Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In 2011, I carried out 4 distinctive activities with my master's students as part of their thesis research: (a) completed analysis of the web-based survey with operators and subscribers of community support agriculture (CSA) in Kentucky (Objective 3); (b) carried out another web-based survey with participants of the Kentucky Proud program, operated by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, to evaluate the effectiveness of this state branding program of locally-produced food (Objectives 2-4); (c) developed an instrument and began conducting the third web-based survey with young and beginner farmers to examine their challenges and opportunities (Objectives 2 and 4). The website for the Lexington Community Food Assessment project was completely redone. The site includes all the research reports, being generated in the last 5 years, including two survey projects with Lexington consumers. Three conference papers were presented by master's students, including one on the 2010 Lexington Farmers Market Survey at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Society in January, two papers at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society in August (one on beginning farmers, the other on Kentucky Proud). One master's thesis on community supported agriculture in Kentucky was completed. One multi-state research project proposal on beginning farmers was submitted to the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education this fall. PARTICIPANTS: Keiko Tanaka (CLD/Sociology); Lily Brislen (Sociology Master's; graduate RA); Alicia Fisher (Sociology Master's); Eric Stiff (Sociology Master's; graduate RA); Zirui Wang (Sociology Master's); Brett Wolff (Sociology Master's; graduate RA). PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS: Community Farm Alliance; Lexington Farmers Market; Seedleaf; Sustainable Communities Network; Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service; Kentucky Department of Agriculture. COLLABORATORS: Krista Jacobson (UK Horticulture); Lee Meyer (UK Agricultural Economics); Patrick Mooney (UK Sociology); Mac Stone (KY Department of Agriculture); Mark Williams (UK Horticulture); Timothy Wood (UK Agricultural Economics). TARGET AUDIENCES: Producers and distributors of food through outreach/extension activities to improve their understanding about consumers concerns about food and motivations for seeking alternative market arrangements. Community leaders and state regulators and policy makers who are currently involved in initiatives/programs to support alternative marketing arrangements between producers and consumers. Urban consumers through outreach activities which will encourage their participation in the public policy process at the local and state levels. Undergraduate and graduate students through formal classroom instruction and experiential learning. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: During the 2011 calendar year, with master's students, I was able to collect data on different aspects of the existing marketing structure and state regulations and programs (e.g., Kentucky Proud; land-tenure). Currently, these data are being analyzed. By April 2012, we hope to develop various publications from these studies. A new proposal for the Agriculture of the Middle project (NC-TEMP 1198) has been recently submitted for the duration of October 2012-September 30, 2017.
Impacts
The Lexington Community Food Assessment website has become a resource for community organizations which work on sustainable agriculture and local food economies. One master's student completed his degree. Four master's students, who have become an integral part of this project, are expected to complete their degrees by April 2012. Kentucky Department of Agriculture offered a contract to one of the four students between June and December 2011 to carry out her thesis study on the impact of the Kentucky Proud program. Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service has been providing support for another student's thesis research on challenges of and opportunities for beginning farmers.
Publications
- Tanaka, K., M. Williams, K. Jacobsen, and M. Mullen. 2011. Sustainably Growing Farmers of the Future: Undergraduate Curriculum in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Kentucky. In K. Bartels and K. Parker (eds.), Teaching Sustainability and Teaching Sustainably in Higher Education. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
- Wolff, B. and K. Tanaka 2011. Food Security in the Urban Bluegrass. Lessons Learned. Lexington Community Food Assessment 2009: Interview & Focus Group Results. Lexington, KY: Department of Community and Leadership Development, University of Kentucky.
- Stiff, E. 2011. Sustainability, Justice, Health Marketing of Ethical Eating in Kentucky. Master's Thesis. Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky.
