Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/19
Outputs
Target Audience:This project introduced value-added agriculture to North Carolina's small and socially disadvantaged farmers, who served as the primary target audience of this project. Value-added agriculture was introduced to these farmer as an alternative enterprise that could enhance farm profitability. North Carolina county and university cooperative extension agents, policy makers, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDACS) officials, and farmers, were all included as the target audience for this project. Project efforts included various opportunities that delivered value-added information to a diverse group of individuals in various parts of the state. The project team attended the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference, in Raleigh, NC and the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Conference, in Winston-Salem, NC, were research goals were shared. The research questionnaire, which was developed by the research team, was disseminated and collected at the aforementioned conferences. Participants at the conferences expressed interest in the project and provided their contact information, thus providing the team with an additional database of small farmers in North Carolina. The project team also participated in the Small Farm Field Day at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. A handout, describing the project and the initial findings was distributed to attendees and a poster was displayed. Farmers that were interested in learning more about value-added agriculture and the project registered at the field day for the forthcoming outreach workshop. Additional project efforts included a workshop, which was the main outreach component of the project. The workshop, highlighted the opportunities that value-added operations could add to small and socially-disadvantaged farmers. Cooperative Extension agents were instrumental in securing a venue for the workshop and assisted with securing collaborative efforts with the value-added kitchen in Orange County, North Carolina. The workshop provided farmers with sessions on agritourism as an alternative enterprise, finance and bookkeeping as it relates to the farm and value-added and the challenges and opportunities of developing a value-added operation. The project team also presented the research study and findings. A tour of the Piedmont Processing Facility was also provided to the attendees, with a session on how to utilize the facility, market and brand value-added products and food safety. The project team also mentored students from the research apprenticeship program, RAP, at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. During summer 2018, the team's RAP student developed a paper and poster from the questionnaire entitled, "A Study of North Carolina Farmer Participation in Value-Added Agriculture." During summer 2019, the team's RAP student developed a paper and poster entitled, "An Economic Analysis of the Factors that Influence the Adoption of Agriculture Value-Added among Small and Disadvantaged Farmers in North Carolina." The posters were presented at the closing ceremony of the RAP internship program during the respective years. The ceremonies were attended by experts in the field, as well as, farmers and the general public. Additionally, research was also presented at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Conference in 2018 and 2019. Changes/Problems:The only change to the project was at the administrative level. Dr. Anthony Yeboah, Principal Investigator, retired in December 2018. Dr. Obed Quaicoe was appointed Principal Investigator in January 2019. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has created a plethora of training and professional development opportunities for the project members and students supported by the project. Opportunities for personal development included attendance at the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference, in June 2017 by the project team.This conference provided activities and workshops that focused on educating small and socially-disadvantage minority farmers.Workshops ranged from farm loan information, crop risk insurance, and farm safety.The aforementioned conference provided information the project team utilized in its development of an outreach program for small and socially-disadvantaged farmers interested in value-added operations.Additionally, contacts were established with the Minority farmers and landowner's association attendees. Project investigators and students also attended the 2018 North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Meeting and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in February 2018 and February 2019.The aforementioned conferences provided personal development opportunities for the investigators and graduate students supported by the project.Additionally, they provided opportunities for disseminating the questionnaire, sharing research activities and possible contacts for collaborations. Training opportunities provided by the team included mentoring students from the research apprenticeship program, RAP, at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.In 2018, the mentored RAP student developed a paper and poster from the questionnaire entitled, "A Study of North Carolina Farmer Participation in Value-Added Agriculture." In 2019, the mentored RAP student developed a paper and poster entitled, "An Economic Analysis of the Factors that Influence the Adoption of Agriculture Value-Added Among Small and Disadvantaged Farmers in North Carolina."The posters were presented at the closing ceremony of the RAP internship program during their respective years. The closing ceremony was attended by experts in the field, as well as, farmers and the general public. The project team also conducted a workshop providing farmers with sessions on agritourism as an alternative enterprise, finance and bookkeeping as it relates to the farm and value-added and the challenges and opportunities of developing a value-added operation. The project team also presented the research study and findings. A tour of the Piedmont Processing Facility was also provided to the attendees, with a session on how to utilize the facility, market and brand value-added products and food safety. