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Do consumers value hydroponics? Implications for organic certification
Author(s) -
Gilmour Daniel N.,
Bazzani Claudia,
Nayga Rodolfo M.,
Snell Heather A.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.29
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1574-0862
pISSN - 0169-5150
DOI - 10.1111/agec.12519
Subject(s) - hydroponics , organic certification , certification , organic farming , business , value (mathematics) , agricultural science , price premium , agribusiness , organic production , preference , willingness to pay , agriculture , production (economics) , marketing , agricultural economics , economics , environmental science , management , horticulture , geography , mathematics , statistics , archaeology , microeconomics , biology , macroeconomics
Recent controversy about the inclusion of hydroponics in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic program has highlighted uncertainty about marketing hydroponic crops. In a controversial vote in November 2017, the National Organic Standards Board chose not to recommend that hydroponic farms be banned from organic certification. It is still unclear, however, how consumers perceive and value hydroponic production. This study used a nonhypothetical choice experiment to estimate consumers’ willingness to pay for hydroponic and traditional lettuce both with and without organic certification. No hydroponic premium was found, but exposing consumers to different kinds of information about hydroponics significantly affected consumers’ preference formation. Findings generally suggest that the National Organic Program should consider ways to ensure the stability of organic premiums as perceptions about hydroponics evolve.