Michigan Good Food Fund’s Post

Congratulations to John Bovay, Associate Professor and Kohl Junior Faculty Fellow, for his recent publication ‘Shaming, stringency, and shirking: Evidence from food-safety inspections’ in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. His paper examines the responses of chicken producers to public disclosure of quality information (or categorization) regarding Salmonella in chicken carcasses. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/ewpPKSZW #ResearchWithImpact

Thanks to everyone for the messages and encouragement. I worked on this paper for a long time, and I'm very happy that it's finally published. https://lnkd.in/eRcDH5Um Here is a thread: For years, USDA has tried to reduce food-borne illness through a “naming and shaming” policy for disclosure of Salmonella test results. A key feature of the disclosure regime is that producers are placed into three safety categories with no differentiation within categories.   This paper uses 19 years of carcass-level data from U.S. federal inspections of broiler chickens for Salmonella to test hypotheses about shaming and moral hazard under several regimes of categorization and disclosure of information about the outcomes of tests for Salmonella.   The paper mainly uses an RD approach. Results suggest that operators reduced effort related to controlling Salmonella (i.e., shirked) when categorization was already guaranteed because of either good or poor performance on a series of recent tests.   Public disclosure (starting in 2008) seemed to reduce shirking, but after the threshold for disclosure was tightened in 2011, results again suggest shirking. The patterns of shirking behavior are consistent with features of the industry.   The paper also documents that when producers had more leeway with respect to the thresholds, but categorization was not yet determined, their performance on Salmonella tests worsened.   Finally, it uses an RD in time approach to show that while the initial public disclosure of categories improved outcomes, the later tightening of standards resulted in a large increase in the share of carcasses testing positive, which was driven by the worst-performing producers.   “Regulation by shaming”, i.e., public disclosure of quality, may incentivize producers, but not always to improve quality. This is especially true if quality standards are hard to attain. Disclosure of continuous information or fines may be more effective.

There is no shortage of challenges for the food system. From changes in policy to new food technologies, consumers and producers can have a lot to worry about.    To consumer economics researcher Brandon McFadden, though, these challenges present opportunities to better understand human interactions with the food system. As a professor and the Tyson Endowed Chair in Food Policy Economics, Brandon aims to improve lives by helping  consumers better understand the food system and the food system to better understand consumers. Brandon McFadden University of Arkansas Department of Agricultural Economics & Agribusiness #BehindtheDiscovery #Food #Consumers #Economics

Check out the new issue of Q Open, Volume 4 (1), with articles on consumer preferences for lab-grown meat and insect-based food, reduced pesticide agriculture, dairy farmers' concern for dairy calf welfare, and many more. https://lnkd.in/ewgka6Pu

Can academics contribute to give a new thrust to food system transformation? Read the latest Agricultural and Food Economics editorial: https://lnkd.in/dzfxS7FB SIDEA - Società Italiana di Economia Agraria

Have you thought of where your food comes from and goes to? Listen to Fiona Smith, Ludivine Petetin and Nick von Westenholz discuss #trade and #agriculture post-Brexit and the impact of the UK’s new #tradeagreements on the economics of producing and selling food in the UK with Chris Horseman. 🎧 👇 https://lnkd.in/eETRVZ7F #tradepolicy #brexit #agrifood

It’s the start of a new quarter, and if you’re looking for insights across many sectors of the agricultural economy, now is a great time to check out the Q2 Terrain Quarterly Outlooks. https://lnkd.in/gxRxeR8j Terrain's expert analysts distill vast amounts of data to provide thought leadership, market intelligence, and informed outlooks across all sectors of the agricultural economy. #agriculture #economics #Q2 #outlooks #agecon #agriculturaleconomics

🌾 Explore the complex realm of agriculture through my newest blog article: "Exploring the Agriculture Industry: Its Evolution, Present Obstacles, and the Worldwide Economic Ramifications of Price Escalation." 🌍 Acquire understanding about the changing environment, the obstacles confronting us today, and the global economic effects of escalating prices. #Agriculture #Economics #GlobalChallenges #FoodSecurity 🚜🌱

🌾 Join us on May 17th at 2 PM for an enlightening webinar on the Agricultural Census! 📊 We'll delve into crucial insights about Indian Country's agricultural landscape, economics, and market share changes. Discover the impact of agriculture in Indigenous communities and explore strategies for sustainable growth. Don't miss out—register now for this informative session by using bit.ly/ICAGCENSUS! 

Just added to our blog, we discuss agricultural cycles and their importance to Glengarry's success. Read the full article: https://loom.ly/j-Xdwzs