Assessing beef producer\u27s interest in cooperative business models to address processing capacity constraints in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont

New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont are well-positioned to grow their capacity for local beef production, however significant barriers to accessing processing services exist. The challenges of processing capacity are complex, and the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded those challenges. Cooperative business models, such as cooperative processing and marketing, have been used to address the issues producers face with processing capacity. This study aimed to determine if beef producers in New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont would be willing to participate in cooperative business models, whether interest in cooperative models varies by different types of beef producers, and what attributes would these business models possible. An online closed-ended survey was conducted, followed by phone interviews to address the research objectives. Participants were reached through non-probability sampling methods using a combination of non-purposive and snowball sampling. Data were analyzed using multiple regression with backward elimination, and Pearson correlations were calculated to identify relationships between demographics and willingness to participate in cooperative business models. A coding system was used to analyze qualitative data from follow-up interviews. Results showed there was a willingness among beef producers to participate in cooperative processing and marketing. Still, there were reservations due to unfamiliarity and concerns with financial investment and pay-off. Through both qualitative and quantitative assessments, it was possible to theoretically predict what type of beef producer might be willing to experiment with cooperative processing and cooperative marketing. Future research on the economics of cooperative business models and how to implement cooperative business models for beef producers is needed to move forward successfully

Niebla Ceruchis from Laguna Figueroa: Dimorphic Spore Morphology and Secondary Compounds Localized in Pycnidia and Apothecia

During and after the floods of 1979-80 Niebla ceruchis growing epiphytically on Lycium brevipes was one of the dominant aspects of the vegetation in the coastal dunal complex bordering the microbial mats at Laguna Figueroa, Baja California Norte, Mexico. The lichen on denuded branches of Lycium was far more extensively distributed than Lycium lacking lichen. Unusual traits of this Niebla ceruchis strain, namely localization of lichen compounds in the mycobiont reproductive structures (pycnidia and apothecia) and simultaneous presence of bilocular and quadrilocular ascospores, are reported. The abundance of this coastal lichen cover at the microbial mat site has persisted through April 1988

Ecology and Life History of an Amoebomastigote, Paratetramitus jugosus, from a Microbial Mat: New Evidence for Multiple Fission

Volume: 177Start Page: 110End Page: 12