Progress 05/01/15 to 04/30/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, retail markets, institutional purchasing and food service, agricultural supply, lenders, undergraduate and graduate students Changes/Problems:Typical fieldwork challenges with weather and pests were addressed. We altered the mix of vegetable crops being planted, and improved the deer and rodent protection before planting during 2017. We altered the mix of vegetable crops being planted in 2018. Early detection of pests and diseases helped to minimize the damage to vegetable crops. Oat yields were reduced by black birds and Fusarium head blight and Sunflower yields were reduced by American gold finch during 2018. Oat, sunflower and pasture yields were severely reduced by flooding and water-logged soils during 2019. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two Ohio State students were engaged in the field work on student wages. One Ohio State graduate student used data and samples from the project to complete her MS degree in Plant Pathology. An undergraduate intern assisted her with the work. A College of Wooster undergraduate student independent study thesis focused on the motives of farm diversification using the data set from the 39 qualitative interviews, and finding support for the links between lifestyle considerations, family succession, and diversification decisions. Agricultural and Technical Institute coursework offered by coPI Kumarappan is using the project as an example business. Data from the project on expenses for income, labor hours, ecosystem services, pest and disease damage documented the economic outcomes. Students completed a survey to reflect on the topic of risk management in business plans, and quantitative results are summarized in a manuscript. The students' open ended written comments indicated that the topic affected their thinking about business plans and they will consider diversification as a valid way to address risks in future business ventures. Students from several courses at the College of Wooster ("Farm to Table: Understanding the Food System" and "Environment and Society") toured Mellinger Farm and incorporated the case study into class discussions about diversification, economies of scope, and risk management. Students from a "Principles of Economics" course completed course work on how farm diversification would change the nature of the firm's profit function. Ohio State students in a "Personal Selling" course played out role-play scenarios on how they would promote diversification if they were an extension agent. Students in a "Small Business Management" analyzed the role of risks in Mellinger farms and applied this to their own agribusiness plans. We anticipate these activities to expand in coming semesters in business and other courses. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have conducted quarterly meetings of the advisory committee for the research farm that is being used for the project, and have shared results at each of them. Both produce and chicken produced in the experiment were provided to OSU dining, informing institutional food purchase and in each case providing information on the research to share with students. Papers and posters have been submitted for publication and have been presented at state and national conferences as outlined in "Products". Annual Mellinger Farm field days have been held during August for each year of the project, with approximately 40 attendees each time. The field days have directly provided information to farmers to help them understand how diversification proceeds, to discuss its challenges and benefits, and compare our results with their experience. Manuscripts in addition to those reported under "Products" are being prepared based on the complete data set from the project in each of the following areas: Arthropod diversity and biological control in the early stages of diversification; Soil carbon sequestration in diversified production systems; Discourses of diversification in the media; Motivations for diversification; Teaching risk management through diversification in agribusiness; Impact of poultry grazed pasture soils on the tomato plant microbiome. A potential additional manuscript is: Poultry and price elasticity, live vs frozen vs weight vs per bird. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
