Agricultural Marketing Service

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2009 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded 23 matching grants that support agricultural market research and demonstration projects. The grants totaled $1,334,000, and were awarded to 19 States. These grants, provided under the Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program, will be used to explore new and innovative approaches to marketing U.S. food and agricultural products and to improve the efficiency and performance of the marketing system. USDA awarded the following grants:

California - $88,250 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, in cooperation with the California Association of Food Banks, to develop protocols for harvesting field-packed cull crops for distribution through a State-wide network of food banks, creating a new market for produce growers and improving the nutritional status of low-income individuals.

California - $50,000 to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, in cooperation with Los Rios Community College District, the California Centers for International Trade Development – Cal AgX, the Specialty Crop Trade Council, the Dried Fruit Association of California, and the California Dried Plum Board, to implement a strategic plan to market dried fruit in Mexico and through southwest U.S. retail and wholesale outlets that cater to Hispanic consumers.

California - $60,000 to the California State University, Fresno, to assess the impact of changes in agricultural transportation technology, infrastructure and cost on the future regional and international competitiveness of the California specialty crop industry.

Colorado - $48,500 to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with Colorado State University and the Colorado Farmers Market Association, to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of Colorado MarketMaker as a tool for restaurant food and wine buyers seeking locally grown agricultural products and for consumers seeking farmers markets and agritourism destinations.

Hawaii - $41,500 to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the University of Hawaii at Manoa and the USDA-NASS Hawaii field office, to determine the competitive and comparative advantage of Hawaii’s diverse specialty agricultural sector in the Japanese market through analyses of historic export trends and patterns of Hawaii and its competitors.

Idaho - $48,000 to the University of Idaho to explore consumer knowledge about and attitudes towards dairy production practices, and estimate consumer demand and willingness to pay for dairy products derived from animals raised in operations that use “animal friendly” production practices.

Indiana - $60,500 to Purdue University to assess the demand and market requirements for fresh fish on ice by surveying buyers at ethnic markets, traditional meat/fish shops and independent grocery stores.

Louisiana – $69,000 to Louisiana State University, to study the cotton ginning infrastructure of the lower mid-south region of the United States, determine an optimum, sustainable geographic distribution of cotton gins that will maintain viable marketing channels for cotton producers, and evaluate the impact of a graduated gin seed rebate program on farm profitability.

Maine - $65,000 to the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, in cooperation with the Maine Vegetable and Small Fruit Growers Association, the Heart of Maine RC&D, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Service and other partners, to develop a business plan and financial model for a centralized state wholesale distribution system for locally grown foods and conduct a pilot project to test and refine the system.

Massachusetts - $38,000 to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources in cooperation with the Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, UMass Extension, the Franklin County Community Development Corporation Food Processing Center, the New England Small Farm Institute, and the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, to determine market demand for locally-grown frozen fruits and vegetables and research the feasibility of using a mobile flash freeze processing unit to develop a new niche market in the region.

Minnesota - $70,000 to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Minnesota Barley Research & Promotion Council and the U.S. Grains Council’s Beijing Office, to conduct cooperative brewing trials in China to demonstrate the quality and characteristics of U.S. barley to the Chinese malting and brewing sector and develop a marketing strategy for exporting U.S. six-row malting barley to China.

Minnesota - $22,500 to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, to analyze rate competition among railroads and its impacts on rail rates in Minnesota for major agricultural shipments.

Mississippi - $47,150 to the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, in cooperation with Mississippi State University, to conduct on-farm trials and laboratory analyses to demonstrate the importance to producers of adopting postharvest handling practices that will improve sweet potato quality and enhance the competitiveness of Mississippi sweet potatoes in domestic and foreign markets.

New Jersey - $89,000 to Rutgers University, in cooperation with the University of Delaware, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, Penn State University, the New Jersey Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Association, and the New Jersey Farm Bureau, to document the characteristics of direct-marketing patrons in the Mid-Atlantic region, describe product attributes and agritourism activities preferred by consumers, develop forecasting models of direct marketing activity, and estimate the economic impact of direct marketing and agritourism in the region.

New Mexico – $40,500 to the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the New Mexico Beef Council, the New Mexico State University Extension, the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association, and Farm To Table, to determine the feasibility of establishing a state branding program for New Mexico beef through an in depth assessment of buyer needs and requirements and of the costs and benefits to ranchers.

New York - $37,200 to the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, in cooperation with the New York Industrial Retention Network, to conduct pilot projects that demonstrate the potential for New York agricultural producers to meet demand by food processors in New York City for locally produced ingredients.

Oklahoma - $47,150 to Oklahoma State University to identify key demographic differences between Oklahoma consumers who attend farmers markets or belong to food cooperatives and those who do not, and develop strategies to increase the number of consumers who participate in direct marketing venues.

South Carolina - $74,500 to the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with Clemson University, to develop an analytical model for use by state departments of agriculture to more efficiently and cost-effectively allocate state resources for promoting locally grown food.

Vermont - $48,000 to the University of Vermont, in cooperation with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, to create sensory wheels that will enable sugar makers to describe unique and positive sensory characteristics and troubleshoot for negative sensory characteristics of their maple syrup, and to train sugar makers how to use the information to enhance their marketing programs.

Virginia - $65,000 to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in cooperation with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Outer Banks Fisheries Inc., North Carolina State University, and Blue Ridge Aquaculture Inc., to analyze the market for filets and value-added products made from U.S. tilapia, and determine the physical facility and equipment requirements and associated costs of creating processed tilapia products.

Virginia - $87,000 to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, in cooperation with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, to evaluate opportunities and barriers to exporting wood products to Central America.

Washington - $87,250 to the Washington Dry Pea and Lentil Commission to foster new markets for domestically produced dry peas, lentils, and chickpeas by launching a comprehensive consumer education campaign highlighting the nutritional attributes of these commodities as ingredients in processed products.

Wisconsin - $50,000 to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection in cooperation with the Land Stewardship Project, the Institutional Food Marketing Coalition, and the Michael Fields Agriculture Institute, to address an unmet need for a technical marketing assistance program for small-to-medium producers as they scale up to expand their businesses and access new markets.