Wine workshops hosted at local wineries positively impacted the behavior of Iowa wine consumers. Many participants (75%) reported visiting an Iowa winery following the workshop. The percentage of participants consuming Iowa wines increased by 20.6% (p < 0.001) following the workshop. Based on these outcomes, it appears these three hour wine workshops are a very useful opportunity for consumers to be engaged and involved, and to learn about local grapes and wines as well as to improve their behavior toward local products.
20 pages, Food security, also known as having proper access to food to live a healthy life, affects more than 10% of individuals in the United States. Marketing and communications, as well as brand identity, plays a role in how organizations combating food insecurity operate and raise awareness. However, these organizations’ communications are typically not as successful as for-profit corporations, and there is a gap in literature about the effectiveness of these charitable food organizations’ marketing efforts. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of charitable food organization branding on college students’ support of charitable food organizations—specifically through volunteering, donating behavior, and advocacy efforts. This study used the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), color theory, and semiotics to craft treatments similar to social media images from charitable food organizations (CFOs). There were four treatment groups, all with the same verbiage, but all using either color or no color or with an icon versus an image. Findings suggested Treatment 3, the colorful treatment with a picture of two children, had the greatest impact on intent to support CFOs. While some of the other treatment models were significant, none included all significant TPB predictors as with treatment 3. This study’s results indicate that using a post with imagery and color can influence intent to support charitable food organizations. Future research should use qualitative methods to better understand this study and similar studies’ results.
13 pages, Current study was conducted during 2020 by Department of Economics, Fatima Jinnah Women
University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan to study evaluate the marketing channel of vegetables in
Punjab pertaining to farm’s profitability and the factors determining this profit based on primary
data collected from 100 farmers each for 4 selected vegetables . Data were collected through
structured questionnaire from 36 villages out of 7 cities of Faisalabad division while from 28
villages out of 5 cities of Bahawalpur division through purposive sampling technique. Gross
margin analysis and mean regression was done to estimate the determinants of profit both at
division level and for the pooled data. The gross margin per acre was calculated at Rs.171,676
for cucumber, Rs. 171,649 for green chilies, Rs. 315,229 for tomatoes and Rs. 33,002 for onions.
The regression results showed age, farming experience, credit and storage facilities, production
cost and commission to the middle man as significantly contributing factors in profit while
the choice of production technique appeared to be particularly depending on the educational
qualification of selected farmers. The peak age that yielded maximum profit was calculated at
49 and 42 years in Faisalabad and Bahawalpur division, respectively. Experience of farmers
was significantly increased in profit. The commission to agent surpasses all other payments that
farmers incurred during marketing process. The margin was around 39% and 33% of total cost
for cucumber and chilies in Faisalabad while 34% and 43% percent for tomatoes and onion in
Bahawalpur. So the enactment of farmers with middle man for the sale of crop was due to heavy
reliance on them for loans; around 80 percent famers in Faisalabad while about 40 percent
in Bahawalpur sought loans from middle man. The study suggested that healthy competition
among farmers by providing them adequate storage facilities, sufficient credit, perfect market
information and education could contribute positively in adopting advanced modes of production
to minimize the production and marketing cost.
18 pages, This study examines the application of a self-reliance framework for practitioners and evaluators to better understand the capacities and intrinsic factors impacting smallholder coffee farmers’ commercialization behaviors. We surveyed 40 smallholder coffee producers in Peru using a quantitative instrument. Data were analyzed to determine if statistical relationships exist between farmers’ self-reliance (measured via knowledge and skills, attitudes, and aspirations) and their commercialization behaviors. Findings indicate the self-reliance framework effectively illustrates relationships between farmers’ aspirations, knowledge and skills and their commercialization behaviors, while future, additional studies are needed to better measure and understand the role of commercialization-related attitudes. Practitioners can leverage the study’s findings by using a self-reliance framework to infer farmers’ likeliness to pursue sustainable commercialization practices and align their trainings and design interventions based on evaluation findings. The conceptual self-reliance framework is the first of its kind applied for smallholder coffee commercialization. The findings demonstrate that self-reliance concepts employed recently in other contexts may potentially be used similarly by extension and development facilitators.
