While research documenting the impacts of direct marketing locally produced foods find positive impacts across the food supply chain (i.e. producers, chefs, consumers, and the overall economy), significant barriers to efficient farm-to-chef connections remain. Lack of knowledge and communication...

This paper explores the innovative multi-stakeholder cooperative structure of Sandhills Farm to Table Food Hub and how this business utilizes an innovative organizational structure to connect producers, consumers, and workers to each other and the community. Evaluating SF2T’s structure...

Agritourism can provide both on-farm recreational activities for visitors and educational activities showing how food is produced. It can help farmers diversify and add income to their operations. This study assesses how characteristics of agritourism operations and perceived barriers may...

In an effort to facilitate communication between agricultural producers and their local officials, the Texas AgriLife Extension Services' risk-management specialists and county agricultural agents developed region-specific model farms through the FARM assistance program. Financial and Risk...

This paper employs the dual approach to trace the impact of public policy instruments upon the operational and financial performance of U.S. dairy cooperatives. A restricted profit function is applied to the Operations and Finance Statements for years 1980-1988 of thirty major dairy...

This paper reports the results of a survey of cooperative managers regarding the use of communication technology including social media. The survey categorized 105 different cooperatives by current technology use and management practices. The survey found that Texas cooperative managers are...

Farm-to-School (FTS) programs exist in 50 states. However, many FTS efforts have failed due to operating costs, local food availability, and distribution logistics. There is almost no literature examining the factors impacting FTS program implementation and success, although such information...