Progress 04/15/22 to 04/14/23
Outputs
Target Audience:During the current period, some results of this study were presented during a large national conference which is attended by academics, government (predominatly staff of the USDA), and agriculture and those working in related industries. Changes/Problems:During the several previous reporting periods, progress on large portions of this project (especially Objectives 1 and 3) was not possible due to COVID-related restrictions. During the current reporting periods staffing challenges continued; these have particularly affected progress on Objective 1. It is anticipated that during the next reporting period it will be possible to recruit the needed personnel and to make additional progress on these objectives. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this reporting period a graduate student (PhD. in economics continued contributing to research related to Objective 3. Undergraduate research assistants assisted with the initial steps needed for the data collection process which will be undertaken as part of Objective 1.1. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During this reporting period, some results of Objective 3 were presented at an annual national conference for agricultural and applied economists. This meeting is attended by academics, federal government officials, and some industry stakeholders. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, work will continue on Objective 1, 2.2, and 3.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this period, work was completed on Objective 2.1. Work continued on Objective 2.1 and Objective 3, and was started on Objective 1.1. Objective 2.1: During a previous reporting period, insurance industry data was objected. Review of this dataset continued during this period to assess its suitability for the analysis which will be completed as part of this objective. Objective 3: During this period, work continued the analysis examining the spatial incidence of microbial human illness relative to areas with concentrated animal production.This study was presented at a national conference, and work continued to prepare this manuscript for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. Objective 1: Work was initiated on Objective 1.1: Work began to build a contact list and draft questions for the primary data collection which will be undertaken as part of this objective.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Won, S., B.K. Goodwin, K.A. Boys. 2021. Empirical Modeling of the Risk and Determinants Associated with Food-Related Illnesses. Selected paper presented at the 2021 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting, Austin TX, August 1-August 3. 10.22004/ag.econ.312798
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Progress 04/15/21 to 04/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:Due to continued COVID-related restrictions and related market and business disruptions, it was not possible to start meaningful work on Objective 1 activities during this reporting period. It is hoped that during the next reporting period it will be possible to make progress on these tasks. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During this reporting period a graduate student (Ph.D student in Economics) joined the project team and has been conducting research related to Objective 3. This work has mentored by this project's PI and Co-PI, and will form part of this student's dissertation. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?During this reporting period, Results of objective 3 were presented during two seminar series hosted by Agricultural Economics Departments (at Virginia Tech, and NC State University). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue on Objective 2.1 and 2.2 and Objective 3 during the next reporting period. It is also hoped (expected) that work on Objective 1 activities can commence.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this period, work continued on Objective 2.1 and 2.2, and started on Objective 3. During this period, work continued on Objective 2.1 which is being led by the project's collaborators (and subcontract team) at Georgia State University (GSU). A manuscript based ont the findings from this study was prepared and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed law journal. Work also continued on Objective 2.2. Late in the previous reporting period, data was obtained from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Review and analysis of this dataset, and work to obtain complementary data needed for this objective's proposed scope of work continued during this reporting period. Finally, work was initiated on Objective 3. A study exploring the spatial correlation of agricultural production sites and the nature and incidence of human illness is underway. For this analysis, it was required to obtain protected data from the CDC. During this reporting period this analysis was obtained, preliminary data analysis completed, and a draft manuscript prepared. This study was also submitted and accepted to be presented at the annual meeting of theAgricultural and Applied Economics Association; this meeting will take place during the next reporting period.
Publications
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Progress 04/15/20 to 04/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:A significant amount of this project's current and remaining activities require engagement with several agricultural community and business community stakeholder groups. Throughout this period, the COVID pandemic prevented the opportunity to access these individuals. (Many own or work in agri-food related businesses do not currently have the time or interest to engage in non-essential activities.) Due to this, progress on many aspects of this project, particularly Objective 1 activities, have been paused until businesses can return to more normal operations. It remains unclear how long this may take. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
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?Work will continue on Objective 2.1 and 2.2 during the next reporting period.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During this period, work continued on Objective 2.1 which is being led by the project's collaborators (and subcontract team) at Georgia State University (GSU). The many depth interviews required to complete this objective were scheduled and largely completed. A draft manuscript summarizing these findings was written and circulated for feedback among the project team. This manuscript continues to be revised. Work was also initiated on Objective 2.2. The data required for this analysis was obtained (purchased) from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and some initial descriptive analysis of the market for this insurance was started. It was found that this data was much less complete and less usefully organized than anticipated; much more time than anticipated will be needed to organize this data and find complementary data for the analysis planned for this sub-objective.
