Allen F. Wysocki

Quantifying Strategic Choice Along the Vertical Coordination Continuum

Given the increasing emergence of highly integrated agri-food supply chains, a key question arises as to how to measure the performance of these chains. This chapter postulates that agri-food supply-chain performance can be best understood with the help of three separate, but related phenomena: the individual firm’s desire to participate in the supply chain; the governance structure of the whole chain; and the application of industrial organization and institutional economic theory. The Peterson, Wysocki and Harsh (PWH) model of vertical coordination strategy selection is provided. A brief overview of the various forms that agri-food chains may take on and a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding agrifood chain performance are offered, including channel master, chain web and chain organism. The chapter ends with research challenges still needing to be addressed including the limited access to information and measurement issues. We conclude that the PWH model, learning supply-chain governance structures, and application of additional economic theories model can be useful in understanding and measuring performance in agri-food chains.

Student Perceptions of Online Distance Education in Undergraduate Agricultural Economic Programs

Undergraduate Food and Resource Economics majors and those with different majors were surveyed to determine the perceived advantages and disadvantages of distance and online education courses from a student perspective. Specific objectives included determining if students who have been exposed to more online courses are more likely to rate online education as positive or negative relative to the traditional classroom setting. In general, Food and Resource Economics majors tended to view distance and online education courses less favorably than did the others.

Development of a Distance Education Program by a Land-Grant University Augments the 2-Year to 4-Year STEM Pipeline and Increases Diversity in STEM

Although initial interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is high, recruitment and retention remains a challenge, and some populations are disproportionately underrepresented in STEM fields. To address these challenges, the Microbiology and Cell Science Department in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Florida has developed an innovative 2+2 degree program. Typical 2+2 programs begin with a student earning an associate’s degree at a local community college and then transferring to a 4-year institution to complete a bachelor’s degree. However, many universities in the United States, particularly land-grant universities, are located in rural regions that are distantly located from their respective states’ highly populated urban centers. This geographical and cultural distance could be an impediment to recruiting otherwise highly qualified and diverse students. Here, a new model of a 2+2 program is described that uses distance education as the vehicle to bring a research-intensive university’s life sciences curriculum to students rather than the oft-tried model of a university attempting to recruit underrepresented minority students to its location. In this paradigm, community college graduates transfer into the Microbiology and Cell Science program as distance education students to complete their Bachelor of Science degree. The distance education students’ experiences are similar to the on-campus students’ experiences in that both groups of students take the same department courses taught by the same instructors, take required laboratory courses in a face-to-face format, take only proctored exams, and have the same availability to instructors. Data suggests that a hybrid online transfer program may be a viable approach to increasing STEM participation (as defined by enrollment) and diversity. This approach is particularly compelling as the distance education cohort has comparable grade point averages and retention rates compared to the corresponding on-campus transfer cohort.

Local and Regional Food Systems in Florida: Values and Economic Impacts

A survey of 1599 randomly selected Florida households was conducted in 2012 to evaluate the consumer characteristics and economic impacts of local food purchases through retail stores, restaurants, and direct-to-consumer market channels. The total annual value of local food purchases averaged

A Functional Evaluation of Business Models in Fresh Produce in the United States

1114 per household and represented 20.1% of food purchased for at-home consumption. The total economic impacts of local food purchases in Florida were estimated at 183,625 jobs and

Strategic choice along the vertical coordination continuum

10.47 billion in value-added, including regional multiplier effects for agricultural production and wholesale and retail distribution. These values are significantly higher than found in previous studies in other states.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Agri-Food System

Marketing in the food system has at least three broad categories: physical functions, exchange functions, and facilitating functions. Physical functions include those activities that alter the form or place utility of produce. Form utility refers to the appearance the produce will have. Manufacturing, processing, and packaging create additional value for the consumer that prefers the product in an altered state. Place utility refers to the time and location at which the produce is consumed. Some degree of physical transportation and storage is used in selling fresh produce. Exchange functions are activities related to the possession utility of a product. Individuals or firms with knowledge of buyers and sellers can facilitate exchange between these two groups. Buyers and sellers must agree on setting a price for the product and ownership transfer. Fluctuation risks are borne by the owner. In the case of fresh produce, facilitating functions can be thought of as the actions that allow the system to function at peak efficiency. Such types of actions provide conduits for information and capital flows in the produce supply chain. Private firms, government, and industry groups have all historically served in facilitating roles for fresh produce. Standards and grades can ensure the flow of uniform products; financing provides the capital needed to operate the system; market intelligence can drive competition and communication efforts serve to inform the final consumer.