15 pages, Trust is often an assumed outcome of participation in Alternative Food Networks (AFNs) as they directly connect producers with consumers. It is based on this potential for trust “between producers and consumers” that AFNs have emerged as a significant field of food studies analysis as it also suggests a capacity for AFNs to foster associated embedded qualities, like ‘morality’, ‘social justice’, ‘ecology’ and ‘equity’. These positive benefits of AFNs, however, cannot be taken for granted as trust is not necessarily an outcome of AFN participation. Using Chinese case studies of AFNs, which are characterised by a distinct form of trust pressure—consumers who are particularly cynical about small scale farmers, food safety and the organic credentials of producers—this paper highlights how the dynamics of trust are in constant flux between producers and consumers. I suggest that it is the careful construction of the aesthetic and multi-sensory qualities of food, which is often celebrated via social media, that human centred relations in Chinese AFNs are mediated. This leads to two key conclusions: first, that the key variable for establishing trust is satisfying the consumer’s desire for safe (i.e. "fresh") food; and second, the materiality of the food and the perception of foods materiality (especially through social media), must both be actively constructed by the farmer to fit the consumer’s ideal of freshness.
10 pages, By-products like sawdust and straw are applied in compost bedded-pack barns (CBP) for cattle. These materials, which are gradually mixed with excreta and undergo a composting process, serve as a lying bed for the cattle. This study aims to assess the perception of consumers and farmers regarding the use of CBP during the grazing season of cattle for raising other animals or for growing food crops. This was examined by combining surveys with consumers from eight European countries and cattle farmers, focus groups with consumers, and in-depth interviews with individual farmers who implemented alternative uses of compost. The results showed that farmers preferred the compost bedded-pack system to the cubicle system in terms of sustainability and market aspects, although the cost of the bedding material required for CBP was seen as a significant negative aspect. Around half of all consumers indicated that the compost can be used for non-edible products and 26% indicated the compost can be used for raising other animals. Furthermore, 5% of consumers felt that compost should not be used for any other purpose. There were statistically significant differences between countries; therefore, regional specificities should be taken into account when marketing products from compost in CBP barns.
3 pages, Various food programs present opportunities for marketing local food in Tennessee. Health-conscious consumers prefer the health benefits of local food over processed foods. To satisfy consumer demand, local restaurants are utilizing the services of local food vendors. Conventional grocery stores are broadening their food aisles to accommodate locally produced foods. Using data collected from an online survey of 250 producers, this research update reports on opportunities for marketing local foods in Tennessee.
20 pages., Agricultural communication covers all kinds of human communications involving agriculture, food, natural resources and rural interests. Such communications exchange and deliver the information of the agricultural and natural resource industries to the right receivers through effective media. Storytelling in marketing is also a managerial application; it is a marketing strategy that includes the agricultural industry. While an increasing number of agricultural businesses are promoting the application of agricultural stories in marketing and facilitating increases in the consumption of agricultural products, few researchers have explicitly developed valid tools for measuring the constructs of agricultural stories. This study continued previous research on effective model of storytelling in agricultural marketing, with the aim of exploring the constructs of a good agricultural story and developing the “Agricultural Story Scale” to measure them. Thirteen items measuring three factors—authenticity, narrative, and protagonist’s distinctiveness—were confirmed to have satisfactory structural model fit. The findings of the study and recommendations that contribute to both theoretical and practical implications are reported.
Keywords: Agricultural Story; Agricultural Communication; Measurement; Storytelling; Storytelling in Marketing
25 pages, Growth in the worldwide consumption of poultry meat, especially in developing countries, has resulted in increasing trade, raising concerns and criticisms about imports. Such concerns and criticisms include the potential to collapse the domestic industry and lead to job losses. This paper, therefore, analyzes the role of personal factors in driving the frequency of chicken meat consumption in general and, in particular, domestic and imported chicken. Results from a survey of 500 urban consumers in Ghana show that attitudes and perceptions are key factors influencing chicken meat consumption. Specifically, concerns about food safety, price, and the lack of convenience reduce regular domestic chicken consumption, while perceived quality and ethnocentrism increase regular consumption. Regarding imported chicken, price, convenience, and availability influence frequent consumption. Promotional activities that highlight the quality aspects in terms of taste and freshness of domestic chicken meat can give domestic actors a competitive advantage.