We conducted research that will support farmers on small and medium sized farms with decisions about how to achieve an economy of scope, an alternative to economies of scale for smaller farms. Through both on- and off-farm research we demonstrated that diversification can lead to: 1.) access to new value chains for farm products; 2.) entry into new markets that bring new revenues; 3.) lower costs of inputs for at least some phases of production due to ecosystem services that derive from synergies between crop and animal enterprises; 4.) substitution of human and natural capitals for inputs; 5.) greater yields and returns for some products (in our case vegetables and poultry) but lower yields and returns for others (in our case small grains and oilseed crops). In the county where the work was conducted, the number of small farms doubled during the course of the project, demonstrating a growing farm demographic. Results have been disseminated widely to inspire farmers in choices they can make to improve their economic, environmental and social bottom lines without expanding. Objective 1 - Controlled field experiments 2016 - 2019. A five year rotation was established including 3 years of pasture, sunflower, and oats, pasture-raised poultry and vegetables. Irrigation and electrified fencing was installed for vegetable plots. Landscaping fabrics were used to suppress weeds. No fertilizer was used in any of the plots and only organic pesticides were used on the vegetable plots. Pasture poultry were raised in moveable pens and harvested after 3-8 weeks on pasture. Oats harvested from the plots and alleys were processed for poultry feed, and shortages were filled with oats purchased from external sources. The broiler chickens were processed and packed at a commercial processor. Soil samples were taken in all plots each year, air dried, and analyzed for carbon and microbial activity. Invertebrates were sampled in June, July and August by pitfall and sweepnet to document pest, beneficial and other arthropods. Records were maintained for all inputs used in the field plots including irrigation, labor, seeds and plants, and all field operations for analysis of input costs and potential profit. Yields were collected for vegetables, oats and sunflower, and frozen carcass weights were recorded for poultry. Pasture biomass production was measured with rising plate meters weekly during the poultry grazing period and in early August. Mean per acre yields in oats and sunflowers declined significantly after the first year of the experiment to below US average levels. Vegetables grown after pastured poultry generally had a higher average per acre yield than vegetables following pasture only (cucumber, pepper, leeks, okra and tomato, p ≤ 0.0481). Following poultry, 6 of 11 vegetables, 10 of 14, and 12 of 17 in 2017-2019, respectively, had higher per acre yield than the US average. Available pasture biomass, bodiversity, soil carbon and soil microbial protein generally increased or stayed consistent until 2019, when all values declined, most likely due to wet and water logged soil conditions. Both species diversity and evenness of invertebrates collected by pitfall traps and sweep samples was significantly different among plots (p≤0.0471), with the greatest diversity recorded on third year pasture plots and the greatest evenness values observed in vegetable plots. Results demonstrated that some ecosystem services can be expected to increase with diversification, and that an even more diverse rotation is likely to be needed, as two of the crops declined in yield despite the relatively long rotation. Objective 2 - Estimate new market entry thresholds. We developed an economic model of firm entry using a national dataset of local direct marketing firms and farms. We analyzed three of the most common farm-based direct-marketing operations including community-supported agriculture (CSA), u-pick operations, and farm stands. Economic modeling shows that heterogeneous population thresholds are needed for market access across each type of direct marketing venture. Market entry is viable when county populations exceed approximately 15,000 individuals for CSA's, 54,000 for u-pick and 5,000 for a farm stand. Farmers of small to medium sized farms can use these results to select markets or match their marketing style to available population size. Objective 3 - Decision making among diversifying farmers. A literature review was conducted of the social, cultural, and economic parameters that influence diversification decisions among farmers. Two datasets examined the decision making, mindset and influences on diversification decisions for recently diversifying farmers. Surveys from Ohio State University Small Farm College attendees were analyzed across 10 years. Farm tours and in-person interviews were conducted with 39 diversified or recently diversifying farmers throughout northeast Ohio. The data from the OSU Small Farm College were used to ascertain if new and beginning Farmers were interested in farm diversification. Results from 578 surveys suggest that most beginning farmers are younger and