CONSUMER PREFERENCE FOR SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES IN NATURAL BEEF PRODUCTS

This study examines the willingness to pay for a locally-produced, natural beef product in the Intermountain West. In addition to presenting market shares at various prices, this study examines the relevance of several production characteristics, to determine how important they are to consumers, especially the target group willing to pay premium prices. Concern about hormones is consistently higher than other animal- and environmentally-friendly attributes, while concern about local production is the lowest among the respondents. As would be expected, the average concern about each of these characteristics increased among the group most willing to pay a premium for natural beef.