Specialty Crop Policy Options and Consequences: Metropolitan Growth and the Specialty Crops Industri - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Specialty Crop Policy Options and Consequences: Metropolitan Growth and the Specialty Crops Industri

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'Farming in the City's Shadow,' Heimlich and Brooks, ERS, (1989) ... quality and safety, distrust of 'factory agriculture,' and interest in farmland protection ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Specialty Crop Policy Options and Consequences: Metropolitan Growth and the Specialty Crops Industri


1
Specialty Crop Policy Options and Consequences
Metropolitan Growth and the Specialty Crops
Industries in the U.S.
The Cornell Team Jerry White Nelson Bills Brent
Gloy Wen-fei Uva Mei-Luan Cheng Department of
Applied Economics and Management
2
Problem Identification-alternative views of
farming in Metro areas
  • Farming on the Edge, American Farmland Trust
    (ca. 1990). Haphazard urban growth is
    threatening an important part of American
    agriculture
  • Farming in the Citys Shadow, Heimlich and
    Brooks, ERS, (1989)
  • Emerging trends in metro agriculture present
    growers of specialty crops with new alternatives
    and opportunities. This is extremely important
    for the Northeast (with 6 of land area, 22 of
    population)

3
Our Definition of Specialty Crops
  • Fruits fruits, tree nuts, and berries
  • Vegetables vegetables, melons, potatoes and
    sweet potatoes
  • Nursery and Greenhouse Crops bedding plants,
    bulbs, cut flowers, flower seeds, foliage plants,
    mushrooms, nursery potted plants, nursery stock,
    live Christmas trees, tobacco transplants, sod,
    etc.

4
Definition of Metropolitan Statistical Areas
(MSA)
  • MSAs are now defined as counties with a densely
    settled urbanized area containing a population of
    50,000 or more, along with outlaying counties
    economically and socially connected to it
  • Outlaying counties are included if 25 or more of
    its workers commute to the urban core
  • The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) makes
    the MSA designations and periodically revises
    them
  • In 2005, OMB also began designating micropolitan
    areasnonmetro counties with an urbanized area of
    at least 10,000 persons or more

5
2002 U.S Agricultural Production in Metropolitan
Counties
2002 Census of Agriculture
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Sales of Specialty Crops in the Northeast U.S. by
Metro Status, 2002
2002 Census of Agriculture
10
Average Farm Size and Average Sales by Metro
Status, 2002
11
Advantages of Metro areas for production of
specialty crops
  • Close to the consumer gt opportunities for direct
    marketing. In these markets, producers are
    favored by consumers environmental awareness,
    concern for food quality and safety, distrust of
    factory agriculture, and interest in farmland
    protection
  • Opportunities to provide more freshness and
    quality in produce
  • Certain green industry firms benefit from being
    near to suburban development (e.g. bedding plant
    producers, sod producers, nurseries)

12
Advantages of Metro areas for production of
specialty crops
  • Rising metro land values increase producers
    equitygtopportunities to invest in high value
    crops, i.e. specialty crops
  • Producers can generate adequate income with
    small acreages
  • Metro areas provide better opportunities for
    off-farm employment for spouses of producers or
    for part time producers

13
Policy options that are well suited to specialty
crops farms
  • Farm savings accounts with a government match or
    tax deferred incentives (or both)
  • Subsidized crop/revenue insurance (such as AGR
    and AGR-Lite)
  • Incentive payments for traceability programs,
    food safety programs, organic production, and
    payments tailored to smaller family farms

14
Policy options for specialty crops
  • There is generally strong support for
    conservation type programs that are better
    tailored for Specialty Crops resource situations

15
Other comments on policy options
  • In general, specialty crops interests in the
    Northeast ARE NOT in favor of traditional program
    crop policy instruments such as price supports,
    deficiency payments, counter-cyclical payments,
    etc.
  • There were mixed results regarding disaster
    assistance.  Specialty Crops interests see the
    need for a continuation of disaster assistance
    (according to the results of our survey). 
  • There is, however, a strong minority who view
    disaster assistance as being ad hoc, making it
    difficult for producers to make rational business
    planning decisions about risk management.

16
Final Thought on Policy Options
  • Our analysis suggests that if programs are
    primarily directed toward traditional program
    crops, and hence mostly toward non-metro areas,
    farm programs DO NOT have an impact on an
    important component of American agriculture!

17
Contact Information
  • Prof. Gerald B. White
  • Tel 607-255-2299
  • E-mail gbw2_at_cornell.edu
  • Web access to bulletins
  • http//www.aem.cornell.edu/research/sp.htm
    (Staff Papers 06-01 and 06-03)
  • http//www.aem.cornell.edu/research/
  • researchpdf/rb0603.pdf
  • (Research Bulletin 06-03)
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