|
2-29-08
NOTE: For use during National Ag Week, March 16-22, 2008
NEW LEOPOLD CENTER RESOURCE SUMMARIZES MARKETING RESEARCH
New Leopold Center resource summarizes marketing research AMES, Iowa - A decade ago, local food barely registered on
America's culinary radar. Today, U.S. sales of local food are estimated at $5
billion. "Locavore" (someone who seeks out locally raised food) claimed the 2007
"word of the year" label in the New Oxford American Dictionary.
Amid the growing local food buzz, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
at Iowa State University has positioned itself on the cutting edge of local and
regional food systems research. Since 2001, the Leopold Center has invested $1.6
million in 80 marketing and food systems projects.
"Food Facts: Results from Marketing and Food Systems Research" summarizes the
findings of the Leopold Center's research, demonstrations, studies and surveys
in this rapidly growing area where food culture, economics and environmental
issues intersect. The resource is available as an interactive Web site and in
print.
"This resource makes the results of our marketing and food systems research more
accessible and useful for a variety of target audiences," said Rich Pirog,
associate director at the Leopold Center and leader of one of its three research
initiatives.
Users of the new resource will see key findings from work supported by the
Leopold Center's Marketing and Food Systems Research Initiative and related
projects. The results are categorized by type of project, from food miles and
place-based research to research on niche meat markets, transaction costs and
various aspects of the grape and wine industry. The resource is designed for use
by farmers, food entrepreneurs, local food system practitioners and other
researchers.
"In recent years, the Leopold Center has supported projects leading to the
development of new web-based tools for farmers who want to enter specialty
markets," Pirog noted. "The section on tips and tools should be especially
helpful when producers consider marketing specialty crops and livestock."
Pirog called the new resource a "work in progress. We'll be adding information
as new project results are ready." Future topics include consumer surveys,
opportunities for minority farmers and financing new farm-based enterprises.
"Food Facts: Results from Marketing and Food Systems Research" is on the Leopold
Center web site at: www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketing_files/food/food.htm.
A 32-page printable version can be downloaded at that link, or to request a
copy, contact the Leopold Center at (515) 294-3711, or email leocenter@iastate.edu.
The Leopold Center, established by the 1987 Iowa Groundwater Protection Act,
supports the development of profitable farming systems that conserve natural
resources. The Center is named for Iowa-born conservationist Aldo Leopold.
For more information,
contact:
|
