Agriculture of the Middle 2012-01-10T21:34:26Z tag:WWW.agofthemiddle.org,2012://1 Movable Type Copyright (c) 2012, Cris Carusi Characterizing Ag of the Middle and Values-Based Food Supply Chains 2012-01-10T21:34:26Z 2012-01-10T21:31:39Z tag:WWW.agofthemiddle.org,2012://1.12 2012-01-10T21:31:39Z Agriculture of the Middle (AOTM) encompasses a spectrum of farms and ranches that are declining because they are too small to be served well by commodity markets and too large to be served well by direct markets. Most AOTM farms... Cris Carusi Agriculture of the Middle (AOTM) encompasses a spectrum of farms and ranches that are declining because they are too small to be served well by commodity markets and too large to be served well by direct markets. Most AOTM farms are characterized by: (1) their size; (2) their business organization; and (3) the production and marketing strategies they adopt to remain viable.

]]> (1) Size: It is important to recognize that the definition of AOTM farms and ranches is scale related but not scale determined. Most farms are in the $50,000-$500,000 range of gross sales. But there may be farms with higher gross sales that meet the other criteria. The specific size that is too big for direct markets but too small for commodity markets varies with crops produced, geography and market.

(2) Business Organization: AOTM farms and ranches tend to fall into either the farming occupation farms or large family farms categories of the USDA farm typology. They rely on farming as a main source of income for the household. They also tend to be businesses in which one or more family members make the majority of on-site management decisions, and contribute substantially to the labor requirements of the operation.

(3) Production and Marketing Strategies: Agriculture of the Middle as a term also incorporates strategies that AOTM farms and ranches have taken to create markets that address the decline. These strategies enable midsized farms and ranches to produce and retain more value and profit. Many successful AOTM businesses market differentiated food products through wholesale supply chains, and operate with high environmental standards. They mainly supply markets that are larger than most farm-direct markets and more differentiated than commodity markets. Many but not all AOTM farms/ranches participate in business organizations that serve as product aggregators (e.g. co-ops, LLCs, etc.)

Values based food supply chains are strategic business alliances among farms/ranches of the middle and other agrifood enterprises that: (a) handle significant volumes of high-quality, differentiated food products, (b) operate effectively at multi-state, regional levels, and (c) distribute profits equitably among the strategic partners. Values-based supply chain business models place emphasis on both the values associated with the food and on the values associated with the business relationships within the food supply chain.

]]> Value chain teaching materials 2011-07-12T16:30:44Z 2011-07-05T18:09:11Z tag:WWW.agofthemiddle.org,2011://1.11 2011-07-05T18:09:11Z Agriculture of the Middle has produced three sets of curricular resources on value-based food supply chains for university-level business and economics courses. These curriculum materials are based on a set of four case studies developed by the Agriculture of the... Cris Carusi Agriculture of the Middle has produced three sets of curricular resources on value-based food supply chains for university-level business and economics courses.

These curriculum materials are based on a set of four case studies developed by the Agriculture of the Middle initiative. These case studies offer models of how mid-sized farms and ranches can prosper through producing and selling high-quality, differentiated food products into a variety of markets. They feature four innovative enterprises: Country Natural Beef, Organic Valley, Red Tomato and Shepherd's Grain.

]]> Course instructors can use these curricular resources to explain the differences between mainstream and value-based food supply chains. The Agriculture of the Middle case studies provide a foundation for analysis and discussion of concepts such as sustainable supply chain management and new generation cooperatives.

Curricular resources include:

Value Chains Teaching Materials for a Course in Agricultural Marketing
Developed by Dr. Cheryl Brown, Agricultural and Resource Economics, West Virginia University (cheryl.brown@mail.wvu.edu)


Using Ag of the Middle Case Studies in a Course on Cooperative Organization
Developed by Dr. Robert P. King, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota (rking@umn.edu)

Teaching Case for Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Developed by Dr. Mellie Pullman, School of Business, Portland State University (mpullman@pdx.edu) and Dr. Zhaohui Wu, College of Business, Oregon State University (zhaohui.wu@bus.oregonstate.edu)

Please contact Cris Carusi if you have difficulty downloading any of these files.

