2014 Local Food Consumption in Vermont

This paper revisits and updates a 2011 study to count local food consumption in Vermont. We find consumption increased to about $188 million in 2014, with increases across most categories

Demand for Pasture-Raised Livestock Products: Results from Michigan Retail Surveys

Pasture-raised livestock production offers opportunity for product differentiation and enhanced sustainability. Shopper surveys at three Michigan retail locations measured consumers’ attitudes and beliefs regarding pasture-raised livestock products, and willingness to pay for pasture-raised milk and beef. The shoppers associate pasture-raised products with attributes important to purchase decisions. The shoppers express willingness to pay, on average, about 35% more for pasture-raised milk and beef. Informational messages appear to have no effect on these responses. We suggest pasture-raised is a viable marketing strategy and recommend premium pricing strategies and promotion based on verifiable health benefits.animal welfare, consumer demand, pasture-raised livestock products, sustainability, Tobit, willingness to pay, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,

Demand for Pasture-Raised Livestock Products in Michigan: Results of Consumer Surveys and Experimental Auctions

Pasture-raised livestock products present a niche-marketing opportunity for small- and medium-scale farmers; growth of this market may enhance the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of livestock agriculture. Results from an earlier statewide poll in Michigan found that consumers place great importance on product attributes associated with the pasture-based production model. This report presents findings from a combination of consumer surveys conducted at three Michigan retail locations and a series of experimental auctions. Participants in both the survey and auction components view pasture-raised beef and milk products very favorably, believing these products are healthy for humans to eat and are raised in environmentally friendly and humane ways. Survey respondents reported high likelihood of purchase; both the survey and auction subjects expressed willingness to pay a premium for pasture-raised products. We discuss these findings, particularly implications for the “four P’s†of marketing.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries,

Multiscale Design for Solid Freeform Fabrication

One of the advantages of solid freeform fabrication is the ability to fabricate complex structures on multiple scales, from the macroscale features of an overall part to the mesoscale topology of its internal architecture and even the microstructure or composition of the constituent material. This manufacturing freedom poses the challenge of designing across these scales, especially when a part with designed mesostructure is part of a larger system with changing requirements that propagate across scales. A setbased multiscale design method is presented for coordinating design across scales and reducing iterative redesign of SFF parts and their mesostructures. The method is applied to design a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle system. The system is decomposed into disciplinary subsystems and constituent parts, including wings with honeycomb mesostructures that are topologically tailored for stiffness and strength and fabricated with selective laser sintering. The application illustrates how the design of freeform parts can be coordinated more efficiently with the design of parent systems.Mechanical Engineerin

Consumer Preferences for Organic and Fair Trade Chocolate: Implications for Sustainable Agriculture in the Developing World

This paper examines results of a consumer survey measuring consumer awareness and attitudes concerning two labels, certified organic and certified Fair Trade. These labels provide information about the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the production and marketing practices of goods imported from the developing world. Conjoint analysis is used to measure how consumers value organic and fair trade compared to other attributes like price. Results indicate favorable attitudes and value placed on these the sustainable attributes, and imply a role for these labels to provide incentives for the adoption of more sustainable practices.conjoint analysis, Fair Trade, organic, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

THE ORGANIC LABEL: HOW TO RECONCILE ITS MEANING WITH CONSUMER PREFERENCES

The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP), with its unified definition and labeling requirements, holds great promise for increasing commerce in and decreasing transaction costs associated with purchasing organic food. However, the label and its meaning must both be well understood and reflect the traits consumers want if this promise is to be realized. This paper reports the results of a survey and experimental auction on consumers' preferences for organic standards. On one hand, the USDA NOP's Final Rule broadly conforms to consumer preferences regarding what practices should or should not be permitted in organic production and processing. Consumers support a strict definition of organic in general, opposing the use of a variety of practices historically banned by organic certifiers. For example, both the survey and auction methods found that consumers support the banning of Genetically Modified Organisms in organic food and are willing to pay a premium to avoid them. Consumers are also in accord with the Final Rule's exclusion of irradiation, biosolids, growth regulators, etc. On the other hand, the survey and auction results reveal a lack of understanding of the label's meaning as well as a disconnect between the label's function (detailing acceptable production practices) and consumers' stated motivations for buying organic (e.g., support for a local sustainable food system). Implications of these findings for decision makers in policy and industry are discussed. Of particular focus will be the role of these agents in promoting products that allow consumers to purchase items that reflect and support these values.Consumer/Household Economics,

