Market Growth vs Government-facilitated Growth: E.U. and U.S. Organic Agriculture Policies

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Marketing U.S. Organic Foods: Recent Trends From Farms to Consumers

Organic foods now occupy prominent shelf space in the produce and dairy aisles of most mainstream U.S. food retailers. The marketing boom has pushed retail sales of organic foods up to $21.1 billion in 2008 from$3.6 billion in 1997. U.S. organic-industry growth is evident in an expanding number of retailers selling a wider variety of foods, the development of private- label product lines by many supermarkets, and the widespread introduction of new products. A broader range of consumers has been buying more varieties of organic food. Organic handlers, who purchase products from farmers and often supply them to retailers, sell more organic products to conventional retailers and club stores than ever before. Only one segment has not kept pace—organic farms have struggled at times to produce sufficient supply to keep up with the rapid growth in demand, leading to periodic shortages of organic products.Organic, organic food, marketing organic products, organic supply chain, producing organic products, handling organic products, organic price premiums, ERS, USDA, Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing,

VERIFICATION IN CONTRACTS WITH RANDOM CHANGES IN QUALITY

Many goods and services are subject to random changes in quality during the time between sale and delivery, resulting in markets characterized by lemons-market equilibria. We examine two forms of costly verification, ex post inspection and ex ante certification. In equilibrium, ex post verification is used to verify buyers' reports of low quality, while ex ante certification is used to verify sellers' shipments of high quality. Ex post inspection allows buyers to earn rents; in some circumstances, ex ante certification allows sellers to earn rents. One would expect buyers to prefer ex post inspection while sellers prefer ex ante certification.Marketing,

CASH MARKET OR CONTRACT? HOW TECHNOLOGY AND CONSUMER DEMAND INFLUENCE THE DECISION

The use of contracts for producing and marketing agricultural commodities has become nearly universal in some sectors. Two factors are most frequently cited as being responsible for the use of agricultural contracts. The first, a demand-side factor, is the development of strong consumer preferences for specific qualities. The second, a supply-side factor, is technological change. In this paper, we use a principal agent framework to model how consumer demand and technology enter into a firm's decision to use contracts or the cash market.Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing,

The Role of Contracts in the Organic Supply Chain: 2004 and 2007

Organic food products are excellent candidates for contract production and marketing because they are produced using a distinct process and are in high demand. This report summarizes survey data on contracting in the organic sector, addressing the extent of contracting, the rationale for using contracts, and contract design for select commodities. The central survey data were collected from certified organic handlers (intermediaries)in the United States who marketed and procured organic products in 2004 and 2007. Contracting is widespread in the organic sector, and, in 2007, firms used contracts most frequently to secure organic products essential to their business and to source products in short supply. Large firms were more likely to use contracts for procurement, and these firms contracted for a larger share of their procurement needs. Nearly all contracts required suppliers to provide evidence of organic certification. Firms using contracts rarely assisted suppliers with obtaining organic certification or the transition to organic. Most contracts include provisions regarding quality, and quality verification was an essential component of these contracts. Prices were determined in a variety of ways and, in some cases, depended on delivered quality.Organic supply chain, contracts, organic marketing, organic procurement, intermediaries, certified organic handlers, contract design, certified organic, Agribusiness, Marketing,

Consumer Choice of Private Label or National Brand: The case of organic and non-organic milk

We use a two-stage, sample selection model to investigate organic milk purchases using Neilsen’s Homescan data. In the first stage, households decide on a weekly basis to buy mainly organic milk or non-organic milk. Results from this stage show that higher income, better education, having children at home, and several other demographic and marketing variables have a positive effect on organic choice. In the second stage, consumers then choose to buy mainly private label milk or national brand milk conditional on their first-stage choice. Most demographic and marketing variables are found to affect the organic and non-organic private label decision in the same way. However, our results show that a few factors, such as marriage status and children, affect the private label decision differently for organic and non-organic milk customers.organic milk, private label, sample selection, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

The 20th Century Transformation of U.S. Agriculture and Farm Policy

The structure of farms, farm households, and the rural communities in which they exist has evolved markedly over the last century. Historical data on a range of farm structure variables—including the value of agricultural production, commodity specialization, farming-dependent counties, and off-farm work—offer a perspective on the long-term forces that have helped shape the structure of agriculture and rural life over the past century. These forces include productivity growth, the increasing importance of national and global markets, and the rising influence of consumers on agricultural production. Within this long-term context of structural change, a review of some key developments in farm policy considers the extent to which farm policy design has or has not kept pace with the continuing transformation of American agriculture.farm policy, farm structure, policy adjustment, structural adjustment, mechanization, productivity growth, global markets, consumer stakeholders, price and income support, farm policy history, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management,

Local Marketing of Organic Food by Certified Organic Processors, Manufacturers, and Distributors

Local organic food is garnering new interest. Using new data from a national survey of certified organic intermediaries, we examine local markets for organic food and assess which firms are likely to market locally. Approximately 25% of survey respondents primarily market their products locally, and 15% of the value of organic food (at the intermediate level) is sold locally. Larger firms are less likely to market locally, firms that handle a greater share of organic products are more likely to market locally, and the likelihood of marketing locally is lower the longer a firm has been certified organic.local food, local organic food, organic handlers, organic intermediaries, organic marketing, Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Marketing,

US National Organic Standards Board: Does It Preserve The Public Voice Amidst USDA and Corporate Interests?

Agriculture in the US has a long history of cooperation between government and industry. Organic standards are no exception to this tradition, and despite the seeming incongruence, the US organic regulation is housed in the very agency that supports large-scale, industrial commodity agriculture. We analyze the composition of the National Organic Standards Board from 1992 - 2012, to assess the degree to which politics and corporate interests have influenced the national organic standard

Organic Agriculture in U.S. Urban Areas: Building Bridges Between Organic Farms and Education

The proposed paper for the 18th IFOAM Organic World Congress will address the results of a 2013 national survey of urban farms in the United States. Production and marketing practices, focusing on organic urban farms, will be highlighted