]]> A priority research agenda for Agriculture of the Middle 2010-05-25T17:09:51Z 2010-05-25T16:30:49Z tag:WWW.agofthemiddle.org,2010://1.10 2010-05-25T16:30:49Z From the beginning, the Agriculture of the Middle initiative identified research as a critical component. The following report and PowerPoint presentation outline a research agenda for Agriculture of the Middle. Work on this report was initiated when Steve Stevenson of... Cris Carusi From the beginning, the Agriculture of the Middle initiative identified research as a critical component. The following report and PowerPoint presentation outline a research agenda for Agriculture of the Middle. Work on this report was initiated when Steve Stevenson of CIAS was Director of the Agriculture of the Middle research group (NC 1036), in order to answer questions raised by the group about future priorities. Priorities were based on interviews with 50 researchers involved in sustainable agriculture and agriculture of the middle around the country, and were conducted, analyzed, and compiled by Kate Clancy.

Although multiple agricultural research agendas have been proposed in the last decades, most (but certainly not all) are fairly generic and bland. In contrast, the agenda-setting process described here collected research ideas from a more focused set of respondents—food and agricultural researchers within universities, government agencies, and nonprofits. The resulting agenda, developed by the researchers themselves, is designed to encourage better targeting of research on topics related to agriculture of the middle.

A Priority Research Agenda for Agriculture of the Middle
Report (PDF)
Presentation (PowerPoint)
Presentation (PDF)

]]> Case studies profile mid-scale food enterprises 2012-04-11T17:27:41Z 2009-11-02T17:25:49Z tag:WWW.agofthemiddle.org,2009://1.9 2009-11-02T17:25:49Z Case studies of four innovative enterprises—Country Natural Beef, CROPP/Organic Valley, Shepherd’s Grain and Red Tomato—offer models of how mid-sized farms and ranches can prosper through the construction of a “third tier” in the U.S. agri-food system. Known as “values-based food... Cris Carusi Case studies of four innovative enterprises—Country Natural Beef, CROPP/Organic Valley, Shepherd’s Grain and Red Tomato—offer models of how mid-sized farms and ranches can prosper through the construction of a “third tier” in the U.S. agri-food system. Known as “values-based food supply chains,” these new business structures focus on strategic alliances that effectively operate at regional levels with significant volumes of high-quality, differentiated food products, and distribute profits equitably among the strategic partners.

Values-based food supply chains: Executive summary (PDF)

CROPP/Organic Valley is a 1,000-member, multi-regional farmer co-op marketing organic dairy, eggs, vegetables and other products. (PDF)

Country Natural Beef is a 100-member rancher cooperative in the northwestern United States. (PDF)

Shepherd's Grain is a 35-farmer LLC marketing sustainably grown and functionally specified flour in the northwestern United States. (PDF)

Red Tomato is a non-profit, market-oriented, fair-trade business supporting 35 fruit and vegetables farmers in the northeastern United States. (PDF)

Summaries of these case studies are available as CIAS Research Briefs:

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Country Natural Beef (PDF)

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Organic Valley (PDF)

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Shepherd's Grain (PDF)

Mid-scale food value chains case study: Red Tomato (PDF)

]]> Why worry about the agriculture of the middle? 2012-04-10T20:17:23Z 2005-08-09T02:22:00Z tag:WWW.agofthemiddle.org,2005://1.2 2005-08-09T02:22:00Z A white paper by Fred Kirschenmann, Steve Stevenson, Fred Buttel, Tom Lyson and Mike Duffy Over 80% of farmland in the U.S. is managed by farmers whose operations fall between small-scale direct markets and large, consolidated firms. These farmers are... Cris Carusi A white paper by Fred Kirschenmann, Steve Stevenson, Fred Buttel, Tom Lyson and Mike Duffy

Over 80% of farmland in the U.S. is managed by farmers whose operations fall between small-scale direct markets and large, consolidated firms. These farmers are increasingly left out of our food system. If present trends continue, these farms, together with the social and environmental benefits they provide, will likely disappear in the next decade or two. The “public good” that these farms have provided in the form of land stewardship and community social capital will disappear with them.

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