Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The meeting was called to order by Karina Gallardo at 9:00 a.m. 

• The minutes from last meeting in Washington D.C. were approved.

• Introductions and State Reports. Each member reported on their activities (comments below are brief summaries).

• Karina Gallardo informed that a renewal of the S1067 was due. The group agreed to renew the S1067 project. It was asked if the number of the project had to be changed. It was mentioned that it was preferred that the number does not change.
• It was agreed that the objectives should be differentiated in three general groups: 1) production, risk, and financial viability; 2) Consumer-oriented specialty crop topics; and 3) specialty crops marketing channel evolution and innovations. Writing teams for each group were created and leaders for each writing team were identified.

The Production objective team is led by Margarita Velandia. This group will focus on specialty crop supply topics that are driven by consumer preferences. Karina Gallardo, John Beghin, Greg Fonsah, and Tim Woods expressed interest in joining this team. This objective will include topics such as gene editing, technology innovation and adoption, labor management, risk management strategies, and specific strategies to manage climate change.

The Consumer-oriented objective team is led by Katherine Boys. Kathy Kelley expressed interest in joining this group. This objective will center on food safety and consumers’ willingness to pay for various specialty crop traits covered by S1067 members.

The Marketing Channel team is led by Zoë Plakias. This objective will center on policy issues, on local food supply, and international trade, including trade uncertainty.

• Plans for the future. It was discussed the possibility of putting together a special issue of the Journal of Food Distribution Research. Tim Woods suggested submitting a track session proposal to AAEA. Possibly sections to present AEM, Extension and Specialty Crops Economic.

• The meeting was adjourned at 12 noon.

State reports:

Dawn Thilmany – Colorado State University.

Dawn and Tim Woods put together a Choices issue on local foods.

Zoe Plakias, Dawn Thilmany, and Becca Jablonski are working on assessing local food marketing practices. Emphasize the importance of accessing USDA ARMS data.

Working on establishing a community of practice for local food economics.

Working on the program Farm to School in collaboration with ERS researchers.

Awarded a grant to work on analyzing the Buy 20% Local in various cities, including Denver, CO.

Marco Costanigro is working on wine label issues.

Alessandro Bonano is working on farm to school.

Ramu Govindasamy – Rutgers University.

Working on analyzing the demand for certified organic products. Collaborating with Kathy Kelley on wine research, given the increasing popularity of wineries in New Jersey. Researching the direct marketing of local foods in the North East.

Greg Fonsah- University of Georgia

Developing profitability analyses of citrus. Satsuma mandarins increasing in popularity in the south regions of Georgia. Put together enterprise budgets for different vegetables growing in Georgia.

Looking at the effects of the NAFTA revisions, especially on the pecan and blueberry Georgia industries.

Working on the different impacts of plastic use in agriculture.

James Stern -Oregon State University

Working on direct markets for Oregon produced wine. Collaborating with Clark Seavert on analyzing profitability impacts of mechanization in wine grapes and blueberries.

Analyzing the possibility of collaborating on hemp research.

Margarita Velandia – University of Tennessee Knoxville

Her work is under objective 2 of this project. She is investigating the likelihood of growers investing in alternatives to the use of plastic in agriculture. Conducted a survey to Tennessee growers on the use of biodegradable mulches and the WTP for these products. Investigating the economic feasibility of adopting biodegradable mulches in pumpkin production, and possible expansion to Kentucky and North Carolina.

Putting together two case studies centered on Food Justice non-profits, including both limited resource farmers and low-income consumers.

Zoë Plakias – The Ohio State University

Collaborating with Colorado State faculty on the Farm to School program.

Analyzing parent-child dyad data on farm to school. Purchasing policies and incentives on farm to school. 40% of Ohio state should come from local food sourcing. Conducting an impact evaluation on food assistance projects, including supply chain.

Working on transaction level data on produce auctions at Ohio state.

Collaborating with North Carolina State University on estimating supply elasticities for specialty crops. Conducting a meta-analysis of supply elasticities, for a variety of specialty crops and regions.

Other projects include direct marketing, agritourism, and food waste.

Tim Woods – University of Kentucky

Working on plastic use in agriculture issues, marine PET products. Collaborating on direct to consumer projects, CSI, farmers markets, risk including labor, market, price, and weather.

Collaborating with Minnesota faculty to develop national programs on direct to consumer specialty crops.

Working with a regional coalition for CSI innovation network. Led by University of Wisconsin Madison, participation of New York, California, Washington. Project to focus on: CSI best practices directed to benefit low income consumer, to improve wellness in the workplace.

Participating in a NIFA funded project directed to estimate a local food vitality index, collaborating with faculty at North Carolina State University and University of Tennessee.

Working on high tunnel specialty crops project.

Kathy Kelley – Pennsylvania State University

Working with wine grapes, focusing on farm, tourism, and recreation. Project includes identifying target segments for taste rooms.

She collaborates with the Pennsylvania wine team.

Also working with insect pests (spotted lanternfly) that attacks grapes and is an invasive species.

Working in a project dealing with cover crops for the viticulture industry and the added cost that translates to consumer purchase.

Conducted a survey to 1,000 Mid Atlantic wine drinkers to estimate the willingness to pay for sustainable wine.

Collaborating in a project to develop a signature grape for Pennsylvania, to produce white wine.

Working in a project centering on plastic use in agriculture.

Katherine Boys – North Carolina State University

Working on a project dealing with policies oriented to organic food, collaborating with the Ohio State University faculty. The goal of the project is to measure consumers’ confusion on organic, evaluate the impact of alternative labels.

Working on international trade of organic food and the impacts of certification costs.

Working on food safety issues, on farm food safety, assessing risks on farm originated foodborne illnesses.

Collaborating with Rebecca Dunning on farm food waste.

Collaborated with Bradley Rickard to produce a Choices issue on food waste.

Working on a project within North Carolina, centered on strategies to mitigate food waste such as developing a market for cosmetically imperfect fresh produce. 

Collaborating on a project center on public health, estimating the cost of SNAP and healthy eating in rural areas, subscription box initiative.

Participating in microbial soil health projects.

Linlin Fan – Pennsylvania State University

Working on food waste projects. Collaborating with Brenna Ellison, University of Illinois. Specifically looking at the frequency of consumption and food waste. Estimating the willingness to pay for increasing the number of shopping trips and the resulting reduction in food waste.

Preliminary findings of the study signaling that consumers perceive themselves as being the major creators of food waste. Analyzing the impact of policies oriented to reduce food waste by changing label requirements.

Also participating in a project looking at the obesity problem, its long-run effects and its root causes.

Studying the effects of the mandatory food labeling showcasing Vermont, having Washington and Oregon as control states.

John Beghin – University of Nebraska.

Analyzing the effects of retaliatory tariffs on Spanish olive oil trade.

Analyzing labeling issues in olive oil, considering that California olive oil often sold as blends.

Studying gene editing acceptance of fruits and vegetables. Willingness to pay for gene-edited fresh apples in the US collaborating with Stephen Marette.

Evaluating the impact of Genetic modification and Gene-edited technologies on trade. In other words, the impact of innovative technologies on trade.

Looking at climate change effects on trade flows.

Possibility of sharing an AAEA track session between international trade and specialty crop economics.

Ariana Torres – Purdue University

Working on the following projects:

Organic grains.

NIFA grant on value-added specialty crops focusing on diversification, access to local markets.

Putting together a conference on Big Data Safe Foods to be held on the Purdue campus, on May 12-13 2020. Topics to be covered include supply chain traceability, consumer preferences for IPM specialty crops.

Partnering with a Brazilian university to work on consumer’s preferences for food safety aspects.

Estimating economic impacts of plant growth regulators.

Cost-benefit analysis of increased market windows for crops.

Studying millennials preferences for organic, local and sustainable specialty crops.

Breeding turf -enterprise budgets for turf.

Resilience of ornamental growers.

Extension projects including collecting data on farmers markets weekly prices for 600 crops.

Portfolio analysis for farmers markets vendors.

David Lamie-Clemson University

Collaborating with Tim Woods on the Basket Wellness.

Research and extension programs to support local food systems. Regional project as an institutional response to local food systems needs.

Foodservice vendors required to sell a percentage of their sales as local foods.

Obtained funding to support research ad outreach needs related to health and nutrition.

Kynda Curtis – Utah State University

Marketing and uses of organic wheat

Producer adoption to drought and climate change

Climate changes impacts and adaption strategies for southest Indian country

Food and agritourism as an economic development strategy

Start-to-farm for urban and small farmers

Market development for refugee and native American fresh produce grower

Year-End Report by Objective:

Objective 1:       Develop demand and market valuation models for the produce sector that can be used to evaluate effects of increasingly complex product differentiation schemes (organic, enhanced health claims, biodynamic), trade, commodity marketing programs, labeling programs (local, food miles, Fair Trade), traceability systems, and food safety events in the U.S. produce markets. 

During 2018-19 Cornell University Brad Rickard continued working on examining consumer demand for food and beverages in the presence of various date labels and biosensors to better understand the role of this information on consumption. Results indicate that consumers are more likely to waste food when the date labels use words that are suggestive of food safety (versus food quality).  The use of different date labels has the capacity to differentially affect food waste and consumption across food categories, and this has the potential to influence dietary quality. Waste of meats and dairy products can be reduced with the use of certain date labels, which in turn leads to reductions in waste of certain vitamins, protein, fats, and cholesterol. As a result, with less of these products wasted and more consumed, it will lead to a relative increase in household availability of sugars and carbohydrates. 

In addition, during this reporting period Rickard have worked with Tim Richards at ASU studying the effects of acquisitions that are occurring in the U.S craft beer industry. They use Nielsen data to study what happens to prices and market shares of beer brands that are acquired by large breweries. In some cases, there is clear evidence that prices fall for the acquired brand, and its market share increases in underdeveloped segments of the country. 

In 2019-20 Cornell Brad Rickard, WSU Karina Gallardo, and UC Davis Julian Alston, will launch a consumer survey to assess consumer demand for specific traits (both production traits and sensory traits) in table grapes. This is work funded by the USDA-SCRI project titled VitisGEN2). There have been significant improvements in genetics and varietal innovation for table grapes over the past 20 years and expect to see more of the same over the next 20 years; the goal is to uncover the traits that are most important in an effort to inform the plant breeding choices that happen in this industry. Rickard have plans to conduct similar work studying traits in patented hops varieties that are becoming increasingly popular with craft beer producers in the United States.