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results of the study have been disseminated to communities of interest through various conferences and workshops. The project team attended the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference, the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Meeting, Small Farms Field Day at North Carolina A&T State University and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting. The project team presented two posters and a paper developed from the project at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Conference in 2018 and 2019. The team displayed a poster at the NC Agritourism Association Meeting, The Small Farms Field Day Event and the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference, conveying research activities and information about the project. Additionally, the project team mentored students from the research apprenticeship program, RAP, during the summer of 2018 and 2019. By exposing the RAP students to agricultural value-added, a potential interest in agriculture could have been facilitated. The RAP students developed a research paper and a poster from the questionnaire findings and presented it at their respective closing ceremonies. An additional dissemination effort was the outreach workshop developed by the project team. The workshop reached small and socially disadvantaged farmers that were interested in developing a value-added operation. The workshop provided farmers with sessions on agritourism as an alternative enterprise, finance and bookkeeping as it relates to the farm and value-added and the challenges and opportunities of developing a value-added operation. The project team also presented the research study and findings. A tour of the Piedmont Processing Facility was also provided to the attendees, with a session on how to utilize the facility, market and brand value-added products and food safety. A representative from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was in attendance and was able to share the information with her database of interested farmers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Although, this is the termination report for this project, the team has expounded on exploring value-added agriculture through a newly funded project. The project team is fully vested in developing ways to increase the profitability and sustainability of small farmers in North Carolina.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
All of the objectives for the project were completed by the project team. In order to complete objectives 1 & 2, the project team traveled to a value-added facility, Blue Ridge Food Ventures, in Candler, North Carolina. The project team toured the processing areas at Blue Ridge Food Ventures and reviewed and discussed their business model. The project team developed a farmer case study interview protocol, approved by the IRB, to guide case studies of 3 farmers that have successful value-added activities. The case studies were conducted in order to understand the challenges and opportunities facing farmers who may want to adopt value-added processing. Three value-added operations in Eastern North Carolina were visited by project investigators. Investigators toured the farms and administered the case study interview protocol. The aforementioned case study data was used to finalize the research questionnaire, focusing on minority and small farm operators currently engaged in value-added operations in North Carolina. The questionnaire was instrumental in assessing factors influencing the adoption of value-added agriculture, as well as, ascertaining the economic and demographic factors contributing to successful value-added farm ventures. The questionnaire was mailed to a database of farmers that were associated with the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education through other projects and farmer information that was collected at various conventions and workshops related to the current project. County Extension Agents were solicited to assist with the dissemination of questionnaires as well. Project investigators also attended the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference and the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Conference in order to disseminate and collect the questionnaire and display a poster with details of the project. The project team coded the data from the questionnaires, ran Cross Tabulations and the Logit model in order to ascertain the economic and demographic factors that contribute to the success of value-added farm ventures and the factors influencing the adoption of value-added agriculture. The logit model results suggested that having a farm with access to the highway is positively significant to value-added operations. Cross tabulation results between race of the farm principal operator and whether the principal operator produces any value-added product showed that 53 (54.64%) out of 97 principal operators do not produce any value-added product whereas 44 (45.36%) of them produce value added products. However, the results show that, out of 56 principal operators who are White, 28 (28.87%) produce some value-added products whereas the remaining 28 (28.87%) do not engage in the production of any value-added product. Results also show that, out of 36 principal operators who are Black, only 13 (13.4%) produce some value-added products, whereas the remaining 23 (23.71%) do not produce any value-added product. Three out of 5 other principal operators including Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans are involved in the production of value-added products. Therefore, we can conclude that there are race and gender differences concerning producing value-added products. Results show that small and socially- disadvantaged farmers are greatly underrepresented in value-added agriculture and by introducing value-added agriculture to these farmers, their economic viability and sustainability can be increased. An outreach workshop to educate small and socially-disadvantaged farmers about the prospects of value-added agriculture was developed as the part of objective 3. Cooperative Extension agents were instrumental in securing a venue for the workshop and assisted with securing collaborative efforts with the value-added kitchen in Orange County, North Carolina. The workshop provided farmers with sessions on agritourism as an alternative enterprise, finance and bookkeeping as it relates to the farm and value-added and the challenges and opportunities of developing a value-added operation. The project team also presented the research study and findings. A tour of the Piedmont Processing Facility was also provided to the attendees, with a session on how to utilize the facility, market and brand value-added products and food safety. Additional activities include members of the project team attending the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Conference in 2018 and 2019 and presenting a research paper, developed from the project and a poster. The project team also mentored students from the research apprenticeship program, RAP, at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Quaicoe, O., Yeboah, A., Owens, J., Bynum, J. 2019. Agriculture Value-Added: Prospects for Small & Socially Disadvantaged Farmers in North Carolina. Poster at the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, February 2-5th, 2019.
