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| ResearchDawn Thilmany
Direct Marketing Fresh Produce: Understanding Consumer Interest in Organics and Nutrition In order to enhance the profitability of small farms that engage in direct marketing activities, it is important to understand the targeted consumers. The objectives of this research are to: determine important elements of differentiating consumer segments, and then analyze differences in consumer response to questions on product and process attributes including: the importance of color, taste, production location, production process (organic vs. conventional), varying nutritional properties, as well as willingness to pay a premium. This study is part of a larger interdisciplinary project that integrates research and outreach on production, food nutritional analyses, marketing and nutrition education on fresh produce cultivars with a focus on enhanced nutritional properties through cultivar selection and organic production. For more information contact Dawn Thilmany at Dawn.Thilmany@colostate.edu
Exploring Consumer Segments for Natural Meat In response to growing demand for meat products differentiated by various production attributes, many smaller-scale beef enterprises are considering direct marketing of their beef products to end-consumers as a viable approach to sustaining their family farming operations. This research uses survey data from Colorado consumers, and factor and cluster analysis to determine market segments for various (varied by production protocols and other meat attributes) natural beef products. The most important factor explaining almost two-thirds of the differences among consumer responses relates to consumers’ perceptions of the importance of meat attributes related to production practices (eg. use of antibiotics, hormones, environmentally friendly grazing). These results indicate the potential strength of production methods (and marketing of such quality differences) as product differentiation criteria.
For more information contact Dawn Thilmany at Dawn.Thilmany@colostate.edu
Organic Trends and Issues: The Role of USDA in the Organic Industry— (see report) There are several unique aspects of the organic industry that make it particularly interesting to study and for USDA to support. It is one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture, with growth in sales of approximately 20% per year for the last 15 years; Since consumer demand for organics is growing faster than domestic organic production, an expanding trade gap between imports and exports is emerging; It is scientifically important, presenting unique opportunities for advancements in understanding ecological synergies of agroecosystems on which organic growers inherently rely, and that are often ignored in other agricultural research endeavors; and, It provides a range of perceived food quality, environmental and social benefits valued by society and reflected in the price premiums consumers are willing to pay for organic products, all potential benefits that should be explored further. A series of white papers on organic trends, issues that need increased USDA attention, organizational change to support more work in organics and the integration of organic into more USDA programs is in development. Figure: Certified Organic Revenues by County
For more information contact Dawn Thilmany at Dawn.Thilmany@colostate.edu
Direct marketing channels: Trends and Emerging issues Direct marketing opportunities are experiencing renewed interest across the country as small or specialized agricultural producers look for appropriate distribution strategies for their niche and value-added products. This, together with continued growth in the food service industry, led to interest in and development of a case study on the Northern Colorado producer direct marketing effort targeting chefs. Another study explores current trends in direct sales, with a particular focus on farmers markets. For the US, the value of agricultural products directly sold by producers increased from $591,820,000 to $812,204,000 between 1997 and 2002, an increase of 37% compared to a slight decline in total revenues sold through all channels. The increase in Colorado direct marketing is even more dramatic. There was a two-fold increase in revenues as sales jumped from $6,926,000 to $17,406,000 in 2002.
For more information contact Dawn Thilmany at Dawn.Thilmany@colostate.edu |
