CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE OF FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF U.S. RESIDENTS

A national survey conducted by the Food Policy Institute demonstrates the lack of knowledge and awareness most Americans have of genetically modified foods. The paper provides insight into public perceptions of food biotechnology's risks and benefits and a preliminary examination of consumers' stated preferences for genetically modified functional foods.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Measuring the effect of farmland preservation on farm profitability

Purchase of development rights (PDR) programs have been created in 27 states to preserve farmland resources. These programs seek to advance several societal objectives, including the protection of farmland from development, retention of rural amenities, and promotion of the economic viability of farming. Using New Jersey farm-level data, this study evaluates whether participation in a state PDR program improves farm profitability. The propensity score matching method is used to correct for selection bias arising from the voluntary nature of these programs. No statistically significant profit differential is found between preserved and observationally equivalent unpreserved farms in our full sample of 4029 farms. When the analysis is replicated across different farm types, we find weak evidence that the profitability of preserved residential lifestyle/retirement farms is lower than that observed for their unpreserved equivalents. In contrast, we find that small farms (<$100,000 in annual sales) operated by individuals for whom farming is a principal occupation earn$414 to $436 more per acre in profit than their observationally equivalent unpreserved counterparts

Measuring the effect of farmland preservation on farm profitability

Purchase of development rights (PDR) programs have been created in 27 states to preserve farmland resources. These programs seek to advance several societal objectives, including the protection of farmland from development, retention of rural amenities, and promotion of the economic viability of farming. Using New Jersey farm-level data, this study evaluates whether participation in a state PDR program improves farm profitability. The propensity score matching method is used to correct for selection bias arising from the voluntary nature of these programs. No statistically significant profit differential is found between preserved and observationally equivalent unpreserved farms in our full sample of 4029 farms. When the analysis is replicated across different farm types, we find weak evidence that the profitability of preserved residential lifestyle/retirement farms is lower than that observed for their unpreserved equivalents. In contrast, we find that small farms (<$100,000 in annual sales) operated by individuals for whom farming is a principal occupation earn$414 to $436 more per acre in profit than their observationally equivalent unpreserved counterparts

Helping Farmers Access Farmland: New Jersey\u27s New Land Link Website

Access to land is a common obstacle for beginning farmers and established farmers seeking to expand their operations. Particularly in urban-influenced areas, leasing farmland is often more financially feasible than fee ownership. Locating available land or the right leasing situation, however, can be difficult. NJ Land Link (http://njlandlink.org) is a new interactive website created to improve access to farmland and farming opportunities in New Jersey. The website allows farmland owners to list characteristics of their properties and terms of availability (e.g., sale, lease). Individuals seeking farmland or farm work opportunities can post their farming goals, resource needs, and farming experience

Visit NJ Farms: An Online Resource to Support Statewide Marketing of Agritourism

The popularity of agritourism is growing nationally. Central to the success of any agritourism operation is effective marketing. Visit NJ Farms is an interactive website designed as a centralized marketing platform for New Jersey agritourism operators. The website was developed to provide farmers with an easy-to-use tool to enter farm information, agritourism activities, and special events in a searchable database of statewide agritourism activities. Individuals interested in visiting a farm are able to search for specific agritourism activities or browse special on-farm events. Website visitors can select farms of interest to visit and develop customized travel itineraries with driving directions

Developing a Customized GIS-Based Spatial Statistics Tool: An Application to Emergency Planning and Response

Increased access to geographic information systems (GIS) technology has expanded the tools available to support Extension programming. However, working with large spatial datasets can still be difficult for less experienced users. GIS software allows the use of custom script programs and toolboxes to expedite and simplify data analysis. This article demonstrates the use of a customized GIS-based spatial statistics tool in an emergency planning and response context. In our example, we use the tool to tabulate population statistics within a user-defined area around several supermarkets made inoperable due to flooding

CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE OF FOOD BIOTECHNOLOGY: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF U.S. RESIDENTS

A national survey conducted by the Food Policy Institute demonstrates the lack of knowledge and awareness most Americans have of genetically modified foods. The paper provides insight into public perceptions of food biotechnology's risks and benefits and a preliminary examination of consumers' stated preferences for genetically modified functional foods