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In 2010, I carried out 3 types of activities: (a) conducted a web-based survey of operators and subscribers of community support agriculture (CSA) in Kentucky (Objective 3) with a master's student as part of his thesis; (b) carried out another shopper survey at the Lexington Farmers Market (LFM) (Objective 1) as a part of SOC 517: Rural Sociology; and (c) began assisting new master's students to develop projects to (c1) evaluate the Kentucky Proud program (Objectives 2-4) and (c2) examine challenges of young and beginner farmers (Objectives 2 and 4). "Shopping for Values: Food Concerns and Insights for Lexington Kentucky," a research report based on the 2008 shopper survey, was published. Copies of this report were disseminated at the Annual Meeting of the Community Farm Alliance. One paper on CSA farming was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Society in January. Two papers were presented at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society in August, including one from the study of CSA farmers and subscribers and the other on the feasibility study to develop a food policy council in the Bluegrass region (Objective 4). A public seminar was given on the results of LFM survey at the Lexington Public Library in December. Copies of the PowerPoint presentation were distributed to the audience. A news release was made in November about the results of the LFM survey, which was published in several web-based news sites. PARTICIPANTS: INDIVIDUALS: Patrick Mooney (Sociology); Lily Brislen (MA, graduate RA); Alicia Fisher (MA, graduate RA); Eric Stiff (MA, graduate RA); Brett Wolff (Undergraduate, MA, graduate RA). PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS: Community Farm Alliance; Lexington Farmers Market; Seedleaf; Sustainable Communities Network. COLLABORATORS: Krista Jacobson (Horticulture); Lee Meyer (Agricultural Economics); Mark Williams (Horticulture); Timothy Wood (Agricultural Economics) TARGET AUDIENCES: 1. Undergraduate and graduate students through formal classroom instruction and experiential learning. 2. Urban consumers through outreach activities which will encourage their participation in the public policy process at the local and state levels. 3. Producers and distributors of food through outreach/extension activities to improve their understanding about consumers concerns about food and motivations for seeking alternative market arrangements. 4. Community leaders who are currently involved in initiatives/programs through outreach/extension activities to support alternative marketing arrangements between producers and consumers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: During the 2010 calendar year, we began to design a project to examine Kentucky Proud program, a popular and successful branding program by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. A web-based survey on "Kentucky Proud" farmers will be conducted this spring, instead of last fall I originally planned. Case study of value-chain marketing has been also postponed until summer 2011.
Impacts
After this year's survey, our collaboration with the Lexington Farmers Market has solidified to become annual collaborative data collection on various aspects of the LFM. Our research reports have been cited by writings and presentations by leaders of local community-based organizations (including a letter of the Editor of the newspaper). One master's student is writing his thesis on CSA farming based on the data collected under this project.
Publications
- Tanaka, K. and P. Mooney. 2010. Public Scholarship and Community Engagement in Building Community Food Security: The Case of the University of Kentucky. Rural Sociology, 75(4): 560-583.
- Tanaka, K. 2011. Public Sociology: Building Engaged Scholarship in Lexington -- The Case of the University of Kentucky. Agriculture and Economy, 77 (2): 144-149. (Japanese).
- Brislen, L. and Tanaka, K. 2010. Shopping for Values: Food Concerns and Insights from Lexington Kentucky. Lexington Food Assessment 2008: Consumer Survey Results. Research Report. Lexington, KY: Department of Community and Leadership Development, University of Kentucky.
