Farmers markets can play an important role in enhancing farm profitability, particularly those farms choosing to differentiate their products by appealing to consumer preferences for “locally grown†food or gain a larger share of the food dollar by marketing directly to consumers...

The length of the growing season can limit sales of locally grown foods despite increasing demand. Season-extension technologies such as passive solar greenhouses ("hoop houses") have potential to address this constraint. This paper reports :findings from the first year of a project which...

As organic agriculture evolves from a movement to an industry, the organic label is increasingly disconnected from the founding spirit of organic, which is now more associated with the broader term sustainable agriculture. Increased competition due to the "commodification" of organic agriculture...

The pasture-based model of agriculture potentially offers opportunities for small- and medium-scale livestock producers in local, regional, and national markets. Our data indicate that many consumers value the attributes associated with locally produced pasture-raised products. We used ordered...

Pasture-raised livestock products present a niche-marketing opportunity for small- and medium-scale farmers; growth of this market may enhance the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of livestock agriculture. Results from an earlier statewide poll in Michigan found that consumers...

Researchers have little understanding of what lies beneath the increased numbers and declining "innovativeness" of new food products. This paper investigates product innovation by focusing on both market- and firm-level relationships. Structural data is compared with innovation trends to...

Management's rating of the usefulness of different types and sources of market information available to them.