9 pages., Article # 1RIB4, Via online journal., Food hubs represent a business model through which farmers can collectively market product to access new supply chains and buyers can efficiently access locally sourced foods. Many farmer marketing cooperatives fit within the food hub definition and have existed for decades. Accordingly, much can be learned from them to support food hub business planning efforts. We developed and synthesized case studies of three successful cooperatives in order to match key food hub operational challenges with recommended best management practices. Such information is useful for Extension education efforts supporting the development of economically viable food hub businesses.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 69 Document Number: D10732
Notes:
Claude W. Gifford Collection. Beyond his materials in the ACDC collection, the Claude W. Gifford Papers, 1919-2004, are deposited in the University of Illinois Archives. Serial Number 8/3/81. Locate finding aid at https://archives.library.illinois.edu/archon/, Item 42 located in ACDC Document D10726, Directory of written summaries of 80 items deposited in the Claude W. Gifford Papers, University of Illinois Archives. 4 pages., Provides a review of efforts to improve public understanding of agriculture, nationally. Author cites the 1950 book by Ed Lipscomb, Grassroots public relations for agriculture, formation of the Agricultural Relations Council, and Dan Murphy's book, Improving agriculture's reputation. Describes USDA efforts, including the PACER research project and staffing enhancements for that goal.
11 pages., Via online journal article., As climate change is expected to significantly affect agricultural systems globally, agricultural farm advisors have been increasingly recognized as an important resource in helping farmers address these challenges. While there have been many studies exploring the climate change belief and risk perceptions as well as behaviors of both farmers and agricultural farm advisors, there are very few studies that have explored how these perceptions relate to actual climate impacts in agriculture. Here we couple survey data from United States Department of Agriculture farm service employees (n = 6, 514) with historical crop loss data across the United States to explore the relationship of actual climate-related crop losses on farm to farm advisor perceptions of climate change and future farmer needs. Using structural equation modelling we find that among farm advisors that work directly with farms on disaster and crop loss issues, there is a significant positive relationship between crop loss and perceived weather variability changes, while across all farm advisors crop loss is associated with reduced likelihood to believe in anthropogenic climate change. Further, we find that weather variability perceptions are the most consistently and highly correlated with farm advisors' perceptions about the need for farm adaptation and future farmer needs. These results suggest that seeing crop loss may not lead to climate change belief, but may drive weather variability perceptions, which in turn affect farm adaptation perceptions. This lends further evidence to the debate over terminology in climate change communication and outreach, suggesting that weather variability may be the most salient among agricultural advisors.
Woodard, Josua D. (author), Sherrick, Bruce J. (author), Atwood, Deborah H. (author), Blair, Robert (author), Fogel, Greg (author), Goeser, Nicholas (author), Gold, Barry (author), Lewis, Josette (author), Mattson, Carl (author), Moseley, Jim (author), O'Mara, Collin (author), Piotti, John (author), Salas, Bill (author), Scarlett, Lynn (author), Duncanson, Kristin Weeks (author), and Yoder, Fred (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2018
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 199 Document Number: D09927
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 34 Document Number: D10672
Notes:
7 pages., via Scientific American website., Farming across the Midwest will be challenged by a shifting climate and may struggle to keep up crop production.
Parks, Courtney A. (author), Jaskiewicz, Lara J. (author), Dombrowski, Rachael D. (author), Frick, Hollyanne E. (author), Hortman, Sarah B. (author), Trumbull, Elissa (author), Hesterman, Oran B. (author), and Yaroch, Amy L. (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2018-04-27
Published:
USA: SAGE Journals
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 11 Document Number: D10342
7 pages., Via online journal., To characterize participants of a statewide healthy food incentive program in terms of shopping behaviors, surveys were collected at farmers markets (N = 436) and grocery stores (N = 131). Farmers market and grocery store respondents were mostly forty-five to fifty-four years old (21 percent to 24 percent) and female (72 to 82 percent). Grocery store respondents were more diverse. Farmers market participants were more likely to be female (p = .011), not have children (p = .006), and traveled further compared to grocery store participants. As healthy food incentive programs expand, participant characteristics should inform tailored outreach to expand to diverse populations to have a greater public health impact.
