Progress 07/01/01 to 07/01/06
Outputs
OUTPUTS: no outputs reported PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
no outcomes/impacts reported
Publications
- Park, T.A.and Lohr, L. (2006). Choices of marketing outlets by organic producers: accounting for selectivity effects. Journal of Agriculture and Food Industrial Organization. Vol 4: Iss 1, Article 4. Available at http://www.bepress.com/jafio/vol4/iss1/art4.
- Lohr, L.and Park, T.A. (2005). Organic pest management decisions: a systems approach. Agricultural Economics, 33:467-478.
- L. Lohr. (2005). Results of Yield Analysis for Comparison of Rotation and No-Rotation Natural Systems. For Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Pomona, CA, December 2005, 28 pp.
- L. Lohr. (2005). Results of Yield Analysis for Comparison of Three Vegetable Production Systems. For Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Pomona, CA, June 2005, 28 pp.
- L. Lohr. (2005). An Assessment of Demand for New and Existing Organic Price Information Products. For Hotline Printing and Publishing, Altamonte Springs, FL, February 2005, 32 pp.
- Lohr, L. (2005) Economic, Social, and Environmental Benefits Associated With U.S. Organic Agriculture . Paper presented at Researching Sustainable Systems - International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture, Adelaide, Australia, September 21-23, 2005. Abstract online at http://orgprints.org/4411/.
- Gubanova, T., Escalante, C., Lohr, L., and Park, T. (2005) Assessing Price Forecasting Models for Organic Commodities . Poster presented at Researching Sustainable Systems - International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture, Adelaide, Australia, September 21-23, 2005 Abstract online at http://orgprints.org/4228/.
- Pugh, L., and Lohr, L. (2005). Choosing Your Market -- A Direct Marketing Decision Tool. Online at http://www.georgiaorganics.org/markettool/about.php.
- Lohr, L.and Park, T.A (2003). Improving extension effectiveness for organic clients: Current status and future directions. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 28:634-650.
- Lohr, L.and Park, T.A. (2006). Technical efficiency of U.S. organic farmers: The complementary roles of soil management techniques and farm experience. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 35:327-338.
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Progress 01/01/04 to 12/31/04
Outputs
No progress reported this period
Impacts
Policy adjustments to the 2002 National Organic Standards are continually being made, including more funding for research, export promotion, information gathering, and interpretation of standards. Results of this project will guide policy development by describing current market approaches, gaps in those approaches, and industry-wide needs. Developments in the organic sector will steer research applications and improvements in the sustainability of all agriculture.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/02 to 12/31/02
Outputs
To determine the benefits of U.S. organic agriculture, I tested for statistical difference between counties with and without organic farms for 15 economic, social, and environmental indicators. Counties with organic farms were superior to counties without for 11 indicators. Overall, the findings of this study are surprising in the strength of support for the hypothesis that organic farming produces more benefits than conventional farming. Nearly every indicator tested across the range of economic, social, and environmental benefits favors organic systems. Even though organic farmers are not a large percentage of the total number of U.S. farmers, their influence is felt through their innovation of management techniques and leadership in meeting the organic standards. Research on likely geographic market expansion indicates that some marketing sectors are more likely to grow than others, particularly organic retailers, Community Supported Agriculture, and farmers
markets. The Southern region is less well organized to take advantage of market development than the other regions of the U.S. In an era of rapid economic and ecological change, farmers increasingly demand more flexible tactics to manage crop protection and to diversify their pest management toolbox. Some of the most effective plant protection methods rely on natural agro-ecological interactions that arise from conditions on the farm. Although many non-chemical options for plant protection exist, most have not been widely adopted even when they have been shown to be more cost-effective than chemical use. More selective use of farm chemicals and greater reliance on natural processes reduces farm worker health risks and decreases production costs. Ability to incorporate non-chemical approaches to pest management will also improve farmers' chances of qualifying for the highest support payment level under the Conservation Security Act. The research on organic farmers' pest management
methods indicate that it is necessary to combine management practices when synthetic chemicals are eliminated. The information sources used by organic farmers are primarily other experienced farmers, conferences and farm demonstrations, and books and periodicals. Nonorganic farmers typically rely on chemical sales people for information on insect management, and are not likely to hear about information-based, low chemical methods from this source. College-educated farmers with smaller acreages, more than half their acreage in horticultural production, and extensive experience with organic production methods have the greatest diversity of practices in their insect management portfolios. There is a strong indication that in the South, uncertainty over institutional and infrastructure support for organic agriculture results in the adoption of more strategies. The most resounding conclusion is that a broader portfolio of alternative insect management practices would be adopted by organic
and conventional farmers, particularly horticultural producers, if reliable information were available and accessible.
Impacts
Policy adjustments to the 2002 National Organic Standards are continually being made, including more funding for research, export promotion, information gathering, and interpretation of standards. Results of this project will guide policy development by describing current market approaches, gaps in those approaches, and industry-wide needs. Developments in the organic sector will steer research applications and improvements in the sustainability of all agriculture.
Publications
- Lohr, L. 2002. Benefits of U.S. Organic Agriculture. Consultant Report for Consumer's Choice Council, Washington, DC.
