Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Specialty crop growers and intermediaries. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Based on consumer preferences and potential adaptability to commercial production, ten individual crops for each ethnic sub-group were chosen for demonstration-research plots in each of the collaborating states in order to determine if a constant, year-round supply of fresh product could be achieved. Field days were hosted at each plot to allow growers to observe the crops under local production conditions. Since the inception of this collaboration, individually and as a team, this diverse group of researchers, Extension agents and specialists has published 50 refereed journal articles, 14 extension publications, 8 peer reviewed abstracts, 3 conference proceedings, 3 edited books, 17 edited book chapters, 77 presentations, 12 posters, 20 abstracts in proceeding, 4 trade journal articles, and 6 newsletter articles. In addition, the worldcrops.org website provides production recommendations for 20 individual crops in online fact sheet format, with an additional 40 drafts nearing completion. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Extension meetings and in-field demonstrations have hosted hundreds of interested farmers, while the WorldCrops.org website generates a constant flow of visitors and questions. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Through a series of research, demonstration and outreach activities, we accomplished a broad set of objectives that can be summarized in the following general categories: 1) Estimate the size of ethnic produce market in Eastern United States and determine the market demand for selected ethnic produce in Eastern United States. 2) Document ethnic produce consumer characteristics such as expenditures, visitation frequency, distances travelled to purchase these products and other characteristics. 3) Assess the demand for local ethnic produce and document the characteristics of consumers who are willing to pay a premium for fresh, local produce. 4) Document the evolving structure of the supply chain in the ethnic produce industry in Eastern United Sates and analyze the issues faced by market intermediaries. 5) Conduct field trials, estimate profitability, and determine best production practices and strategies that growers can consider to ensure adequate product supply without creating oversupply issues. 6) Communicate the results from consumer survey, intermediary survey and production trials to stakeholders through a variety of media and public presentations.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Kelley, K., R. Govindasamy, and J. Hyde. Using On-line Bulletin Boards to Gather Preliminary Information, Journal of Extension 50, http://www.joe.org/joe/2012december/tt6.php.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Govindasamy, R., V. Puduri and J.E. Simon. The US Hispanic Consumers Perception Towards Buying Country of Origin Labeled Ethnic Produce, The IUP Journal of Management Research, 11: p 50-65.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Govindasamy, R., V. Puduri, K.M. Kelly and J.E. Simon. Increased Purchases of Locally Grown Ethnic Greens and Herbs due to Concerns about Food Miles, Journal of Food Distribution Research. 43: p 61-73.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Ariyawardana, A., R. Govindasamy and V. S. Puduri. (2012),Preference for ethnic specialty produce by the Hispanics in the east coast of the USA, British Food Journal, 114: p 944  953.

Progress 09/01/12 to 08/31/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Farmers Retailers Wholesalers Consumers Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Planning for a one-day workshop in March 2014 What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Additional model development, analysis and article preparation.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? To increase profitability, many farmers have been adopting the move towards growing specialty crops. Specialty crops are non-commodity crops, and have unique characteristics for which consumers are typically willing to pay a premium. Niche crops are usually targeted toward a specific, small consumer base such as Asian and Hispanic population. Since the ethnic population in the east-coast states from Florida to Maine including Washington D.C. has been growing steadily in the past decade, producing and marketing ethnic greens and herbs could be a profitable venture for east coast growers. The growing immigrant population also brings a niche demand for familiar foods of their homelands. The increasing immigrant population has also led to an increase in the number of produce stores that cater to ethnic consumers. The total population of United Stated increased by 9.5% from 282.1 million in 2000 to 309 million in 2010. From 2000 to 2010, Hispanic population increased by 34% from 35.6 million to 47.8 million, while Asian population increased by 32% from 10.7 million in 2000 to 14.2 million in 2010, which exceeded a 9.7% growth rate for the mainstream population in this time period. The U.S. Census data also project that the New York State and Maryland, each with 40% of the projected population being minority, are among the next set of states to become “majority-minority” state. The rapid expansion of ethnic populations presents significant opportunities for organic and conventional fruit and vegetable producers in the region to take advantage of their close proximity to densely populated areas. Organic sector is one of the fastest growing agricultural markets in the U.S and sales of organic products have increased on average by 20% annually since 1990. Ethnic communities’ organic produce consumption is also significant contribution to the produce market. But so far no study has been made significant attempt to document ethnic consumers’ willingness to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs. The main objective of this study is to gather market information on ethnic customer behavior towards willingness to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs in the east-coast region of United States. The paper attempts to present the results of socio-economic characteristics of ethnic consumers and their willingness to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs. A survey questionnaire was prepared for ethnic groups including Hispanics and Asians in east-coast region from Florida to Maine including Washington DC and based on random sampling, 1,117 samples who purchased ethnic greens and herbs were interviewed in 2010 (Chinese-276, Asian Indian-277, Mexicans-280, and Puerto Ricans-284). The survey instrument asked respondents whether they were willing to buy organically grown ethnic produce, and based on this, a logit model was developed to predict the willingness to buy organically grown ethnic greens and herbs. Of the total sample, 75.2% of the respondents were willing to buy organically grown ethnic greens and herbs. The results from the logit model indicate that the chi-square statistics