Another new project is the consumer demand for wine in the presence of both expert reviews and peer (or community) reviews, often referred to as crowd sourced reviews. Preliminary findings suggest that peer reviews are particularly important in the wine market. More specifically, the effects of relatively poor peer reviews and relatively good peer reviews are not symmetric; negative reviews for your own wine and negative reviews for competing wines are shown to have a greater impact on consumer behavior.  

University of Kentucky Tim Woods participated in a project focusing on local food system assessment builds on a recent NIFA project that involves collaborators from Arkansas, N Carolina, and S Carolina with us in Kentucky.  The study area involves the U.S. South and subsequently involves even wider research and extension partnerships from across this region.  Most of the early efforts of this project have involved data collection.  Selected publications are noted below.

Mississippi State University Alba Collart participated on a project centered on fresh produced and food waste. Fresh produce accounts for a significant portion of food waste and significant amounts of fresh produce are wasted due to consumers’ aesthetic perceptions. Many brands of cosmetically different fresh produce have emerged with promises of keeping fresh produce from ending up in landfills and offering sellers a new differentiation scheme. Collart methodologically quantified skinning injury in fresh sweet potatoes and found consumer demand for sweet potatoes with varying degrees of blemishing. Consumers were willing to pay even for blemishing levels above what may be currently acceptable by U.S. retailers.

New Jersey Ramu Govindasamy, studied organic food purchasing preferences of consumers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States with regard to the impact of different sources of information about organic foods. In a survey of 1,100 respondents, three major resources (TV/News/Radio, the Internet, and relatives/friends) were chosen to put into three binary logistic regression models. Respondents who prefer alternative sources of information differ by age, income level, awareness of food safety and nutritional information, opinions of organic products, and willingness to patronize for grocery and organic products. Analysis of consumer profiles can help determine market strategies to optimize the distribution channel, therefore maximizing consumers' purchasing power of organic foods to expand the market. Specifically, this study identified the demographic characteristics that influence organic food consumers' sources of organic food information. Based on this study, farmers will be able to target specific media resources such as TV, newspaper, magazines, etc. to make better sales of organic produce. Govindasamy is also collaborating with Kathy Kelley on wine research, given the increasing popularity of wineries in New Jersey.

Washington State University Alan Love completed work evaluating production efficiency in green house tomato production in Turkey. Also, Love completed the estimation of demand elasticities for apples varieties produced in Turkey.

Colorado State University Dawn Thilmany collaborated with Tim Woods to put together a Choices issue on local foods. Zoe Plakias, Dawn Thilmany, and Becca Jablonski are working on assessing local food marketing practices. She emphasized the importance of accessing USDA ARMS data. Additionally, Thilmany is working on establishing a community of practice for local food economics and is working on the program Farm to School in collaboration with ERS researchers. Thilmany’s group was awarded a grant to work on analyzing the Buy 20% Local in various cities, including Denver, CO. Colorado State University Marco Costanigro is working on wine label issues; and Alessandro Bonano is working on farm to school program.

Oregon State University James Stern is working on direct markets for Oregon produced wine. Collaborating with Clark Seavert on analyzing profitability impacts of mechanization in wine grapes and blueberries. Stern is also analyzing the possibility of collaborating on hemp research.

Ohio State University Zoë Plakias is collaborating with Colorado State faculty on the Farm to School program is analyzing parent-child dyad data on farm to school. She is analyzing purchasing policies and incentives on farm to school practices. Plakias is conducting an impact evaluation on food assistance projects, including supply chain. She is working on transaction level data on produce auctions at Ohio state. Plakias is collaborating with North Carolina State University on estimating supply elasticities for specialty crops. In addition, she is conducting a meta-analysis of supply elasticities, for a variety of specialty crops and regions. Plakias is conducting other projects including direct marketing, agritourism, and food waste.

Pennsylvania State University Kathy Kelley is working with wine grapes, focusing on farm, tourism, and recreation. The project includes identifying target segments for taste rooms.

She collaborates with the Pennsylvania wine team. Kelley is also working with insect pests (spotted lanternfly) that attacks grapes and is an invasive species. Additionally, she is working on a project dealing with cover crops for the viticulture industry and the added cost that translates to consumer purchase. She conducted a survey to 1,000 Mid Atlantic wine drinkers to estimate the willingness to pay for sustainable wine. Kelley is collaborating in a project to develop a signature grape for Pennsylvania, to produce white wine. She is working in a project centering on plastic use in agriculture.

Purdue University Ariana Torres is working a diverse set of projects including analysis of demand for organic grains, specialty crops diversification, access to local market. Torres is partnering with a Brazilian university to work on consumers’ preferences for food safety practices. She is estimating the economic impact of plant growth regulators. She is conducting a cost benefit analysis of increased market windows for crops. She is studying millennials attitudes towards organic, local and sustainable specialty crops. Torres is working on building enterprise budgets for turf. She is analyzing resilience aspects for ornamental growers in the Midwest. Finally, she is conducting extension projects including collecting data on farmers markets weekly prices for 600 crops and conducting portfolio analysis for farmers markets vendors.

Clemson University David Lamie is collaborating with Tim Woods on the Basket Wellness projects. He is participating of research and extension programs to support local food systems. Lamie is participating at a regional project as an institutional response to local food systems needs. He obtained funding to support research and outreach needs related to health and nutrition.

Impact: The produce sector is facing complex product differentiation schemes, thus the need to include a diverse array of claims in their products ranging from enhanced health, food safety, traceability, production practices, among others. Results from demand and market valuation models guide producers in the improvement of strategies on how to better differentiate their products in the marketplace.

Objective 2:       Analyze the relative benefits and costs, to producers and consumers, of government and industry-led marketing and policy programs (certifications, Leafy Greens marketing order, Country of origin labeling, farmers markets) using both theoretical approaches and empirical evidence from multi-state applied research projects.

For this objective during 2018-19, Cornell University Brad Rickard continued using the Nielsen Homescan data to examine consumer demand for diversity in the wine market in regions with different policy environments.  The interest is in the role of public policies on the patterns of purchases that consumers make, and clear evidence was found that consumers purchase a wider array of wines (and beer) when wine (or beer) is more widely available. Hypotheses were tested using a subset of consumers that belong to the Nielsen panel and have moved between policy environments. Among these so-called “movers” there is additional empirical evidence that consumers in states with less restrictions on the retail availability of wine and beer are more likely to seek a wider range of products.  The impact of this study centers on a key policy issue across a number of states that are considering liberalizing regulations that govern where alcohol can be sold as we are offering guidance on how such a deregulation will affect consumer choice. 

In addition, during 2018-19 Rickard conducted work with Dan Sumner (UC Davis) and JunJie Wu (OSU) using the ARMS dataset to estimate supply response to the availability of crop insurance programs for fruits and vegetables.  This work is impactful in that is provides policy makers with new information on how crop insurance affects specialty crop markets and how any changes to risk management tools might affect the mix of crops grown in selected regions.

For the next reporting period, 2019-20 Rickard plans to expand upon earlier research on evaluating patents in horticultural markets. Part of this work is collaboratively with WSU Jill McCluskey and Karina Gallardo in looking at the optimal design of fees and royalties for newly introduced apple cultivars, and part of this is with the introduction of new rootstocks that can be paired with cultivars to help producers deal with a variety of physiological problems that occur in apple production. This is an important real-world question as most of the new cultivars and rootstocks that are being developed and commercialized by U.S. Land Grant universities are patented. The goal is to identify the conditions (regions, varieties, orchard management choices) that affect the long-term profitability of using different rootstocks in modern apple orchards. Preliminary results suggest that the adoption of patented Geneva rootstocks will, under most conditions, generate significant gains in the net present value of the flow of revenues from a modern apple orchard ion New York State.

Also, over the next year Rickard will conduct additional analysis and commentary on the effects of tariffs on agricultural and food products given the amount of attention that this subject has received in the popular press. During the previous reporting period information on the effects of EU-US tariffs was disseminated, in The Conversation, and it appears that this has generated interest among a lay audience that is looking for more information on this important economic question. 

As of activities out of University of Kentucky Tim Woods collaborated on a project centered on local source branding in restaurants which is supported by a USDA-FSMIP grant. The overall goal of the grant is to explore strategies for strengthening restaurant promotions of local sourcing to consumers.  The project works in collaboration with state departments of agriculture that have various programs in this area – particularly in S Carolina, N Carolina, Kentucky, Alaska, and Colorado.

Mississippi State University Alba Collart, is studying the sale of specific types of low-risk foods made in an individual’s home kitchen. These laws, known as cottage food laws, vary across the nation. The work by Collart, explained the benefits and responsibilities for food producers and entrepreneurs involved in the cottage food industry in the state of Mississippi.

University of Tennessee Margarita Velandia is investigating the likelihood of growers investing in alternatives to the use of plastic in agriculture. She conducted a survey to Tennessee growers on the use of biodegradable mulches and the WTP for these products. Velandia is investigating the economic feasibility of adopting biodegradable mulches in pumpkin production, and possible expansion to Kentucky and North Carolina. Velandia is putting together two case studies centered on Food Justice non-profits, including both limited resource farmers and low-income consumers.

North Carolina State University Katherine Boys is working on a project dealing with policies oriented to organic food, collaborating with the Ohio State University faculty. The goal of the project is to measure consumers’ confusion on organic, evaluate the impact of alternative labels. She is working on international trade of organic food and the impacts of certification costs. She is also working on food safety issues, on farm food safety, assessing risks on farm originated foodborne illnesses. Boys is collaborating with Rebecca Dunning on farm food waste. Boys collaborated with Bradley Rickard to produce a Choices issue on food waste. Boys is working on a project within North Carolina, centered on strategies to mitigate food waste such as developing a market for cosmetically imperfect fresh produce.  Boys is collaborating on a project center on public health, estimating the cost of SNAP and healthy eating in rural areas, subscription box initiative. Boys is also participating in microbial soil health projects.

