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...

Demand for organic products continues to grow by about 20 percent per year, and certified or­ganic farmers continue to receive premium prices for most organic fresh produce. Currently, most conventional supermarket and wholesale buyers purchase produce from large-scale domestic or...

The Idaho Potato Commission funded a project to help answer the question: What would be the economic impact if the potato industry increased the minimum size for fresh potatoes? We estimate that increasing the minimum size from 4 to 5 ounces would divert about 5 million hundredweight (cwt) to...

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...

The United States is increasing its share in global production of olive oil along with other “New World†producers. Recently, the state of California, where most of the olive oil in the US is produced, approved new regulations governing the grades of olive oil, labeling, methods of...

Despite their growth and desirability, several major barriers preclude the development of Local Food Systems (LFS) including the reluctance of wholesale operators to deal with LFS suppliers. We examine the contribution of Limehouse Produce to the development of the Charleston, S.C. LFS. Survey...