have higher levels of formal education than the general farming population; are more likely to be female than other farmers; and operate much smaller farms. Interests were strongest in alternative or diversified farming systems, including preferences for raising beef cattle, poultry, hay, and vegetables, not commodity row crops. Sustained interest among surveyed farmers was observed for small livestock including poultry, sheep, and meat goats - but not in hogs or dairy cattle. Extension programs addressing small scale beef and hay production, and oriented to female farmers, would be of interest to beginning farmers in Ohio. The 39 ethnographic interviews have been coded for themes on diversification. These data suggest that farm households enact diversification in a myriad of ways. Farm success via diversification appears to be linked to interfamilial labor dynamics, cultural and human capital, lifestyle decisions, and a "way of thinking" diversification mindset that is consistent with the literature review. Objective 4. Decision making framework. Costs and potential revenues from experimental plots, observations of survey recipients, discussion with field day attendees and data from the literature were combined to give a qualitative framework for diversification decisions. Ohio State and College of Wooster students contributed to the analysis through coursework and independent study. Diversification decision making was discussed with focus groups of farmers and stakeholders at successive field days at Mellinger Farm in summers 2017, 2018, and 2019. In our focus groups we emphasized -- and heard back from participants -- that a "decision making framework" for diversification should include more than just the economic ramifications of diversifying farm production; it needs to also incorporate a wide range of economic and social, particularly lifestyle and family situation, considerations. Objective 5. Coursework and student experience. Business classes at the Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute used the experiments at Mellinger farm as a case study for farm business diversification analysis. Students from the College of Wooster used the experiments and ethnographic interviews to understand and analyze Ohio agriculture and the many pressures and opportunities farmers face. Students were given the opportunity for direct observation with field trip visits to the experimental plots as well as specific data sets collected during the project for classroom work.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Kumarappan, Subramanian. In Review. Risk Management and Diversification in Agribusiness Plans. NACTA journal.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Mariola, Matthew, Amyaz Moledina, and Larry A. Nye. In Review. Are Beginning Small Farmers Drawn to Diversification? Ten Years Findings from Ohio. Journal of Extension Revised and resubmitted, June 2020.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Vazquez-Catoni AM and Benitez-Ponce MS. The impact of chicken-grazed soils on the tomato plant microbiome. Abstract for presentation at Plant Health 2020, online.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Vazquez-Catoni AM and Benitez-Ponce MS. The impact of chicken grazed soils on the tomato plant microbiome. Abstract accepted for presentation at ASM Microbe 2020, Online.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Vazquez-Catoni AM and Benitez-Ponce MS. The Impact of Soil Diversity on the Tomato Seedling Microbiome. Abstract and poster presentation at Plant Health 2019. Cleveland, OH
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Vazquez-Catoni AM and Benitez-Ponce MS. The Impact of Soil Diversity on the Tomato Seedling Microbiome. CFAES Research conference. Columbus, OH, 2019.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Vazquez-Catoni AM and Benitez-Ponce MS. The Impact of Soil Diversity Gradient on the Tomato Seedling Bacterial Microbiome. Poster presentation at ASM Microbe 2019, San Francisco, CA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Benitez MS and Bolshakov D. Impact of chicken-livestock integration in the soil microbiome of current and subsequent year crops. Poster presentation at the Soil Ecology Society meeting, Toledo, OH, 2019.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Connolly, Cristina, and H. Allen Klaiber. Competition in Local Food Markets. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 44.2 (2019): 328-344.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Plakias, Zoe T., H. Allen Klaiber, and Brian E. Roe. Tradeoffs in Farm to School Implementation: Larger Foodsheds Drive Greater Local Food Expenditures. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 45.2 (2020).