Utah State University Kynda Curtis is working on marketing and uses of organic wheat. She is analyzing producer adoption of different technologies that would mitigate the effects of drought and climate change on crops. She is working on food and agritourism as an economic development strategy. She is working on a project centered on developing market strategies for refugee and native American fresh produce growers.

Impact There is an abundance of government and industry-led marketing and policy programs (e.g., certifications, Leafy Greens marketing order, country of origin labelling, farmers markets, among others); however, the benefits and costs of such programs to both producers and consumers is yet unknown.

Objective 3:       Assess the changing coordination and supply chain management strategies being implemented in the fruit and vegetable sector and identify strategic organizational and marketing implications for a set of firms that are diverse in terms of commodity, marketing approach and size of operation (including small and mid-size farms). 

At University of Kentucky, Tim Woods is working on the local food system as a supply chain management strategy. CSA innovations are being explored through a recently funded USDA-AMS project to establish a national CSA Innovation Network.  This is a collaboration between core partners in Kentucky, Wisconsin, and California, but with other project partners in 6 other states.

Another supply chain management is to address high tunnel production. This system is growing quickly as producer seek to capture season extension opportunities.  Part of the collaboration on the production side has been through SERA-45, a regional specialty crops research and extension project largely in the Ohio River Valley states.  A recently funded SSARE R&E grant has provided opportunity to gather market channel impact data from high tunnel producers regionally.  Additional data exploring produce auction market structural price changes related to early/late season for regional crops has been pursued in collaboration with colleagues at Ohio State, VA Tech, and NC State.

Food is lost or wasted throughout a supply chain starting from production to end user/consumer. One study in the project -Alba Collart, Mississippi State University- sought to understand the sources of food loss and waste along the supply chain of a specific food item (Mississippi-grown sweet potatoes) and discussed strategies that could reduce the food loss and waste generated by these sources.

University of Georgia Greg Fonsah is developing profitability analyses of citrus. Satsuma mandarins increasing in popularity in the south regions of Georgia. Put together enterprise budgets for different vegetables growing in Georgia.  Fonsah is also looking at the effects of the NAFTA revisions, especially on the pecan and blueberry Georgia industries. Finally, Fonsah is working on the different impacts of plastic use in agriculture.

Pennsylvania State University Linlin Fan is working on food waste projects. Collaborating with Brenna Ellison, University of Illinois, and specifically looking at the frequency of consumption and food waste. Fan is estimating the willingness to pay for increasing the number of shopping trips and the resulting reduction in food waste. Fan’s preliminary findings of the study signaling that consumers perceive themselves as being the major creators of food waste. Analyzing the impact of policies oriented to reduce food waste by changing label requirements. Fan is also participating in a project looking at the obesity problem, its long-run effects and its root causes.

Fan is studying the effects of the mandatory food labeling showcasing Vermont, having Washington and Oregon as control states.

University of Nebraska John Beghin is analyzing the effects of retaliatory tariffs on Spanish olive oil trade. Beghin is analyzing labeling issues in olive oil, considering that California olive oil often sold as blends. He is studying gene editing acceptance of fruits and vegetables. Willingness to pay for gene-edited fresh apples in the US collaborating with Stephen Marette. Beghin is evaluating the impact of Genetic modification and Gene-edited technologies on trade. In other words, the impact of innovative technologies on trade. Beghin is looking at climate change effects on trade flows. Beghin is also looking at the possibility of sharing an AAEA track session between international trade and specialty crop economics.

Impact: The produce sector often relies on the supply chain structure to successfully locate their products in the marketplace. The supply chain importance for the produce sector is such, that producers often adapt their production practices to the supply chain mechanism that best adapts to their needs. In such context, it is useful to assess the changing coordination and supply chain management, to identify most successful practices and harmonize/standardize performance benchmarks throughout the sector. In special tailoring firms that focus on a diverse array of commodities and marketing approaches; and exhibit different operation sizes.

Outputs and Dissemination

Outreach/Industry Presentations

Canales, E. "Specialty Crop Outlook." Agricultural Financial Professional Workshop, Department of Agricultural Economics. Mississippi State, MS. December 12, 2018.

Canales, E. “Importance of GAPs certification for Market Access”. Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course. Raymond, MS. September 27, 2019.

Canales, E. “Importance of GAPs certification for Market Access”. Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course. Choctaw, MS. May 1, 2019.

Canales, E. “Importance of GAPs certification for Market Access”. Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course. Oxford, MS. April 30, 2019.  

Canales, E. “Production Planning in Local Food Systems: Food Hubs, Coops, and Farmers Markets”. Growing Mississippi’s Local Foods Industry Webinar Series. March 29, 2019.

Canales, E. “Specialty Crop Outlook”. Southern Outlook Conference. Atlanta, GA. September 2019.

Canales, E. “Specialty crops and value-added agriculture”. 2018 Farm Bill Education Conference. Kansas City, MO. May, 2019.

Centinari, M., Fleishman, S., & Kelley, K. M. (March 5, 2019). "Under-vine cover crops: Can they mitigate vine vigor and control weeds while maintaining vine productivity?," Wine Marketing Research Board Symposium, Pennsylvania Wine Marketing Research Board. State.

Collart, A.J. “Consumer Insights and Food Policy Update.” Growing Mississippi’s Local Food Industry, Local Flavor Webinar Series. March, 2019.

Collart, A.J. “Three Consumer Insights that Could Help Your Small Food Businesses Grow.” Growing Mississippi’s Local Food Industry, Local Flavor Extension Program. October, 2019.

Connor, D., & Kelley, K. M. (January 28, 2019). "Bramble workshop: Economics and marketing," Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Hershey, PA, 15 in attendance. Regional.

Cornelisse, S., & Kelley, K. M. (January 28, 2019). "Social media: Introduction," Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Hershey, PA, 13 in attendance, Invited. Regional.

Curtis, K. Direct marketing outlets for fresh produce presented in SLC, Utah in September 2019 and Logan, UT in September 2019.

Fonsah, E.G. Banana Production and Marketing. Worth County 4 H program, Community Garden. Sylvester Community Garden. Sept. 18, 19.

Fonsah, E.G. Banana Research in South Georgia. YSP from Athens. June 21, 19. Tifton.

Fonsah, E.G. Economic Analysis of producing satsuma citrus in GA using enterprise budget.

Fonsah, E.G. Growing banana as business. Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA. Nov. 05, 19. Tifton.

Fonsah, E.G. Pecan Interest Group. Farm Business Expo Agenda. Feb 27, 19. Tifton.

Fonsah, E.G. Production and Profitability of Satsuma. Satsuma Growers. Aug. 28, 19. Valdosta.

Gallardo, R.K., and B. Rickard. “A Comparison of Supply Chain Agents’ Willingness to Pay for Fruit Quality Attributes.”  Presented at the New York Produce Show and Conference.  New York, NY.  December 12, 2018.  40 attendees.

Gallardo, R.K. “Costs Associated with Codling Moth Control-En Español.”

Wilbur Ellis Grower Metting, Yakima, WA. January 29, 2019. N=100.

Gallardo, R.K. “Costs Associated with Fire Blight-En Español.”

WSDA Pacific Northwest Aggie, Pasco, WA.  November 7, 2018. N=80.

WSDA Farmworker Education Program, Sunnyside, WA. December 7, 2018. N=30.

GS Long Grower Metting, Yakima, WA. January 16, 2019. N=500.

Wilbur Ellis Grower Metting, Yakima, WA. January 29, 2019. N=100.

Georgia Citrus Annual Conference. Feb 25, 19. Tifton.

Govindasamy, R. “Factors Influencing African Indigenous Vegetable Farmers’ Bargaining Power”, Symposium on African Indigenous Vegetables: From Income Generation to Health And Nutrition Organized by UC Davis Horticulture Innovation Lab – Rutgers University, Nairobi, Kenya, July 18-19, 2019.

Govindasamy, R., and J. Ochieng “AIV Marketing and Value Chain Studies: Working Session”, Symposium on African Indigenous Vegetables: From Income Generation to Health And Nutrition Organized by UC Davis Horticulture Innovation Lab – Rutgers University, Nairobi, Kenya, July 18-19, 2019.

Govindasamy, R., J. E. Simon, E. Merchant, S. Weller, E. Nyeleti, E. Van Wyk, L. Sakala, M. Mbewe, N. Mwale, H. Moonga and A. Rau. “Marketing African Indigenous Vegetables: Findings from Zambia”, Poster Presentation, Symposium on African Indigenous Vegetables: From Income Generation to Health and Nutrition Organized by UC Davis Horticulture Innovation Lab – Rutgers University, Nairobi, Kenya, July 18-19, 2019.

Govindasamy, R., Q. Gao, P. Selvakumar, I. Vellangany and B. Ozkan.  “Characteristics of Frequent Online Shoppers Among Organic Produce Consumers: A Case Study from the Mid-Atlantic United States”, Food Distribution Research Society Conference in Seattle, WA, USA, October 2019.

Ho, S.-T., and B. Rickard. 2019. “One-stop or multi-stop shopping for wine, beer, and

Keller, S., Centinari, M., & Kelley, K. M. (March 5, 2019). "Defining regional typicity of Grüner Veltliner wines.," Wine Marketing Research Board Symposium, Pennsylvania Wine Marketing Research Board. State.

Kelley, K. M. (January 29, 2019). "Trends and consumer demand for specialty cut flowers," Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Hershey, PA, 200 in attendance, Invited. Regional.

Kelley, K. M. (July 25, 2019). "Wine marketing its the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region: Research and Extension," Energy, Business, and Community Vitality Extension Team, College of Agricultural Sciences, Pennsylvania State University.

Kelley, K. M. (March 12, 2019). "Wine Marketing in the Mid-Atlantic Region in the U.S.: Results from Consumer Research," Food Decisions Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University. Regional.

Lamie, R. David. Building Entrepreneurial, Farm Management, and Land Use Stewardship Capacity for Emerging Farmers in South Carolina. USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. Albuquerque, New Mexico. 23-26 September 2018

Lamie, R. David. Collective Actions on Local Food System Development Work at Clemson. Food Forward inaugural event.  Watts Innovation Center. Clemson. 1 March 2019.

Lamie, R. David. Securing a Niche with Southern Heritage Crops. Workshop for SCNBFP Alumni and others. Invited speakers included Stephen Kresovich, David Shields, Brian Ward, Nathan Smith. Phillips Market Center. 25 March 2019.