22 pages., via online journal, Agritourism is recreational travel for agricultural activities. While it provides many benefits, such as rural development and heritage preservation, many agritourism operators express challenges in marketing their operations. Social media is increasingly common in tourism marketing, but little research exists describing current marketing practices. Quantitative content analysis was used to describe 174 Oklahoma agritourism operations’ Facebook page activity in June 2018. Original posts created by the agritourism operations and community posts created by the general public had similar amounts of public interaction. Post interactions were not related to post length, and original post interactions were also not related to overall page likes. Live videos and traditional posts received the most interaction amongst types of original posts. Facebook event posts made by the agritourism operation received more public interaction than event posts made by the general public. Agritourism operators should focus on quality over quantity of information and be wary of creating posts in an “echo chamber” as only a small proportion of a large page following interact with posts. Marketing practitioners should avoid providing one-size-fits-all advice in Facebook marketing, as there was a large variety of Facebook activity observed. Future research should more specifically describe content of posts and consider perspectives of agritourism operators and visitors towards current Facebook marketing strategies.
12 pages., Article 452, Via online journal., Storytelling is a mode of communication in human interaction and is pervasive in everyday life. Storytelling in marketing is also a managerial application as a marketing strategy. Researchers of consumer psychology and marketing have devoted great efforts to developing theories and conducting empirical studies on this approach. However, in addition to narrative theories, many researchers are mainly concerned about the effect of telling a good brand story and its applications, such as advertising design and presentation. However, for those products that usually lacks branding, such as agricultural products, knowledge remains scarce about the relative impact of storytelling in marketing. Few researchers have explicitly developed a valid tool for measuring the effect of storytelling in marketing. To aid storytelling research in consumer psychology, this article conceptualized a construct of the effectiveness of storytelling in agricultural marketing and developed a measure with further validation. This scale consisted of 13 items with four subscales: narrative processing, affect, brand attitude, and purchase intention. The findings of this study supported a structural model with strong order among the four dimensions and good model fit. A discussion of the results and the theoretical and practical implications for consumer psychology and marketing practice are also addressed.
Chakrabarti, Anwesha (author), Campbell, Benjamin L. (author), Shonkwiler, Vanessa (author), and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Connecticut
Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development, University of Georgia
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2019-03
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 16 Document Number: D10441
16 pages., As consumer demand for food labeling becomes increasingly important, producers and retailers
can include various labeling to attract new customers. This study investigates Connecticut
consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay for mushrooms marketed with various labels using
a latent class approach to identify classes within the market. Results reveal three market segments
(price/GMO-label, locally/organically grown, and traditional mushroom varieties). Overall, only
a third of consumers valued the “locally grown” or “organic” labels, so charging a premium for
these labels might alienate a majority of consumers. Finally, GMO labeled mushrooms are
discounted, but the non-GMO label receives little value.
2 pages, via online magazine archive, Several years ago, Farm Market iD saw that agribusinesses were struggling to use to the data and insights at their disposal to understand how they were performing in the market and needed modern-day data science to power decision-making. Given Farm Market iD's unique and powerful data and our ability to contextualize data to understand and interpret the agricultural market, we knew we had something valuable to offer.
6 pages., Via online journal., Strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) and caneberries (Rubus sp.) are popular crops that can bring revenue to farms and may improve farm profitability. High and low tunnels can bring a number of benefits to growers, including season extension and improved berry yield and quality, as well as management challenges. Few studies in the literature report directly on grower experiences using tunnels. We report the results of interviews of 10 independent growers who use tunnels to produce strawberries and caneberries. The results echo previous studies finding improved yield and quality, and highlight benefits and challenges around pest, weed, and nutrient management. One novel finding is the role of season extension in creating marketing opportunities. Interviewed growers caution of a learning curve and the need to start on a small scale and grow gradually. Future focus for research should include improved ventilation and mechanization.
