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This project was supported by the Specialty Crop Research Initiative of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA, Grant # 2009-51181-06035. Trade in fresh fruits and vegetables has raised concerns about the distance food travels, food cost, freshness, and climate change associated with the transport. The term food mile refers to the distance or the number of miles that food travels from producer to consumer through its supply chain. Purchasing directly from local farmers may reduce these miles, thus, reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and strengthen the local economy and creating more self-sufficient communities. According to a study conducted in 1996, on average food traveled distances of 1,500 miles from source to consumer. Another study, conducted in 1997, estimated that the average pound of fresh produce travelled 1,685 miles from farm to the main wholesale market in Baltimore, Maryland. Transporting food such long distances requires a great deal of fossil fuels, increases dependency on foreign oil resources and food prices. Buying locally grown produce helps to reduce the environmental impact and cost of transportation. Locally grown fruits and vegetables can be perceived as being fresher as they are usually picked within 24 hours of purchase, may taste better, and have a higher nutritional value than produce transported from great distances. The main purpose of this paper is to highlight increased purchases of locally grown ethnic greens and herbs due to consumer interest in reducing food miles. To document ethnic consumers’ behavior and their demand for greens and herbs, a telephone survey was conducted in 16 East Coast states and Washington D.C. during May through October, 2010. This survey collected information that can be used to assist small and medium farmers with better understanding consumer perceptions and factors that drive ethnic greens and herbs markets, specifically attitudes and behaviors of Asian Indian, Chinese, Mexican, and Puerto Rican consumers. A focus of the study was to predict the influence of socioeconomic and demographic variables on the purchase of locally grown ethnic greens and herbs because of food miles concerns. Respondents answered questions about whether they increased purchase of locally grown ethnic greens and herbs to reduce their impact on food miles, and based on this, a logit model was developed to predict the influence of demographic and other factors on increased purchase of locally grown ethnic greens and herbs. Results indicate that 34% of ethnic consumers have increased purchases of locally grown ethnic greens and herbs due to food miles reason. Participants more willing to buy locally grown ethnic greens and herbs due to concerns about food miles were those who: tend to buy ethnic greens and herbs from ethnic stores; traveled greater distances to the nearest ethnic grocery store; felt that language the employees of the store spoke was very important; felt that the information on the package was very important when they purchased ethnic greens and herbs; strongly agreed in finding and purchasing ethnic greens and herbs that were the level of quality that they expect and desire; had a post-graduate or advanced degree, had an income of over $200,000; and were Asian Indians.. Purchasing locally grown ethnic greens and herbs may help reduce food miles and provide fresh produce to the local ethnic consumers while saving fuel costs. These results may be useful to the local farmers investigating the possibility of growing ethnic greens and herbs based on the demand and target markets.

This project was supported by the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP), USDA, Grant # 2009-51181-06035. In the U.S. agricultural system, small and medium-sized farmers with limited land and capital resources are unable to compete in the national commodity markets. Direct marketing and agritourism are used by these enterprises to increase farm income. Agri-tourism may be broadly defined to include a range of farm-related products and services that are educational, interactive, or recreational in nature. For many farmers, farm resources (land, buildings, equipment) are not utilized for many months of the year. The use of existing infrastructure to generate supplemental farm income is an important strategy for enhancing the profitability of the farm operation. Examples of agri-tourism include Halloween corn mazes and hayrides, hunting and fishing, festivals, farm tours, and bed and breakfasts. In addition to the direct revenue generation, by bringing non-farm residents to the farm, agritourism also benefits farmers in other ways. Agri-tourism creates positive interactions between farmers and non-farmers, contributing to a “culture of understanding†that is necessary for both to coexist. The benefits of agri-tourism also extend beyond the farm gate. Particularly in urbanizing areas, these activities contribute to and enhance overall quality of life as they expand recreational opportunities, diversify the economic base, promote the retention of agricultural lands and open spaces, and contribute to community development. The present study analyzes the influence of demographic characteristics on the likelihood of a consumer’s participation in hayride events during an agri-tourism visit. An Internet survey pertaining to direct marketing and agri-tourism was conducted to document the characteristics of consumers, who buy at farmer-to-consumer direct market outlets and/or visit agri-tourism operations from Mid-Atlantic States during June and July, 2010. A total of 1134 participants completed the survey from Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Of the questions asked, respondents indicated whether they participated in a hayride event during their agri-tourism visit. Based on their responses, a logit model was developed to predict demographic characteristics of respondents who participated in hayrides. Results indicated that about 67% of respondents participated in hayride activities during their agri-tourism farm visit. According to the model results, those who resided in suburban areas, male respondents, those between 21 and 35 years of age, those between 36 and 50 years age, completed two years degree and who’s household annual income was between $40,000 and $59,999 were more likely to participate in hayrides. Conversely, those who resided in urban areas, lived more than 20 years at current location, were under 20 years of age, and who completed a graduate degree were less likely to participate. Study results should provide valuable information for those developing marketing strategies to increase agri-tourism participation and future interest in support of local agriculture. Findings of the logistic regression analyses are consistent with agri-tourism marketing theory from past studies. High intensity of agri-tourism activities should make agri-tourism an increasingly larger part of the total farming operation in the Mid- Atlantic area during off season in the years to come. Results will also help form a coalition of all relevant stakeholders from the Mid-Atlantic States to promote direct marketing and agri-tourism industry in the region and enhance their knowledge of the industry.