Lamie, R. David. SSAWG Growing Farm Profits Training. SSAWG Annual Conference. Day-long workshop for producers and their farm planning mentors. Planning committee and project advisor. Little Rock, Arkansas. 23 January 2019.

Lamie. R. David. Local Food Systems for Cooperative Extension Agents - a SARE-funded course offering developed and delivered through a three-state collaboration (VA, NC, SC). Course syllabus developed. Pilot program implemented in NC with involvement from SC and VA, though all students were from NC. Future plans are to develop as an online course for broader dissemination to both Extension and beyond. See http://www.localfoodcourses.org/about_us for more information. Currently delivering pilot to 8 participants from across SC, representing Extension, non-profits, etc.

Lelekacs, Joanna Massey. J. Dara Bloom. Abbey Piner. Rebecca Dunning. Eric Bendfeldt. Dave Lamie. Emma Brinkmeyer. Moving the NC Local Food System Toward Sustainability: A Comprehensive Graduate Course in Local Food Systems for Cooperative Extension Agents, Specialists, and Other Educators. USDA National Direct Marketing Summit. Washington, DC. September 17, 2018

Lunardo, R., and B. Rickard.  2018. “Too Funny, for Everybody? How Fun Elements in Wine Labels Decrease Willingness-to-Pay and Intentions as a Function of Risk Propensity.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Marketing Advances. West Palm Beach, FL. November 1, 2018.

Plakias, Zoë T. 2019 (January 14). “Consumer Trends and Potential Implications for Ohio Agriculture.” Pickaway and Ross County Agricultural Outlook, Circleville, OH. Mode: In person.

Plakias, Zoë T. 2019 (May 8). “Food and Agriculture as Ingredients of Economic Development.” AEDE Spring 2019 Outlook and Policy Conference: Challenges and Opportunities for Economic Development in Ohio, Columbus, OH. Mode: In person.

Plakias, Zoë T. 2019 (November 12). “Ohio Food System Trends and Outlook.” AEDE Agricultural Policy and Outlook Conference, Columbus, OH. Mode: In person.

Richards, T.J., and B. Rickard.  2019. “Dynamic model of mergers and pricing in the beer industry.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Atlanta, GA. July 22, 2019.

Rickard, B., S.T. Ho, A. Okrent. 2019. “Food waste mitigation and household nutrient availability.” Presented at the Food Forum at the National Academy of Science.  Washington, DC. August 8, 2019.

Rickard, Bradley.  “An overview of regulations facing the U.S. wine market.”  Presented to visitors from CHANGINS School of Viticulture and Enology in Switzerland.  Ithaca, NY.  June 18, 2019.  12 attendees.

Rickard, Bradley.  “Situation and Outlook Report for Fruits and Vegetables.”  Presented at the Dyson School Agricultural Outlook Conference.  Ithaca, NY.  January 18, 2019.  20 attendees.

Rickard, Bradley.  “The Economic Implications of Adopting Geneva Apple Rootstocks”  Presented at the 62^nd Annual meeting of the International Tree Fruit Association. Rochester, NY.  February 25, 2019.  250 attendees.

Rickard, Bradley.  “The Economic Implications of Adopting Geneva Apple Rootstocks”  Presented at the Cornell Agriculture and Food Systems In-service: Farm Management and Marketing.  Ithaca, NY.  November 15, 2018.  12 attendees.

Rickard, Bradley. “Findings from recent Cornell research examining consumers and fresh produce.” Presented as part of the Future-Leaders-in-Produce Foundational Excellence Program at New York Produce Show and Conference.  New York, NY.  December 10, 2018.  75 attendees.

Simon, J.E., Govindasamy, R., and D. Hoffman “Impact of AIVs Relative to Our Projects: Working Session”, Symposium on African Indigenous Vegetables: From Income Generation To Health And Nutrition Organized by UC Davis Horticulture Innovation Lab – Rutgers University, Nairobi, Kenya, July 18-19, 2019.

spirits? A case study of the U.S. alcohol market.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Wine Economics. Vienna, Austria. July 16, 2019.

Torres, A.  American Flower Endowment, IN.

Torres, A.  Indiana Professional Landscape Association, IN.

Torres, A. Keynote speaker at the Great Lakes AgTech Summit, New technologies and market trends in the urban farming industry.

Torres, A. Marketing and economic sessions at the three most important growers’ conferences in Indiana: Green Expo, Hort Congress, and IN Small Farm Field Day.

Torres, A. Organic grains, IN.

Torres, A. Small Farm Conference, IN.

Velandia, M. “Use of plastic mulch among fruit and vegetable producers: Survey results.” Eastern and Central Regions Fruit, Vegetable and Food Safety In-service. University of Tennessee, March 12, and March 26, 2019.

Velandia, M., Wszelaki, A., and Debruyn, J. “ Biodegradable Mulches: What are the effects on the ground, on the crop, and on your pocketbook.” 2019 Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) conference, in Dayton, OH, February 16, 2019.

Weaver, R.D. and B. Chen. (2019) Food System Waste: Incentives for Price Strategies. presented at 169thEAAE Seminar System Dynamics and Innovation in Food Networks  

Woods, T.  “Marketing Profitable Specialty Crops”, NKY Specialty Crop Grower’s Conference, Covington, KY, Feb 26, 2019.

Woods, T.  Are CSAs Good for Your Health?, (with Jairus Rossi and Brooke Gentile), Kentucky Local Food Systems Summit, Lexington, KY  March 27, 2019.

Woods, T. “Business-to-Business Selling Techniques for Institutional Customers”, Western Kentucky University Beginning Farmer Program, March 9, 2019.

Woods, T. “Effective Marketing Strategies for Selling Produce” and “Marketing for All: Visual Marketing”, KY Fruit and Vegetable Growers Conference, Lexington, KY Jan 8-9, 2019.

Woods, T. “Local Food Vitality Index: Measuring Residents’ Perceptions of their Food System in Louisville, KY”, Invited seminar, Horticulture Departmental Series, Purdue University March 7-8, 2019.

Woods, T. “Local Food Vitality Index: Measuring Residents’ Perceptions of their Food System”, (with Jairus Rossi), UKCES Horticulture Agent Training, Woodford County, KY March 3, 2019.

Woods, T. Buy Local Farm-to-Restaurant Opportunities for Farmers, (with Joanna Coles) WBKO Farm and Home Show, June 4, 2019.

Woods, T. High Tunnel Expansion in Kentucky, (with Joanna Coles) WBKO Farm and Home Show, June 4, 2019.

Woods, T. Kentucky Horticulture 2019 Market Update, (with Joanna Coles) WBKO Farm and Home Show, October 11, 2019.

Woods, T. Produce Consumption and Healthy Workplaces, (with Joanna Coles) WBKO Farm and Home Show, October 12, 2019.

Woods, T. Workplace CSA: Approaches, Benefits, Practice (with Jairus Rossi), Michigan CSA Networking Meeting, E Lansing, MI, July 8, 2019.

Yu, Z., R. Govindasamy, J. E. Simon, E. Van Wyk, K. Chali, E. Nyeleti, M. Mbewe, and N. Mwale. “Bargaining Power of African Indigenous Vegetable farmers:  Empirical Evidence from Zambia”, Poster Presentation, Symposium on African Indigenous Vegetables: From Income Generation To Health And Nutrition Organized by UC Davis Horticulture Innovation Lab – Rutgers University, Nairobi, Kenya, July 18-19, 2019.

Yue, C., Govindasamy, R., & Kelley, K. M. (July 2019). "Mid-Atlantic wine industry target market analysis using decision trees.," American Association of Wine Economists Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria. International.

Yue, C., R. Govindasamy, and K. Kelley. “Mid-Atlantic Wine Industry Target Market Analysis Using Decision Trees”, 13th Annual American Association of Wine Economists, Vienna, Austria, July 14-18, 2019.

Zhigang, Y., P. Zhang, S. Bhuyan and R. Govindasamy.  “Analyzing Consumers’ WTP a Brand Premium for RTE Ethnic Foods: An Ordered Logit Regression Model Approach”, Food Distribution Research Society Conference in Seattle, WA, USA, October 2019.

Academic Presentations

Amin, M., McCluskey, J.J., R.C. Mittelhammer, H. Oliver, and S. Wu, “Socioeconomic Influences on Food Safety Risks in the Retail Food Environment,” AAEA meetings, Atlanta, July 22, 2019.

Amin, M., McCluskey, J.J., R.C. Mittelhammer, H. Oliver, and S. Wu, “Use of Socioeconomic Data to Predict Prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in Retail Food Environments,” Invited presentation at the Aus. Ag. & Resource Econ. Society, Melbourne, Australia, February 13, 2019.

Bergland, Olvar, H. Alan Love, and Faisal Mirza. “Congested Transmission Lines and Market Power: An Input-Output Hidden Markov Model of Supply.” Western Economics Association International, 15^th International Conference, 21-24 March 2019, Keio University, Japan.

Canales, E. “Specialty Crop Outlook for 2019”. Organized Symposium 2019 Southern Crops Economic Outlook Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting. Birmingham, AL. February 4, 2019.

Canales, E. “The Farm Bill and the Future of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program”. Organized Symposium Farm Bill Policy in 2019. Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting. Birmingham, AL. February 4, 2019.

Chen, K.-J. and J.J. McCluskey. “Impacts of Expert Information on Prices for an Experience Good across Product Quality Segments,” Annual AAWE Conference, Ithaca, NY, June 2018.

Collart, A.J. “Consumer-driven Food and Nutrition Policy in the United States.” Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) Annual Meeting, Birmingham, AL, Feb. 2–5, 2019.

Collart, A.J., S.L. Meyers, and J.K. Ward. “Consumer Perception of Skinning Injury in Sweet potatoes and Implications for Marketability: An Experimental Auction.” Invited Seminar. Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Purdue University, IN, Sept. 19, 2019.

Crist, C., and E. Canales. “Use of a multidisciplinary program approach to assist food entrepreneurs in mitigating business, financial and food safety risks.” International Association for Food Protection Annual Meeting. Louisville, KY July 21-24, 2019. Poster presentation.

