This paper addresses three key empirical questions related to health, nutrient, and process claims on front-label packaging; namely, 1) How do consumers value alternative claims on product and process-based attributes for fresh produce; 2) Are these values additively separable; and 3) To what...

This study employs factor and cluster analysis techniques to explore a national-level dataset of fresh produce consumers. Specifically, we characterize the major sources of variation in the dataset using four internally-derived factors, and then use these factors to split the data into five...

In the present research, the agent's choice to leave or join a cooperative is modeled to be a function of alternative investment opportunities and choices made by other agents who are faced with an identical set of possible strategies. Once the agent has made the decision to join a cooperative,...

Our team is establishing a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) market, whereby landowners (primarily engaged in cattle and hay production) implement best management practices that result in provision of ecosystem services (wildlife habitat and water resources/ riparian function), in exchange...

This study aims to understand the relationship between regional growth in population, employment, and per capita income, and agricultural land values and development in the Northeast United States. A system of spatial simultaneous equations is estimated using three-stage-least squares on county...

The U.S. market for commoditized beef is a dynamic one that has, over the last 30 years, seen decreases in per capita consumption and an increased reliance on large, integrated feedlot facilities that focus on efficient weight gain and producing carcasses deemed desirable according the USDA...

Using county data for West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, estimation of a system of simultaneous equations shows that population growth, higher taxes, high farmland value, and high initial per capita income accelerate farmland development, but return on farmland, government assistance to...

Obesity constitutes an important public policy issue since it causes external costs to society through increased healthcare costs borne by taxpayers. This study employed random and fixed effects estimations and spatial autoregressive approaches under a panel data structure to unravel possible...

Many farms have begun operating websites in order to promote their businesses. This study used data from a survey of farms in the northeastern U.S. for the year 2004 in order to identify characteristics of farmers, farms, and farm businesses associated with website adoption. Following a...

Direct farm marketing sales in the Northeastern region of the U.S. and more specifically in the state of West Virginia increased during the 1990s. To understand the factors that influence recent trends in direct farm marketing, this analysis uses a regression function to test the relationships...