Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/14
Outputs
Target Audience: As the primary output ofthe final, extended year of this project was a journal publication, our primary audience reached by ourefforts this reporting period was an academic audience and those interested in Farm to Institution research. Farmers, food vendors (processors, distributors and hubs) and institutional food service professionals are the broader audiences for this project. Theycontinue to be reached through the Michigan Farm to Institution Network and its local food purchasing campaign, Cultivate Michigan, which were both officially and publicly launched in April 2014 and were informed by the findings of this project, as well as ongoing outreach and education efforts by the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and the University of Vermont. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided opportunities for graduate student training, with assistance from a number of graduate students throughout its duration, including: Jenifer Buckley and Shakara Tyler at Michigan State University, Noelle Sevoian and Florence Becot at the University of Vermont and Caitlin Fisher at the University of Michigan. Additional undergraduate and training students were reached through guest lectures and classroom sessions, described further below. The findings from this project helped to set the stage for the development of a new community of practice in Michigan, the Michigan Farm to Institution Network, which builds upon the foundation of information to help farmers determine if institutional markets are right for them and foster marketing relationships between farm to institution actors, including farmers and distributors. This network will offer leadership development opportunities for farmers, farmer cooperatives, food hubs and distributors through an advisory committee role, and professional development opportunities including public speaking, marketing and training for facilitation, to interested network members, including farmers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Farmers and farm to institution practitioners, facilitators and service providers (including Cooperative Extension) were reached through Michigan and Vermont outreach and education efforts, including: guest lectures in the MSU Organic Farm Training Program and UVM farm management and Marketing for Community Entrepreneurs classes, a session and a table display at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo, a market development and price discovery session for farmers hosted by University of Vermont Extension, a "Marketplace Reception" at the launch event of the Michigan Farm to Institution Network regional Michigan Farm to School information sessions and trainings, Michigan Department of Education and School Nutrition Association of Michigan conferences, and through testing and review of slide decks. To reach broader, general audiences, some project materials including the summary of survey results were posted online and are freely available, and fact sheets, which are still in development, will be shared through the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems and/or Cultivate Michigan websites. On a national level, scholars were reached through publication of our peer reviewed journal articles and a conference presentation at the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Annual Meeting in 2013; USDA staffers were reached through a presentation at a Know Your Farmer Know Your Food team meeting in Washington, DC in February, 2013; and practitioners were reached through presentations of farmer survey results through presentations at the National Farm to Cafeteria Conferences in both 2012 and 2014. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
1. Michigan interviews, as well as learning labs, emphasized proximity and connections between farmers and institutions, and revealed that a complex set of actors, creating longer and not always linear supply chains, are necessary to support and facilitate farm to institution initiatives. Vermont interviews revealed the great value of "local" and the story of the farm to support educational efforts, but that the costs of supplying this information fell primarily on farmers and non-profits. 2. Results of a survey of Michigan vegetable farmers showed that of those farmers who had not yet sold directly to an institution 47% reported interest in selling to K-12 schools, 41% to hospitals and 40% to colleges and/or universities. Overall, 50% of farmers were interested in selling to at least one of these institution types. When asked about motivators to sell to institutions, responses reflected farmers' social and market values. The top three motivating factors reported as "important" or "very important" were supplying healthy foods to customers; fair, steady prices; and supplying local food to consumers. To begin or increase sales of vegetables to institutions, respondents indicated that knowing which institutions were interested (67%), consistent ordering (66%), and higher prices (62%) were the top three factors that would be of most help. The majority of concerns in selling or potentially selling to institutions were rated fairly equally, with timely payments, prices too low, and regular communication needed with customers as the top three. Analysis of coded interviews with specialty food distributors showed that support local and meeting local demand were primary motivations for them to participate in farm to institution, and benefits of these types of supply chain relationships were one-on-one relationship with farmers and acquiring fresh products for their markets. 3. Two webinar-ready slide decks were developed by the Vermont team: one on farmer readiness for farm to institution sales and one on cost measurement and price discovery for farm businesses. They were both tested in classroom settings and reviewed by farm to institution stakeholders. Conner also presented a talk titled Market Development for Farmers: Tips for Service Providers to assist with guiding farmers' decisions. 4. PowerPoint slide decks suitable for webinars and/or classroom settings were developed to help guide farmers' decisions to participate in institutional marketing, make pricing decisions and measure production costs have been finalized. A summary of the Michigan farmer survey results was develop for farmers and general audiences and shared online and through listserv communications. Information is still being synthesized for fact sheets, which are still in development.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Matts, C., Conner, D.S., Fisher, C., Tyler, S., and Hamm, M.W. (2015) Farmer perspectives of Farm to Institution in Michigan: 2012 survey results of vegetable farmers. Journal of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1017/S1742170514000465