Curtis, K., and D. Quarnstrom, “Untangling the Economic and Social Impediments to Producer Adoption of Organic Wheat.” Selected paper presented at the Food Distribution Research Society Annual Meeting, Arlington, VA, September 2018.

Curtis, K., and T. Drugova, “Do Multi-labeled Food Products Inform or Confuse Consumers?” Invited paper presentation of the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, Melbourne, Australia, February 2019.

Devine, B., R.C. Mittelhammer, J.J. McCluskey, T. Minor, and B. Parr, “A Methodology and Application of Expert Opinion and Econometric Mixtures for Generating USDA-ERS Predictions of Specialty Crop Quantities and Prices,” AAEA meetings, Atlanta, July 22, 2019.

Gallardo, R.K., D. Zilberman, L. Lu, and A. Jung. 2019. “Adoption of Mechanization Solutions for Harvesting Fresh Market Blueberries.” Annual Meetings of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Atlanta, GA. July 22-23.

Garrido, D. and R.K. Gallardo. 2019. “The Role of Environmental and Technological Information on Food Choices: Insights from the Combination of In-home Sensory Evaluations and On-line Auctions”. Annual Meetings of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Atlanta, GA. July 22-23.

Gould, S., A.J. Collart, and K. Coble. “Divvying Up the Pie: U.S. Adults’ Preferences for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Spending.” Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) Annual Meeting. Birmingham, AL, Feb. 2–5, 2019.

Grant, K., R.K. Gallardo, J. McCluskey. 2019. “Measuring Consumer Preference for Clean Label in Processed Foods”. Annual Meetings of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Atlanta, GA. July 22-23.

Keblis, Matthew, F., H. Alan Love, and William E. Stein. “Managing Service Effectiveness through Pay-for-Performance Compensation of Call Center Representatives.” International Conference of Innovative Research in East-West Business, 2018 DUT International Academic Exchanges Week, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian China, October 29, 2018.

Li, T., J.J. McCluskey, and K.D. Messer, “Wine Produced with Recycled Water Irrigated Grapes: Is it Hard to Swallow?” AAEA annual conference, Washington, DC, August 5-7.

McCluskey, J.J.  “Value Chains: Labels, Standards, and Reputations,” International Association of Agricultural Economists Conference, Vancouver, BC, July 28, 2018.

McCluskey, J.J. “Innovations for Supporting Contracting in Supply Chains.” Food Forum workshop on Innovations in the Food System: Shaping the Future of Food, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, Washington, DC, August 7, 2019.

McCluskey, J.J. “The future of Agricultural Economics,” Symposium in Honor of David Zilberman, Hebrew University at Rehovot, Israel, May 29, 2019.

McCluskey, J.J. “Willingness to Pay: The Future of Valuation for Policy” AAEA meetings, Atlanta, July 22, 2019.

McCluskey, J.J. and J.A. Winfree, “Collective Reputation in Online Platforms and Private Quality Standards,” Applied Social Sciences Association annual meeting, Jan. 5, 2018.

McCluskey, J.J., J. Watson, and J. Winfree, “Social Interaction and Preferences for New Technology,” ICABR, Ravello, Italy, June 6, 2019.

Peguero, F., S. Zapata, A. Muhammad, E. Canales. “Changes in US-China Trade Relations: Risks and Opportunities for LAC”. Selected Paper presented at the 2019 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA. July 2019.

Salisbury, K., K. Curtis, V. Pozo, R. Ward, and C. Durward, “Is Fresh Produce at Farmers’ Markets Really More Expensive?” Selected paper presented at the Western Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Coeur D’ Alene, ID, June 2019.

Grants, Contracts

Canales, Elizabeth Co-Principal Investigator “Advancing, Inspiring, Motivating for Community Health through Extension (AIM or CHangE)”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Department of Health and Human Services. September 2018 – September 2023. $5 million. PI: D. Buys (MSU).

Canales, Elizabeth Co-Principal Investigator “Good Agricultural Practices Education – Identifying the barriers and challenges faced by producers.” USDA - Agriculture Marketing Service, Mississippi Department of Agricultural and Commerce. October 2018 – September 2020. $ 9,786.

Canales, Elizabeth Co-Principal Investigator “Integrating Low-Cost Soil Moisture Sensor Technology for Sustainable Vegetable Production”. USDA - Agriculture Marketing Service, Mississippi Department of Agricultural and Commerce. September 2019 – September 2021. $37,671. PI: C. Barickman (MSU).

Canales, Elizabeth Co-Principal Investigator “Prevention and Preparation: Mitigating and Minimizing Risks of Unforseen Events through Equipping Producers and Processors with Communication, Economic, and Regulatory Food Safety Knowledge and Resources”. Extension Risk Management Education Program (ERME), USDA-NIFA. April 2019 – March 2020. $43,556. PI: C. Crist (MSU).

Gallardo, Karina and Canales, Elizabeth. Co-Principal Investigator. “VacciniumCAP: Leveraging genetic and genomic resources to enable development of blueberry and cranberry cultivars with improved fruit quality attributes”. USDA-NIFA. September 2019 – August 2023. $6,417,340. PD: M. Iorizzo (NCSU). Co-PD: C. Finn, N. Vorsa, P. Edger, N. Bassil, P. Munoz, J. Zalapa, P. Perkins-Veazie, K. Gallardo, A. Atucha, D. Main, M.A. Lila. Co-PI: L. Giongo, D. Chagne, R. Espley, C. Li, J. Polashock, C. Sims, E. Canales, L.W. DeVetter.

Gallardo, Karina and Brad Rickard. Co-Principal Investigator “VitisGen2: Application of Next Generation Technologies to Accelerate Grapevine Cultivar Development.” USDA-NIFA September 2017-August 2021. $6,550,976. PD: B. Reisch.

Hansen, Z., N. Bumgarner, D. Lockwood, M. Rose, V. Sykes, and M. Velandia. “Evaluating Cultivar Selection and Integrated Pest Management Practices Economically to Support Blueberry Growers in the Mid-South.” Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium, 3/2019 – 2/2020 ($5,000).

Love, A. Co-Principal Investigator: NIFA - Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI), 2019-2023. $2 million. From Compost Carryover to Compost Legacy: Intercropping and compost effects on yield, quality, and soil health in organic dryland wheat.

Love, A. Co-Principal Investigator. Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. “Bilateral Contract Design and Retail Market Development for Flexible Electric Power Systems with Residential Demand-Side Participation,” January 2019 – December 2020 $249,785.

Rudolph, Rachel, Ricardo Bessin, Timothy Woods (Co-PI), John Obrycki, Krista Jacobsen, and Emily Pfeufer, “Experiential High Tunnel Training for Cooperative Extension Service Agents in Kentucky”, USDA-SSARE, 2019-2021, $64,304.

Timothy Woods (PI), Jairus Rossi, Dave Lamie, Stacey McCullough, Aleta Botts, Joanna Lelekacs, Becky Bowen, Karen Rignall, Paul, Vijayakumar, J. Dara Bloom ,” Measuring and Building on Local Food System Vitality for Communities in the South”, National Institute of Food and Agriculture/USDA, 2018-2020, $493,560.

Timothy Woods, Alison Davis, Jairus Rossi, Best Practices of Financially Sustainable Incentive Programs for Sourcing and Verifying Local Food in Restaurants, USDA-FSMIP, 2019-2021, $98,410.

Torres, A. NCR-SARE Understand growers’ production barriers and marketing opportunities.

Torres, A. Purdue University, Big Data Safe Foods Conference in May 2020.

Torres, A. SCBG-multistate grant. Growers’ barriers and opportunities for low-input turfgrass.

Torres, A. USAID grant. Egypt Center of Excellence focused on horticulture industry/university partnerships.

Torres, A. USDA-FNRI. Consumers’ preference for low-input technologies used to grow edibles in greenhouse systems.

Funded and In Progress

Woods, T. Measuring and Building on Local Food System Vitality for Communities in the South; USDA-NIFA.

Under Review

Webb, Sara and R. David Lamie. AMSTA Case Studies and Good Practices Guidebook. Development of seven case studies of USDA Local Food Promotion Program and Farmers Market Program grants in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. (in review)

Short term outcomes

From the work developed at University of Tennessee, at workshops in September 2019, 100% of participants stated they would use workshop biodegradable materials in their operation, and they would attend a similar workshop again. Just over 80% plan to expand their fresh produce sales next year and add additional markets (new farmers market or farm stand) to their current strategy. Participants would like to learn more about organic growing techniques, harvesting/cleaning products to sell, and land preparation.

Trough in-service trainings and producer conferences, the Tennessee team increased practical knowledge among fruit and vegetable producers and Extension agents working with this kind of growers that will allow fruit and vegetable growers to make more informed decisions about the decision to transition from polyethylene (PE) mulch to biodegradable mulches (BDM). During this reporting period, they provided information to 27 producers from various US southeastern states at conferences and during in-person meetings to help them assess the economic feasibility of adopting BDM in their farm operations. They also provided information to 31 Extension agents in Tennessee to support their efforts to help fruit and vegetable producers assess the economic feasibility of adopting BDM in their farm operation.

Activity

At the University of Tennessee, a partial budget analysis is used to evaluate the economic feasibility of adopting biodegradable mulches in pumpkin production, and the factors influencing changes in net profits when transitioning from polyethylene mulches to biodegradable mulches. Survey data was analyzed using a probit model to evaluate the correlation between labor savings and environmental stewardship and the use of plastic biodegradable mulches. Also, survey data is used to evaluate fruit and vegetable farmer willingness to pay for plastic biodegradable mulches. 

At the Ohio State University, the team advanced a project that looks at the impacts of healthy food policies and changes in demand for healthy food on farmers, with the help of a graduate research assistant. Researchers developed a draft theoretical model and submitted a grant proposal for an internal Ohio State grant competition to pursue further research in this area. A paper on local food sourcing by Ohio State University (OSU) Dining Services, was revised. This article is in preparation for submission. A paper with co-authors H. Allen Klaiber and Brian Roe in which factors driving differences in local food expenditures among K-12 school districts in the US as part of farm to school (FTS) programs, was submitted. This paper was revised and resubmitted to Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics during the reporting period.

