March 2020 - 4

EDITOR'S LETTER
Fruit
Know your customer
A pair of Michigan State University researchers recently identified some
key emerging trends that will likely shape the
food market and have implications for farmers,
including specialty crop growers.
The study was prepared by Soji Adelaja, John A.
Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy and
Dave D. Weatherspoon, professor, Department of
Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics.
They indicated the first two rules of marketing
are " The Consumer is King " and " Consumers are
always evolving. "
" These adages are truer today than ever, " the
researchers wrote. " The last few decades brought
some of the most drastic changes in consumer
demographics, preferences and product needs.
Although farmers do not always sell directly to
Gary Pullano
Managing Editor
consumers, they should be aware of the major trends, which are likely to reshape
the entire food supply chain. "
The key food market trends, according to the authors, include:
* " The Amazon effect. The term refers to the recent rapid increase in
e-commerce and shift to online shopping. With its recent acquisition of Whole
Foods, consumption patterns are likely to change even more drastically.
Farmers and their marketing organizations need to understand the Amazon
effect, the competitiveness of their current supply chain and its implications
for what food consumers want and how they want it.
* " Browning of America. By 2050, 53.9% of the population will be Hispanic,
African American or Asian American, 18% more ethnically diverse than
2010. Innovation in the food industry has reflected global taste profiles and
production methods that U.S. farmers will be required to understand.
* " Sustainable food supply chains. Consumers are expressing strong interest in
sustainability. They increasingly want to know that the food they consume
is produced in sustainable ways. Farmers can take advantage of these trends
by aligning their practices to reduce their environmental foot-prints and
targeting their products toward companies wishing to meet the consumer's
demand for sustainable products.
* " Traceability (blockchain). Consumers are demanding more information
on who, where and how their food is produced. Blockchain technology is
expected to be the technology that coordinates the entire supply chain while
improving transparency, streamlining recalls and reducing waste. Farmers
need to follow this technology since their information will be a critical block.
* " Generational demand. Understanding the different preferences of the six
major generations is what most food firms are tracking closely. Changes in the
supply chain inputs are increasingly a result of the analysis and dissection of
generational and other demographic subgroups.
* " Farmer-to-market apps. Few farmers have adopted technologies to better
connect them to the market and bypass traditional marketing channels. The
study authors see huge opportunities for farmers, especially in metropolitan
areas, to develop new apps to connect directly to consumers and provide
home delivery services.
* " Urban farming. Urban farming has several advantages: closeness to
a high concentration of consumers, reduced logistics costs and direct
consumer marketing opportunities. Hydroponic technology now allows
urban farmers to produce targeted vegetables in clean and controlled
environments for supply to grocery stores, homes and institutions.
Farmers' experience in agriculture may give them an advantage over
others interested in urban farming.
* " Non-traditional channels. Historically, a firm focused mainly on one level in
the food supply chain. As retailers search for competitive approaches, they
are operating multi retail formats under one company. This blurring of lines
between manufacturing and retailing along with retailing formats presents
problems for farmers to understand the landscape largely because of the
speed that this phenomenon is occurring all at the same time.
* " New and constantly changing products. A traditional supermarket has
approximately 45,000 unique products for sale. On average, over 22,000
new food and beverage products are introduced annually with approximately
14,000 of them being launched in the U.S. These ever changing
market opportunities are unstable, some of which only last for weeks, and
are difficult for farmers to strategically plan for or around. Farmers need
to be directly connected to the end consumer to maximize and to prolong
these market opportunities. "
Vote on tart cherry marketing order taking
place in March
The USDA's Agricultural Marketing
Service will conduct a referendum March
9-30, 2020, for tart cherry growers and
processors to vote on whether to continue
their federal marketing order.
Growers
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Progress cited on implementation of US-China
deal
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
and United States Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer said Feb. 25 that China has taken
numerous actions to begin implementing its
agriculture-related commitments under the
landmark U.S.-China Phase One Economic and
Trade Agreement.
Michigan agriculture sees Korson, Byrum
moving into retirement
Phil Korson, president of the Cherry Marketing
Institute and executive director of the Michigan
Cherry Committee, and Jim Byrum, president of
the Michigan Agri-Business Association, both have
deep ties to Michigan State University - first as
students and then as allies who have worked to
help advance agriculture in the Great Lakes state.
Penn State offers courses on planning,
establishing orchard
The self-paced courses provide the latest
recommendations on site planning and
preparation, cultivars, rootstocks and
training systems.
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THEY SAID IT
The lack of a research station means it's difficult to do
large-scale field experimentation "
- DAVID JONES, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
P. 32
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March 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2020