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Progress 05/01/18 to 04/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, retail markets, institutional purchasing and food service, agricultural supply, lenders, undergraduate students Changes/Problems:We altered the mix of vegetable crops planted in 2018. Early detection of pests and diseases helped to minimize the damage to vegetable plots. Oat and sunflower yields were affected by black birds, Fusarium head blight and American gold finch, respectively. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One Ohio State student was engaged in the field work on student wages. Two College of Wooster students were trained in methodological techniques related to conducting and transcribing interviews, and in data entry from hand written surveys. Two additional College of Wooster students were trained in audio interview transcript correction and conducted quality checks of all interview transcripts from summer 2018. An additional College of Wooster student was trained in interview analysis techniques and began building a database of key words and phrases from all interviews conducted to date. Agricultural and Technical Institute coursework offered by coPI Kumarappan is using the project as an example business. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have conducted quarterly meetings of the advisory committee for the research farm that is being used for the project, and have shared results at each of them. Both produce and chicken produced in the experiment were provided to OSU dining, informing institutional food purchase and in each case providing information on the research to share with students. Research on market entry by firms was submitted to the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Research on the expenditure impacts of farm-to-school participation was presented at the Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics annual meetings. A Mellinger Farm field day was held on August 22, 2018. The field day was a good opportunity for farmers to understand how diversification proceeds, to discuss its challenges and benefits, and compare our results with their experience. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The field research portions of the project have largely been completed, although field plots have been established for one additional year to improve sample size and confirm temporal patterns of change. Remaining work is to incorporate the data and information gained from on and off farm research into class modules at the College of Wooster and Ohio State University, and engage students and farmers in decision modeling.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
2018 Mellinger Farm Field work: Plots were established in the first year of the project, 2016, including pasture (3 yr rotation), oilseed, grain, vegetables and pasture-raised poultry (broiler chickens) the last two in split-split plots with the pasture treatments. A second year of this rotation was planted in 2017. New vegetable plots were tilled on May 8 and field planting started on May 2, 2018. Vegetable varieties planted in 2018 were: two varieties of eggplant (cv. Orient Express and Orient Charm), basil (cv. Genovese), okra (cv. Carmine Splender), two varieties of tomatoes (cv. Celebrity and Washington Cherry), Kale (cv. Red Russian), two varieties of lettuce (cv. Panisse and Red Sails), two varieties of peppers (cv. Carmen and Hungarian Hotwax), squash (cv. Dunja), two varieties of beans (cv. Jumbo and Fordhook), leeks (cv. King Richard). All vegetables were started as seeds ; squash and beans were direct seeded, and others were seeded in the greenhouse and field planted as seedlings. Drip irrigation, fencing and landscaping fabrics were used as in 2016 and 2017. No fertilizer was applied and the only pesticides used during the growing season were organic neem oil to repel Japanese beetles, flea beetles and cross striped cabbageworms, and organic slug repellant. Pest and disease damage during 2018 was relatively low compare with 2017, as controls were more timely. Insects were collected in July, August and September using both pitfall traps and sweep nets in all plots and subplots; collected insects were kept in the freezer for further analysis. Two hundred chickens were reared in the first and second year pasture plots and were harvested on September 21st, 2018. Chickens were processed and packed then sold to OSU dining services at Columbus. Oats and sunflower were planted on May 1st and June 26th respectively. Oat yield was severely reduced by black birds and Fusarium head blight and sunflower yield was severely reduced by American gold finches. Soil samples were taken in August 2018 on all plots, air dried and stored for analysis. 2018 Mellinger Farm Results: Pasture plant species diversity, based on Shannon diversity index, increased in pasture plots each year from 2016 - 2018. Vegetables grown after pastured poultry again had generally higher average per acre yield compared with vegetables following pasture only, although the differences were statistically significant only in select cases. Soil carbon increased over time in pasture plots. 2018 Farmer Interview Fieldwork: We continued the work from summer 2017, interviewing diversified or diversifying farmers throughout northeast Ohio. We completed interviews with 14 individuals during the reporting period, bringing the total number of interviewees for the project to 39. All interviews were conducted at the respective farm site, and most were preceded by a tour of the farm. All interviews were recorded, with the farmer's permission, and then transcribed using an online transcription software. All transcripts were then quality-checked and corrected. Finally, we began the process of coding the data by creating a comprehensive database of key words and phrases from all interviews, in order to analyze the interviews for patterns related to our research questions.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Initial Stages of Diversification of the Mellinger Farm Suranga Basnagala, Casey Hoy. 2018 Annual College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Research Conference, The Ohio State University
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Are Small and Beginning Farmers Drawn to Diversification? Findings from the Ohio New and Small Farm College Matt Mariola and Amyaz Moledina. 8th International Conference on Food Studies, Vancouver, Canada, Oct 25-26, 2018.
