Applying Online: Technological Innovation for Income Support Programs in Four States

A study examining the development, implementation, and best practices for online applications for public benefits programs in California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Washington based on interviews with state agencies and community-based organizations

European Information System for Organic Markets (EISFOM QLK5-2002-02400): WP 2: “Data collection and processing systems (DCPS) for the conventional markets” and WP 3: “Data collection and processing systems for organic markets” = Deliverable D2

European markets for organic products are developing fast. In Europe, as other parts of the world, more and more farm land is being converted to organic production. In order to adjust production and consumption levels, detailed market information is needed, especially where decisions with a long-term impact need to be taken, for example on converting specific land or livestock enterprises requiring high levels of investment in glasshouses, housing, processing facilities etc. Since public subsidies (regional / national / European) are heavily involved in these investments, valid, accurate and up-to-date information is essential not only for farmers and growers, but also for policy-makers, consultants, processing industry etc. EU-research projects such as OFCAP (FAIR3-CT96-1794) and OMIaRD (QLK5-2000-01124) have shown that regional or national data gathering takes place in many countries, but often only very basic data are reported, such as certified organic holdings, land areas and livestock numbers. Important market data, e.g. the amount of production, consumption, international trade or producer and consumer prices, do not exist in most European countries. In some European countries there are only rough estimates of the levels of production and consumption. There is no standardization and data are seldom comparable. Furthermore, detailed information on specific commodities is missing. Hence, investment decisions are taken under conditions of great uncertainty. Likewise, if politicians want to support organic agriculture, they do not know whether it would be better to support production or consumption or to address problems in the marketing channel. The EU concerted action EISfOM (QLK5-2002-02400) (European Information System for Organic Markets) is attempting to take the first steps in solving these problems. The aim of this concerted action is to build up a framework for reporting valid and reliable data for relevant production and market sectors of the European organic sector in order to meet the needs of policy-makers, farmers, processors, wholesalers and other actors involved in organic markets. In order to reach this aim, this action was split into several workpackages. This report describes the approach and results of workpackages 2 and 3. In this first chapter the objective and general approach of these work packages are described. Chapters 2 and 3 provide an overview of international statistics and data collection systems within the food supply chain at the public and the private level. Chapter 4 describes national statistics and data collection systems within the food supply chain. In Chapter 5, an analysis and appraisal is made of the results with regard to organic data collection and processing systems (DCPSs) and their integration into existing common DCPSs. Chapter 6 draws several general conclusions. Two substantial annexes complete the report, one with the country reports on the situation of data collection and processing in all investigated countries and the other with the first and the second stage questionnaires covering the different data collection levels

Constructing One Component of a Survey Instrument to Measure the Influence of an Athletic Trainer\u27s Worldview in his Decision Making Process

Athletic trainers are often put in situations where they may be pressured to make morally compromising decisions regarding issues ranging from insurance fraud to substance abuse. The Athletic Training Department at Liberty University seeks to produce findings based on the results of a survey focusing on the role that an athletic trainer\u27s worldview plays in these decision-making processes that shows a correlation between an individual\u27s worldview and the types of decisions he makes. It is the goal of the Liberty University Athletic Training Program to determine how significant the effects of an athletic trainer\u27s worldview would have on the decisions that he makes in a given situation. The purpose of this research project was to develop one of two surveys which will be combined to form the final survey instrument that the Athletic Training Program will use to collect and classify the data concerning the effects of an athletic trainer\u27s worldview in his decision-making process. Designing this research instrument included tasks such as pre-testing reliability, establishing objectivity, and determining variables. These, among other things, were all considerations during the process of constructing such a survey instrument. It is important to note that the purpose of this project was to develop only one of the two surveys which will then be combined to form the final instrument that will be used in a future study by the Athletic Training Program at Liberty University

Laboratories of Reform: Virtual High Schools and Innovation in Public Education

Virtual schools are growing rapidly, serving over 700,000 students in the 2005-06 school year. But these schools are proving to be more than just another delivery system for students; they are bringing about reforms that have long eluded traditional public schools

Consumer Willingness to Pay for Livestock Credence Attribute Claim Verification

A choice experiment was used to determine consumer value for verification of livestock production process attributes. Willingness to pay for verification of production process attributes varied for both milk and pork chops across attributes and verifying entity. Statistically significant evidence of social desirability bias was found by comparing estimates of consumer preferences solicited using direct and indirect questioning. Indirect questioning may yield more accurate representations of consumer value than direct questioning, and therefore more accurate estimates for agribusiness decision making.animal welfare, certification, consumer demand, credence attribute, social desirability bias, verification, willingness to pay, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

The World of Organic Agriculture - Statistics and Emerging Trends 2006

From the IFOAM press release of February 14, 2006: According to the survey, currently more than 31 million hectares of farmland are under organic management worldwide, a gain of around five million hectares in a single year. A major increase of organic land has taken place in China, where nearly three million hectares of pastoral land were recently certified. In terms of organic land, excluding wild collection, Australia leads pack with 12.1 million hectares, followed by China (3.5 million hectares) and Argentina (2.8 million hectares). Most of the world’s organic land is in Australia / Oceania (39%), followed by Europe (21 %), Latin America (20%), Asia (13%), North America (4 %) and Africa (3 %). Regarding the share of organic farmland in comparison with the total agricultural area, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavian countries lead the way. In Switzerland, for example, more than ten percent of the agricultural land is managed organically. The editors of the study Minou Yussefi (SOEL) and Helga Willer (FiBL) note that “the continued increase in the organic land area over the last years is not just due to the ever greater interest in organic farming, but also a result of improved access to information and data collection each time the study is updated.” In 2004, the market value of organic products worldwide reached 27.8 billion US$, (23.5 billion EUR), the largest share of organic products being marketed in Europe and North America. Ongoing growth of the market and organic land area is expected for the foreseeable future, in part due to an increased support of governments and development organizations. Angela B. Caudle, IFOAM Executive Director, emphasizes “as markets for organic products continue to develop throughout the world, including in key markets outside of Europe and North America, such as Brazil and the Middle East, the benefits of organic agricultural systems on a large scale will become increasingly evident.” This global study about organic farming will be presented for the 8th time at BioFach. For the first time “The World of Organic Agriculture” includes not only information on total organic area but also on land use and on major crops, and features an updated chapter on the market situation and emerging trends for all continents, provided by renowned experts in the organic sector

Iowa Communications Network Performance Report, FY2007

Agency Performance Repor

Improving Barley for Organic Producers: What Do Organic Producers Want?

Researchers surveyed organic barley producers in order to find out how many acres they are growing, what varieties they grow, what markets they are growing barley for, whether they receive a price premium for organic barley, whether they are growing or would be interested in growing multi-use naked barley, what production challenges they face, and what traits they would like to see improved