FOCUS GROUPS AS A USEFUL APPROACH TO AGRIBUSINESS RESEARCH

As the agricultural economics profession increasingly strives to find relevant and useful approaches for addressing a broad array of research questions, particularly in terms of agribusiness research, there will be a growing need to adopt a wide set of research methods and methodologies. Historical research strategies typically emphasized by agricultural economists have focused primarily on surveys, archival/secondary data and econometrics. However, these approaches are, at times, limited in their applicability and scope relative to some of the research questions that have the greatest priority for agribusiness researchers and their clientele. Some of the research methods now being more widely used by agribusiness-oriented agricultural economists are more qualitative, as is already evident with a growing acceptance of case studies within the profession. This paper discusses an additional qualitative approach that has substantial potential for agribusiness research focus groups.Agribusiness, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

SHOULD IMPORTS FREE-RIDE OR HELP PAY-- DECISIONS ABOUT GENERIC PROMOTION PROGRAMS FOR AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES

Many U.S. agricultural commodity industries are currently considering if and how they might implement a mandatory national generic promotion program. As U.S. industries consider how to finance these programs, one of the key decisions they face is the choice to include or exempt imported products from promotional assessment fees. Free-riders, unwilling riders, exclusion costs, economies of scale, market share, seasonality of production, storage constraints, and the role of government are reviewed within the context of this choice. The paper concludes that perceptions of fairness and ownership of decision processes, commonly held objectives, and effective communication links are key factors affecting decisions about the structures of generic commodity promotion programs.Marketing,

STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR IMPROVED COMPETITIVENESS BY REGIONAL COMMODITY INDUSTRIES

Agribusiness,

APPLE INDUSTRY STRATEGIC PLANNING AND INTEGRATION WITH UNIVERSITY RESEARCH

Agribusiness,

SUPPLY MANAGEMENT PROGRAM ALTERNATIVES FOR THE TART CHERRY INDUSTRY

Two interrelated supply problems facing the tart cherry industry are long-run cyclical patterns in industry productive capacity and substantial annual supply fluctuations. Following the termination of a federal marketing order in effect for 14 years, the industry has considered a number of other supply management options. None have been adopted on a broad industry basis. Recent proposals involved formation of a multi-state supply management cooperative and use of a state marketing order in Michigan. Annual supply management alternatives include reserve pool, market allocation, and non-harvest. An orchard removal incentive program was proposed to reduce industry productive capacity.Agribusiness,

Design and Synthesis of Analogs of \u3ci\u3emyo\u3c/i\u3e-Inositol, Serine, and Cysteine to Enable Chemical Biology Studies

Phosphorylated myo-inositol compounds including inositol phosphates (InsPs) as well as the phosphatidylinositol polyphosphate lipids (PIPns) are critical biomolecules that regulate many of the most important biological processes and pathways. They are aberrant in many disease states due to their regulatory function. The same is true of the phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS) which can serve as a marker to begin apoptosis. However, the full scope of activities of these structures is not clear, particularly since techniques that enable global detection and analysis of the production of these compounds spatially and temporally are lacking. With all of these obstacles in mind, devising a system that enables selective enrichment and detection of inositol and serine lipid products would allow the tracking of the various products formed during myo-inositol and serine metabolism and biological activity. Towards this end, the goal of this project is to design and synthesize azide-tagged myo-inositol precursors that enable the selective labeling and quantitation of inositol products via copper-mediated azide-alkyne (CuAAC) and strain–promoted (SPAAC) click chemistry, enrichment, mass spectrometry (MS) identification and fluorescence imaging. Successfully synthesized 2-propylazido inositol ether was the lead compound for these studies. The compound was incubated with and metabolically incorporated both into S. cerevisiae and C. albicans. Evidence of incorporation was proven by fluorescence microscopy after SPAAC conjugation to a dibenzocyclooctyne dye. Lipid extraction followed by CuAAC with an alkyne dye was used for TLC validation and showed labeling of tagged inositol containing lipids in C. albicans. Also explored were serine precursors that can be used to irreversibly bind to the PS synthase active site in order to investigate the active site substrates and mechanism. Serine and cysteine synthesized with a bromopropyl chain tethered to the side chain thiol served as an electrophilic trap in the PS synthase active site. The modified cysteine compound has shown competition for active site infiltration by decreasing the production of tritiated PS by \u3e50% at 5 mM

A modular, programmable measurement system for physiological and spaceflight applications

The NASA-Ames Sensors 2000! Program has developed a small, compact, modular, programmable, sensor signal conditioning and measurement system, initially targeted for Life Sciences Spaceflight Programs. The system consists of a twelve-slot, multi-layer, distributed function backplane, a digital microcontroller/memory subsystem, conditioned and isolated power supplies, and six application-specific, physiological signal conditioners. Each signal condition is capable of being programmed for gains, offsets, calibration and operate modes, and, in some cases, selectable outputs and functional modes. Presently, the system has the capability for measuring ECG, EMG, EEG, Temperature, Respiration, Pressure, Force, and Acceleration parameters, in physiological ranges. The measurement system makes heavy use of surface-mount packaging technology, resulting in plug in modules sized 125x55 mm. The complete 12-slot system is contained within a volume of 220x150x70mm. The system's capabilities extend well beyond the specific objectives of NASA programs. Indeed, the potential commercial uses of the technology are virtually limitless. In addition to applications in medical and biomedical sensing, the system might also be used in process control situations, in clinical or research environments, in general instrumentation systems, factory processing, or any other applications where high quality measurements are required

CUSTOMER PREFERENCES FOR MICHIGAN APPLES: A CASE EXAMPLE OF A MARKET RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR A COMMODITY INDUSTRY

A series of market-research studies on Michigan apples are discussed in this paper. They provide a case example of a continuing program of market research to aid this industry. These include studies on changing preferences, needs, perceptions, practices and buying behavior for major customer segments of this industry, including consumers and grocery retailers, as well as mid-chain customer segments such as shippers and processors. While this market research program includes several component studies, the overall integration of the information from the various component studies is especially important for the development of the industry's marketing strategies. The component studies which comprise the overall market research program to date include the following interrelated phases: 1. An initial survey of apple shippers as key mid-chain firms - emphasizing overview information on customer needs and preferences as well as priorities for needed market research information. 2. A consumer focus group study. 3. A large-sample consumer telephone survey on consumer preferences, behavior and attitudes. 4. Consumer taste tests emphasizing fruit firmness and taste. 5. Consumer visual test regarding purchase preferences for fruit size and color. 6. A survey of consumers using an in-store taste and sampling program. 7. A follow-up survey of shippers that concentrated on apple varieties preferred for current and future markets. 8. A similar survey of apple processors on apple varieties preferred for processed apple markets. 9. A survey of grocery trade customers on their needs and preferences for fresh apples. 10. Integrative analyses comparing and contrasting preference information obtained from the studies listed in 1-9. The market research was done as part of broad-scope industry efforts to analyze, target and develop major strategic directions intended to position the industry for high performance and success in the future. These identified strategic directions have the goal of improving the industry's overall performance, including effectively meeting the needs of their consumer and trade customers in order to improve industry's competitiveness and economic viability. The specific types of information, priority questions and customer targets for each of the component market-research studies were developed in close cooperation with industry leaders and major industry organizations such as the industry's generic promotional commission. The industry has used the information from these market-research studies to develop their evolving strategies to most effectively serve their customer needs and hence to compete in the changing markets for their industry.Consumer/Household Economics,