Insights from consumer research that you can take home to the farm!
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Cross-Industry Insights
What consumer-derived lessons can we draw from non-traditional places to garner understanding and insights for those in agricultural business? I’m Dr. Nicole Widmar, and I have an affinity for taking lessons from other industries and applying them in agriculture. Come along with us here in Consumer Corner to think differently about how consumer research can help inform your decision making.
August 22, 2022
Letter
Carbon Markets, or are They?
Nicole: “So, do carbon markets work, Carson?” Carson: “I use that term “market” very loosely, because if you are an economist who looks at these (carbon markets), they don’t really look... Read More »
August 15, 2022
Letter
It’s Worth Repeating, Sample Size Matters
“Better statistical confidence is the result of more precision, and this precision is essential for allowing a reasonable degree of confidence in extrapolation of our estimates into policy... Read More »
August 8, 2022
Letter
Probability is Different Than Propensity
Probability. It’s a noun, and from dictionary.com, we know probability is “the extent to which something is probable; the likelihood of something happening or being the... Read More »
August 1, 2022
Letter
The Time Value of Money
You can’t navigate your way online, or into a public place of any kind for that matter, these days without being inundated with news about inflation, inflationary pressures and what inflation is... Read More »
July 25, 2022
Letter
“Farm Policy” Extends Far Beyond the Farm Gate
U.S. Agricultural Policy is commonly referred to as “Farm Policy”. According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS), “U.S. agricultural policy — often simply called farm policy —... Read More »
July 18, 2022
Letter
U.S. Resident Support for More/Less Spending on USDA Budget Categories
The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS)’s Consumer Food Insights work by Dr. Jayson L. Lusk and Samuel Polzin has delved into where Americans stand on some hotly-debated food... Read More »
July 11, 2022
Letter
Everything is Just Math
We talk a lot about data-driven decision making on Consumer Corner, because there are many good reasons to use data to make business decisions. The problem is that when we become data-driven, we face... Read More »
July 5, 2022
Letter
Support for Food Policies, Funding, Taxes and Laws
Food policies, especially changing policies about taxation or regulation, are often hotly debated. The Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS)’s Consumer Food Insights work by... Read More »
June 27, 2022
Letter
The Queen and Me – What I Learned about Leadership from the Honeybees
In a previous Consumer Corner, I discussed my personal foray into beekeeping. Last summer, I was challenged professionally to change the way I thought about decision-making with limited data. This... Read More »
June 20, 2022
Letter
What do Consumers Believe About Food and Food Systems?
Following our previous looks into food expenditures and the sustainability index, this week we continue with the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS)’s Consumer Food Insights,... Read More »
June 13, 2022
Letter
Is American Food Purchasing Sustainable?
Following last week’s dive into food expenditures, we’re continuing with the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability (CFDAS)’s Consumer Food Insights this week; however, we’re... Read More »
June 6, 2022
Letter
Diving into Food Expenditures
Here on Consumer Corner, we cover topics from final food products like the market and price situation for chicken wings and beef tenderloins in order to garner understanding of consumers’ demands.... Read More »
May 31, 2022
Letter
30% of Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Residents Would Change Jobs to get the Work Location/Arrangement They Seek
We have been diving into some of our recently collected data on work-life ‘stuff’ here recently, delving into how we adopted (and then kept?!) Zoom-chic (or perhaps more accurately,... Read More »
May 23, 2022
Letter
Home, Office, Both, Neither
Work environments are changing (whether we like it or not). Recall in 2020 Nicole suggested that we redefine the standards on what looking ‘awful’ means in order to avoid admitting that her then... Read More »
May 16, 2022
Letter
Consumers’ Knowledge and Willingness-to-Pay for Wet-Aged and Dry-Aged Beef
When you hear about aged beef, you probably think of high-end restaurants accompanied by high-end bills. You also probably think of “dry-aged beef”. As it turns out, the ancient practice of beef... Read More »
May 9, 2022
Letter
U.S. Meat Market Performance During the COVID-19 Era
U.S. meat markets got quite the spotlight during the pandemic-era. A full-page ad in the Sunday New York Times by the Tyson Foods board chairman John Tyson in April 2020 entitled, “The Food Supply... Read More »
May 2, 2022
Article
Lessons from Rodents (Famous Ones, but Still Rodents)
Children clutch stuffed renditions of Mickey and Minnie before they can say “mouse”, and we all fell in love with Stuart Little at first read. Then, you grow up and try to glue that mouse in your... Read More »
April 25, 2022
Letter
What was on the Chopping Block for Easter 2022?
