Agricultural Retailers Research Articles

Asmus Installed as Board of Directors Chair for Agricultural Retailers Association

Asmus Installed as Board of Directors Chair for Agricultural Retailers Association

Soybean aphid management and perception of insecticide resistance by farmers

Abstract In the Midwest United States, soybean aphids can cause significant economic losses in soybean production. The repeated use of insecticides within the same family has led to the development of insecticide resistance in soybean aphids. Implementing integrated pest management (IPM) and insecticide-resistance management (IRM) strategies can help farmers reduce the frequency of insecticide applications and delay the evolution of soybean aphid resistance while reducing production costs, maintaining yields, and protecting the environment. Farmers play a crucial role in implementing such practices; therefore, to understand farmers’ practices for management of soybean aphids and their perceptions of insecticide resistance, a survey of soybean farmers in Minnesota and North Dakota was conducted in 2021. Overall, the reported decision-making sources were similar for both farmers who changed and those who did not change their aphid management due to insecticide resistance; these were crop consultants and agricultural retailers. The threshold used by farmers in both groups to determine whether to use a foliar insecticide was lower than the research-based threshold for soybean aphids, and farmers were aware that this could contribute to insecticide resistance. In addition, farmers who changed soybean aphid management were more concerned than farmers who did not change about insecticide resistance and were implementing good practices such as scouting, using labeled application rates, and rotating insecticide modes of action. The results of this research can inform the refinement of IPM and IRM programs as well as extension education efforts.

Asmus Installed as Board of Directors Chair for Agricultural Retailers Association

Asmus Installed as Board of Directors Chair for Agricultural Retailers Association

Face or Relational Benefits? Research on the Influencing Mechanism on Repurchase Intention for Agricultural Inputs

Drawing insights from interpersonal relationship theory and relationship marketing theory, this study investigates the impacts of “face” and relational benefits on farmers’ repurchase intentions for agricultural inputs, and the moderating effect of relational benefits on the relationship between face and repurchase intention. A survey method was employed to test the hypotheses and data were collected from a sample of 578 farmers in rural China. The findings obtained through hierarchical regression analysis indicated that face and relational benefits (including social benefits and special-treatment benefits) exert positive effects on farmers’ repurchase intentions. However, relational benefits negatively moderate the relationship between face intentions and repurchase intention. This research sheds light on the dilemmas faced by farmers when choosing between maintaining face and seeking actual benefits while making repurchase decisions related to agricultural inputs. Moreover, the results contribute to the existing literature on the marketing of agricultural inputs and offer valuable practical implications for agricultural retailers.

Frontline service innovation within an agricultural retail, trade and services organisation

Frontline service innovation within an agricultural retail, trade and services organisation

Encouragement from the right source: Evaluating the impact of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program in the Ohio Western Lake Erie Basin.

Harmful algal blooms are a considerable environmental issue predominantly caused by runoff of nutrients from agricultural lands. One high-profile set of practices promoted to combat this threat is the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship that concern using the right source of nutrients at the right rate and right time in the right place. While outreach for agricultural conservation is often undertaken by governmental or nonprofit entities, there is increasing interest in engaging agricultural retailers to leverage the trust that already exists between farmers and their agribusiness professionals. The 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program, implemented in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) in 2014, certifies crop advising companies and agronomy retailers or Nutrient Service Providers (NSPs) to promote best practices in nutrient management. This program has since grown and now exists in six US states and the province of Ontario and Prince Edward Island in Canada. Using a survey of farmers in the WLEB, we investigate the impact of working with certified NSPs over time on farmers' reported 4R-related behaviors. We find evidence that working with a certified NSP has a positive impact on 4R behaviors that is independent of other potential explanations for this change (e.g., farmer concern about nutrient loss, local regulatory efforts, and exposure to general 4R-related outreach). Overall, these results suggest that the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program is having an independent, positive impact on farmer behavior, and engaging with agricultural retailers and agronomists can be effective at advancing adoption of environmentally impactful nutrient management practices.

Factors affecting consumers' purchase intention for agriculture products omni-channel.

Agricultural retailers face serious challenge of losing consumers due to channel integration, it has become essential to provide an expected consistent and seamless omni-channel shopping experience in an omni-channel environment. Although previous literature has begun to focus on the consumer perspective of the omni-channel experience, little attention has been paid to the process of change from a single retail environment to omni-channel. By combining the research frameworks of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and the value-based adoption model (VAM), this study aims to identify the drivers of omni-channel consumer purchase intention in agriculture products retail. This article conducts a questionnaire survey on 620 samples in China. The results show that single-channel shopping cost, reference groups, positive online reviews, and single-channel perceived risk have a significant positive impact on the omni-channel purchase intention of agricultural products, and perceived value plays a mediating role. Moreover, contextual factors partially have a negative moderating effect. When consumers purchase agricultural products, the more suitable the online shopping environment is, the weaker the influence of single-channel shopping costs, reference groups and positive online reviews on consumers' omni-channel purchase intention. These findings build on the existing literature on the omni-channel retail consumer experience and provide insights for fresh produce retailers to implement and evaluate an omni-channel integration strategy for agriculture products. The findings may shed lights on how to promote the healthy development of the omni-channel sales model of agricultural products.

