Commercially managed honey bees pollinate a variety of crops in the Pacific Northwest, including tree fruits, berries, cucurbits, and crops grown for seed. This activity is economically significant. In 2004, the value of bee-pollinated crops in the region was approximately $1.7 billion. Nationally, the value of bee-pollinated crops in 2000...
Food business entrepreneurs who want to sell new products on retailer shelves need more than a unique product, great packaging, and luck. Successfully selling a product requires money, contacts, distribution, a marketing plan, and aggressive selling. While many food manufacturers handle their own sales, others have discovered that food brokers...
Creating a new food product is exciting; selling it is challenging. The thrill of creating a new product often subsides once the task of developing sales becomes the priority. Sales can be one of the most arduous and emotional aspects of starting a new food company. Many new manufacturers hit...
The food distribution system in the U.S. is complex. Many players—including middlemen—produce, manufacture, transport, distribute, market, and sell every type of food product imaginable. By the time a product is placed on a grocery store shelf, it has traveled countless miles and has been handled by many people. Each person...
Grocery retailing is a big business that impacts every American. Retailers at the end of the food distribution channel greatly influence the food manufacturers at its beginning. Grocery retailers often are the only face that consumers see in the food distribution channel; thus, they are the most powerful gatekeepers between...
Homeowners have a multitude of options for pest control. This guide suggests ways to control garden pests using safe and ordinary household chemicals. The good news is that the ingredients needed can be found in your kitchen or medicine cabinet. Examples include baking soda, beer, vegetable oil, chile peppers, vinegar,...
These thistles are native to Europe and the Middle East.
Some are not true thistles; for example, purple/Iberian and
yellow starthistle actually are knapweeds. All of these plants, however,
share a spiny, thorny, invasive nature and long-lasting, hard seed. These traits make people who use or manage land for recreation,...
"The topic of market failure is rarely addressed in the literature. This report represents a starting point. It describes the dynamics of farmers' market startups, closures, and manager turnover. It focuses on two important resources--administrative revenue and labor--used by farmers' markets. Data for a sample of markets that failed are...