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Progress 05/01/17 to 04/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, retail markets, institutional purchasing and food service, agricultural supply, lenders, undergraduate students Changes/Problems:Typical fieldwork challenges with weather and pests were addressed.We altered the mix of vegetable crops being planted based on the previous year's experience, and improved the deer and rodent protection before planting. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two Ohio State students were engaged in the field work on student wages. Two College of Wooster students were trained in methodological techniques related to conducting and transcribing interviews, and in data entry from hand written surveys. Agricultural and Technical Institute coursework offered by coPI Kumarappan is using the project as an example business. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have conducted quarterly meetings of the advisory committee for the research farm that is being used for the project, and have shared results at each of them. Both produce and chicken produced in the experiment were provided to OSU dining, informing institutional food purchase and in each case providing information on the research to share with students. Research on market entry by firms was submitted to the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics Research on the expenditure impacts of farm-to-school participation will bepresented at Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics annual meetings. We held a field tour on August , 2017, open to the general public and with approximately 40 participants touring the plots at Mellinger farm and discussing project results. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Year 3 of field plots will continue the rotations established in year one, including ongoing diversification of the vegetable production and improvements in timing and production technique for the broilers.Data collection will proceed along the same lines as those used during 2016 and 2017. In off-farm economic work, we will continue to examine additional diversification aspects of production as well as refining measures of output diversification using USDA-NASS data on production decisions. In off-farm interview and survey work, we plan to continue the process of contacting, visiting, and interviewing farm households, with a goal of reaching an additional 18 farms, for a total of 40 by the end of the project. Second, we plan to clean and verify the farm college survey data, run data analysis, and draft an article on the link between new and beginning farmers and farm diversification goals. Third, we plan to continue adding historical references to the farm newspaper database, perform quantitative as well as qualitative data analysis, and draft an article on the changing framings and motivations for diversification over time.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
2017 Field work: Plots were established in the first year of the project, 2016, including pasture (3 yr rotation), oilseed, grain, vegetables and pasture-raised poultry (broiler chickens) the last two in split-split plots with the pasture treatments.New pasture plots were established on April 25, 2017, and oats were planted the same day. The oilseed we planted was sunflower, on July 21, 2017.Soil samples were taken on August 21, 2017 on all plots, air dried and stored for analysis in our soil lab. Vegetables planted in 2017 were: 2 varieties of tomato (Celebrity, Rutgers), cucumber (Salad bush hybrid), squash (Zucchini dark), bush beans (Organic Jade), onions (red, white and brown), lettuce (Romaine), kale (Toscano), carrot (Var. sativus) and 5 varieties of pepper (Jalapeno, Carmen, Tricked You, Mariachi and Orange Blaze). Cucumber, squash, lettuce, kale, and carrot were obtained from commercial sources. All other vegetables were obtained as seedlings from local sources. Field plantings began during the fourth week of May and were completed by the second week of June, 2017. We installed the same drip irrigation system used during 2016 and new landscaping fabric for vegetable plots. In 2017, fencing was replaced with longer steel posts and steel wires were run with insulated couplings. Solar chargers were used to electrify the fence to prevent deer, rabbit and groundhog damage. During the 2017 growing season, no vertebrate pest damage was observed with the exception of occasional tomato damage by mice. Pests and diseases were observed and recorded on a weekly basis during the growing season. No fertilizers were used and only organic approved pesticides were used for slugs and insect pests. Harvesting was done regularly and harvested weights were recorded in separate plots for comparison.Three week old chickens were placed in pasture plots in 8 movable pens, 25 birds per pen, from August 15 until September 20, 2017.The broiler chickens were commercially processed and the weights were recorded.Records were maintained for all inputs used in the field plots including irrigation, labor, seeds, plants, and all field operations. We began formal survey data collection on several fronts. First, we validated and refined the questions on our interview questionnaire. Second, we made contact with, visited, and interviewed 22 farm households (sometimes this meant a single farmer; sometimes a farming couple or a set of siblings) on the challenges they face when diversifying, their learning patterns, and their decision-making strategies. Interviews were than transcribed using transcription software. These automatically generated transcriptions were then corrected, line by line. We did not begin the formal process of analyzing interviews because we had one more summer of interview fieldwork remaining. Third, we created a spreadsheet template and entered information from 578 surveys distributed at the OSU New and Small Farm College from 2007-2016. Fourth, we began to construct a database of historical references to farm diversification from farm newspapers spanning from the mid nineteenth century to the mid twentieth century. As with interview data, the data from the farm college surveys and the historical newspaper archive are slated for analysis during the 2018 field season. 