Text

theses

The number of farms in the United States has been in a constant decline for nearly ninety years, while simultaneously there have been increases in the average size of farms and in the total value of agricultural output. While there are many causes of the decline of farms, there seem to be few solutions that help to maintain farm viability. This is especially true of farms in the Northeastern U.S. which face different pressures and risks, particularly those associated with urbanization when compared to farms in other regions in the nation. Previous studies have shown that direct marketing of agricultural products to consumers is one of the ways to enhance the profitability for farms. This thesis explores that notion by examining a less well-researched direct marketing method known as community supported agriculture (CSA). Specifically, the purpose of this thesis is to analyze whether there are meaningful profit differentials between direct market farms that incorporate CSA into their marketing mix and those that do not. Respondent level data from the 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture are analyzed to characterize the demographic, economic and structural features of direct market farms that incorporate CSA into their marketing mix. The eleven states in the greater Northeast region of the U.S. provide the geographic context for the study. The analysis showed that Northeast CSA farms tended to be small farms which more heavily depended on direct sales to consumers when compared to all U.S. farms. CSA farms were also operated by younger principal operators who were more likely to be female. While looking at the raw data and characterizing farms based on averages was helpful, econometric modeling was used to gain a more accurate view of the effects of CSA incorporation on farm profitability. An ordinary least squares model was estimated to explain the impact on a farms’ net cash income of having a CSA in the greater Northeast, while taking into account other factors that impact farm income such as demographic, organizational and socio-economic factors of farms and farmers. The models revealed a statistically significant, positive effect for the inclusion of a CSA for farms operating in the large family farm category. The results provide some evidence that large family farms in the Northeast could benefit from incorporating a CSA into their marketing mix. Given the study limitations, continued research, perhaps using an expanded dataset or more recent data, could potentially corroborate and expand upon these results.

ETD_7628

M.S.

Includes bibliographical references

by David Moses Oberstein

doi:10.7282/T3WD42VV

ETD graduate

The author owns the copyright to this work.