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Progress 01/01/13 to 12/31/13
Outputs
Target Audience: Scholars were reached with our peer reviewed journal articles anda conferencepresentation at the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Annual Meeting. Vermont Extension educators and service providers were reached by a presentation by David Conner of the Vermont team, hosted by UVM Extension on market development and price discovery for farmers. University of Vermont undergraduate students were reached by students in Conner's Marketing for Community Entrepreneurs class and two quest lectures in a farm management class. Farmers and Farm to Institution practitioners and supporters were reached through Michigan outreach and education efforts. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? This project provided opportunities for graduate student training, aswe were assisted by a number of graduate students in 2013, including Jenifer Buckley and Shakara Tylerat Michigan State University, Noelle Sevoian andFlorence Becot at the University ofVermont and Caitlin Fisher, a Public HealthMasters student at the University of Michigan. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? David Conner of the Vermont team developed two webinar-ready PowerPoint presentations, one on farmer readiness for Farm to Institution sales and one on cost measurement and price discovery for farm businesses, that have been tested in the classroom. Conner also presented a talk titled Market Development for Farmers: Tips for Service Providers, presented to the Selling in the Food System workshop held by UVM Extension's New Farmer Project on September 5, 2013 in Montpelier VT (see https://newfarmerproject.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/farm-advisers-learn-about-marketing-at-selling-in-the-food-system-workshop/. ) In Michigan, the fourth year of this project was primarily dedicated to compiling results of project activities over the previous years, including the farmer survey and interviews, into outreach materials and journal publications. An outreach publication on the farmer survey results was developed in 2013 and shared through various Michigan listservs and the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems website, where it is freely downloadable. These results were also shared, along with results of interviews with Michigan specialty distributors, at a conference presentation at the Agriculture, Food and Human Values Annual Meeting in June 2013 in East Lansing, MI. A journal publication on survey results will be submitted in March 2014 for initial review and consideration. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? An extension into a fifth and final year of this project was requested and granted to allow additional time to develop further outputs, including journal articles, FTI case models or prototypes, and fact sheets, from this project. A journal publication on survey results will be submitted in March 2014 for initial review. Additional outreach materials to guide farmers’ decisions to sell to institutions will be developed in 2014, in part through the new Michigan Farm to Institution Network which has developed in conjunction with this project and will be formally launched in April 2014 to help both institutional buyers and sellers connect and ramp up Farm to Institution programs in Michigan.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In 2013, a journal publication on qualitative interview data gathered from project interviews was published, and preliminary analysis of results of the survey of Michigan vegetable farmers (conducted in 2012) was completed. The team also published three journal articles (with afourth pending minor formatting revisions and a fifth that will be submitted in March 2014) on identifying logistics, prominent features and constraints and keys to success of Farm to Institution programs and/or measuring farmers’, distributors’ and food service buyers’ interest, perceived barriers and ability to participate in institutional market models. Webinar - and classroom-ready PowerPoint slides to help guide farmers’ decisions to participate in institutional marketing and to measure production costs and guide pricing decisions have also been developed and tested in the classroom. In Michigan, the work of this project has developed in conjunction with and contributed to a new community of practice, now known as the Michigan Farm to Institution Network. This network is co-coordinated by Colleen Matts, the project PI of the MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, and the Ecology Center, with leadership support from MSU Extension and membership of a number of organizations, businesses, institutions and state agencies across the state. This network is designed, in part, to help Michigan farmers provide the local foods institutions want in the forms they need. This project, continuing into its fifth and final year in 2014, will work to support this aim of the Network in its initial launch and further development.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2013
Citation:
Jenifer Buckley, David S. Conner , Colleen Matts & Michael W. Hamm (2013) Social Relationships and Farm-to-Institution Initiatives: Complexity and Scale in Local Food Systems. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 8:4, 397-412.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Conner, D., Sevoian, N. Heiss, S. and Berlin, L. (Published online January 9, 2014). The Diverse Values and Motivations of Vermont Farm to Institution Supply Chain Actors. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2014
Citation:
Becot, F., Conner, D., Kolodinsky, J. and Mendez, V. (Accepted for publication November 30, 2013). Measuring the costs of production and pricing on diversified farms: Juggling decisions amidst uncertainties. Journal of the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.
