities emerged from these discussions:
- Increase NC1198 members’ engagement with BIPOC scholars and farm/food chain partners & improve connectivity between NC1198 and HBCUs, HSIs and 1994 institutions. Hikaru and Michelle are engaging with INFAS Justice Working Group.
- Revisit our shared definition of Agriculture of the Middle (AOTM). Clare, Michaela & Jill are working on this and will report at the 2023 meeting. It was also suggested that we revisit our AOTM definition(s) with a racial/social justice lens. This topic merits further discussion as a working group priority and at the next annual meeting.

Overview of the new USDA Regional Food Business Centers RFA and discussion of food business center proposals in our respective regions with an eye toward identifying opportunities for cross-center learning/collaboration/evaluation once finalists are selected.

Agriculture of the Middle Policy Work: (1) National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition colleagues provided federal policy updates (2) Dr. Clancy facilitated AOTM policy exercise.

Selection of future NC1198 chairs: 2023-24 Gwin, 2024-25 Howard, 2025-26 Bass

Identification of additional action items and future agenda items
- Annual reporting requirements and compilation process
- Chairs will work with group members on virtual trainings on data visualization, policy, framing and strategy to increase members and partners impact when communicating with policy makers and/or in translating research to action.

Accomplishments

The interdisciplinary NC1198 group was created to address a disconcerting structural change in US agriculture: the decline of midscale family farms and associated impacts on the well-being of US rural communities, the economy, and the environment. Since its inception, the group has expanded to examine other issues affecting the resilience, diversity, and competitiveness of the US food system, including the impacts of food system structure and policy on the viability of small and medium-sized farms and food businesses.             Following are synopses of multistate research, outreach, and policy projects that were born out of priorities and partnerships forged by NC1198. They represent active collaborations among current members on various issues concerning the viability and resilience of Agriculture of the Middle including topics such as the impact of concentration on competition and national food flow patterns; the effects of systemic disruptions (e.g., Covid-19, climate change) on mid-scale food supply chain resilience; investigations into the structure and function of distinct local and regional supply chains and sectors; and investigation and communication of policy issues surrounding mid-scale producers and supply chains. Milestones: On Yr 1 of this 5-yr project, research, outreach and policy activities are underway. Outputs/Activities: The primary outputs to date are the acquisition and ongoing implementation of numerous collaborative grant-funded projects, publications, and resources that address the research, outreach, and policy priorities of NC1198. Data visualization has also been an output across multiple NC1198-related projects and has proven to be an important tool for distilling complex and dynamic data for research, farmer, and practitioner audiences. <ul> <li>Farm Succession and Transfer Dynamics: Sustaining an Agriculture of the Middle in the U.S. (USDA-NIFA-AFRI) Penn State U, PI; Collaborators: Washington State U, U of MA, Land for Good, and Renewing the Countryside. This project investigates unique challenges and opportunities in intergenerational succession/transfer experienced by midscale farms and ranches by integrating analysis of secondary farm data at the national level and primary qualitative data collected with regional and national stakeholders/subject experts and retiring or near-retiring mid-scale farmers in PA, MN and WA. Preliminary analysis of stakeholder interviews indicates that economic viability of the farm, extended family interpersonal dynamics, and access to professional legal/business assistance are seen as key factors driving decisions about succession planning and the likelihood of eventual successful transfer.</li> <li>The Relationship Between Childcare and Economic Development of Small and Medium Farms. (CDC-NIOSH). National Farm Medicine Center Marshfield Health System, PI; Collaborator: Ohio State U. For over 20 years, farm safety experts have argued that one of the best ways to prevent farm accidents is through the supervision of children by a dedicated childcare provider off the worksite. Besides connections to the safety of farm children, childcare arrangements also impact farm parents’ productivity and a range of farm business decisions. While farm parents experience challenges accessing and paying for childcare that parallel those of working parents across the United States, there has been little in-depth research examining farm families’ actual experiences with childcare and the types of childcare arrangements and supports that would increase their ability and willingness to use childcare. This research project examines: 1) What strategies and support systems farm parents use to keep their children safe while they work? 2) To what extent do farm parents consider childcare as risk mitigation and farm business strategies? 3) What are the factors that shape farm parents’ use of childcare? 4) What types of social, economic, and policy support could increase childcare use?</li> <li>Apple to Glass: Improving Orchard Profitability through Developing Regional Craft Ciders (USDA-NIFA-AFRI). Washington State U, PI. Collaborators: Michigan State U, U of Vermont, UW - Madison. This project investigates supply chain issues from the perspective of farmers, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers. There are several policy issues related to market barriers from the three-tier distribution system.</li> <li>S. Food Flows: A Cold-Chain Network Analysis of Freight Movements to Inform Local and Regional Food Issues (USDA-AMS-TSD) UW-Madison, PI. Collaborators: U of MN, U of FL, Oregon State U. This project modeled food flow using US Census data on perishable food movements in 2017. Regional differences in food distribution are readily apparent, with large regions left out of food flow (such as Appalachia, the Plains states and rural southwest) and flow overly reliant on activity in other regions (especially Los Angeles metro).</li> <li>AI institute for Intelligent Cyberinfrastructure with Computational Learning in the Environment (ICICLE) (National Science Foundation) Ohio State U, PI. Smart Foodsheds use case led by UC-Davis. Collaborators: Ohio State U, UW-Madison. The Smart Foodsheds team is developing food systems ontologies and knowledge graphs to make database integration possible and to improve visualization of data and information. Early application shows increased concentration in the food system from 2012 to the 2017 Census data.</li> <li>Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises (USDA-NIFA Special Project). U of MN., PI. This project collected data during the pandemic on the economic impact of COVID 19 on businesses in the food supply chain in three regions: Los Angeles metro, Miami metro, Minneapolis metro. Regions were differently impacted by the pandemic, with the most concentrated region–Los Angeles, most severely affected.</li> <li>Local and Regional Food Systems Recovery and Resilience 2.0 (USDA-AMS Cooperative Agreement). PI Colorado State U. Collaborators: U of Kentucky, Penn State U. This project focused on supporting local and regional food system stakeholders impacted by COVID. Jablonski led the data and metrics work to improve access to comprehensive LRFS data and tools for academics, practitioners, and policymakers to promote rapid adoption of key planning and evaluation metrics to improve responses to future disruptions. After identifying five key data and metrics areas–community wealth, nutrition security and food access, business development and infrastructure, local food markets, and labor–researchers and community partners compiled available data using an equity lens into a single database to be visualized. The project led to three deliverables: (1) Data warehouse (GitHub): GitHub is a public data repository website used by various federal agencies. This site includes publicly available survey instruments, county-level data, and point-level data. The site enables users to find multiple LRFS data sets in one place, including over 300 variables, and a detailed code and instructions. (2) Data visualizations and website: <a href="https://localfoodeconomics.com/data/">https://localfoodeconomics.com/data/</a> The Food and Agriculture Data Explorer (FADE) offers Tableau data visualizations for grant applicants and researchers with (1) county-level maps and visualizations, and (2) USDA point-level data on farmers markets, CSAs, meat processors, etc. FADE will be useful for applicants to USDA’s LAMP and Regional Food Business Center RFAs since these funding opportunities require precise data points and metrics. The website includes “Stories from the field” where stakeholders describe how they have/will use FADE. (3) Equity statement and framework: We created a framework to guide the equitable use of data and worked with the USDA to develop an appropriate equity statement for the website.</li> <li>Ongoing AOTM policy work. Over NC1198’s 15+ years of policy work, there has been continual growth in policy application and communication by members of the group. Upcoming programming includes quarterly webinar series with NSAC and INFAS.</li> </ul>