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Progress 01/01/09 to 12/31/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: During the 2009 calendar year, I carried out three types of activities: (a) presented findings from the shopper survey, conducted in the fall of 2008, at various venues (Objective 1); (b) participated in December 2009 in an international workshop at Kyoto University, Japan, on the study on alternative marketing arrangements between producers and consumers among colleagues in Japan, South Korea, and Thailand (Objective 3); and (c) carried out the study of food policy councils in North America with undergraduate and graduate students in SOC 541: Food Security as a potential vehicle for public policy surrounding food and agriculture (Objective 4). Besides a PowerPoint presentation at the Board Meeting of the Lexington Farmers Market in January 2009 and a poster presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Association in February 2009, the shopper survey results were uploaded to my research website (http://www.uky.edu/Ag/CLD/lcfa). A draft report was prepared in April 2009, but has not been completed for dissemination. To prepare a presentation at the international workshop on alternative (face-to-face) marketing arrangements, a first-year master's student and I analyzed the Kentucky Agricultural Census data, the existing data on Kentucky farmers market farmers, and the Lexington shopper survey data. We also developed survey tools, one for farmers and the other for consumers, to assess their ethical motivations for participating in community supported agriculture as an alternative marketing mechanism. Finally, SOC 541 students assessed 7 different food policy councils in North America and interviewed 24 community leaders in the Bluegrass region on their perspectives on food-related public policy. PARTICIPANTS: INDIVIDUALS: Keiko Tanaka (PI), Department of Community and Leadership Development, University of Kentucky; Patrick Mooney, Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky; Rebecca Som Castellano (graduate RA, January - May 2009); Eric Stiff (graduate RA, June - December 2009). PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS: Community Farm Alliance, Good Foods Market and Cafe, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Department for Public Health, Lexington Farmers Market, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Seedleaf, Sustainable Communities Network. COLLABORATORS: Motoki Akitsu, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kyoto University; Won Gak Jung, Director, iCOOP Consumers' Cooperative Institute; EunMee Jeong, Korea Rural Economic Institute; A. Lee Meyers, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky; Robert Perry, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Coordinator, University of Kentucky; Thunya Sangubon, Community of Agro-ecology Foundation; Surichai Wungeo, Social Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University; Mark Williams, Department of Horticulture, University of Kentucky; Tim Woods, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Kentucky. TRAINING/PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: SOC 541-Food Security, a course taught by Tanaka and Mooney with 7 students. Global Center for Excellence International Workshop "What Kinds of Ethics Support Food Communities Intimate and Public Confidence Between Farmers and Consumers," organized by Dr. Motoki Akitsu, Kyoto University, with 3 research groups from 3 countries (4 faculty mentors and 5 graduate students). TARGET AUDIENCES: 1. Undergraduate and graduate students through formal classroom instruction and experiential learning. 2. Urban consumers through outreach activities which will encourage their participation in the public policy process at the local and state levels. 3. Producers and distributors of food through outreach/extension activities to improve their understanding about consumers concerns about food and motivations for seeking alternative market arrangements. 4. Community leaders who are currently involved in initiatives/programs through outreach/extension activities to support alternative marketing arrangements between producers and consumers. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: During the 2009 calendar year, little progress was made to systematically analyze the state of mid-size farmers in Kentucky. During the 2010 calendar year, in collaboration with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, I hope to carry out a web-based survey on "Kentucky Proud" farmers, a popular and successful banding program by the KDA. Case study of value-chain marketing will be also conducted during the 2010 calendar year.
Impacts
The Boards of Lexington Farmers Market and Good Foods Market & Cafe (a cooperatively owned grocery store) found the shopper survey results useful for justifying their effort to expand their operations. The Lexington Community Food Assessment website has become a resource for community organizations which work on sustainable agriculture and local food issues. One master's student, completed her thesis on the national school lunch program, using research skills she acquired as my research assistant. In July 2009, another master's student began working on the alternative marketing arrangements in the food system. He will write a master's thesis based on the survey and interview data on community supported agriculture farmers and subscribers, which he collected from this project.
Publications
- Tanaka, K. (2009). Tell Us Your Concerns about Food: Shopper Survey as an Instructional Tool for a Rural Sociology Course. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, Atlanta, GA, January 2009.
- Castellano R., King N., Hanna J., Hunt S., and Tanaka, K. (2009). What's Your Concern about Food: Shopper Survey at Five Food Retails Sties in Lexington KY. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Rural Sociological Association, Atlanta, GA, January 2009.