CONSUMER PREFERENCES FOR ORGANIC STANDARDS: GUIDING DEMAND-EXPANSION STRATEGIES FOR ORGANIC FOOD

Consumer/Household Economics,

Design and Freeform Fabrication of Deployable Structures with Lattice Skins

Frontier environments—such as battlefields, hostile territories, remote locations, or outer space—drive the need for lightweight, deployable structures that can be stored in a compact configuration and deployed quickly and easily in the field. We introduce the concept of lattice skins to enable the design, solid freeform fabrication (SFF), and deployment of customizable structures with nearly arbitrary surface profile and lightweight multi-functionality. Using Duraform FLEX® material in a selective laser sintering machine, large deployable structures are fabricated in a nominal build chamber by either virtually collapsing them into a condensed form or decomposing them into smaller parts. Before fabrication, lattice sub-skins are added strategically beneath the surface of the part. The lattices provide elastic energy for folding and deploying the structure or constrain expansion upon application of internal air pressure. Nearly arbitrary surface profiles are achievable and internal space is preserved for subsequent usage. In this paper, we present the results of a set of experimental and computational models that are designed to provide proof of concept for lattice skins as a deployment mechanism in SFF and to demonstrate the effect of lattice structure on deployed shape.Mechanical Engineerin

Community Supported Agriculture Pricing and Promotion Strategies: Lessons from Two Ithaca, NY, Area Farms

E.B. 2003-07Surveyed members of two Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms in the Ithaca (Tompkins County) NY area state that the qualities they value most in their CSA share are freshness, organically grown and local. These members place the least amount of importance on the price, season length, and sense of community. In addition, the price paid for a share in each CSA was less than a consumer would have to pay for the same bundle of goods at three local retail outlets, especially if the consumer took advantage of “pick your own” specials on the farm. CSA (sometimes called “subscription farming”) is an arrangement under which members pay a fee at or near the beginning of the season to cover farm expenses, in return for a share of the farm’s harvest throughout the season. At least 80 CSA farms are active in New York State, according to the Robyn VanEn Center for CSA Resources. At least ten serve the Tompkins County area alone (Cornell Cooperative Extension -Tompkins County). Members share the risks of crop failure and provide working capital to the growers and in some cases are required to contribute labor (sometimes in exchange for a lower price), but gain the satisfaction of connecting with the land and growers, knowing where the food comes from and participating in the production of their food (DeMuth). Members and producers often share basic ideologies (Lass et al.). CSAs offer other benefits to consumers, producers and society as a whole. They can build bridges between farmers and non-farmers on the urban/rural fringe (Sharp et 2 al.). They educate people about the food system (Lass et al.; Sharp et al.) and have a larger role in community building in rural areas (Sharp et al.). CSAs have little or no food spoilage, compared to up to 25% on conventional farms (Lass et al.). CSAs are also believed to play a role in stabilizing food security, protecting the environment and preserving small scale family farms (Stagl and O’Hara). The goals of this study were twofold: (1) to compare prices of CSA shares from two Ithaca area farms with equivalent prices for the same produce items from local retail outlets; and (2), to measure members’ attitudes about and satisfaction with CSA membership. Results will guide promotional and pricing strategies for these and other CSA farms, as well as other farms involved in direct marketing. Price and promotion are identified as two vital components of the marketing strategy for products (like CSA shares) in the introductory or growth phases of the product life cycle (Kotler)

Pseudo-random number generators having specified probability density function and autocorrelation

Ph.D.Joseph L. Hammond, Jr