Publications

Please see list of NC1198 2022 publications attached.

Impact Statements

Quality data and actionable knowledge are crucial to sustaining and reinvigorating Agriculture of the Middle and its promise of economic, social and environmental benefits. Through applied and participatory research, outreach, and policy work, NC1198 members investigate the characteristics of mid-scale producers and supply chains as well as factors that contribute to their success or failure (e.g., policy, governance, market concentration, the profitability of credence attributes). As such, our research informs decisions spanning from the farm level to federal policy and grant programs. An example of this impact is NC1198 member congressional testimony (see Inwood in Publications list). In combination with young farmer and rancher struggles with childcare, American Farm Bureau cited the Childcare Research and Congressional testimony as one of the reasons for adding childcare to their 2023 Farm Bill policy agenda, which states under Rural Development Program Priorities, “We support programs that focus on increased access and incentives to provide safe and adequate childcare in rural communities.” https://www.fb.org/files/2023_Farm_Bill_Priorities_outline.pdf

Date of Annual Report: 12/05/2023

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/11/2023 - 10/13/2023
Period the Report Covers: 11/06/2022 - 10/10/2023

Participants

William Nganje (Administrative Advisor), Hikaru Peterson (U of Minnesota), Michelle Miller (U of Wisconsin - Madison), Kate Clancy (Independent Food Systems Consultant), Jan Joannides (Renewing the Countryside), Sarah Lloyd (U of Minnesota), Michael Haedicke (U of Maine), Becca Jablonski (Colorado State U), Lauren Gwin (Oregon State U, 2023 chair), Marcia Ostrom (Washington State U), Mary Hendrickson (U of Missouri), David Conner (U of Vermont), Shoshanah Inwood (Ohio State U), Catherine Brinkley (U of California - Davis), Patrick Baur (U of Rhode Island), Tara Conway (U of Minnesota), Kathryn De Master (U of California - Berkeley), Bill McKelvey (U of Missouri), Eric Bendfeldt (VA Tech), Tricia Kovacs (USDA-AMS), Clare Hinrichs (Penn State)

Brief Summary of Minutes

Welcome by new administrative advisor and chair, introductions & agenda review

Project updates by NC1198 members (see Outputs/Activities below).

Break out group discussions on collaboration/proposal ideas suggested by members, as follows: 1) Translating value chain coordination research into training for practitioners; 2) Understanding agroecology and soil health practices in relation to resilience and risk; (3) Strategies for increasing systems thinking in transdisciplinary research; and (4) New ideas related to Objective 1’s focus on examining governance structures and constraints on preserving values along the supply chain.

Overview of the new USDA Regional Food Business Centers, their priority audiences, methods, long-term goals, and evaluation; NC1198 members who are involved with RFBCs shared specifics. We also discussed the Resilient Food System Infrastructure program through state departments of agriculture. This group will continue to explore opportunities for cross-center learning/collaboration/evaluation, with USDA-AMS.

Agriculture of the Middle Policy Work: members shared (1) current work informed by/connected to federal policy; (2) how they are communicating research findings to policymakers; and (3) state and local policy related to NC1198 objectives. We identified skillshare topics for the coming year.