2017 Results: Pasture species diversity was significantly greater, based on Shannon diversity index, in second than first year pasture plots(Ecosystem richness p=0.02).Vegetables grown after pastured poultry generally had higher average per acre yield compared with vegetables following pasture only, although the differences were significant only for cucumber (p<0.0481). Out of 11 vegetable crops grown, 6 (55%) had higher per acre yield than the US average in 2017.Broiler chickens were kept in the field for one additional week during 2017 compared with 2016, and the value of the frozen birds increased 103.1%.Arthropod and invertebrate abundance, particularly ground beetles, leaf hoppers, slugs and mites, were significantly more abundant in second year than first year pasture plots (p<0.0001).Soil quality, measured by microbial protein, respiration and permanganate-oxidizable C (POXC) did not differ between first and second year plots. We completed a manuscript based on our work determining thresholds for market entry among three of the most common farm-based direct-marketing operations including community-supported agriculture (CSA), u-pick operations, and farm stands. This paper is currently in review at the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics.Additional work was undertaken to examine the potential for the national Farm-to-School (FTS) program to induce additional demand for local foods.An abstract based on preliminary results of the impact of FTS participation on expenditure on local foods was accepted and will be presented at the annual meetings of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association in August, 2018.
Publications
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Progress 05/01/16 to 04/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers, retail markets, institutional purchasing and food service, agricultural supply, lenders, undergraduate students Changes/Problems:Typical fieldwork challenges with weather and pests were addressed. We altered the mix of vegetable crops being planted, and improved the deer and rodent protection before planting in 2017. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?3 students were engaged in the field work on student wages. Agricultural and Technical Institute coursework offered by coPI Kumarappan is using the project as an example business. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have conducted quarterly meetings of the advisory committee for the research farm that is being used for the project, and have shared results at each of them. Both produce and chicken produced in the experiment were provided to OSU dining, informing institutional food purchase and in each case providing information on the research to share with students. PI Hoy hosted a class visit for coPI Kumarappan's class of the OSU Agricultural and Technical Institute (ATI) on 9/23/16, with approximately 25 students, during which the objectives and results of the experiment were shared. PI Hoy provided a presentation with results of the research to an ATI class on 9/12/16, approximately 30 students attending. The research on market entry by firms was presented at the Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics annual meetings in Boston, MA during July, 2016. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Year 2 of field plots will continue the rotations established in year one. Planned improvements include further diversifying the vegetable production, earlier implementation of the pastured poultry, and In off-farm economic work, we will continue to examine additional diversification aspects of production as well as refining measures of output diversification. Using USDA-NASS data on production decisions, we are expanding our initial analysis to include more measures of market access while accounting for heterogeneous diversification production decisions. The next reporting period will see the implementation of the first phase of survey data collection, which will consist of an interview track and a survey track. For the interviews, beginning with personal contacts and using the contacts of "gatekeepers" throughout Ohio (e.g., county extension agents, Soil & Water Conservation District personnel), we will reach out to farmers and ask for permission to come to their farms and sit down for a recorded, semi-structured interview. These interviews will then be transcribed and analyzed for themes relevant to our research questions. For the surveys, we will compile a list of email addresses for diversified and diversifying farmers throughout the state and send a brief description of the research project along with an internet link for taking the survey. Both of these tracks will be implemented with the help of 2 student research assistants from our college. In fall 2017, we will begin formally analyzing the data from both the interviews and surveys.