At the Ohio State University, Plakias published a paper with co-authors Ani Katchova and Iryna Demko in which the farm and farmer characteristics that relate to direct marketing channel choice by US farmers were explored. This paper was published in Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems during the reporting period. Plakias submitted a paper with co-authors Rachael Goodhue and Jeffrey Williams on farmers' voting choice for mandatory agricultural producer organizations in the California peach and nectarine industry. This paper is revise and resubmit at California Agriculture. Plakias started developing a project on specialty crop supply response with co-author Daniel Tregeagle (NC State). Plakias began developing a survey of specialty crop supply elasticity users and producers, and submitted a USDA NIFA AFRI Foundational program grant to fund this work during the reporting period. Plakias started developing a project on impact evaluation of two community food assistance programs in Appalachian Ohio, both associated with the Chesterhill Produce Auction--a venue where Amish and Mennonite farmers sell their specialty crops. This project has been funded in part by an internal OSU grant. Plakias developed research questions, participated in a site visit, and developed survey instruments for farmers, consumers and non-profit stakeholders during the reporting period.

At Mississippi State University, Collart analyzed the incidence of sweet potato loss in the supply chain and consumers’ willingness to pay for damaged product. Collart conducted workshops, trainings, and webinars to educate specialty crop producers about pertinent food policies, market access, marketing, food safety and certification, and best management practices. In addition, Collart collaborated with other project members in submitting grant applications to study fruit quality and supply chain for specialty crop products.

Milestone

University of Tennessee Velandia work has contributed on increasing awareness of the costs associated with soil plastic pollution caused by the use of polyethylene mulches, and therefore, the benefits of adopting biodegradable mulches.

Ariana Torres Extension program website (purdue.ag/hortbusiness) has received over 11,000 unique page visitors since August 2016. The reach of her program in all Extension outlets is summarized in the table below:

Torres impact of larger extension events co-led on marketing and economics in Indiana in 2019

At Mississippi State University, Collart work contributed to increase awareness about food waste along the supply chain of sweet potatoes and the strategies to reduce waste and food loss. Collart work also contribute to increase awareness of the availability and consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables in the Delta region of Mississippi. Collart work also increase awareness about the importance of adopting food safety practices and obtaining GAP certification to improve access to markets. Finally, Collart work increase awareness of marketing strategies and value-added opportunities for farmers involved in local food economies.

Intended potential long-term outcomes and impacts

The potential impacts of this project will be in three realms: 1) market information to enhance coordination among supply chain participants; 2) recommendations that can be used to improve marketing performance; and 3) insights on costs and benefits of value provided to policymakers who are considering oversight, grading, and certification programs to enhance market activities.

Previous work by committee members has been used by a broad set of stakeholders to make marketing and business planning decisions, inform strategic planning exercises, assess potential implications of proposed policy measures (e.g., country of origin labeling or COOL) and substantiate demand for growing market segments.  Future work could include a focus on the Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (LGMA), which were industry-initiated and established under state laws in California and Arizona.  Drawing on supply chain research specifically related to food safety assurance, similar to that proposed in this project (in support of Goal 3), this team’s expertise could be used to evaluate LGMA performance. The research could also consider the implications of broader LGMA geographical coverage and the potential for replication for other products.  

In another case, the need for COOL policies for the full array of food products was motivated by various studies conducted to evaluate potential consumer benefits from labels identifying the production source. Again, the team’s exploration of consumer values associated with labeling strategies could serve as the foundation for program evaluation. Finally, a small sub-team is interested in the economic impact of some niche supply chains (e.g. farmers’ markets, direct sales wineries) and any economic impact of reformulated food supply chains to minimize middlemen could provide important answers to the evaluation of these Know your Farmer, Know your Food approaches.

This focus on economic impact and the new USDA program focused on “knowing your farmer” also connects well with the relationship several team members have with the Market Maker online directory of producers (a rich resource for assessing large and small stakeholders), eXtension’s increasing activity in the area of organic and local food systems outreach materials, and USDA personnel who have been compelled to develop programs in support of various market segments in the current Farm Bill.

In addition the work by the University of Tennessee team has intended to reduce plastic pollution associated with the use of polyethylene (PE) mulch in agriculture vary greatly across the US, with some states imposing costs on producers, such as high disposal costs or stronger enforcement of regulation preventing the illegal disposal of PE mulch (e.g., burning), while other states have less strict regulations aiming to disincentive the use of plastic in agriculture. Regardless of the current state of US environmental regulations aiming to reduce plastic pollution, consumers and the private industry are already demanding strategies and products that have the potential to reduce plastic pollution. Anticipating changes in regulations and consumer demand for produce grown using production practices that have the potential to reduce plastic pollution associated with the use of PE mulch, it is important to evaluate the costs and benefits associated with the adoption of more sustainable mulch products by US fruit and vegetable producers. Plastic biodegradable mulches (BDMs) are a sustainable alternative to PE mulch, as they do not have to be removed or disposed of, rather they are tilled into the soil or composted on site. These mulches are designed to be decomposed into water, carbon dioxide, and microbial biomass, eliminating the plastic pollution associated with the use of PE mulch. By increasing awareness about the benefits and costs associated with the adoption of sustainable mulch options that have the potential to reduce plastic pollution associated with the use of PE mulch we are aiming to: (1) Increased adoption of sustainable mulch products among US fruit and vegetable growers.

(2) Increased sustainability of vegetable crop production. (3) Help policymakers design policies that facilitate the adoption of sustainable mulch options among US fruit and vegetable producers, and (4) Reduced landfill waste and air pollution, and improved soil quality.

The work by the Mississippi State University group has help reducing the incidence of food waste along the supply chain of sweet potatoes and increase access to fresh fruit and vegetables in the Delta region of Mississippi. Another fulfilled goal was to increase the adoption of food safety practices by produce growers and increase their access to more profitable markets. Finally the project helped achieve increasing producers’ adoption of best management and marketing practices to increase the profitability and viability of their businesses.

State, Station or Agency

Fonsah, E.G. (2019).  “Fruit and Nut Outlook”.  Georgia Economic Outlook, Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, www.selig.uga.edu

Fonsah, E.G. (2019).  “Vegetable Outlook”.  Georgia Economic Outlook, Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, www.selig.uga.edu

Galinato, S.P.; Velandia, M.; Ghimire, S. Economic feasibility of adopting alternative plastic mulches: case study for pumpkin in Western Washington. Working Paper, School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University, 2019, Pullman, WA. Collaboration between the University of Tennessee and Washington State University.

Kelley, K. M. (2019). Kelley, K. 2019. An overview of recent wine products. February 22, 2019.

Kelley, K. M. (2019). Kelley, K. 2019. Food, flavor, and wine consumer trends 2019. January 25, 2019. Penn State Wine & Grape U. Blog, https://psuwineandgrapes.wordpress.com/

Velandia, M. Report prices at Tennessee Farmers Markets – Tennessee Farmers Markets Price Reports http://www.uky.edu/ccd/pricereports/TNFM. Collaboration with the University of Kentucky.

Velandia, M., A. Smith, A. Wszelaki, and S. Galinato. 2019. The Economics Feasibility of Adopting Plastic Biodegradable Mulches in Pumpkin Production. W844, UT Extension [Refereed]. Collaboration between the University of Tennessee and Washington State University.

Outreach/Industry Publications

Alex Butler, Jairus Rossi and Tim Woods, Local Food Vitality Index – Louisville, KY, Economic and Policy Update, June 2019.

Ariana Torres published the following Extension publications Ag Census to Indiana, 2018 Indiana Farmers Market Price reports, Organic trends in the Midwest, and Price Comparisons Between Farms Markets and Retail Stores.

Awondo, S.N, and E.G. Fonsah (2019).  “New Enterprise Budget for Producing Muscadine Grapes in Georgia”, Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Barefield, A., R. Snyder, E. Canales, and L. Behel. 2019. “Economic Evaluation of the Greenhouse Tomato Short Course”. Mississippi State University Extension Service P3336.

Canales, E. 2019. “Coordination and Crop Planning in Local Food Systems: Considerations for Local Aggregators, Coordinators, and Distributors.” Mississippi State University Extension Service Publication P3388.

Canales, E., H. Irwin. 2018. “Food Safety Certification and Market Access”. Mississippi State University Extension Service P3287.

Collart, A.J. and B. Posadas. 2019. “Marketing a Food Product: Marketing Considerations for a Small-Scale Food Processor.” Mississippi State University Extension Service. Publication #2567.

Collart, A.J. and L. Thorne. 2019. “Cottage Food Laws in Mississippi: Key Guidelines and Policy Implications.” Mississippi State University Extension Service. Publication #3327.

Collart, A.J. and S. Meyers. 2019. “Sources of Food Loss and Food Waste in the Mississippi-Grown Sweet potato Supply Chain.” Mississippi State University Extension Service. Publication #3390.

Coneva, E., E. Vinson, J. Kemble, F. Woods, J. Sibley, E.G. Fonsah, P.  Perkins-Veazie, J. R. Kessler (2019). “Reflective Mulches Improve Sustainability of Non-Cavendish Bananas Cultivars in the Subtropics of Coastal Alabama”, Acta Horticulturae, XI International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates & I International Symposium on Nettings and Screens in Horticulture, Tenerife (Spain – Canary Islands), January 31.

Curtis, K., and S. Allen, (2018). “Estimating Market Size and Price for Fresh Produce Sales.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2018-04pr.

Curtis, K., and S. Allen, (2018). “Target Market Identification and Data Collection Methods.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2018-01pr.

Curtis, K., E. Rice, and D. Quarnstrom, (2019). “Adopting Organic Wheat: Grower Motivations and Concerns.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2019-01pr.

Curtis, K., E. Rice, and D. Quarnstrom, (2019). “Characteristics of Organic Wheat Growers.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2019-02pr.

Curtis, K., E. Rice, S. Slocum, and K. Allen, (2019). “Farm Shops: A Direct-to-Consumer Extended Season Opportunity.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2019-04pr.

Curtis, K., K. Salisbury, R. Ward, and C. Durward, (2019). “Targeting Farmers’ Markets in Utah: Understanding Fresh Produce Pricing.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2019-03pr.

Curtis, K., K. Salisbury, V. Pozo, R. Ward, and C. Durward, (2019). “What Determines Produce Pricing in Utah?” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2019-05pr.