Adam Wilke, NIFA, provided an update on funding programs and the NIFA 2.0 USDA Science & Research Strategy. He requested examples of social science research to share with NIFA colleagues with less social science experience.

Selection of future NC1198 chairs: 2024-25 Miller; future chairs TBD.

Identification of additional action items and future agenda items

Annual reporting requirements and compilation process

Decision to co-locate future annual meetings (every other year) with related conferences

Objective 3.3 leads will work with members to offer additional skillshare training on increasing impact when communicating with policy makers and/or in translating research to action.

Accomplishments

The interdisciplinary NC1198 group was created to address a disconcerting structural change in US agriculture: the decline of midscale family farms and associated impacts on the well-being of US rural communities, the economy, and the environment. Since its inception, the group has expanded to examine other issues affecting the resilience, diversity, and competitiveness of the US food system, including the impacts of food system structure and policy on the viability of small and medium-sized farms and food businesses.             Following are synopses of multistate research, outreach, and policy projects that were born out of priorities and partnerships forged by NC1198. They represent active collaborations among current members on various issues concerning the viability and resilience of Agriculture of the Middle including topics such as meat supply chains; regional supply chains; perennial agriculture systems; external constraints on values-based supply chains; supply chain governance; investigations into the structure and function of distinct local and regional supply chains and sectors; and investigation and communication of policy issues surrounding mid-scale producers and supply chains. Milestones: On Yr 2 of this 5-yr project, research, outreach and policy activities are continuing. Outputs/Activities: The primary outputs to date are the acquisition and ongoing implementation of numerous collaborative grant-funded projects, publications, and resources that address the research, outreach, and policy priorities of NC1198. Data visualization has also been an output across multiple NC1198-related projects and has proven to be an important tool for distilling complex and dynamic data for research, farmer, and practitioner audiences; one member offered an online training for the group on data visualization techniques. <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">The Relationship Between Childcare and Economic Development of Small and Medium Farms. (CDC-NIOSH). National Farm Medicine Center Marshfield Health System, PI; Collaborator: Ohio State U. This research examines farm families’ actual experiences with childcare; the types of childcare arrangements and supports they use now and what would increase their ability and willingness to use childcare, including social, economic, and policy support. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">U.S. Food Flows: A Cold-Chain Network Analysis of Freight Movements to Inform Local and Regional Food Issues (USDA-AMS-TSD) UW-Madison, PI. Collaborators: U of MN, U of FL, Oregon State U. This project modeled food flow using US Census data on perishable food movements in 2017. Regional differences in food distribution are readily apparent, with large regions left out of food flow (such as Appalachia, the Plains states and rural southwest) and flow overly reliant on activity in other regions (especially Los Angeles metro).</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">AI Institute for Intelligent Cyberinfrastructure with Computational Learning in the Environment (ICICLE) (National Science Foundation) Ohio State U, PI. Smart Foodsheds use case led by UC-Davis. Collaborators: Ohio State U, UW-Madison. The Smart Foodsheds team is developing food systems ontologies and knowledge graphs to make database integration possible and improve visualization of data and information. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises (USDA-NIFA Special Project). U of MN., PI. This project collected data during the pandemic on the economic impact of COVID 19 on businesses in the food supply chain in three regions: Los Angeles metro, Miami metro, Minneapolis metro. Regions were differently impacted by the pandemic, with the most concentrated region–Los Angeles, most severely affected. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Apple to Glass: Improving Orchard Profitability through Developing Regional Craft Ciders (USDA-NIFA-AFRI). Washington State U, PI. Collaborators: Michigan State U, U of Vermont, UW - Madison. This five-year project mapped  values-based chains from the standpoint of farmers, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers. Interviews with cider makers and distributors uncovered several policy issues related to market barriers. 2023 surveys investigated consumer views on policies that were deemed critical for expanding the markets for values-based craft ciders. Results were shared through publications and practitioner-led workshops. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Local and Regional Food Systems Recovery and Resilience 2.0 (USDA-AMS Cooperative Agreement). PI Colorado State U. Collaborators: U of Kentucky, Penn State U. This project focused on supporting local and regional food system stakeholders impacted by COVID. The project led to three deliverables: (1) Data warehouse (GitHub): public data repository website used by various federal agencies; includes publicly available survey instruments, county-level data, and point-level data. The site enables users to find multiple LRFS data sets in one place, including over 300 variables, and a detailed code and instructions. (2) Data visualizations and website: <a href="https://localfoodeconomics.com/data/">https://localfoodeconomics.com/data/</a> The Food and Agriculture Data Explorer (FADE) offers Tableau data visualizations for grant applicants and researchers with (1) county-level maps and visualizations, and (2) USDA point-level data on farmers markets, CSAs, meat processors, etc. (3) Equity statement and framework: We created a framework to guide the equitable use of data and worked with the USDA to develop an appropriate equity statement for the website.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Farm Succession and Transfer Dynamics: Sustaining an Agriculture of the Middle in the U.S. (USDA-NIFA-AFRI) Penn State U, PI; Collaborators: Washington State U, U of MA, Land for Good, and Renewing the Countryside. This project investigates unique challenges and opportunities in intergenerational succession/transfer experienced by midscale farms and ranches by integrating analysis of secondary farm data at the national level and primary qualitative data collected with regional and national stakeholders/subject experts and retiring or near-retiring mid-scale farmers in PA, MN and WA. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Ongoing AOTM policy work. Over 15+ years of policy work by this group (NC1198 and preceding projects), there has been continual growth in policy application and communication by members. This year: two training seminars for members on data visualization and communicating policy findings from research to outside audiences; compilation of multiple federal and state policy engagement undertaken by members; and (3) identification of possible trainings on policy questions for the coming year.</li> </ul> <h3>Impacts</h3> Quality data and actionable knowledge are crucial to sustaining and reinvigorating Agriculture of the Middle and its promise of economic, social and environmental benefits. Through applied and participatory research, outreach, and policy work, NC1198 members investigate the characteristics of mid-scale producers and supply chains as well as factors that contribute to their success or failure (e.g., policy, governance, market concentration, the profitability of credence attributes). As such, our research informs decisions spanning from the farm level to state and federal policy and grant programs. Impacts include:  <ol> <li>     Hendrickson’s research informed rulemaking to strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act; </li> <li>     Inwood and Becot’s research and testimony to Congress informed a bipartisan marker bill for the 2023 Farm Bill policy agenda focused on childcare programs for farmers. </li> <li>     Research led by Peterson on impacts of COVID-19 on producers, supply chains, and consumers influenced the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to redefine state-level policy for local and regional market development.</li> <li>    Cumulatively, research and engagement with USDA AMS by many members of the project have informed the structure, function, and goals of USDA’s new Regional Food Business Centers and Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure.</li> <li>Brinkley's research has improved the capacity of local governments in California to include food systems and climate change in planning.</li> </ol>