Publications
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Progress 04/15/19 to 04/14/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences include government officials, third sector organizations, and private sector individuals and firms with activities and interests related to food safety risk management, agribusiness, and insurance industries. Academic researchers, and some members of the general public and media may also have interest in the findings of this study. Changes/Problems:A significant amount of this project's current and remaining activities require engagement with several agricultural community and business community stakeholder groups. Toward the end of this reporting period, the COVID pandemic started. Due to this all work on this project was halted Mid-March (about 6 weeks before the end of this reporting period). In addition, a planned meeting of the project team, which was due to take place sometime in the Spring of 2020, has been indefinitely postponed. At the moment it is not clear how long and in what ways the pandemic may affect future progress on this project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
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?In the next reporting period, it is anticipated that IRB approval will be granted and that interviews will be conducted toward Objective 2.1. It is unclear how much and in what ways the COVID pandemic will affect planned progress on other project activities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the reporting period, work was initiated on Objective 2.1 which is being led by the project's collaborators (and subcontract team) at Georgia State University (GSU). Data required for this objective requires depth interviews with a number of senior professionals from the insurance industry (agents, brokers, underwriters, risk assessors etc.), and the compilation state-level list of companies which offer insurance policies which address liability and recalls of food. During the reporting period, staff for Objective 2.1 were identified and hired. Several interview guides were developed and pre-tested for these various stakeholder groups. An IRB application for this data collection was submitted and under review at the end of this reporting period. A list of individuals to be contacted for the depth interviews was also compiled.
Publications
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Progress 04/15/18 to 04/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:While the starting date of this project was in April, the budget was not finalized and approved until late November 2018. Due to this, there was limited time available to work on this project during this first project year. This delay did limit the research activities which could be completed during this period but otherwise did not affect the project. It is expected that we will be able to proceed as planned and without change to our intended research approach in subsequent periods. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?
Nothing Reported
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?Significant activity will be taken towards objective 2 activities, and some work on Objective 1 will be stared during the next reporting period. Towards accomplishing objective 2, during the early part of the next period, staff will be hired and will trained, interview instruments drafts will be completed, phone calls to insurance industry contacts to make them aware of this project, and a database of prospective interviewees will be developed, and an IRB application will be submitted. Once approved through IRB, Objective 2.1 data collection, data transcription, cleaning and analysis will begin toward. The inventory of insurance companies who provide food product liability and food product recall insurance (Objective 2.2) will be simultaneously developed during this period. Work on these objectives will not be completed, but significant progress will be made during this period. Further, the instruments needed to collect data for the Farmers' Market survey which will be completed under Objective 1.1 will be developed and pre-tested, and an IRB application submitted for this portion of the study during this period. In addition, a whole team meeting will be held early in the Spring of 2020 to update all project collaborators and consultants on the status of projects, review preliminary findings from Objective 2, and provide feedback on instruments which, by that time, will be in draft form for data collection needed portions of Objective 1.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
While the starting date of this project was in April, the budget was not finalized and approved until late November 2018. Due to this, there was limited time available to work on this project during year 1. During the reporting period, work was initiated on Objective 2 which is being lea by the project's collaborators at Georgia State University (GSU). The data collection approach for this Objective will require depth interviews with a number of senior professionals from the insurance industry (agents, brokers, underwriters, risk assessors etc.), and the compilation state-level list of companies which offer insurance policies which address liability and recalls of food. During the reporting period, potential staff were for Objective 2 were identified, and meetings held with representatives from the GSU IRB office to understand the IRB requirements for this type of data and data collection. Some work was done to start drafts of the interview guides which will be needed for Objective 2.1. In addition, some GSU project collaborators completed IRB training.
Publications
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