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Progress 10/01/17 to 09/30/18
Outputs
Target Audience:North Carolina's small and socially disadvantaged farmers serve as the primary target audience for this project. By introducing small and socially disadvantaged farmers to value-added agriculture, farmers will possess the ability to explore alternative enterprises, which in turn would strengthen rural communities and enhance the viability of the state's small farms. North Carolina county and University cooperative extension agents, policy makers, USDA officials, and farmers are included in the target audience for this project. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The PI attended the 2018 North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Meeting and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in February 2018. Investigators will also attend the February 2019 Southern Agricultural Economics Association meeting. The aforementioned conferences provided and will provide personal development opportunities for the investigators and graduate students supported by the project. Additionally, they provided opportunities for disseminating the questionnaire and contacts for possible collaborations. Prior opportunities for training and personal development included attendance at the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference, in June 2017. This conference provided activities and workshops that focused on educating small and socially disadvantage minority farmers. Workshops ranged from farm loan information, crop risk insurance, and farm safety. The aforementioned conference provided information the project team can utilize in its development of an outreach program for small and socially disadvantaged farmers interested in value-added operations. Additionally, contacts were established with the Minority farmers and landowner's association attendees. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During year 2 of the project, the results were disseminated through meeting and conferences. PI attended the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Meeting and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association (SAEA) Meeting. The project team presented a poster entitled: "Value-Added Agriculture among Small Farmers in North Carolina: A Case Study," at the SAEA Conference and displayed a poster at the NC Agritourism Association Meeting. The project team also mentored a student from the research apprenticeship program, RAP, during the summer of 2018. The RAP student developed a research paper and a poster from the questionnaire findings entitled, "A Study of North Carolina Famer Participation in Value-Added Agriculture." Also, the result will be presented in 2019 Southern Agricultural Economics Association Conference. The Conference will provide opportunities for the research team to present their most recently accepted paper and poster entitled: "Agriculture Value Added: Prospects for Small and Disadvantaged Farmers in North Carolina," along with the most recent findings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the final reporting period, investigators will continue to develop an outreach program to educate small and socially disadvantaged farmers about the prospects of value-added agriculture. An e-mail blast, soliciting interest in the aforementioned workshop, was emailed to farmers in Cooperative Extension, the project team and The North Carolina Minority Landowners Association's list serve during the end of year 2. The workshop, tentatively scheduled on spring of 2019, will present the results of the study. In addition, successful value-added farmers will make the presentation. The workshop will provide other value-added training and useful information. Additionally, the project team will attend the 2019 Southern Agricultural Economics Association Conference to present the paper and poster titled "Agriculture Value Added: Prospects for Small and Disadvantaged Farmers in North Carolina," which will aid in outreach efforts.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During year 2 of the project, objective 2 was in the finalization stages with the questionnaire dissemination phase still underway and additional mailings and physical administering of the questionnaires was completed. The project team attended the NC Agritourism Networking Association Conference in order to disseminate and collect questionnaires and display a poster related to the project. The project team coded the data from the questionnaires, ran Cross Tabulations and the Logit model in order to ascertain the economic and demographic factors that contribute to the success of value-added farm ventures (objective 2). Preliminary results suggested that having a farm with access to the highway and whether or not a farmer works on the farm full-time or part-time were the only significant variables. The project team will expound upon other measures in order to determine if any additional variables have any significance. Project teamdeveloped an outreach program (workshop) to educate small and socially disadvantaged farmers about the prospects of value-added agriculture, (objective 3). An email blast, soliciting interest in the aforementioned workshop were emailed to farmers in Cooperative Extension, and The North Carolina Minority Landowners Association's list serve. The workshop will display of the results of the study, presentations by successful value-added farmers, as well as other value-added training and useful information.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Moffitt, J., Jacques, B., Yeboah, A., Owens, J. P. 2018. Value-Added Agriculture among Small Farmers in North Carolina: A Case Study. Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in Jacksonville, Florida in February 3-6, 2018 (poster presentation).