Publications

NC1198 publications – 2023   Objective 1 <ul> <li>Lloyd, S., Miller, M., (CIAS UW-Madison). “Supporting agroecological transitions in food systems: insights from a comparison of agrifood policies’ trajectories in 5 countries,” </li> <li>Howard, P.H., Conner, D.S., Ostrom, M.R., Miller, “Apples to Advocacy: Evaluating Consumer Preferences for Hard Cider Policies,” Journal of Wine Economics.</li> <li>Gwin, L., Miller, M., Lowe, E., Hoy, C., Cohen, N., Pirog, R, Tomich, T., Kelly, T. “Resilience strategies for centers and institutes focused on food systems transformation,” Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development(in review).</li> <li>Haedicke, Michael A. “Organic as Civic Engagement Revisited: Civic Codes, Deliberative Practices, and the Debate about Hydroponic Certification.” Agriculture and Human Values.</li> <li>Conway, T. and Teller, A. Care methodologies to evaluate and advance just perennial transitions in agriculture (Kernza case study); related: Towards a practical theory for commercializing novel continuous living cover crops: a conceptual review through the lens of Kernza perennial grain, 2019–2022. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.</li> <li>Haynes Stein, A., & Brinkley, C. (2023). Farm to Food Bank: Exploring the Ties between Local Food Producers and Charitable Food Assistance. Rural Sociology.</li> <li>Fuchs-Chesney, J., Raj, S., Daruwalla, T., & Brinkley, C. (2023). All roads lead to the farmers market?: using network analysis to measure the orientation and central actors in a community food system through a case comparison of Yolo and Sacramento County, California. Agriculture and Human Values, 40(1), 157-173.</li> <li>Melo-Velasco, Jenny and Mary Hendrickson. (Forthcoming.) “The digital agriculture revolution: What to consider to make it work for small or marginalized farmers?” Proceedings of the National Conference on Next-Generation Sustainable Technologies for Small-Scale Producers. Atlantis Press, a division of Springer Nature.</li> <li>Adalja, A. * and Baur, P., * M. Weidman, E.M. Olimpi, and D.L. Weller. In press. Preharvest food safety and conservation challenges facing US produce growers: Results from a national survey. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.</li> <li>Jeffrey Liebert, Rebecca Benner, Rachel Bezner Kerr, Thomas Björkman, Sasha Gennet, Miguel I. Gómez, Abigail K. Hart, Claire Kremen, Alison Power, Matthew R. Ryan, Kathryn Teigen De Master. “Farm size affects the use of agroecological practices on organic farms in the United States” 2022. Nature Plants, Vol 8, Issue 8.</li> <li>Neidecker (MS student), A. Bruce (Chair), H. Darby, M. Hoffman, M. Miller, and T. Safford (Committee Members). From Seed to Sourdough and Barley to Beer: Understanding structure, partnership strategies, and governance mechanisms in three Northeast grain value chains.  </li> </ul>   Objective 2 <ul> <li>Stevens, A., Teal, J. 2023. “Diversification and resilience of firms in the agrifood supply chain,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12398">https://doi.org/10.1111/ajae.12398</a></li> <li>Stevens, A. “Predicting firm diversification in agri-food value chains” (Working Paper)</li> <li>Peterson, H.H., Miller, M., Stevens. (2023). “Impacts of COVID-19 on US agri-food supply chain businesses: Regional survey results”. PLOS ONE https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0281930</li> <li>Miller, M., Peterson, HH., Stevens, AW. (2023) “Pandemic Production: Impacts of COVID-19 on Florida’s fruit and vegetable industries.” Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization. https://doi.org/10.1515/jafio-2022-0025</li> <li>Raj, S., Brinkley, C., & Ulimwengu, J. (2022). Connected and extracted: Understanding how centrality in the global wheat supply chain affects global hunger using a network approach. Plos One, 17(6), e0269891.</li> <li>Brinkley, C., & Wagner, J. (2022). Who Is Planning for Environmental Justice—and How? Journal of the American Planning Association, 1-14.</li> <li>Ory, J., A. Iles, P. Baur, and F. Castillo. In press. Adapting to Pandemic Stresses: Experiences Among Central Coast Organic Farmers. California Agriculture.</li> <li>Cunningham, N., Conner, D. & Reynolds, T. (2023). Anchor Institutions and Food Resilience: A Multiple Streams Approach. International Journal of Food System Dynamics 14 (2), 2023, 134-145.</li> <li>Whitehouse, C., Conner, D., Chase, L., & Reynolds, T. (2023). The experience of Vermont local food businesses during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 12(2), 201–214. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2023.122.003</li> <li>Cunningham, N., Conner, D., Whitehouse, C., Blair, H., & Krueger, J. (2022). Beyond procurement: Anchor institutions and adaptations for resilience. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 11(3), 57–73. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2022.113.006</li> </ul>   Objective 3 <ul> <li>Michelle Miller, Smart Foodsheds work with NSF ICICLE  <ul> <li>Tu, Y., Wang, X., Qui, R., Shen, HW, Miller, M., Rao, J., Gao, S., Huber, P., Hollander, A., Lange, M., Garcia, C., Stubbs, J. (2023). “An Interactive Knowledge and Learning Environment in Smart Foodsheds”. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications. DOI: 1109/MCG.2023.3263960</li> <li>Qu, Y, Rao, J., Gao, S., Zhang, W.C., Su, Y., Miller, M., Morales, A., Huber, P. (submitted). FLEE-GNN: A Federated Learning System for Edge-Enhanced Graph Neural Network in Analyzing Geospatial Resilience of Multicommodity Food Flows”, ACM SIGSpatial 2023</li> </ul> </li> <li>Sarah Lloyd, Michelle Miller Grasslands 2.0 (participating in Policy Team for GL2.0, r<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1010441/full">ecent Frontiers paper by Policy lead, Rissman et al. 2023</a>) Also state legislation at  <a href="https://www.cleanwisconsin.org/clean-wisconsin-works-on-grazing-legislation/">https://www.cleanwisconsin.org/clean-wisconsin-works-on-grazing-legislation/</a></li> <li>Pesci, S., & Brinkley, C. (2022). Can a Farm-to-Table restaurant bring about change in the food system?: A case study of Chez Panisse. Food, Culture & Society, 25(5), 997-1018.</li> <li>Brinkley, C., & Visser, M. A. (2022). Socioeconomic and environmental indicators for rural communities: Bridging the scholarly and practice gap. Economic Development Quarterly, 36(2), 75-91.</li> <li>Banginwar, A, Antonio, D, Lopez, M, Poirier, L, Ghosh, S, Dettmann, M, et al. General Plan Database Mapping Tool (v3.0). Zenodo. plansearch.caes.ucdavis.edu. <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7508689">https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7508689</a></li> <li>Staples, A., Howard, P., Conner, D., Sirrine, J., Ostrom, M., Miller, M. (2023). Apples to advocacy: Evaluating consumer preferences for hard cider policies. Journal of Wine Economics, November, 1-16.<a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/jwe.2023.29">https://doi.org/10.1017/jwe.2023.29</a></li> </ul>