Environmental Outcomes from On‐Farm Agricultural Production in the United States

AbstractThis article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership among the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability, at www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. This article is an excerpt from Field to Market’s Fourth National Indicator Report, released in December 2021. Access the entire report at http://www.fieldtomarket.org/report. All articles from the SPARC series can be found online at https://bit.ly/3yVScpI. Earn 1 CEU in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

Mushroom Supply Chain Network Design Using Robust Optimization Approach under Uncertainty

Nowadays, attention to sustainable food security and health and the incentive to increase revenue, has led many governments and policymakers to pay special attention to the effective performance of the agricultural supply chain. The positive effects of paying attention to agricultural supply chain management can be easily seen in job creation in urban and rural areas, easy access to the market for agricultural retailers and the appropriate relationship between small and medium businesses. This study examines the complete supply chain network of agricultural products (mushroom industry) in uncertain conditions. The model is presented in the form of two general objectives; the first objective refers to minimizing network costs, and the second objective to minimizing network environmental pollutants. Also, the proposed model is in uncertain conditions, and to overcome the uncertainty model, the optimization approach has been used. Finally, due to the multi-objective nature of the proposed model, the reinforced epsilon-constraint solution approach is used. Simulated data has been utilized to validate the proposed robust model. Given the results, the recycling rate of the consumed compost was above 0.4, demonstrating that applying a closed-loop supply chain network is logical, and establishing a recycling center could be economically justified.

Environmental Outcomes from On‐Farm Agricultural Production in the United States

This article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership between the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability at www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. This article is an excerpt from Field to Market’s Fourth National Indicators Report, released in December 2021. Access the entire report at www.fieldtomarket.org/report. Sections covering biodiversity, land use, soil erosion, irrigation water use, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions were covered in previous issues of Crops & Soils magazine. The final installment in this series covering water quality will be included in the November–December issue. All articles from the SPARC series can be found online at https://bit.ly/3yVScpI. Earn 1 CEU in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

Influencing Factors Analysis of Collaborative Development Level of New Retail and Cold Chain Distribution of Agricultural Products under Low-Carbon

With the annual growth of agricultural products， which has greatly met People’s daily needs. It is of great practical significance to introduce the low-carbon concept into the retail and cold chain logistics of agricultural products. However, few studies have designed the coupling relationship between the new retail of agricultural products and the development of cold chain distribution. In this context, this work uses principal component analysis (PCA) to extract the common core factors that affect the operational benefits of cold chain low-carbon distribution and the consumer experience of new agricultural retail. Then, the coupling linkage model of cold chain low-carbon distribution and new retail of agricultural products was constructed by using grey correlation analysis. Finally, a new retail and agricultural products cold chain coupling mechanism under low-carbon distribution is designed. The work is helpful to improve the new downstream supply chain retail enterprise management ability of agricultural products, promote cold-chain distribution business benefit and business value, and also helps to promote the implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating and promote the country. This study is conducive to improving the downstream supply chain management ability of new agricultural retail enterprises, enhancing the cold chain distribution business efficiency and business value, and ultimately promoting the implementation of a rural revitalization strategy.

Environmental Outcomes from On‐Farm Agricultural Production in the United States

AbstractThis article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership between the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability at www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. This article is an excerpt from Field to Market’s Fourth National Indicators Report, released in December 2021. Access the entire report at www.fieldtomarket.org/report. Sections covering soil carbon and water quality will be included in future issues of Crops & Soils magazine. Earn 1 CEU in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

Which Sector-Based Bank Lending Facilities can Contribute to Long-Term Economic Growth? : Indonesian Study

Knowing which sector credit facilities can contribute to increasing economic growth in the long term in Indonesia, is the main objective of the research. This research uses secondary data as quarterly data from 2010Q1 to 2019Q4. Using the VECM approach to identify long-term effects, equipped with structural analysis to determine the response to shocks as well as the resulting contribution. Overall sectoral bank credit facilities have a significant long-term impact on GDP, it was found, though of a different nature. The positive nature of credit facilities for the agricultural sector, wholesale and retail trade sector, and the transport, warehousing and communications sectors, while credit for manufacturing, construction, and financial intermediaries had the opposite impact. A credit shock for construction and financial intermediary sector loans responded positively in the long and short term, while credit for the manufacturing sector received the largest negative response. The largest contribution to economic growth came from manufacturing sector credit, financial intermediary sector credit, agricultural sector credit, and lastly, construction sector credit. Researchers suggest increasing credit allocations to agribusiness, discount and retail exchange, and the transport and communications sectors to meet long-term goals, while in the short term, maximizing the allocation of credit between the manufacturing sector, the financial intermediaries sector, and the transport and communications sector.