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Yeboah, A., Owens, J. P, Quaicoe, O., and Bynum, J. 2019. Agriculture Value-Added: Prospects for Small & Disadvantaged Farmers in North Carolina. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics (accepted).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Yeboah, A., Owens, J. P, Quaicoe, O., and Bynum, J. 2019. Agriculture Value-Added: Prospects for Small & Disadvantaged Farmers in North Carolina. Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, February 2-5th, 2019
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Progress 10/01/16 to 09/30/17
Outputs
Target Audience:North Carolina's small and socially disadvantaged farmers serve as the primary target audience for this project. By introducing small and socially disadvantaged farmers to value-added agriculture, farmers will develop the ability to explore alternative enterprises, which in turn would strengthen rural communities and enhance the viability of the state's small farms. The target audience also includes Cooperative Extension agents across North Carolina's counties, Cooperative Extension specialists and associates at N.C. A&T, policy makers and USDA officials. In this first year of the project, efforts were focused on exploratory steps that include developing case studies, and designing and disseminating questionnaires. Workshops and training sessions will be developed during the latter stages of the project. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Opportunities for training and personal development include attendance at the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference, in June 2017. This conference provided activities and workshops that focused on educating small and socially disadvantage minority farmers. Workshops ranged from farm loan information, crop risk insurance, and farm safety. The aforementioned conference provided information the project team can use to develop an outreach program for small and socially disadvantaged farmers interested in value-added operations. Additionally, contacts were established with the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference attendees. The project investigators will attend the 2018 North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Meeting and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in February 2018. The aforementioned conferences will provide personal development opportunities for the investigators and graduate students supported by the project. Additionally, these sessions will provide opportunities to distribute the questionnaire and to build collaborations. 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?During the next reporting period, the project investigators will attend the North Carolina Agritourism Networking Association Meeting and the Southern Agricultural Economics Association Meeting in February 2018. The aforementioned conferences will provide opportunities for the investigators and graduate students supported by the project to present a poster detailing the current project and will provide opportunities for disseminating the questionnaire. Project investigators will continue to contact county Cooperative Extension agents to assist with questionnaire dissemination and will continue coding and analyzing data.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Progress has been madeon objectives 1 and 2 of the project. The project team's travel to Blue Ridge Food Ventures in Candler, N.C., enabled investigators to observe and engage with operators of a successful value-added facility. The facility includes three distinct processing areas (wet, dry and natural) and methods toadd value to agricultural products. The facility also includes separate dry storage areas and walk-in coolers and freezers. Investigators were also able to discuss and review the company's business model with its managers. The project team has developed and had approved by the IRB, an interview protocol for a farmer case-study, which was used to guide case studies of 3 farmers who have successful value-added activities. The case studies were conducted in order to understand the challenges and opportunities facing farmers who may want to adopt value-added processing. Three value-added operations in eastern North Carolina were visited by project investigators. Investigators toured the farms and administered the case-study interview protocol. The case-study interviewscontributed to the finalization of a questionnaire, focusing on minority- and small-farm operators engaged in value-added operations in North Carolina. The aforementioned questionnaire, which has been approved by the IRB, will be instrumental in assessing factors influencing the adoption of value-added agriculture, as well as, ascertaining the economic and demographic factors contributing to successful value-added farm ventures. The questionnaire has been mailed to a database of farmers that have been associated with the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education through other projects. Additionally, project investigators attended the Minority Farmers and Landowners Conference in order to disseminate and collect the questionnaire.The questionnaire dissemination phase is still underway and additional mailings and physical administering of the questionnaires will be completed during year 2 of the project. Also, project investigators have contacted county Cooperative Extension agents to assist in disseminating the questionnaire to farmers in their area. Questionnaires that have been received have been coded for analysisand will assist with the completion of objective 2. Objective 3, the development of an outreach program, will be completed after the analysis of the results from the questionaires.
Publications
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