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Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the third year of this project, the Michigan team conducted a Farm to Institution (FTI) survey of Michigan vegetable farmers and conducted interviews of Michigan specialty food distributors, both to help us better understand and share information about farmers supplying local foods to institutions. The researchers contracted with staff at the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) Michigan Field Office to finalize a farm to institution survey tool, disseminate a paper survey, and conduct phone follow up as needed to a representative sample of 825 Michigan vegetable farmers with farms of varying sizes. The goals of the survey were to determine Michigan vegetable farmers' interest in and willingness to sell to institutions through predominant supply chains and identify the perceived barriers and opportunities of marketing vegetables to institutions including K-12 schools, hospitals, and colleges/universities. At this time, data analysis, a journal publication and an outreach publication of survey results are being finalized. Colleen Matts will present preliminary results of this survey at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo in Grand Rapids, MI in early December 2012. Additionally, twelve interviews were conducted with four types of Michigan-based specialty foods distributors including those: with long-standing relationships with Michigan farmers, using local as a marketing strategy, who sell local only as a niche market, and who plan to start selling local produce to institutions. Interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed and a peer-reviewed journal publication is in development now. Sharaka Tyler, the MSU Masters student who conducted this portion of the research, will present preliminary results from these interviews at the Professional Agricultural Workers Conference in Tuskegee, AL in December 2012. In Vermont, two Masters of Science theses have been completed by Noelle Sevoian and Florence Becot. Sevoian's thesis looked at relationships and institutional structuration theory applied to FTI supply chains. Becot's thesis measured how diversified farms measure costs and set prices. David Conner, Sevoian and Becot have all collaborated on statewide FTI efforts with stakeholders including Vermont FEED and Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-VT). Becot and Conner collaborated with these partners on a study measuring institutional demand and current/needed infrastructure to fill gaps in institutional supply chains. Conner will present results from the cost measurement study to the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group in February 2013. An extension into a fourth year of this project was requested and granted to allow additional time to develop further outputs, including journal articles, FTI case models or prototypes, and a fact sheet series, from this project. PARTICIPANTS: The project team consists of Colleen Matts and Michael Hamm from Michigan State University, David Conner of the University of Vermont, graduate students Jenifer Buckley and Shakara Tyler at Michigan State University and Noelle Sevoian and Florence Becot at University of Vermont, and Caitlin Fischer, a Public Health Masters student at the University of Michigan whose summer internship focused on survey data analysis with the Michigan team. In this year of the project, Michigan specialty food distributors were interviewed and Michigan vegetable farmers were surveyed. The USDA NASS Michigan Field Office collaborated with the Michigan team on the Michigan vegetable farmer survey by providing input and feedback on the survey design, finalizing the survey instrument, mailing paper surveys and following up by phone as needed, and keying data from survey returns. The Vermont team collaborated with Vermont FEED and NOFA-VT on the study to measure institutional demand and infrastructure needs. TARGET AUDIENCES: The long-range goal of this project is to provide information which will foster marketing relationships between actors engaged in Farm to Institution programs, including farmers, food distributors and processors, and institutional buyers like schools, hospitals, and colleges/universities. Project outputs like fact sheets are specifically intended to guide decisions of farmers, particularly small and medium-scale farmers, to participate in institutional markets, including choosing appropriate products, markets, prices, and distribution models and managing relationships for long-term viability. Fact sheets and scholarly articles will contribute to the knowledge of the opportunities, challenges and requirements of FTI to aid non-profit organizations and other service providers in delivering appropriate assistance to practitioners interested in participating in FTI. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Preliminary analysis of coded interviews with specialty food distributors shows that supporting local and meeting local demand were primary motivations for them to participate in FTI, and benefits of these types of supply chain relationships were one-on-one relationships with farmers and acquiring fresh products for their markets. To sell to specialty distributors, farmers were typically required to have liability coverage and food safety certification. Barriers to farm to institution marketing from the distributor perspective included "government regulations", small growers having trouble implementing food safety programs, and demand exceeding supply. As a result of this project overall, we have a greater understanding of barriers and challenges to FTI supply chains, and how relationships foster FTI supply chains, instill the flexibility to solve logistical challenges and advance community development goals and contribute to farm prosperity. We also better understand how diversified farmers do and should track costs. Finally, we have measured Michigan vegetable farmers' interest in, motivators and barriers to selling to institutions, and institutions' demand and infrastructure needs in Vermont. Three peer reviewed articles are under review or in revision, with two more in development now.