5 pages., via online journal, The growth of community gardens has created new opportunities for urban Extension personnel at a time when staffing resources continue to decline. To serve the integrated pest management (IPM) needs of community gardening populations, Extension educators in two urban counties developed an on-site program involving a demonstration kit and planning protocol that Extension educators, program staff, and master gardener volunteers can use to teach IPM. The program provides practical, research-based information to community gardeners, allows Extension to maintain a presence in urban centers, and provides outreach to audiences who may not have used Extension resources historically.
Baker, Lauri M. (author), Boyer, Cheryl R. (author), Peterson, Hikaru Hanawa (author), King, Audrey E.H. (author), and Kansas State University
University of Minnesota, St. Paul
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2018-08
Published:
United States: American Society for Horticultural Science
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 11 Document Number: D10334
8 pages., Via online journal., Online, direct selling (ODS) has become the leading way that people acquire goods, with Amazon (Seattle, WA) being the largest online vendor in the United States. This study sought to determine if horticultural businesses were engaging in ODS with Amazon, ebay, and other websites. Researchers examined the ODS activity of 498 businesses using quantitative content analysis methods, and found that 93 horticultural industry businesses were conducting some form of ODS through their websites, but only four offered products on Amazon. Results indicate that ODS remains an untapped marketplace for the horticultural industry, particularly for small, rural businesses.
Via December 2017 issue of Agri Marketing magazine. Entitled Annual Marketing Services Guide 2018., Annual directory of companies, marketing services, agencies, agricultural and trade print, broadcast, e-business/associations, National Agri Marketing Association(NAMA)chapters and members, and Canadian Agri Marketing Association (CAMA)chapters.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 151 Document Number: D10052
Notes:
3 pages., Correspondence via email., Recommends that agricultural communications students take course work to learn how to do statistical tests and interpret the results of others' research.
Syngenta (author) and G&S Business Communications (author)
Format:
Online document
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
United States: Public Relations Society of America
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 8 Document Number: D10303
Notes:
4 pages., Via Silver Anvil Awards., For years, males have dominated our image of agriculture. But in reality, women also hold important and diverse roles in the industry. G&S Business Communications launched a campaign for its client, Syngenta, to address this reality. As part of the campaign, Syngenta US joined the FarmHer movement as the presenting sponsor of the new television series “FarmHer on RFD-TV.” The FarmHer campaign helped nurture a relationship with this emerging group of customers, increase brand affinity among U.S. farmers and develop a stronger community among Syngenta employees to expand its diversity and inclusion initiative.
14 pages., Via online journal., Guided by the theory of reasoned action and social cognitive theory, this study was conducted to better understand how decisions to purchase organic or conventional milk are influenced by norms and attitudes established via human interactions and how those norms and attitudes vary by geographic region. An online Qualtrics survey was used to gain insight into behaviors, attitudes, and interactions of 308 milk consumers in various geographical regions of [State]. The findings indicate that urban, suburban, and rural consumers differ in some ways in their interactions related to milk information, as well as their perceptions of organic versus conventional milk. Based on the findings of the study, differences in personal networks and exposure to certain messaging in varying regions might perpetuate a more positive, confident, and informed view of organic or conventional milk products in some areas more so than others. The researchers recommend using the results of the study to tailor messages to the specific information needs of consumers in urban, suburban, and rural regions of [State].
9 pages, via online journal, Grain marketing arrangements in modern Russia are far from what they were in the 1990s. Given that grain marketing is crucial for farm revenues and an adequate functioning of the agri-food system, this paper examines why different grain marketing contracts co-exist and how well they fit the local agri-food context. Semi-structured interviews with farmers, grain buyers and regional authorities were conducted in the region of Tyumen in 2013-2014. The analysis, grounded in new institutional economics, found that the traders’ contracts, compared to those offered by grain elevators, are often better suited to account for uncertainty as a salient property of marketing transactions, but discourage quality improvements and differentiation of grain. Furthermore, both contract types encourage strategic behaviour on the part of grain buyers. The paper also discusses the case in a broader theoretical and international context and offers a number of policy implications, such as those related to independent grain quality assessments and extension.