Curtis, K., S. Allen, and S. Slocum, (2018). “Fresh Produce Direct Market Sales Considerations.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2018-02pr.

Curtis, K., T. Drugova, and H. Thomason, (2018). “Labeling and Product Characteristic Preferences of Organic Food Buyers.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2018-03pr.

Curtis, K., T. Drugova, and H. Thomason, (2018). “Premium Potential for Organic Wheat Products.” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2018-06pr.

Curtis, K., T. Drugova, and H. Thomason, (2018). “Who Are Organic Wheat Consumers?” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2018-05pr.

Drugova, T., and K. Curtis, (2019). “Do Consumers Who Prefer Gluten-Free Also Prefer Organic?” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2019-07pr.

Drugova, T., and K. Curtis, (2019). “Does Consumer Knowledge of Organic Production Standards Influence Demand for Organic and Non-GMO Labeled Foods?” USU Extension Fact Sheet, Applied Economics/2019-06pr.

Fonsah, E. G, J. Shealey and S. Carlson. (2019). “Cantaloupe Budget on Narrow Plastic and Sprinkler Irrigation in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia. http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E. G. and C. Tyson (2019).  “Onions Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E. G. and J. Shealey and S. Carlson (2019).  “Fresh Tomato on Plastic and Irrigation Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia. http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E. G., E. Smith and J. Jacobs (2019). “Fresh Market Blackberry Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html 

Fonsah, E. G., J. Price and B. Cantrell (2019). “Fresh Market Satsuma Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E. G., L. Wells, W. Hudson and D. Collins (2019). “High Input Pecan Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E. G., L. Wells, W. Hudson and D. Collins (2019). “Low Input Pecan Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E. G., R. Allen, J. Jacobs and S. Curry (2019). “Southern High Bush Blueberry Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E. G., R. Srinivasan and S. Diffie (2019).  “Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) Management Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia. http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G. (2019). An Economic Production Guide for Fruits and Nuts Growers, Agents and Specialists in Georgia. University of Georgia, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics,1-68. https://agecon.uga.edu/content/dam/caes-subsite/ag-econ/documents/extension/publications/Fruit%20Production%20Guide%20-%20Oct%202019.pdf

Fonsah, E.G. (2019). An Economic Production Guide for Vegetable Growers, Agents and Specialists in Georgia. University of Georgia, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, 1-61 pages. https://agecon.uga.edu/content/dam/caes-subsite/ag-con/documents/extension/publications/Vegetable%20Production%20Guide.pdf

Fonsah, E.G., (2019).  “Veinte Cohol Banana Budget” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia. http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., and J. Shealey (2019).  “Carrots Budget in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., and J. Shealey (2019).  “Double Cropped Squash on Plastic Budget”.   Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., and J. Shealey (2019).  “Sweet Corn Budget in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., and J. Shealey (2019). “Estimated Cost Per Acre of Removing and Replacing Plastic Mulch Damaged by Hurricane Michael in Georgia”.  Food, Agriculture, and Resource Economics (FARE Blog), Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics, University of Georgia (September 27). https://site.extension.uga.edu/aaecext/

Fonsah, E.G., and S. Carlson (2019).  “Climbing Cucumber Budget”.  Department of Ag & Applied Economics.  University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., B. Hayes, W. Gay, T. Torrance and J. Shealey (2019). “Estimated Cost Per Acre of Bare-Ground Vegetable Production Damaged by Hurricane Michael”. Food, Agriculture, and Resource Economics (FARE Blog), Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics, University of Georgia (October 1). https://site.extension.uga.edu/aaecext/

Fonsah, E.G., J. Kichler and J. Shealey (2019).  “Eggplant Irrigated for Fresh Market Budget in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., J. Shealey and B. Starr (2019).  “Snap Beans Budget”.  Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., J. Shealey, J. Kichler and S. Carlson (2019).  “Bell pepper production budget in Georgia”. Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.   http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., S. Carlson, S. Curry, and R. Brown (2019).  “Strawberry Fresh Market Budget”, Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., T. Coolong, J. Kichler and J. Shealey (2019).  “Bare ground Cabbage Irrigated for Fresh Market Budget in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., T. Coolong, J. Kichler and J. Shealey (2019).  “Collard Green Irrigated for Fresh Market Budget in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., T. Coolong, J. Kichler, and J. Shealey (2019).  “Kale Green Irrigated for Fresh Market Budget in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia.  http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., T. Coolong, P. Tucker and J. Shealey (2019).  “Watermelon Irrigated for Fresh Market Budget in Georgia” Department of Ag & Applied Economics, University of Georgia. http://agecon.uga.edu/extension/budgets.html

Fonsah, E.G., Y. Chen, S. Diffie, R. Srinivansan and D. Riley (2019).  “An Economic Assessment of Managing Whiteflies and Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus.” Southeast Regional Fruits and Vegetables Conference, Savannah, Saturday January 10-13, pg. 4.

Gregory, E., S. Meyers, C. Morris, J. Main, M. Shankle, E. Canales, and A.J. Collart. 2019. “Greenhouse Sweet potato Slip Production Budget for Mississippi.” Mississippi State University Extension Service. Publication #3359.

Kelley, K. M. (2019). "Wine in Pennsylvania." All in FoodZ Podcast Series, Food Decisions Research Laboratory, School of Hospitality Management, Penn State. www.blubrry.com/allinfoodz/43716902/wine-in-pennsylvania/.

Kelley, K., J. Bruwer, J. Zelinskie, D.M. Gardner, R. Govindasamy, J. Hyde, and B.J. Rickard. 2019. “Travel group member type effects in wine tourism.” Tourism Recreation Research 44(1): 54–65.

Kunwar, S.R., S. Bogati, E.G. Fonsah and L. P. Amgain (2019).  Productivity and Profitability of Wheat Using Nutrient Expert ® Wheat Model in Morang, Nepal, Scientific Writing, University of Georgia, Georgia, USA.

Livat, F., and B. Rickard. “US tariffs on French wine: big talk, potentially unintended consequences.” The Conversation. September 5, 2019. Available at: https://theconversation.com/us-tariffs-on-french-wine-big-talk-potentially-unintended-consequences-122975

McCluskey, J.J. “Agricultural Mis-information, Conceptions and Interpretations,” United States Agricultural Information Network (USAIN) biennial conference, Pullman, WA, May 16, 2018.

Pellechia, T. “Research Shows That Wine Tariffs Are Not Easy; Increasing Them May Be Harder.” Featured on Forbes. September 10, 2019. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomaspellechia/2019/09/10/research-shows-that-wine-tariffs-are-not-easy-increasing-them-may-be-harder/#124ccfb3400b

Silverberg, D. “Can a new apple take over the world?” Featured on the BBC, Business. October 17, 2019. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50048782

Snyder, R., and E. Canales. 2019. “Starting a Greenhouse Business”. Mississippi State University Extension Service Publication P1957.

Refereed Journal Articles

Akhundjanov, S.B., R.K. Gallardo, J.J. McCluskey, and B.J. Rickard. Commercialization of a Demand-Enhancing Innovation: The Release of a New Apple Variety by a Public University. Economic Modelling (forthcoming).

Akhundjanov, S.B., R.K. Gallardo, J.J. McCluskey, B.J. Rickard. “Optimal Licensing of Plant Variety Patents: Benefiting both the Public University and the Industry.” Economic Modelling, Forthcoming.

Arumugam, S., R. Govindasamy, I. Vellangany and H. Gohil, “Consumer's Preferences for Fresh Organic Produce in the Mid-Atlantic USA: An Econometric Analysis”, Agricultural Research (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-018-0357-z

Berning, J.P., H.H. Chouinard, K. Kiesel, J.J. McCluskey, and S.B. Villas-Boas, in press, “Consumer and Strategic Firm Response to Nutrition Shelf Labels,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics.

Bruwer, J., J. Cohen, and K.M. Kelley. 2019. Wine involvement interaction with dining group dynamics, group composition and consumption behavioral aspects in USA restaurants. International Journal of Wine Business Research 31(1):12-28. DOI: 10.1108/IJWBR-06-2018-0027

Canales, E. and M. Palma. 2019. "Theme Overview: The Agricultural Production Potential of Latin America: Implications for Global Food Supply and Trade." Choices 34(3):1-3.

Canales, E., G. Andrango, and A. Williams. 2019. "Mexico’s Agricultural Sector: Production Potential and Implications for Trade." Choices 34(3):1-12.

Collart, A.J., S.L. Meyers, and J.K. Ward. 2019. “Consumer Perception of Skinning Injury in Sweetpotatoes and Implications for Marketability: An Experimental Auction.” HortTechnology 29(4):468-475.

Curtis, K., and D. Quarnstrom, (2019). “Untangling the Economic and Social Impediments to Producer Adoption of Organic Wheat.” Journal of Food Distribution Research, 50(1), 105-113.

Curtis, K., M. Bradshaw, and S. Slocum, (forthcoming 2019). “The Role of Culinary Experiences in Destination Loyalty.” Journal of Gastronomy and Tourism.

Curtis, K., M. Bradshaw, and S. Slocum, (forthcoming). “Tourism in the Intermountain West: The Role of Food and Agritourism in Neolocalism.” In Ingram, L., Slocum, S.L., & Cavaliere, C. (Eds.) Neolocalism and Tourism: Understanding a Global Movement. Goodfellow.

Deller, Steven, R. David Lamie, and Maureen Stickel, “Local Foods Systems and Community Economic Development”, Community Development: The Journal of the Community Development Society, (in press for hardcopy; online version published in September 2017 at Taylor and Francis Online).

Drugova, T., V. Pozo, K. Curtis, and R. Fortenbury, (2019). “Organic Wheat Prices and Premium Uncertainty: Can Cross Hedging and Forecasting Play a Role?” Journal of Agriculture and Resource Economics, 44(3):551-570.

Dube, A. K.  B. Ozkan, and R. Govindasamy, “Analyzing the Export Performance of the Horticultural Sub-Sector in Ethiopia: ARDL Bound Test Cointegration Analysis”, Horticulturae, 4 (2018): 34. doi:10.3390.

Dube, A.K., Fawole, W.O., Govindasamy, R., Ozkan, B (2019). Agricultural development led industrialization in Ethiopia: structural break analysis. International Journal of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. 3(1): 193-201.