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Field research on the project was initiated at the Mellinger Farm, OARDC, in early spring 2016. Plot treatments in established in the experiment include pasture (3 yr rotation), oilseed, grain, vegetables and pasture-raised poultry (chickens). The oilseed planted was sunflower, planted on June 27, 2016 when the plots were dry enough for planting. Plot boundaries were documented using a Trimble GPS system on 8/2/16. Soil samples were taken in all plots and sub-plots on 11/22/16, air dried, and stored for analysis in the laboratory. Vegetables planted in 2016 were - 4 varieties of Summer Squash (Cocozelle, Black Beauty Zucchini, Sligo F-1 Hybrid, Tatume/tatuma; round zucchini; Mexican zucchini; calabash/calabacita), Bush bean, perpetual spinach,Tokyo Bekana, Pole Bean, Kale, Cabbage, Tomato. Seeds and plants were obtained from commercial sources. Beans were planted at the same time as the squash, but greens planting ran July 1 - 5. A drip irrigation system was established in the vegetable plots to be used for the duration of the field research. The vegetable plots were enclosed with 30# test monofilament fishing line strung tightly around metal posts to deter deer. Damage from rabbits, ground hogs and deer was extensive. Pest incidence in the vegetable plots was strictly descriptive. The IACUC protocol was completed and approved by August 2016. Pasture poultry were released into moveable pens, 25 birds/pen, on September 14, 2016, and were harvested 3 weeks later. Records were maintained for all inputs used in the field plots including irrigation, labor, seeds and plants, and all field operations. We developed economic models of firm entry using a national dataset of local direct marketing firms and farms. We analyzed three of the most common farm-based direct-marketing operations including community-supported agriculture (CSA), u-pick operations, and farm stands. Results show that heterogeneous population thresholds are needed for market access across each type of direct marketing venture. For CSAs, market entry is viable when populations exceed approximately 15,000 individuals in a county. For u-pick operations the population required to sustain a typical operations is 54,000 and for farm stand operation only a population of 5,000 is required. During the reporting period, we began laying the groundwork for the dissemination of surveys to farmers and the in-person interviewing of farmers, which consisted of four distinct activities. First, we consulted with a colleague at Rutgers University who was finishing a comprehensive survey to a large set of farmers throughout Ohio and Michigan. Second, we began assembling and reading a large literature on the social, cultural, and economic parameters that influence diversification decisions among farmers. Third, we completed the IRB application at the College of Wooster for research with human subjects. Finally, we worked on multiple revisions and drafts of both the survey instrument and the interview script. Final outputs from the reporting period included complete rough drafts of the farmer survey and the interview script and an approved IRB application. We did not work with students during the reporting period on survey aspects of the project.
Publications
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Progress 05/01/15 to 04/30/16
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this period was internal, as the project is just beginning. Changes/Problems:As noted above, because the funding was delayed until well into spring 2015 and plots needed to be established before that, the project timeline has shifted for one year. We don't expect any other significant issues as a result of the delay but will likely have to request an extension at the end of the project to complete the remaining project objectives. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A graduate student in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics has been incorporated work on the project into his graduate degree program, and a recent graduate from the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, who will begin a graduate program during fall 2016, was hired to provide technical assistance to the project in March 2016. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Field work on the project has begun, plots have been established on OARDC land to measure the soil and other biophysical changes resulting from diversification, estimate their new costs and benefits, and estimate the yields and costs of diversified production of vegetables, diverse agronomic crop rotation and pasture poultry. Preliminary work will begin on survey methods and populations during 2016 in preparation for survey work during summer 2017.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Because the funding was significantly delayed into spring of 2015, we elected to establish the field plots during spring of 2016, so the project timeline has been shifted by approximately 12 months. The accomplishments during 2015-2016 have been in planning and preparation for the field and survey work. A literature review was contributed to project PI's by cooperators at Rutgers university.
Publications
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