Environmental Outcomes from On‐Farm Agricultural Production in the United States

This article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership among the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability at www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. This article is an excerpt from Field to Market’s Fourth National Indicators Report, released in December 2021. Access the entire report at www.fieldtomarket.org/report. Sections covering soil carbon, biodiversity, and water quality will be included in future issues of Crops & Soils magazine. Earn 1 CEU in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

Beyond Practice Adoption: Keeping Producers Engaged in Sustainability Initiatives

This article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership between the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability at www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. Earn 0.5 CEUs in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://bit.ly/3vaQSwJ. View all CEUs online at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

A Public-Private Partnership to Locate Fields for Implementation and Monitoring of Best Management Practices to Treat Legacy Phosphorus

Legacy nutrients stored in agricultural soils are a substantial component of riverine nutrient discharge contributing to the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems. These nutrient loads can persist and delay water quality initiatives, for example, those of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement which seek to reduce phosphorus (P) loads entering the Western Lake Erie Basin. In this watershed, approximately 5% of fields have P concentrations 2.5-fold greater than the maximum agronomic recommendations for corn and soybeans. Fields with these elevated-P concentrations (>100 mg P kg−1 soil) act as a source of legacy-P and discharge greater P loads. Implementing best management practices to treat runoff from these fields is desirable but finding them has been a challenge as soil test data are proprietary information creating an asymmetric information barrier. To overcome this barrier, we formed a public-private partnership that included agricultural retailers who conduct soil testing for farmers. Agricultural retailers who partnered with this project provided their soil P data and contacted farmers to gauge their interest, maintaining privacy for farmers until they expressed interest. Only 3.8% of soil samples in the provided data had elevated-P concentrations. In many cases, these elevated-P soils were confined to zones within fields, and 13% of fields had at least one elevated-P zone. We pursued these elevated-P fields as research sites for the implementation and monitoring of management practices. The agricultural retailers contacted 77 farmers with surveys, and 25 responded with interest in meeting the research team to discuss the project. Following a preliminary evaluation with the spatial data of fields operated by interested farmers, visits were arranged so that 12 research sites could be located. As indicated through the surveys, discussions with farmers, and soil data, many of the fields had accumulated elevated-P due to historic land-use (livestock, manure, or biosolid application) creating legacy sources. We conclude that public-private partnerships featuring agricultural retailers are a promising tool that may help overcome asymmetric information barriers to finding and managing agricultural fields with legacy-P that that disproportionately contribute to nutrient runoff.

Thinking Beyond the Border: Edge‐of‐Field Practices to Improve the Environment

This article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership between the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability, at www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. Earn 0.5 CEUs in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://web.sciencesocieties.org/Learning‐Center/Courses.

Improving Water Quality Impacts from Agriculture

AbstractThis article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership between the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability at https://www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. Earn 1 CEU in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at https://www.certifiedcropadviser.org/education/classroom/classes/1002.

Sustainability By Any Other Name

This article is brought to you by the SPARC Initiative created in partnership between the American Society for Agronomy, the Agricultural Retailers Association, Environmental Defense Fund, and Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture to empower trusted advisers to deliver services that drive continuous improvement in the productivity, profitability, and environmental outcomes of farmers’ operations. Learn more about the SPARC Initiative and access additional resources, including the six‐module series on sustainability at www.fieldtomarket.org/SPARC. Earn 1 CEU in Sustainability by reading this article and taking the quiz at www.certifiedcropadviser.org/education/classroom/classes/984.

How can channel information strategy promote sales by combining ICT and blockchain? Evidence from the agricultural sector

The broad development of Internet has enabled the information and communications technology (ICT) and the blockchain technology (BT) to transform the traditional operational practices and customer behavior. In the context of the agricultural sector, it has prompted agricultural retailers to explore various online resources and communication channels. However, product information and physical experience in the brick-and-mortar stores influence the Internet pricing strategy and customers’ online purchasing behaviors. Considering this cross-channel effect and sustainable digital agricultural (e-agriculture) development, this study constructed a theoretical analysis model to investigate the impact of the ICT- and BT-driven agricultural cross-channel information strategy on the retailer pricing strategy and customer behavior. The results indicate that, although ICT and BT tools provide agricultural retailers and customers with more information, a cross-channel information strategy does not continuously increase retailers’ sales performance. Retailers tend to leverage this strategy when the devaluation coefficient (customers’ quality perception for a product) is low. This channel information strategy is influenced by the offline channel cost and the devaluation coefficient in online trading. These findings on the devaluation effect can guide retailers in their channel information and pricing strategies and marketing-related decisions.