Meyer, Mary H. (author), Needham, Douglas (author), Dole, John (author), Trader, Brain (author), Fox, Jennifer (author), Conley, Marnie (author), Neff, Michael (author), and Shaw, Jean (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2016-04
Published:
USA: American Society for Horticultural Science
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 208 Document Number: D13262
7 pages, The American Society for Horticultural Science (Alexandria, VA) and Longwood Gardens (Kennett Square, PA) engaged FleishmanHillard (FH, Washington, DC), a nationally recognized communications and marketing firm, to conduct research with internal and external audiences to determine the public perception of horticulture and careers in horticulture. Through stakeholder focus groups and general public online and phone surveys, the importance of horticulture, career perceptions, and the need for the promotion of horticulture were examined. Students, faculty, industry, and administrators in horticulture have a broad understanding of the field, much more than the public, especially young, ethnically diverse, and lower income participants. Although lack of public awareness is one of the biggest challenges in horticulture, it is also its greatest opportunity. Sixty-five percent of all phone survey participants as compared with 41% of 18–24 years old revealed a general awareness of the word horticulture. General public found agreement (48% to 59%) with four statements about the essential, universal, and invaluable worth of horticulture; however, strong agreement was less, ranging from 26% to 46%. Only 26% of respondents felt strong agreement with the statement, “Horticulture is a diverse area of study, and it offers viable, fulfilling, and respected career paths that I would recommend to others.” The research found strong stakeholder support for a national promotion of horticulture.
15 pages, The current study applied a “mixture-amount modeling” statistical approach—used most often in biology, agriculture, and food science—to measure the impact of advertising effort and allocation across different media. The authors of the current paper believe advertisers can use the mixture-amount model to detect optimal advertising-mix allocation changes as a function of their total advertising effort. The researchers demonstrated the use of the model by analyzing Belgian magazine and television data on 34 advertising campaigns for beauty-care brands. The goal is to help advertisers maximize desirable outcomes for campaign recognition and brand interest.
7 pages., Via online journal., A simmering crisis in the Nigerian agriculture today involves labour and the crisis manifests itself in the degree of labour availability, labour demand and labour productivity. One of the major products of this crisis is the increased participation of children in paid, non-familiar agricultural jobs. They are frequently employed as farm labourers, bird scarers, food crop harvesters, processors and hawkers. More than 132 million children work in agriculture. Agriculture ranks as one of the three most dangerous work activities, followed by mining and construction. Child labour is increasing in postharvest processing, transport, marketing and a range of agroindustries. Child labour is maybe one of the most striking indicators identifying vulnerable children and as such pointing to shortcomings in several of the millennium goals as poverty eradication, education for all, gender equality, combating HIV/AIDS and creation of a global partnership for development. Most working children do so after a decision in their parental household. To understand the household labour supply decisions, relation to the labour market and to public interventions is critical in designing programmes in order to achieve the MDGs. The research on child labour represents in this respect a largely untapped resource of knowledge for policymakers in the fields of agriculture, education programmes and poverty reduction programmes. The effect of lack of education opportunities on child labour is well documented, but existence of widespread agricultural child labour also reduces the effectiveness of investment in education. It is recommended in this paper that the legislator should enact laws that will reduce agricultural child labour through redistribution of the nation’s resources, women should be integrated in the fight to combat child labour and that alternative income sources should be provided for rural families whose children are the most vulnerable.
Special annual issue of Agri Marketing magazine. 168 pages., Annual guide lists more than 1,100 organizations - and 9,500 people - who provide products and services to the North American agricultural producer. Listings include companies, marketing services, agencies, agricultural and trade print, broadcast, e-business, associations and NAMA/CAMA directory.
Puspa, Jofi (author), Voigt, Tim (author), and Kuhl, Rainer (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2009
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C29846
Notes:
Pages 155-169 in Adam Lindgreen, Martin K. Hingley and Joelle Vanhamme (eds.), The crisis of food brands: sustaining safe, innovative and competitive food supply. Gower Publishing Limited, Surrey, England. 352 pages.