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Progress 01/01/08 to 12/31/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In September, 2008, I joined this multi-state project to replace Dr. Larry Burmeister as a representative of the University of Kentucky. Since then, my research activities for this project focused on addressing Objectives 1, 3 and 4. With my students in SOC 517: Rural Sociology, I first conducted the face-to-face survey of shoppers at five retail sites, including the Lexington Farmers Market, Good Foods Market and Cafe (member-owned cooperative), and two Wal-Mart Superstores, on their concerns about food. We collected 332 survey questionnaires. Findings of the survey will help us: (a) estimate consumers' demand for differentiated agricultural products, particularly among locally produced products (Objective 1); (b) understand consumers' perception/satisfaction with alternative marketing systems (Objective 3); and (c) improve alternative marketing systems that will address consumers' anxiety over key food safety issues (Objective 3). The survey results were presented at a public seminar on UK campus in November 2009. A press release was published in various Internet news sites. WUKY, a national public radio station, aired an interview on "Dr. Greg Davis On Medicine" show. A website was created which include my previous work in Lexington Community Food Assessment and current work on consumers' concerns about food. Second, I worked with various community organizations in Lexington, Kentucky to explore a possibility for establishing a food policy council in Lexington or the Bluegrass region (Objective 4). A joint research proposal to support the process of creating the Food Policy Council was submitted to the Sociological Initiative Foundation in December 2008. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals: Keiko Tanaka (PI), Department of Community and Leadership Development, University of Kentucky; Patrick Mooney (co-PI), Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky; and Rebecca Som Castellano (graduate research assistant), Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky. Partner Organizations: Communality, Community Farm Alliance, Good Foods Market and Cafe, Lexington Farmers Market, Partners for Family Farms, Seedleaf, Sustainable Communities Network, and Wal-Mart. Collaborators: Mark Williams, Department of Horticulture, University of Kentucky; Carol Spence, Agricultural Community, University of Kentucky; Janet Tietyen, Department of Nutrition and Food Science. Training/Professional Development: SOC517-Rural Sociology, a course taught by Tanaka, with 15 students. They were trained to conduct the survey, enter and analyze data, and present findings in a public seminar. TARGET AUDIENCES: 1. Producers and distributors of food for outreach/extension programs to improve their understanding about consumers' concerns about food, and prepare them for addressing those concerns in alternative marketing systems. 2. Undergraduate and graduate students for formal classroom instruction and experiential learning. 3. Urban consumers for the creation of food policy council. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Because I jointed the project after the fall semester began, my effort focused only the examination of opportunities and constrains for mid-size family farmers in the Fayette-Lexington area or the Bluegrass region. During the 2009 calendar year, I will expand my attend to the entire state of Kentucky.
Impacts
First, the survey found that: (a) people in Lexington are concerned about food issues; (b) shoppers shop at specific locations for reason and Wal-Mart shoppers and Good Foods/Farmers Market shoppers are distinctively different; and (c) although these two groups differ in their food concerns, regardless of where they shop, many people in Lexington want to see more local food being sold at grocery stores and restaurants. Second, the survey helped to train 15 students in SOC 517 with social science research skills. None of them, including graduate students, had ever conducted a survey research project. Third, the above findings from the survey have generated enthusiasm among producers, distributors, and retailers alternative marketing systems (e.g., Lexington Farmers Market and Good Foods Market and Cafe). The knowledge generated from the survey has already been used to develop a marketing strategy by the Lexington Farmers Market and Good Foods Market and Cafe, generate further research projects by other colleagues on the campus, and created opportunities for deepening University-community partnership surrounding food and sustainable farming issues.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The objective of the multistate project is to identify value chain strategies for mid-sized U.S. farm enterprises ($100-$150K gross sales). The decline of this "agriculture-of-the-middle" threatens the competitive structure of the U.S. agrifood system and the socioeconomic well-being of many rural communities. My project activities focus on the research and education component of the project. During the upcoming year, I will be analyzing current household labor commitments of the mid-sized farm sector to determine what farm household labor opportunities and/or constraints may impact the adoption of new farm enterprise strategies being designed and developed as part of the project.
PARTICIPANTS: L.L. Burmeister, Co-PI, Department of Community and Leadership Development, UK College of Agriculture Experimental Station
TARGET AUDIENCES: The major target audiences for the project are mid-sized farm enterprises; processing, marketing, and retail firms interested in partnering in the creation of value chain business activities; cooperative extension; rural development practitioners; local and state government rural development promotion agencies; and consumers interested in high quality value-added products.
Impacts
This project aims to identify new value chain farm enterprises, identify processing and distribution value chain partners, develop quality certification and monitoring protocols for value chain partners (farmers and allied processing and marketing firms, cooperatives, etc.), provide educational outreach to mid-sized farm enterprises interested in new production and marketing opportunities in value chain niches, explore consumer interest in value added agricultural projects, and identify public policy changes that facilitate a renewal of the "agriculture-of-the-middle."
Publications
- Burmeister, L.L. 2008. Resilience and Vulnerability in U.S. Farm Policy: Parsing the Payment Limitation Debate. Agriculture and Human Values (in press).
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