Production And Market Development For Grass-fed Beef

This objective involves the survey of 1,500 grocery store managers and 1,500 restaurant managers in 10 US metropolitan areas: Seattle (WA), San Francisco (CA), Phoenix (AZ), Denver (CO), Chicago (IL), Dallas (TX), New Orleans-Baton Rough (LA), New York (NY), Washington (DC), and Atlanta (GA) (averages of 150 per metropolitan area each). We will survey full-service grocery store and ethnic (Asian, Mexican, Italian, etc.) stores, but not convenience stores. Grass-fed beef is routinely offered in these types of stores, but few convenience stores offer fresh or frozen meats of any type. We will survey restaurants including diners and upscale restaurants, but not fast food restaurants since few of these restaurants offer grass-fed beef. A choice-based conjoint analysis will be included that asks restaurant managers and grocery store managers to choose among grass-fed beef products of different attribute levels. Attributes included for the analyses will likely include portion size, tenderness, product type (ground, filet, etc.), branding, purchase price, packaging, source (i.e., from strategic alliances of specific types, an individual, or a large-scale distributor). Specific attributes and their levels will be determined as part of the project by focus groups beforehand to determine the most relevant attributes and levels. For each choice, a “neither” option will be included so that we can determine the type of firm that would carry neither product. Results will allow us to ascertain the importance of each of the product attributes, which attributes are most preferred, and restaurant and grocery store willingness to pay for each of the attributes and, hence, the product. Latent class mixed logit models will allow us to determine store and restaurant population segments with different attributes; for instance, if larger-scale store managers in suburban areas have different preferences for meats than smaller-scale store managers in urban areas, then this analysis will allow for examination of the differing preferences. In addition to the conjoint analysis, restaurant and grocery store managers will be asked whether they currently carry grass-fed beef and, if not, whether they have ever carried it. If yes, they will be questioned as to the cut of beef and source. If they had carried it before, but it was hey discontinued carrying it. Managers will be asked whom they would prefer to purchase the product from – direct from farmers, strategic 2 alliance, a local meat distribution company, or a large-scale food distribution company or elsewhere. They will be asked about their preferences for strategic alliance structures through which they would be more willing to purchase product, such as whether the alliance includes a federal or state-inspected processing plant, whether specific breeds and/or management practices of the animals would be specified, the ability of the alliance to provide a year-round supply of product, etc. Determination of the specific questions will be made throughout initial focus groups. Names and addresses of grocery stores and restaurants in the ten metropolitan areas will be downloaded from Infogroup Business Listing, which is available from the Louisiana State University Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness. The mail survey will include two rounds with an initial questionnaire sent via first class mail, followed by a postcard reminder. A second questionnaire will be sent about two weeks later followed by a second postcard reminder. Based on our previous experience, we expect a response rate of 15-20%. All respondents will be assured complete confidentiality of their responses. All procedures will be approved by the University of Kentucky Human Ethics Review Board. Expected Outcome: Data generated from the survey will provide marketing information to grass- fed beef producers and potential grass-fed beef producers. We will be able to better describe the marketing outlets available, the most effective ways to structure strategic alliances, the attributes of grass-fed beef products most desired by consumers (from our previous work) and restaurants and retailers (from this study), and the types of strategic alliances through which grocery stores and restaurants would be most likely to procure grass-fed beef. Pitfalls and limitations: Based upon extensive survey experience, we do not anticipate significant ation for the mail surveys will be securing a strong response rate. We will, however, follow proven methods, such as Dillman et al.’s (2009) tailored design method for mail surveys, to encourage a strong response.