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 12/07/2024

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/07/2024 - 10/08/2024
Period the Report Covers: 10/10/2023 - 11/01/2024

Participants

William Nganje (Administrative Advisor), Hikaru Peterson (U of Minnesota host), Michelle Miller (U of Wisconsin - Madison, 2024 chair), Analena Bruce (U of New Hampshire 2025 chair), Kate Clancy (Independent Food Systems Consultant), Andrew Stevens (U of Wisconsin); Sarah Lloyd (U of Minnesota), Marcia Ostrom (Washington State U), Mary Hendrickson (U of Missouri), David Conner (U of Vermont), Patrick Baur (U of Rhode Island), Tara Conway (U of Minnesota), Kathryn De Master (U of California - Berkeley), Eric Bendfeldt (VA Tech), Weslynne Ashton (Illinois Institute of Technology); Mrill Ingrahm (MFAI); Valentine Cadieux (Hamline Univ, MN); Anton Babkin (Applied Population Lab, U of Wisconsin); Grace Puc (Wisconsin DATCP); Rick Welsh (Syracuse U); Aiden Irish (U of Washington); Dara Bloom (North Carolina State); Sophie Ano (Fort Hays Kansas State U); Caroline Krejci (U of Texas).
Remote: Becca Jablonski (Colorado State U), Jill Clark (The Ohio State U), Catherine Brinkley (U of California - Davis), Jason Franken (U of Missouri)

Brief Summary of Minutes

Welcome by new administrative advisor and chair, introductions & agenda review

In Memoriam: George “Steve” Stevenson, Bill Heffernan, Christine Porter, Don Wyse.

Project updates by NC1198 members (see Outputs/Activities below).

Deep dive on three topics:

Firm diversification and resilience (Andrew Stevens, University of Wisconsin) and how are we defining resilience in our work. (roundtable discussion)

Governance structures of values-based food supply chains and the internal and external constraints on their ability to preserve values along the supply chain.

Hikaru Peterson, Univ of MN, leading discussion on socio-supply networks analysis (following the work of Catherine Brinkley)

Becca Jablonski, Colorado State University, leading discussion on regional food policy councils https://localfoodeconomics.com/regional-fpc/

The effects of systemic disruptions (i.e., COVID, climate change, natural disasters) on mid-scale food supply chain resilience, including on social equity (marginalized populations, racial equity) and environmental justice.