- Lohr, L. and Park, T.A. 2002. Improving extension effectiveness for organic clients: current status and future directions. University of Georgia, Agricultural and Applied Economics, FS 02-07, October 2002. Online at agecon.lib.umn.edu.
- Park, T.A., and Lohr, L. 2002. Organic pest management decisions, a systems approach. University of Georgia, Agricultural and Applied Economics, FS 02-06, September 2002. Online at agecon.lib.umn.edu.
- Lohr, L. Growth and change in organic food markets - focus on the North Central Region. GIS-based analysis of geographic trends in market expansion. May 2002. Powerpoint presentation. Online at www.misa.umn.edu.
- Lohr, L. Predicting organic market development with spatial analysis of existing industry information. University of Georgia, Agricultural and Applied Economics, FS 01-15, October 2001.
- Lohr, L. and Park, T.A. 2002. Promoting sustainable insect management strategies: learning from organic farmers. Ecological Economics. 43:87-99.
- Endale, D.M., Cabrera, M.L., Steiner, J.L., Radcliffe, D.E., Vencill, W.K., Schomberg, H.H., and Lohr, L.. 2002. Impact of conservation tillage and nutrient management on soil water and yield of cotton fertilized with poultry litter or ammonium nitrate in the Georgia Piedmont. Soil and Tillage Research. 66:55-68.
- Lohr, L. 2002. Reconciling European and American organic policy. Proceedings of the 14th IFOAM Organic World Congress, Victoria, BC, Canada, August 2002, 277.
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Progress 01/01/01 to 12/31/01
Outputs
The first step in the project was to compare policy and market settings for the U.S. organic sector with its competitors. The results provide a baseline from which market and policy intervention strategies may be formulated for the private and public sectors to improve U.S. competitiveness. Each strategy in turn has implications for market structure and sustainability of all U.S. agriculture, which will be evaluated in the future. A study to analyze the factors influencing global demand and trade in organic products indicates that price premiums over conventional products will continue to strongly influence purchases. Additional factors that are emerging as significant for certain market segments in the U.S., Japan and the European Union (EU) include country of product origin, GMO content, price-quality trade off, and social process. A projected demand of at least $46 billion in the European Union, $45 billion in the U.S., and $11 billion in Japan. by 2010 provides
substantial room for growth in U.S. sales. In a study of the compatibility of the National Organic Program Final Rules with European organic standards, it was foundEven if governments agree on equivalency of organic standards across countries, a partial equilibrium model of trade in organic wheat between the United States and Germany was simulated to illustrate the welfare gains and losses associated with international harmonization of organic standards. Six cases were examined with varying degrees of equivalency in standards and consumer acceptance of imports. Results demonstrate that importing country consumers are better off if they are willing to accept imports as equivalent to domestically produced organic foods. Strategies to reduce resistance such as educational programs or foreign certification add costs to production that reduce quantity traded and impose welfare losses on exporting country producers and importing country consumers. A comparison of government support programs
for organic producers between the U.S. and the EU determined that direct subsidies in the form of agri-environmental payments have been responsible for the much higher conversion rates to organic agriculture in the EU. The overall share of organic acreage in the EU was estimated at 2.9 percent in 2000, accounting for 3,945,200 hectares operated by more than 143,000 farmers. In the U.S., which relied exclusively on the private sector and state governments for organic industry development, the overall share of organic acreage was estimated at 0.2 percent, or 837,200 hectares operated by 7,800 farmers. If the Conservation Security Program increases this figure by a reasonable 25 percent (based on market preferences elicited in a national survey of organic farmers), then the cost benefit ratio for trade would be 10.2. Even under the most costly scenario calculated, the benefit cost ratio would be 3.4. From these calculations, the Conservation Security Program is shown to be a
cost-effective means of insuring that US organic agriculture achieves global competitiveness.
Impacts
With full implementation in 2002 of the National Organic Program Final Rule, the U.S. is poised to become the dominant global supplier of organic products to domestic and international markets. Identifying the barriers to expanding production, consumption, and trade and suggesting policy and market solutions to these problems will enable the U.S. organic industry to surpass competitors. Nonorganic farmers and consumers will also benefit from greater emphasis in the policy arena on environmental protection, food safety, and sustainable communities, and from markets more oriented toward small farmers and consumers.
Publications
- Lohr, L., and Krissoff, B. 2001. Consumer welfare effects of harmonizing international standards for trade in organic foods. In Global Food Trade and Consumer Demand for Quality. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publ., 209-228.
- Lohr, L. 2001. Factors affecting international demand and trade in organic food products. Changing Structure of Global Food Consumption and Trade. ERS WRS No. 01-1. A. Regmi (ed.), USDA Economic Research Service, Washington, DC, May, 67-79.
- Lohr, L. 2001. The importance of the Conservation Security Act to US competitiveness in global organic markets. University of Georgia, Agricultural and Applied Economics, FS 01-19, November.
- Lohr, L. 2001. Predicting organic market development with spatial analysis of existing industry information. University of Georgia, Agricultural and Applied Economics, FS 01-15, October.
- Park, T. A., and Lohr, L. 2001. Management strategies and human capital investments by organic producers. University of Georgia, Agricultural and Applied Economics, August.
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