Publications
- Wilson, R., Ericson, D., Becot F. and Conner, D. Scaling Up Vermonts Local Food Production, Distribution and Marketing. NOFA-Vermont and Vermont Food Education Every Day. October 2012.
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Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the second year of this project, the Michigan project team conducted two regional learning labs, or roundtable discussions, to discuss and vet models for value chain-type partnerships and key themes and findings from interviews. Transcripts from learning labs will be coded for themes to contribute to development of fact sheets for outreach purposes in year three. A draft survey also was developed to determine medium-sized Michigan vegetable farmers' interest in and willingness to participate in institutional markets through predominant supply chains, and perceived barriers and opportunities to institutional marketing. The survey is currently being finalized in partnership with NASS Michigan Field Office staff, who will distribute the survey by mail in early 2012 after pilot testing. Finally, a draft interview guide has been developed for another round of Michigan interview in which two types of Michigan-based specialty distributors will be interviewed: long-standing specialty distributors with rooted relationships with farmers, which may or may not market or label products as local, and new specialty distributors which are using local as a marketing strategy. Interviews will focus on relationships with and requirements for working with both local farmers and institutions, and themes and findings from coded interviews will be shared in a publication as well as in fact sheets. Vermont interview results have been coded and will comprise two journal articles as part of a Master's thesis, as well as informing efforts of Vermont's Farm to Institution advisory board. Also, four farmers are being recruited to create and test price discovery-cost measurement tools, which will be completed in late Fall 2012. Finally, Vermont team is leading the development of a buyer's survey, to be implemented in winter 2012. The whole project team is currently analyzing and synthesizing results of year one interviews (29 in Michigan, and 19 in Vermont) to create case models, or prototypes, of farm to institution marketing models, including logistical requirements and relationship features. PARTICIPANTS: The project team consists of Colleen Matts and Michael Hamm of Michigan State University and David Conner of University of Vermont, and graduate students Jenifer Buckley and Shakara Tyler at Michigan State University and Noelle Sevoian and Florence Becot at University of Vermont. Interviewees and learning lab participants include institutional food service directors/buyers, distributors and farmers from Michigan and Vermont. Michigan learning lab participants were selected from year one interviewees and from Matts' contacts through her work and experience with Farm to School and other Farm to Institution projects in Michigan. Hillary Bisnett from the Ecology Center and Health Care Without Harm in Michigan provided a few hospital buyer contacts for interviews as well. Dr. Bridget Behe, Professor of Horticultural Marketing at MSU, served as collaborator in year one in developing and testing lesson plans intended to help guide farmers' decisions to participate in institutional markets. The Michigan NASS Field Office has provided valuable input and feedback for the survey of Michigan vegetable farmers, and will distribute the survey and collect survey responses. Conners' farmer contacts came through previous research projects, and through Vermont FEED and Vermont Farm to Institution stakeholders, including Abbie Nelson, Jean Hamilton, Dana Hudson and Koi Boynton. TARGET AUDIENCES: The long-range goal of this project is to provide information which will foster marketing relationships between actors engaged in Farm to Institution programs, including farmers, food distributors, and institutional buyers like schools, hospitals, and colleges/universities. Project outputs like fact sheets and lesson plans are specifically intended to guide decisions of farmers, particularly small and medium-scale farmers, to participate in institutional markets, including choosing appropriate products, markets, prices, and distribution models and managing relationships for long-term viability. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: The scope of our project continues to include activities in both Michigan and Vermont, which will provide more robust project results and outputs to help foster farm to institution relationships.