Galinato, S., R.K. Gallardo, E. Beers, A. Bixby-Brosi. 2019. “Developing a Management Strategy for Little Cherry Disease: The Case of Washington State.” Plant Disease. Available online: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PDIS-12-18-2235-SR

Gallardo, R.K., K. Grant, D.J. Brown, J.R. McFerson, K.M. Lewis, T. Einhorn, M. Miranda Sazo. 2019. “U.S. Fresh Apple Industry Perceptions of Precision Agriculture Technologies.” HortTechnology, 29(2): 151-162.

Govindasamy, R., S. Arumugam, I. Vellangany, and B. Ozkan. “Willingness to Pay a High-Premium for Organic Fresh Produce: An Econometric Analysis”, Agricultural Economics Research Review. 31 (2018), 45-52.

Govindasamy, R., S. Arumugam, J. Zhuang, K. M. Kelley and I. Vellangany. “Cluster Analysis of Wine Market Segmentation – A Consumer Based Study in the Mid-Atlantic USA”, Economic Affairs, 63 (2018):489-495.

Grant, K., R.K. Gallardo and J.J. McCluskey, 2019. “Are Consumers Willing to Pay to Reduce Food Waste?” Choices 34(1): 1-7.

Ho, S.-T., J.E. Ifft, B.J. Rickard, and C.G. Turvey. 2018. Alternative strategies to manage weather risk in perennial fruit crop production. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review 47(3): 452–476. 

Hong, Y., R.K. Gallardo, X. Fan, S. Atallah, and M.I. Gomez. 2019. “Modelling the Economic Impact of the Trade Regulation of Invasive Species: A Study of Apple Production under an Apple Maggot Quarantine Program”.  Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 44(3): 646-663.

Huffman, W.E. and J.J. McCluskey, in press. New Technology and Conflicting Information: Assessing Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for New Foods. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific Publishing.

Kaninda, S. T., G. Kostandini and E. G. Fonsah (2019) “The Impact of Migration, Remittances and Public Transfers on Technology Adoption: The Case of Cereal Producers in Rural Kenya”, Journal of Agricultural Economics, doi: 10.1111/1477-9552.12295.

Kaninda, S., E.G. Fonsah, G.E. Boyhan, E.L. Little and J.W. Gaskin (2019). “Economic Analysis of Crop Rotation Systems for High Value Cool-Season Vegetables in Southern Region of the USA”. (Forthcoming).

Kargar, M., F.M. Woods, M.M. Walls, R.J. Kessler, E.G. Fonsah, K. Shetty, J. Ramesh, and N. Larsen (2019).  “Screening Underutilized Banana for Carotenoid Content”. Journal of the American Pomological Society 73 (4):198-xx (Forthcoming).

Kelley, K. J. Bruwer, J., Zelinskie, D. Gardner, R. Govindasamy, J. Hyde, and B. Rickard. 2019. Wine consumers’ willingness to adopt environmentally friendly packaging practices at tasting rooms: An ECHAID analysis. British Food Journal (Forthcoming).

Kelley, K.M., J. Bruwer, J. Zelinskie, D. Gardner, R. Govindasamy, J. Hyde, and B. Rickard.  Wine consumers’ willingness to adopt environmentally friendly packaging practices at tasting rooms. British Food Journal (Forthcoming).

Kelley, K.M., J. Bruwer, J. Zelinskie, D. M. Gardner, R. Govindasamy, J. Hyde & B. J. Rickard (2018): Travel group member type effects in wine tourism: an ECHAID segmentation, Tourism Recreation Research, DOI: 10.1080/02508281.2018.1541578.

Kunwar, S.R., S. Bogati, E. G. Fonsah, and L. P. Amgain (2019).  “Economic Assessment of Adopting Nutrient Expert® Wheat Model Vs Conventional Wheat Fertilizer Application Management in Morang, Nepal”, Journal of Agricultural Studies (JAS): Vol: 7: (3)-38-48. ISSN 2166-0379.

Lamie, R. David and Steve Deller, editors. Special Issue of Community Development, the Journal of the Community Development Society focused on local/regional/community food systems development and the challenge of interdisciplinary research. (September 2017)

Lamie, R. David and Steven Deller, “Motivations for a Special Issue on Local Food Systems Development”, Community Development: The Journal of the Community Development Society, (September 2017)

Lee, K., R.K. Gallardo, and M. Giacinti. 2019. “Tariff Impacts on Trade and Welfare: The Case of Indian Imports of Fresh Apples.” Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, 1-17.

Li, Z., R.K. Gallardo, V. McCracken, C. Yue, V.Whitaker and J. McFerson. “Grower Willingness to Pay for Fruit Quality versus Disease Resistance and Welfare Implications: The Case of Florida Strawberry.” Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Forthcoming.

Li, Z., R.K. Gallardo, V. McCracken, C. Yue, W. Hoashi-Erhardt, L. DeVetter. 2019. “Supporting Successful Transition to the Fresh Market: Research and Extension Needs of Pacific Northwest Strawberry Growers”. HortTechnology, 29(5): 649-658.

Lunardo, R., and B. Rickard.  How do consumers respond to fun wine labels? British Food Journal (forthcoming).

Miller, A., K. M. Kelley, J. Zelinskie, D. M. Gardner, R. Govindasamy, J. Hyde, B. Rickard, and K. Storchmann, “Assisting Mid-Atlantic Wine Industry Stakeholders in Developing Consumer-Centric Marketing Strategies: Internet Survey Results”, Journal of Extension, 56 (2018): https://www.joe.org/joe/2018february/rb5.php.

Petit, O., R. Lunardo, and B.J. Rickard.  Small is beautiful: The role of anticipated food waste in consumers' avoidance of large packages. Journal of Business Research (forthcoming).  

Plakias, Zoë T., Iryna Demko, and Ani L. Katchova. 2019. “Direct Marketing Channel Choices Among U.S. Farmers: Evidence from the Local Food Marketing Practices Survey.” Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. doi: 10.1017/S1742170519000085.

Torres, A.  Does social capital pay off? The case of small business resilience after Hurricane Katrina. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management 27(2):168-181.

Torres, A.  Investigating the Drivers of Farm Diversification Among US Fruit and Vegetable Operations. Sustainability journal 11(12): 3380.

Torres, A. Evaluating the Business and Owner Characteristics Influencing the Adoption of Online Advertising Strategies in the Green Industry. HortTechnology 29(3): 374-381.

Velandia. M., R. Rejesus, C.D. Clark, K. DeLong, K. Jensen, S. Schexnayder, and A. Wszelaki. "The Role of Environmental Stewardship and Labor Savings in the Use of Plastic Biodegradable Mulch in Fruit and Vegetable Production." Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (in review).

Waldrop, M.E., J.J. McCluskey, 2019. “Does Information about Organic Status affect Consumer Sensory Liking and Willingness to Pay for Beer?” Agribusiness 35(2): 149–167.

Waliullah, S., E.G. Fonsah, P. Ji, and M. E. Ali (2019).  “First Report of Banana Streak Virus Infecting Bananas (Musa spp.) in Georgia, USA”. Plant Disease journal (forthcoming).

Wannemuehler, S. D., J. Luby, C. Yue, D. S. Bedford, R. K. Gallardo, V. McCracken. 2019. “A Cost-Benefit Analysis of DNA Informed Apple Breeding.” HortScience, 54(11):1998-2004.

Weaver, R.D. and Y. Moon. (2018) Pricing Perishables with Uncertain Demand, Substitutes, and Consumer Heterogeneity. Int. J. Food System Dynamics. 9 (5): 484-495

Winfree, J.A. and J.J. McCluskey, 2019. “Collective Reputation in Online Platforms and Private Quality Standards,” J. of Ag. & Food Industrial Org. https://doi.org/10.1515/jafio-2018-0014.

Yue, C., R. Govindasamy, and K. Kelley, “Mid-Atlantic Wine Tourism Consumer Preference: An Econometric Approach”, International Journal of Wine Business Research, (2019). https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWBR-03-2018-0011.

Yue, C., R. Govindasamy, and K.M. Kelley. 2019. Mid-Atlantic wine tourism consumer preference: An econometric approach. International Journal of Wine Business Research 31(3):326-343. doi.org/10.1108/IJWBR-03-2018-0011

Book Chapters

McCluskey, J.J., M.P. Squicciarini, and J. Swinnen, 2019. “Information, Communication and Agricultural and Food Policies in an Age of Commercial Mass and Social Media,” Global Challenges for Future Food & Agricultural Policies, T. Josling and D. Blandford, eds., Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific, pp. 351-368.

Butler, Alex, Tim Woods, Mike Reed, and Brad Bergefurd, “A Produce Price Analysis of Regional Ohio Valley Produce Auctions”, paper presented at the 22nd International Farm Management Association Congress, Launceston, Australia, March 2019.

Fonsah, E.G., Y. Chen, S. Diffie, R. Srinivansan and D. Riley (2019).  “Economic Productivity and Profitability Analysis for Whiteflies and Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) Management Options.”, J. of Food Distr. Res: 50(1): 123-131 (March).

Hamm, Brannon, Vijay Subramaniam, Alex Butler and Tim Woods, “Analyzing Economic Feasibility of Extending the Growing Season for Vegetable Production”, poster presented at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Birmingham, AL, February 2019.

Kelley, K. M. (2019). "Trends and consumer demand for specialty cut flowers." 2019 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Proceedings. (pp. 52-53).

Refereed Conference Proceedings

Torres, A. and Lancaster, N. Looking at the Economic and Noneconomic Drivers of Farm Diversification. Conference Proceedings Article. Food Distribution Research Society.

Woods, Tim, Jairus Rossi, and Jody Ensman, “CSA Produce Subscription Vouchers: Evaluating Employee Impacts on Diet-Related Pharmacy and Medical Expenditures”, 11th Annual Kentucky Health and Wellness Conference, Lexington, KY, March 2019.

Zare Mehrjerdi, Mahla, Tim Woods, Alison Davis, and Wuyang Hu, “Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Local Food in Alternative Restaurant Formats: An Application of the Latent Class Approach”, selected paper presented at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting, Birmingham, AL, February 2019.