Way back in 2014 we first reported on holiday meat choices, focusing on the Thanksgiving turkey. We’ve continued talking turkey ever since, including revisiting our turkey supply in 2021. In... Read More »
April 18, 2022
Letter
Did You Know that Flour is Raw?
Our previous Consumer Corner article, #Food Safety in Online Media Space, exploited online and social media analytics surrounding food safety by relating food recall announcements and their effect(s)... Read More »
April 11, 2022
Letter
Well, That’s a Look … Not sure What Look, But It’s Apparently Here to Stay
Recall in 2020 I (Nicole) suggested that we redefine the standards on what looking ‘awful’ means in order to avoid admitting that my then Zoom-chic self was really falling short of any... Read More »
April 4, 2022
Article
Questioning the Value of “Thoughts and Prayers” for Natural Disaster Victims
We’re all about novel data to inform public decision making and well-being. We introduced social media analytics and our use of the Netbase platform back in 2020. We then shared results on public... Read More »
March 28, 2022
Letter
Are You For or Against Online Grocery Shopping?
In 2021, four of us in the Center for Food and Agricultural Business shared some of our own ‘new normal’ practices that we intended to keep post-pandemic. (As a sidenote, post-pandemic is invited... Read More »
March 21, 2022
Letter
Everything is Online, Even Your Groceries
Grocery shopping has changed. Granted, there are new food products and flavors, varieties and packages for seemingly every taste and preference on the shelves, but the groceries themselves are one... Read More »
March 14, 2022
Letter
No
No. That’s it. That’s the whole title. Offended? Potentially you are. We are not often feeling too gracious or kind when we are told no. Children are at least honest about their displeasure at... Read More »
March 7, 2022
Article
Conversations: When Being Right Takes You Down the Wrong Path
Our conversations about agriculture and food production frequently escalate into arguments at key moments — moments where we feel we have been aggrieved, mistreated or wronged. We all agree that... Read More »
February 28, 2022
Letter
Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Now, that’s a jazzy title, huh? Turns out that it really is attention-grabbing beyond the song lyrics conjuring all sorts of emotion and nostalgia. Dr. Courtney Bir, Department of Agricultural... Read More »
February 21, 2022
Letter
Who’s in Charge Here, Anyway?
And we’re back! We’ve been having a lot of fun with this survey, and I sure hope you’ve had fun learning along with us as we discover new things from the data. We started this journey with... Read More »
February 14, 2022
Letter
A Bee in my Bonnet – Honeybees and Decision Making
Although most of us have enjoyed a mild winter thus far, I cannot help but think about spring. For me, spring means grilling, gardening, and my newly acquired pandemic hobby — beekeeping. It all... Read More »
February 7, 2022
Article
What Meats at the Holiday Meals? A Look at December Holidays 2020
Consumer meat purchasing behaviors have been a topic of significant debate in recent years, especially as individual products like chicken wings have dazzled the marketplace with ‘the best of times... Read More »
January 31, 2022
Letter
Fat Conversations (in Fluid Milk)
The Department of Agricultural Economics published the 2022 Annual Outlook Issue of the Purdue Agricultural Economics Report earlier this month, including articles by my colleagues with specialized... Read More »
Contact Us
Nicole Olynk Widmar
ASSOCIATE HEAD AND PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
Phone: (765) 494-2567
Email: nolynk@purdue.edu