Sarah Lloyd, wearer of many hats, leading discussion on community engagement lessons

Anton Babkin on considering commodity and information flows.

Overview of the new USDA Regional Food Business Centers, their priority audiences, methods, long-term goals, and evaluation; NC1198 members who are involved with RFBCs shared specifics. We also discussed the Resilient Food System Infrastructure program through state departments of agriculture. This group will continue to explore opportunities for cross-center learning/collaboration/evaluation, with USDA-AMS.

Agriculture of the Middle Policy Work: members shared (1) current work informed by/connected to federal policy; (2) how they are communicating research findings to policymakers; and (3) state and local policy related to NC1198 objectives. We identified skillshare topics for the coming year.

Adam Wilke, NIFA, provided an update on Hatch Smith Lever and multistate funding programs, decreasing appropriations. NIFA Communications is looking for content.

Selection of future NC1198 chairs: 2025 Bruce; 2026 Bauer.

Identification of additional action items and future agenda items

Annual reporting requirements and compilation process

Co-author a white paper on AOTM for incoming administration

Accomplishments

<h3>Accomplishments</h3> The interdisciplinary NC1198 group was created to address a disconcerting structural change in US agriculture: the decline of midscale family farms and associated impacts on the well-being of US rural communities, the economy, and the environment. Since its inception, the group has expanded to examine other issues affecting the resilience, diversity, and competitiveness of the US food system, including the impacts of food system structure and policy on the viability of small and medium-sized farms and food businesses. Following are synopses of multistate research, outreach, and policy projects that were born out of priorities and partnerships forged by NC1198. They represent active collaborations among current members on various issues concerning the viability and resilience of Agriculture of the Middle including topics such as meat supply chains; regional supply chains; perennial agriculture systems; external constraints on values-based supply chains; supply chain governance; investigations into the structure and function of distinct local and regional supply chains and sectors; and investigation and communication of policy issues surrounding mid-scale producers and supply chains. Milestones: On Yr 3 of this 5-yr project, research, outreach and policy activities are continuing. Outputs/Activities: The primary outputs to date are the acquisition and ongoing implementation of numerous collaborative grant-funded projects, publications, and resources that address the research, outreach, and policy priorities of NC1198. Data visualization has also been an output across multiple NC1198-related projects and has proven to be an important tool for distilling complex and dynamic data for research, farmer, and practitioner audiences; one member offered an online training for the group on data visualization techniques. <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Developing mediated market models to increase consumer engagement and market access for New England farmers. USDA NE SARE. $257,846, In progress. Highlights: Our team held a series of workshops at winter conferences and an event in collaboration with the Office of Refugee and Immigrant Success ORIS, as well as an online workshop series featuring farmers and community leaders developing different kinds of collaborative aggregation and marketing models. We also co-designed a comparative case study in collaboration with leaders of five of these emerging models, for which data collection is half way completed.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Community Food Mobilization in Chicago. Funded by USDA as part of NSF's Civic Innovation Challenge. $1M for 1 year - January 2024-January 2025. The Community Food Mobilization in Chicago (CF-MOB) project investigates mechanisms to transform the structures of food production and distribution in ways that center racial justice, sovereignty and community food access. It aims to advance understanding of public procurement's role in investing in local, equitable food supply chain development, while empowering and creating space for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) food stakeholders to self-determine their participation in it. CF-MOB leverages strong multi-sectoral partnerships among food producers, workers, eaters, advocates and public institutions around the Metro Chicago Good Food Purchasing Initiative (GFPI). We are currently developing three deliverables: 1) strategy for the Chicago-based coalition using future scenario planning methods, with a focus on moving local suppliers into institutional supply chains, 2) identification of investment opportunities for hard and soft infrastructures needed to rebuild the middle of the regional food supply chain, 3) data maturity roadmap to inform values-based purchasing and celebrate a diverse farmer ecosystem. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Role of nonprofit governance structures in supporting the development of values-based supply chains. This is an unfunded project with a variety of student support. Fall semester of 2023 we worked with a group of 3 grad students from a Data Science program to analyze the farm data. This fall we are working with a group of environmental studies students to look at the other, nonfarm, organizations. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Returning to Our Roots: Rebuilding Native Farming Traditions and Food Sovereignty for Great Lakes Indigenous People. USDA-NIFA. $10,815,716. 7/2024-6/2028. With Sarah Lloyd, U of Minnesota with U of Wisconsin Bill Tracy, Erin Lowe, Dan Cornelius, Dustin Frye, Karu Sankaralingam, Erin Silva, Michelle Miller. Highlights: Early stages of developing data use agreements (human subjects, field research, operations management) other than standard research agreement to respect Tribal sovereignty. Investigating Tribal governance structures for supply network operations management. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Enhancing Food System Health and Resilience in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic Region from the Soil Up, The Agua Fund, $60,000, Funded, Virginia Tech, Virginia Soil Health Coalition, Social Impact Studios, and On the Farm Radio, continued promotion of core soil health principles to farmers but also a consumer-facing message about soil health and that we can all support the care of soil.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">"Analyzing the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Farmland Preservation Policies in Supporting Small and Medium-Sized Farms," USDA NIFA, $609,541, Year 2 of 3.U of Wisconsin.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">U.S. Food Flows: A Cold-Chain Network Analysis of Freight Movements to Inform Local and Regional Food Issues (USDA-AMS-TSD) UW-Madison, PI. Collaborators: U of MN, U of FL, Oregon State U. This project modeled food flow using US Census data on perishable food movements in 2017. Regional differences in food distribution are readily apparent, with large regions left out of food flow (such as Appalachia, the Plains states and rural southwest) and flow overly reliant on activity in other regions (especially Los Angeles metro). <a href="https://doi.org/10.21231/qfx4-4f67">https://doi.org/10.21231/qfx4-4f67</a></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">AI Institute for Intelligent Cyberinfrastructure with Computational Learning in the Environment (ICICLE) (National Science Foundation) Ohio State U, PI. Smart Foodsheds use case led by UC-Davis. Collaborators: Ohio State U, UW-Madison. The Smart Foodsheds team is developing food systems ontologies and knowledge graphs to make database integration possible and improve visualization of data and information. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Lessons from COVID-19: Positioning Regional Food Supply Chains for Future Pandemics, Natural Disasters and Human-made Crises (USDA-NIFA Special Project). U of MN., PI. This project collected data during the pandemic on the economic impact of COVID 19 on businesses in the food supply chain in three regions: Los Angeles metro, Miami metro, Minneapolis metro. Regions were differently impacted by the pandemic, with the most concentrated region–Los Angeles, most severely affected. Several papers published this year are based on this work. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Local and Regional Food Systems Recovery and Resilience 2.0 (USDA-AMS Cooperative Agreement). PI Colorado State U. Collaborators: U of Kentucky, Penn State U. This project focused on supporting local and regional food system stakeholders impacted by COVID. The project led to three deliverables: (1) Data warehouse (GitHub): public data repository website used by various federal agencies; includes publicly available survey instruments, county-level data, and point-level data. The site enables users to find multiple LRFS data sets in one place, including over 300 variables, and a detailed code and instructions. (2) Data visualizations and website: <a href="https://localfoodeconomics.com/data/">https://localfoodeconomics.com/data/</a> The Food and Agriculture Data Explorer (FADE) offers Tableau data visualizations for grant applicants and researchers with (1) county-level maps and visualizations, and (2) USDA point-level data on farmers markets, CSAs, meat processors, etc. (3) Equity statement and framework: We created a framework to guide the equitable use of data and worked with the USDA to develop an appropriate equity statement for the website.</li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Farm Succession and Transfer Dynamics: Sustaining an Agriculture of the Middle in the U.S. (USDA-NIFA-AFRI) Penn State U, PI; Collaborators: Washington State U, U of MA, Land for Good, and Renewing the Countryside. This project investigates unique challenges and opportunities in intergenerational succession/transfer experienced by midscale farms and ranches by integrating analysis of secondary farm data at the national level and primary qualitative data collected with regional and national stakeholders/subject experts and retiring or near-retiring mid-scale farmers in PA, MN and WA. </li> <li style="font-weight: 400;">Ongoing AOTM policy work. Over 15+ years of policy work by this group (NC1198 and preceding projects), there has been continual growth in policy application and communication by members. This year: two training seminars for members on data visualization and communicating policy findings from research to outside audiences; compilation of multiple federal and state policy engagement undertaken by members; and (3) identification of possible trainings on policy questions for the coming year.</li> </ul>

