Progress 09/01/23 to 02/28/25
Outputs
Target Audience: Organic vegetable producers Extension agents Academic community Agricultural technology companies Changes/Problems:One of the primary goals of this planning project was to assemble a team and develop a full OREI proposal. The team successfully collected preliminary data, engaged stakeholders, and completed a full draft of the proposal. However, the intended call for proposals was withdrawn for review prior to the submission deadline. As a result, the proposal could not be submitted as planned. The team remains prepared to revise and submit the proposal once the program is reissued or an alternative funding mechanism becomes available. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? One graduate student was trained in survey design and data analysis in conjunction with this project. The graduate student, along with several members of the project team, attended the trade show and educational sessions at both the 2023 & 2024 Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savannah GA. One project team member attended the 2025 Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting in Irving, Texas How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The following is a summary of major outreach activities utilized to disseminate the results of this work. Results were also informally shared with stakeholders while developing the full proposal team. A journal article based on the survey results related to how these producers utilize insurance as a risk management tool was accepted for publication in the Journal of Agribusiness. A poster summarizing survey respondents' perception of and perceived barriers to technology adoption was presented at the 2024 Clemson University Center for Agricultural Technology's Ag. Tech. spotlight. Clemson University Center for Agricultural Technology co-organized an agricultural technology and business forum that included panels related to vegetable production and agricultural connectivity An oral presentation covering the results of objective 2 is scheduled for the 2025 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Annual International Meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Impact statement: This planning project provided new insights into how vegetable producers in the Southeastern U.S manage production and perceive agricultural technologies. Through a survey with 131 growers, we gained new insight into their production decision making, their attitudes towards precision agriculture, and their perceived barriers to both adopting new technologies and organic production. Specifically, this research addresses questions related to how Southeastern vegetable growers perceive precision agriculture and their levels of interest in specific types of technologies. We obtained data on farm characteristics, organic practices, general perceptions of technology, perceptions of specific technologies, and barriers and benefits to adoption. We also advanced the current understanding of how vegetable producers engage with USDA risk management programs. Project outcomes were shared through a peer-reviewed journal article and two conference presentations. This work also supported networking between researchers, technology companies, and growers; along with the development of a draft full OREI proposal. Findings from this work can help develop grower-relevant research questions and outreach materials. In the long term, this can help reduce barriers to adoption of organic practices/certification and technologies such as precision agriculture; improve farm efficiency; and support more sustainable organic vegetable production in the Southeast. Objective 1: Identify current production practices, planning strategies, and production systems: Activities/Data collected: One of the major activities and accomplishments of this planning grant was the development and distribution of the survey that was used to answer the question posed in objective 1 & 2. This was distributed through Qualtrics resulting in 131 southeastern vegetable producers responses, where 22% certified organic producers. The survey was distributed by Qualtrics in January-February 2024 and targeted producers of brassicas, cucurbits and sweet corn in the Southeastern U.S. The survey area was defined as Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The survey consisted of questions about farm characteristics, organic status and history, production practices, rotation, crop mix, technology used, perception, risk, financial, and demographic questions. Summary and discussion: Surveyed growers were highly diversified, with the most common response indicating production of 6 to 10 different crops. When asked about obstacles that prevented producers from using organic practices, the most selected response was lack of information regarding the transition process, followed by cost of transition, and then by lack of available markets. For current organic producers the most frequent obstacle they faced when transitioning was lack of available markets. We also evaluated the use of risk management programs in production planning. Risk management program experience was summarized based on self-reported use of the following: Specialty Crop Insurance, Whole Farm Revenue Protection, and Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance. The analysis suggests that program experience varies based on farm characteristics and producer socio-demographics. We find that self-reported risk is associated with adopting one program but a lower probability of adopting two products. Outcomes: Data from the survey on 131 southern U.S. vegetable growers. One peer reviewed journal article accepted for publication in the journal or Agribusiness. Objective 2: Evaluate the producer and industry perspectives on technologies with the potential to improve and expand organic production Activities/data collected: The primary data collection associated with this objective was through the same survey described above. Specific to this objective, growers were asked plans to adopt 26 different technologies that were then grouped into 6 groups by their general function. Questions about their perceived barriers to adoption, benefits, and what factors would influence their likelihood of adoption were also included. Additionally formal and informal discussions with industry were used to help identify focus areas for the full proposal. Summary and discussion: Related to perceptions of precision agricultural (PA) technology, respondents rated their agreement (from strongly disagree to strongly agree). The statements with more than 50% agreement are as follows: "My farming operation lacks strong, reliable internet" (54%), "PA makes my job easier" (57%), "PA results in yield benefits" (66%), "The cost of PA is too high" (61%), and "Early adoption of PA is risky" (72%). When asked about the biggest barriers to PA adoption, most frequently selected response was that PA technologies were too expensive, or they were not convinced of the return on investment (~43%). This generally agreed with their response to a question related to what factors influence their decisions to adopt a new technology where detailed budget information was the largest deciding factor (~40%). 