Impacts
Michigan interviews revealed that a complex set of actors, creating a longer and not always linear supply chain, are necessary to support and facilitate farm to institution initiatives. Proximity and connections between farmers and institutions were emphasized by interviewees. Vermont interviews revealed great value of "local" produce and the story of the farm to support educational efforts, but found the costs of supplying information fell on those least likely to easily afford to bear them, namely farmers and non-profits. The role of food hubs in providing needed aggregation and educational services is also critical in the Vermont context. The interviews, learning labs and surveys conducted through this project will generate information, in the form of scholarly articles, a fact sheet series and teaching modules, which will contribute to our understanding of farm to institution relationships and help farmers decide if institutional markets are right for them.
Publications
- Sevoian, N. and Conner, D. (Forthcoming) Providing the Local Story of Produce to Consumers at Institutions in Vermont: Implications for Supply Chain Members. Journal of Food Distribution Research (March 2012).
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Progress 01/01/10 to 12/31/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In the first year of this project, the project team has conducted, transcribed, and coded 29 key informant interviews with Michigan-based supply chain actors engaged in Farm to Institution programs, including farmers (12), distributors (6), and buyers (11) from K-12 schools, hospitals, and colleges/universities, to identify logistical requirements for market participation and appropriate conditions for partnerships. We have conducted another 10 key informant interviews with Vermont-based supply chain actors. We are currently analyzing and synthesizing results of interviews to create case models, or prototypes, of farm to institutional marketing models, including logistical and partnership components. An additional five interviews were conducted with Michigan farmers to understand farmers' approaches to pricing and cost analysis. Two lesson plans on Farm to Institution marketing were developed and tested in an undergraduate college-level horticultural marketing class at MSU, which will be finalized for distribution after incorporating findings from testing. We are currently preparing to conduct three regional learning labs, or roundtable discussions, in Michigan to discuss and vet models for value chain-type partnerships and key themes and findings from interviews. PARTICIPANTS: The project team consists of Colleen Matts, David Conner, and Michael Hamm and graduate students Jenifer Buckley at Michigan State University and Noelle Sevoian at University of Vermont. Key informant interviewees were primarily selected from Matts' contacts through her work and experience with Farm to School and other Farm to Institution projects in Michigan, Conners' farmer contacts through previous research projects, and through Vermont FEED and Vermont Farm to Institution stakeholders. Hillary Bisnett from the Ecology Center and Health Care Without Harm in Michigan provided a few hospital buyer contacts for interviews as well. Dr. Bridget Behe, Professor of Horticultural Marketing at MSU, has served as collaborator in developing and testing lesson plans intended to help guide farmers' decisions to participate in institutional markets. TARGET AUDIENCES: The long-range goal of this project is to provide information which will foster marketing relationships between actors engaged in Farm to Institution programs, including farmers, food distributors, and institutional buyers like schools, hospitals, and colleges/universities. Project outputs like fact sheets and lesson plans are specifically intended to guide decisions of farmers, particularly small- and medium-scale farmers, to participate in institutional markets, including choosing appropriate products, markets, prices, and distribution models and managing relationships for long-term viability. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: As Co-PI David Conner has left MSU for a position at the University of Vermont, the scope of our project has expanded beyond Michigan, and we have included additional interviews with farmers, distributors, and institutional buyers in Vermont/New England. This modification will provide more robust project results and outputs.
Impacts
As we are in the first year of a three year project, there have been not outcomes or impacts as of yet.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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