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Three produce trends for food retailers
Tom Cingari Jr., vice-president of produce, floral and e-commerce for Cingari Family Markets, recently cited three emerging fruit and vegetable trends:
• Local and hyperlocal assortments of produce
• Produce-centric snacking with on-the-go options such as seasoned roasted chickpeas, dehydrated beet chips, and cut exotic fruits
• Functional and medicinal fruits and vegetables such as high-antioxidant berries and turmeric root through in-store education and curated wellness sections
You can read “Grocer offers 3 produce trends for retailers” in The Packer by open access.
“Rescuing and reviving rural journalism”
A recent article in Journalism Practice identified “a clear disconnect” between perceptions of rural U.S. newspaper publishers and their readers. Differences appeared between what revenue streams publishers of rural newspapers are willing to implement and what revenue streams readers are potentially willing to endorse.
Surveys among both groups suggested that more innovative funding opportunities (such as events, e-newsletters, memberships, and donations) and content updates would better serve the future of local news. For example, two-thirds of surveyed readers (especially those under age 55) said they would either help or consider helping their newspaper if they knew it was struggling financially.
“Revenue and readership: Rescuing and reviving rural journalism” is not available in full text by open access. However, if you are interested in reading it please invite our help at acdc@library.illinois.edu.
Emotional appeals in communicating
about cheeses from certain territories
We are adding to the ACDC collection a 2022 article in Foods journal about effectiveness of positive and negative appeals in promoting agri-foods. It fits into a long tradition of research about communications appeals.
Researchers tested the reactions of a sample of Italian consumers to two videos. One aimed primarily at eliciting positive emotions derived from description of the product. The second aimed to generate negative emotions first (i.e., humans’ loss of contact with nature and traditions), then eliciting positive emotions by presenting cheese production using traditional techniques as a solution to the problem.
You can read “The role of emotional sequence in the communication of the territorial cheeses: A neuromarketing approach” by open access.
How Chinese farm households use
Internet to gain business choice
Results reported in a recent Smart Agricultural Technology article suggested that “Internet usage significantly promoted farmers’ entrepreneurial choice, and the estimated effects are robust.” Usage mainly affected choices through financial capital, social networks, and attitudes about risk preference.
You can read “Using internet technology for business entrepreneurial choice: Evidence from Chinese farming households” by open access.
Organic agriculture: A fountain of alternative innovations
This article in Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy addressed a broad global shift in the agri-food complex – from a modernization paradigm to a sustainability paradigm of agricultural development.
Researchers Vincent Canwat and Stephen Onakuse identified some organic agriculture innovations and assessed how they overcome the social, economic, and ecological challenges of conventional agriculture in the context of a developing country (Kenya). In this case report, innovations have involved financial arrangements, peer learning systems, agri-tourism, pest and disease management, fertility management, new marketing channels, new product delivery services and advertising methods, certification systems, improved product standards, and others. They noted, however, that organic agriculture policy innovation remains a major challenge.
You can read “Organic agriculture: A fountain of alternative innovations for social, economic, and environmental challenges of conventional agriculture in a developing country context” by open access.
Communicator events approaching
Here are agricultural communicator event plans you may find helpful, including contact information you can use for details. We welcome suggestions or revisions for this calendar.
April 9-11, 2025
“NAMA Palooza” Conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) in Kansas City, Missouri.
April 14-17, 2025
“From the highlands to the islands: Bridging community learning and development through extension” Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) in Inverness, Scotland.
April 29-May 1, 2025
Annual meeting of the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) in Charleston, South Carolina.
June 16-18, 2025
“Say cheese!” Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
June 24-25, 2025
Annual conference of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Kansas City, Missouri.
On communicating
We close this issue of ACDC News with some Scottish folk wisdom for communicating:
“Give your tongue more holidays than your head.”
A friendly reminder:
ACDC is a deep and open resource for you, so please feel free to invite our help as you search for information, local to global. You are welcomed to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valued international collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, 510 ACES Library, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801) – or in electronic format sent to acdc@library.illinois.edu