Publications

Objective 1-Market Structure A Haynes Stein, C Brinkley. Farm to Food Bank: Exploring the Ties between Local Food Producers and Charitable Food Assistance☆ Rural Sociology 88 (3), 682-707 J Fuchs-Chesney, S Raj, T Daruwalla, C Brinkley. All roads lead to the farmers market?: using network analysis to measure the orientation and central actors in a community food system through a case comparison of Yolo and … Agriculture and Human values 40 (1), 157-173 Gerhart, Jennifer Anne, and Philip H. Howard. 2023. Assessing the profitability of scaling up for retail access: Lessons from local salad mix in Southeast Michigan. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development 12(4), 1-18. https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/1173 Ashwood, Loka and Phil Howard. 2023. Sorting out ownership questions – the ultimately unclear beneficiaries of power in industrial agriculture. Institutional Landscapes. February 18. <a href="http://institutionallandscapes.org/contribution/5-sorting-out-ownership-questions-the-ultimately-unclear-beneficiaries-of-power-in-industrial-agriculture/">http://institutionallandscapes.org/contribution/5-sorting-out-ownership-questions-the-ultimately-unclear-beneficiaries-of-power-in-industrial-agriculture/</a> Worosz, M.R. and M. Dupuis. 2024. Farming with a mission: The case of nonprofit farms. Agriculture and Human Values. (DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-024-10588-x">https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-024-10588-x</a>). Stevens, A. W., J. Teal, C. D. Court, G. DiGiacomo, M. Miller, & H. H. Peterson (forthcoming). Predicting Firm Diversification in Agri-Food Value Chains. Journal of Food Distribution Research. Miller, M., Hirsch, R., Chang, J., Shi, J., Long, D. (in review) “Transportation Issues Affecting Fresh Food Distribution: A Comparison Study of Urban vs Rural United States”. Transportation Research. Miller, M. (2024) Foodsheds and Regional Food Systems. In: Abraham, Martin A. (eds.) Encyclopedia of Sustainable Technologies, 2nd Edition, vol. 2, pp. 613–622. Oxford: Elsevier. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-90386-8.00083-08 Claire Lamine (INRAE), Eric Sabourin (CIRAD), Fabienne Barataud (INRAE), Tara Wight (LWA), Terry Marsden (Cardiff Un.), Paulo Niederle (UFRGS), Claudia Schmitt (UFRRJ), Adanella Rossi (Pisa Un.), Patrizia Pugliese (CIHEAM Bari), Sarah Loyd (CIAS UW-Madison), Michelle Miller (CIAS UW-Madison), Danièle Magda (INRAE) (forthcoming) “Supporting agroecological transitions in food systems: insights from a comparison of agrifood policies’ trajectories in 5 countries”, Agriculturas Neidecker (MS student), A. Bruce (Chair), H. Darby, M. Hoffman, M. Miller, and T. Safford (Committee Members). From Seed to Sourdough and Barley to Beer: Understanding structure, partnership strategies, and governance mechanisms in three Northeast grain value chains.   Objective 2 - Resilience Ingram, Mrill. 2023. "Building Cover Crop Expertise with Citizen Science: Supporting farmer innovation in a time of change." Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, Section Agroecology and Ecosystem Services Volume 7 - 2023 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1045769 C Brinkley, S Raj, S Raja. Planning for FEWsheds: the role of planning in integrating and strengthening food, energy and water systems. Journal of Planning Literature 38 (1), 33-58 Welsh, R., Amy K. Bentley, Lawrence Lam, Stefan Grimberg and Shane Rogers. 2024. “Anaerobic Digester Technology for Small-to-Moderate-Sized Dairy Farms: Constraints and Solutions.” In Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. Elsevier Inc. Stevens, A. W. & J. Teal (2024). Diversification and resilience of firms in the agrifood supply chain. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 106(2), 739–778. Laura Vang Rasmussen, Ingo Grass, Zia Mehrabi, Olivia M Smith, Rachel Bezner-Kerr, Jennifer Blesh, Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi, Marney E Isaac, Christina M Kennedy, Hannah Wittman, Péter Batáry, Damayanti Buchori, Rolando Cerda, Julián Chará, David W Crowder, Kevin Darras, Kathryn DeMaster, Karina Garcia, Manuel Gómez, David Gonthier, Aidee Guzman, Purnama Hidayat, Juliana Hipólito, Mark Hirons, Lesli Hoey, Dana James, Innocensia John, Andrew D Jones, Daniel S Karp, Yodit Kebede, Carmen Bezner Kerr, Susanna Klassen, Martyna Kotowska, Holger Kreft, Ramiro Llanque, Christian Levers, Diego J Lizcano, Adrian Lu, Sidney Madsen, Rosebelly Nunes Marques, Pedro Buss Martins, America Melo, Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Elissa M Olimpi, Jeb P Owen, Heiber Pantevez, Matin Qaim, Sarah Redlich, Christoph Scherber, Amber R Sciligo, Sieglinde Snapp, William E Snyder, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Anne Elise Stratton, Joseph M Taylor, Teja Tscharntke, Vivian Valencia, Cassandra Vogel, Claire Kremen. "Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture," 2024, Science, Volume 384, Issue 6691.  Miller, M., Konar, M., Peterson, H., Court, C., Shakya, S., Stevens, A. (in review) “Measuring Food Supply Network Resilience: Centrality in perishable food distribution networks in the United States”. Environmental Research: Food Systems, Special Issue: Focus on Trade and Food Systems Miller, M., Konar, M. (2024). “U.S. Food Flows: A Coldchain Network Analysis of Freight Movements to Inform Local and Regional Food Issues”. A report prepared for the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation Services Division. https://doi.org/10.21231/qfx4-4f67 Gwin, L., Miller, M., Lowe, E., Hoy, C., Cohen, N., Pirog, R, Tomich, T., Kelly, T.. “Resilience strategies for centers and institutes focused on food systems transformation”, Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development. Objective 3 - Policy L Poirier, D Antonio, M Dettmann, T Eng, J Ganata, S Ghosh, M Lopez, C Brinkley ...Making plans findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable with data infrastructure: A search engine for constructing, analyzing, and visualizing planning documents. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 23998083241227471 Staples, A., Howard, P., Conner, D., Sirrine, J., Ostrom, M., & Miller, M. (2023). Apples to advocacy: Evaluating consumer preferences for hard cider policies. Journal of Wine Economics, 1-16. doi:10.1017/jwe.2023.29 Stevens, A. W., J. Teal, C. D. Court, G. DiGiacomo, M. Miller, & H. H. Peterson (forthcoming). Predicting Firm Diversification in Agri-Food Value Chains. Journal of Food Distribution Research. Clark, L., Luistro, A., Ares, G., Miller, M., Baraibar, M., Ncwadi, M. (2024) “Global Action to End Hunger: Prospects for 2030”, Performance Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/13528165.2023.2363155

Impact Statements

Bruce’s work informed the federal ORIS office
Ashton’s work informed implementation of Chicago’s Good Food Purchasing Program
Hendrickson’s research informed rulemaking to strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act
Cumulatively, research and engagement with USDA AMS by many members of the project have informed the structure, function, and goals of USDA’s new Regional Food Business Centers and Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure.
Brinkley's research has improved the capacity of local governments in California to include food systems and climate change in planning.
Miller’s work has helped to shape state implementation of RSFI and RFBCs, and informed development of research and data agreements between Tribal Nations and the U of Wisconsin
Lloyd’s work has informed policy discussions on grazing policy and milk price supports