MICHIGAN APPLE COMMITTEE WINTER 2003 GROWER SURVEY: SUMMARY OF RESULTS

The Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) is a commodity organization comprised of approximately 1000 apple growers in Michigan. The objective of this study was to evaluate growers' perceptions about the effectiveness of past MAC programs and solicit their opinions about future directions for MAC in order to provide one source of input for Board decisions. In addition, this study provided growers with some information about the broad programmatic areas that are covered under MAC guidelines. In Winter 2003 a mail survey was sent to the entire MAC mailing list (1,123 growers); 282 surveys were returned (25 percent). Overall results of the survey indicate that Michigan apple growers are generally satisfied with the performance of the MAC, but perhaps equally importantly, that many members do not fully understand the function of the MAC. Response to questions about specific programming areas provides more details concerning grower beliefs. Although differences in opinion were generally not identified by grower age or scale of operation, the survey results did highlight some distinct regional differences of opinion within the Michigan apple industry.Crop Production/Industries,

MICHIGAN APPLE COMMITTEE WINTER 2003 GROWER SURVEY: RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Crop Production/Industries,

Regional Wholesale Price Relationships: The Case of Peaches

An important characteristic of agricultural commodity markets is the extent to which those markets respond to price changes in related markets. Given a competitive market structure, the Law of One Price (LOP) postulates that spatial price relationships are determined by transfer cost1 among regions and that spatial arbitrage restores market equilibrium (Tomek and Robinson, 2003). Spatial price relationships are of particular relevance to farmers in designing market strategies. Measurements of spatial price relationships provide insights about the dynamics of price movements, thus increasing understanding of likely behavior of supply or demand areas in the market (Jordan and Van Sickle, 1998). For example, knowledge of which regions lead prices, the degree to which market shocks are transmitted via prices among regions, and the regional market reaction time can all be useful in designing market strategy. This study analyzes spatial wholesale price relationships for fresh U.S. peaches using vector autoregressive analysis (VAR) on weekly prices from the primary wholesale markets of four U.S. regions. Primary objectives of the study are: (1) to determine the degree of market segmentation as well as the direction and magnitude of market integration among regions, and (2) to evaluate the sensitivity of U.S. fresh peach wholesale markets to individual shocks in the five regions. The study is organized as follows. We first present an overview of the U.S. fresh peach sector. Next, the relevant methodology and data is described. Results and conclusions follow.Demand and Price Analysis,

Regional Wholesale Price Relationships in the Presence of Counter-Seasonal Imports

Counter-seasonal imports of fresh produce facilitate year-round availability in the U.S. and may impact the seasonal structure of market price relationships. Vector autoregression analysis is used to determine the nature and extent of spatial price relationships among four geographically distinct regions in the U.S. fresh peach wholesale market. We evaluate differences in regional spatial price relationships and find statistical evidence that price relationships among regions are different in periods dominated by regional domestic supplies imports compared with periods when counter-seasonal imports dominate the market.counter-seasonal imports, price analysis, regional prices, spatial prices, VAR, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, International Relations/Trade, Risk and Uncertainty, Q1, Q11, Q13,

Limited Resources--Growing Needs: Lessons Learned in a Process to Facilitate Program Evaluation

Extension educators face the challenge of delivering reliable information as input to the decision-making process of clientele groups. This article draws on a process used to evaluate member perceptions of program effectiveness for a commodity organization where the program beneficiaries are also the funding source. While vast literature covers evaluation procedures and theory, there is little information on practical evaluation examples linked with this theory, a gap this article addresses. We use a recent project with the Michigan Apple Committee (MAC) to illustrate the process and draw attention to critical steps for a successful evaluation

Alternatives to Methyl Bromide in Michigan Field Production of Seedling Conifers and Herbaceous Perennials: Economic Comparisons

Crop Production/Industries,

Autohydrolysis extraction of bioactive compounds from pineapple waste

The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of temperature, time and mass/volume ratio on the release of sugars and polyphenols using an autohydrolysis procedure from pineapple waste and determine its antioxidant activity. A Box-Bhenken design was used with three factors (time, temperature and mass/volume ratio) at three levels. All treatments were performed in triplicate. For autohydrolysis treatments, an oil bath was used [1]. After extraction process, liquid phases or hydrolysates were analyzed for glucose and fructose concentration by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) [2]. The Folin-Ciocalteu assay was used to measure total polyphenols of hydrolysates [3] and HPLC to identify these molecules [4]. Free radical scavenging activity (DPPH assay) and radical cation decolorization assay (ABTS) were assayed [5]. Figure 1, shows the antioxidant activity obtained from experimental matrix Box-Bhenken design from autohydrolysis treatments of pineapple waste. It was observed most treatments have higher activity than control, this is due to the abundance of bioactive compounds present in the hydrolysates. Conclusion: Autohydrolysis process is a good alternative for an effective extraction (using water as only reaction medium) of value-added compounds that can be used for alcoholic drinks enriched with natural antioxidants. In addition, this technology is an environmentally friendly extraction alternative in compared with traditional chemical process

Fructooligosaccharides and β-fructofuranosidase production by Aspergillus japonicus immobilized on lignocellulosic materials

This work describes the fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and β-fructofuranosidase (FFase) production from sucrose (200 g/l) by Aspergillus japonicus ATCC 20236 immobilized on different lignocellulosic materials including brewer's spent grain, wheat straw, corn cobs, coffee husks, cork oak, and loofa sponge. Transfructosylating (Ut) and hydrolyzing (Uh) activities of FFase were also determined. The FOS production and FFase activity ranged from 128.35 to 138.73 g/l, and 26.83 to 44.81 U/ml, respectively, for cells immobilized in the different carriers. Corn cobs was the best support material since gave the highest results of microorganism immobilization (1.49 g/g carrier), FOS and FFase production, with FOS productivity (6.61 g/l h) and yield (0.66 g/g based on total substrate; 0.73 g/g based on consumed substrate) higher than those obtained by free cells system. Moreover, the ratio Ut/Uh of FFase, parameter of importance for elevated FOS production, was greater for cells immobilized in corn cobs than for free cells. Such results demonstrated that corn cobs can be successfully used as carrier for immobilization of the fungus A. japonicus, for the production of FOS and FFase.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Identification and evaluation of fungal strains with fucoidan degradation potential

Ten fungal strains isolated of Mexican semi-desert were screened for ability to hydrolyze fucoidan in order to search microorganism capable to produce sulfated fucans-degrading enzymes. Plate assay and liquid fermentation experiments were carried out using Laminaria japonica fucoidan as only carbon source, testing three nitrogen sources. Growth was observed only in Aspergillus niger PSH, Mucor sp., and Penicillum purpurogenum GH2 in fucoidan-urea medium. The activity of fucoidanases was determined by reduced sugars. Aspergillus niger PSH showed the highest activity titles. This research indicate that filamentous fungi, using specific medium, are sources enable to induce active metabolism that act toward this class of polysaccharide