64% of respondents viewed yield improvement as the biggest potential benefit to PA adoption. Respondents were asked about technologies they currently use or intend to adopt within the next five years. When grouped by type and ranked from most to least frequently selected, the categories were: water management, input management, decision support, data collection, automation, and guidance. Outcomes: Survey results related to technology adoption were presented at a university-level agricultural technology event (CU-CAT agricultural Technology Spotlight) in 2025 and are scheduled for presentation at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) annual meeting in July, 2025. Objective 3:Build integrated team for the full grant submission, and disseminate survey results: Activities/data collection: Four individual interviews of certified organic producers were conducted. Information on the project was presented in a technical session related to technology use in fruit and vegetable production at the 2023 SE Fruit and Vegetable Conference. The project supported team networking with vegetable and precision ag stakeholders at the 2023-2024 SE Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, GA; and at the 2025 Southern Agricultural Economics Association Annual Meeting in Irving, Texas. The research team held a planning/writing meeting in February 2025 at Clemson University with researchers from different locations. Summary and discussion: Several of the key priorities observed in the interviews were related to weed/pest management and opportunities to reduce inputs, labor-saving technologies and increase yield. The adoption motivators from the interviews were labor efficiency, chemical reduction, sustainability, peer influence and print & online sources. Barriers to adoption were: cost, complexity, compatibility, reliability, and philosophical reservations. Outcomes/accomplishments: Data on individual interviews (n=4). Research objectives, researchers, industry collaborators, and cooperating famers were identified and a draft full proposal to the OREI was developed with the short term goals of: 1) evaluating the technical performance and economic feasibility of two emerging weeding technologies; 2) developing decision-support tools to facilitate better decision making regarding harvest scheduling; and 3) developing tools and resources to better enable organic producers to evaluate investment decisions. It is awaiting submission once the call for proposals becomes available.
Publications
- Type:
Other
Status:
Awaiting Publication
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
Thayer, A.W., Silva, F.D., Turner, A.P., Willis, D.B. 2025. Risk Management Program Adoption Among Vegetable Producers in the Southeastern United States: Do extreme events and previous losses matter? Journal of Agribusiness. 41(1). In-Press.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2025
Citation:
Wayt, V., Turner, A.P., Silva, F.D., Thayer, A. Kirk, K.R, 2025. Southeastern Vegetable Producers Possess Positive View of Precision Agriculture Technology. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Toronto, CA. July 13-16
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Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience: Organic vegetable producers Extenstion agents Academic community Agricultural technology companies Changes/Problems:One of the main goals of this planning proposal was to develop a full OREI proposal, but the timeline for the last submission combined with a slight delay in distributing oursurvey did not match well with the funding cycle for FY 24.We requested and received a no-cost extension on this project to meet the submission deadline for the FY 2025 RFA. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One graduate student was trained in survey design and data analysis in conjunction with this project. The graduate student, along with several members of the project team, attended the trade show and educational sessions at the Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in January. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? A journal article based on the survey results related to how these producers utilize insurance as a risk management tool was submitted to Agricultural Finance Review. A poster summarizing survey respondents' perception of and perceived barriers to technology adoption is scheduled at an upcoming event focused on agricultural technology. CU-CAT co-organized an gricultural technology and business forum that included panels related to vegetable production and agricultural connectivity What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Related to objectives 1 and 2, the main tasks for the next reporting period are the continued analysis of survey data and dissemination of results. Most remaining activities are associated with objective 3, which focuses on developing a full OREI proposal. We requested and received a no-cost extension on this project to meet the submission deadline for the FY 2025 RFA. The majority of the remaining tasks involve developing the full proposal, including team formation (producers, industry, and other researchers), a planning meeting, and proposal development.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 & 2: One of the major accomplishments from year one was the development and distribution of the survey that is being used to answer the question posed in objective 1 & 2. This was distributed through Qualtrics and has a response of 131 southeastern vegetable producers. Data analysis is still on-going, especially related to objective 1, but some preliminary takeaways are: Biggest barrier to adoption was related to technology being too expensive or they were not convinced of the return on investment. By far the biggest perceived benefit was yield improvement. When asked which technologies they currently use or are considering adopting, those related to water or input management were most common. Additionally, analysis showed risk management program experience was associated with self-reported willingness to take production risks, reported yield losses, as well as other variables describing the producer and the operation. Objective 3: Most efforts here were related to networking at the 2024 Southeast regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savanah, GA. The 5 members affiliated with the projectgroup were in attendance and met with several SC producers and other researchers. Additionally, information on the project was presented in one of the technical sessions related to technology use in fruit and vegetable production. Initial discussions with producers and industry generally showed interest around soil moisture sensing, automation, and image analysis.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Thayer, A.W., Silva, F.D., Turner, A.P., Willis, D.B. 2024. Risk Management Program Adoption Among Vegetable Producers in the Southeastern United States: Do extreme events and previous losses matter? Agricultural Finance Review. Submitted.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Wayt, V., Turner, A.P., Kirk, K.R, 2024.Perceptions and precived barriers to precison technologys among SE Vegetable Producers. Clemson University Ag. Tech Spotlight. Clemson, South Carolina, Sept 17.
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