Via UI Library subscription., Owner-president of Brock Associates, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, describes his career, the services his firm provides, outlook for agricultural commodities, and farm policy changes anticipated with the new federal administration.
15 pages., via online journal., Organic agri-food products in Spain face major commercial problems in the home market as a result of consumers’ lack of information about this type of product and difficulties in accessing it, and the considerable price differential between organic products and their conventional equivalents. This study proposes that consideration should be given to social media as a factor for mitigating these commercial problems and improving the competitiveness of organic food companies. Specifically, the aim of this research was to examine the social media penetration and activity of olive oil sector companies and ascertain whether organic and non-organic operators present differences in this respect. To this end, a checklist was used to analyse the social media activity of 663 olive oil companies in total, comprising both organic and non-organic producers. The results reveal statistically significant differences in social media penetration and use by organic and non-organic operators, with the former being more active in these networks. Nevertheless, the social media efforts of organic operators are less effective, owing to the limited demand for their products.
Online from periodical. 2 pages., Report of a presentation at the West Coast Produce Expo about Amazon's new Fresh banner, with establishment of small and medium-sized grocery stores.
7 pages., Article # 2RIB2, Via online journal., To assess small rural retailers' use of social media and the role of social media in their business sustainability, we conducted focus group interviews with small business owners/managers from rural communities in a midwestern state. Participants revealed strong interest in social media, especially for use in sales and marketing. However, their engagement in social media was limited due to lack of knowledge and resources (i.e., time, human resources, financial resources, effectiveness measurement) related to developing and updating content. On the basis of these findings, we examine implications for Extension professionals and outreach educators regarding social media needs and programming for small rural businesses.