The purpose of this study was to highlight locally grown ethnic greens and herbs purchases due to concern about food miles and associated impact on purchasing these greens and herbs. A telephone survey was conducted in 16 East Coast states and Washington D.C., May through October of 2010, to document ethnic consumers’ behavior and demand for greens and herbs traditionally used in cuisine, important to their cultures. Data collected can be used to assist small and medium-sized farmers with better understanding consumer perceptions and factors that drive ethnic greens and herbs markets.

An Internet survey was administered (14-17 May 2010) to 1210 consumers who had active Facebook, Twitter, or blog accounts to investigate their use of social networks and their attitudes towards direct marketers who utilize these tools. Overall, 94% of participants have an active Facebook account with 33.1% believing Facebook is a “good fit†for on-farm markets and farmers’ markets pertaining to the food they sell. Relating to other advertising and promotions participants believe are a “good fit,†responses ranged from 61.7% for print advertisements (newspaper, store circulars, mail) to 15.3% for MySpace. Differences were explored between groups based on fresh fruit and vegetable and value-added processed product consumption. Participants who responded that they consumed 3 or more servings of fresh fruits and vegetables during an average day were more likely to believe that print advertising (66.0%), email (41.8%), Facebook (36.9%), and blogs (22.4%) were a “good fit†for these direct marketers compared to participants who responded that they consumed 1 to 2 servings. Based on number of servings of value-added processed products participants reported consuming, those who consumed 3 or more servings in an average day were more likely to believe Facebook (42.9%) was a good fit compared to those who consumed 1 to 2 servings (22.4%). Results can assist direct marketers and other agricultural businesses to identify social networking tools that best appeal to their target markets, components consumers feel are mandatory for a direct marketers, and what advertising and promotions these retailers should consider to disseminate farm market and on-farm market information.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ wine preferences, recycling attitudes and behaviors and socio-demographic data in an effort to build market segment profiles of those willing to transport wine bottles back to winery tasting rooms to be recycled, interest in standard-weight glass-alternative packaging and, various cork-alternative bottle closures.Design/methodology/approachA two-stage online survey was administered to 714 wine consumers residing in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA during two periods in March 2016. Exhaustive chi-square automatic interaction detector (ECHAID) decision tree predictive analysis was used to identify the market segments.FindingsA majority of survey participants were willing to bring empty wine bottles to a winery for recycling (85 percent). Collectively, 77 percent of participants were members of just three of the eight segments developed using a decision tree predictive algorithm, with 90 percent of participants in these segments willing to bring empty wine bottles to a winery tasting room to be recycled. Two segments were comprised of Millennials and Generation X, and the third of Baby Boomers, two having a moderate to extreme interest in natural cork used to seal wine bottles, and similar.Originality/valueAn ECHAID classification tree method was used to develop eight consumer segments. Identifying characteristics that describe consumers likely to return empty wine bottles to a winery benefits recycling efforts and could possibly encourage additional sales.