exceeds its critical value and, thus, rejects the null hypothesis that none of the explanatory variables is statistically significant. Furthermore, the model achieved 87.11% success in-sample prediction rate. Out of forty independent variables, ten variables are statistically significant at least at the 10% level. In the logit model, among the four ethnicities, Chinese was the dropped category. The coefficients of each of the included ethnicity namely Asian Indians, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans was negative, indicating these ethnicities are less willing to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs compared to Chinese. The variable AVAILABILITY indicated that better availability and wider variety of ethnic greens and herbs positively influence consumers’ willingness to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs. The variable FOODSAFETY indicated that those who are concerned about food safety are more likely willing to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs. Those who read food label and those who use ethnic greens and herbs for health reasons are more likely willing to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs. As expected, income played an important role in the willingness to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs. Those with income of less than $20,000 and those with income of between $20,000 and $40,000 are likely willing to buy organic ethnic greens and herbs compared to respondents with an annual household income of at least $80,000.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2012 Citation: Govindasamy, R., V. Puduri, K.M. Kelly and J.E. Simon. Increased Purchases of Locally Grown Ethnic Greens and Herbs due to Concerns about Food Miles, Journal of Food Distribution Research. 43(2012): p 61-73

Progress 09/01/11 to 08/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: During third year, we mainly focused on crop production trials in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida. During the growing season we began to evaluate a wide range of the most promising Asian Indian, Chinese and Latino vegetable greens and herbs from a consumer market first approach. This study was conducted in concert with collaborators from Florida and Massachusetts providing two additional sites where the same core set of ethnic greens and herbs were also field trialed. The goal is to identify the production potential of each crop, identify the problems and limitations in their sourcing, production and over time to estimate the yields and quality of these niche and new crops. To many in the commercial or research community, several of these greens and herbs are also considered weeds, others are popular to a wider ethnic audience and to most, production information and baseline data needed to make sound economic decisions are limited. From the outset, it was clear that the selection of each ethnic green and herb could be difficult- many such plants are not commercially available by larger seed companies, and thus quality control in the origin, phenotype and germination was expected to be difficult. Therefore, in an opportunistic manner, we sought in some cases to collect more than one line and evaluate a broader germplasm range relative to what was available for the ethnic green and herb. The problematic ethnic greens and herbs: Fenugreek, Epazote, Culantro and Solanum spp. showed either no germination or very low germination/poor seedling growth and thus were not included in the field study. All other ethnic varieties showed generally good growth and a full stand. A notable difference between varieties of the same species includes purslane, which saw far more vigorous growth from the red versus yellow variety across all replicates. Among the top performing crops were the Swiss chards, Indian spinach sorrel, amaranth, lambsquarters, perilla, and papaloquelite. These varieties showed excellent disease resistance, hardiness, vigor, and uniformity throughout the season and could probably have been harvested three or even four times. Both varieties of Shanghai Bok choi and purslane demonstrated nice growth and desirable flavors, however, were highly susceptible to insect damage. More specifically, flea beetle was the most devastating pest to these and other affected crops. Thus, growth of these Bok choi, purslane, tricolor radish, and Swiss chard varieties in the New Jersey climate would require obedient IPM. Harvest date was difficult to identify and, thus, organoleptic evaluation was imprecise for a number of varieties. Jamaican sorrel, garland chrysanthemum, mizuna, and Italian dandelion were among the varieties suspected to have been past maturity. Still, most varieties produced desirable flavors upon evaluation. One uniquely flavored crop was papaloquelite, which had a very nice citrus aroma and flavor, especially used in salads. Malabar spinach was another variety that produced a slightly salty, crunchy texture from leaves that were easily harvested from the trellised vine. PARTICIPANTS: Kathleen M. Kelley, Co PD. Associate Professor The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Horticulture 301 Tyson Building, University Park, PA 16802 Telephone: (814) 863-2196, Fax: (813) 863-6139 kmk17@psu.edu Frank Mangan, Co PD. Extension Assistant Professor Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences French Hall, UMass Amherst, Mass. 01003 Phone: 413- 545-1178 fmangan@umext.umass.edu James E. Simon, Co PD. Professor Director, New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program (NUANPP), Rutgers University Department of Plant Biology and Plant Pathology-Foran Hall 59 Dudley Road New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 Tel: 732-932-9711, ext. 355; Fax: 732-932-9377 jesimon123@hotmail.com Shouan Zhang, Co PD. Assistant Professor Department of Plant Pathology Phone: 305-246-7001 Ext. 213 szhang0007@ufl.edu URL: http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/zhang/index.shtml William J. Sciarappa County Agent, Agricultural & Resource Management Agents 4000 Kozloski Road, P.O Freehold, NJ 07728 Phone: (732) 431-7278 Fax: (732) 409-4813 sciarappa@rcre.rutgers.edu Richard W. Van Vranken County Agent, Agricultural & Resource Management Agents 6260 Old Harding Highway Mays Landing, NJ 08330 Phone: (609) 625-0056 EXT: 6121 Fax: (609) 625-3646 vanvranken@rce.rutgers.edu Albert Ayeni Instructor, Plant Biology and Pathology 59 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Off Ph: (732) 932-9711 EXT: 211 ayeni@aesop.rutgers.edu Peter Nitzsche County Agent Agricultural and Resource Management Agents Phone: 973-285-8307 Fax: 973-605-8195 Email: nitzsche@aesop.rutgers.edu Gene McAvoy County Extension Director Regional Vegetable Agent IV UF/IFAS Hendry County Extension PO Box 68 LaBelle, Florida 33935 Off Ph: 863-674-4092 gmcavoy@UFL.EDU Brian Schilling Associate Director, Food Policy Institute 3 Rutgers Plaza New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Phone: 732-932-1966 EXT. 3106 Fax: 732-932-9544 Email: schilling@aesop.rutgers.edu Stephen J. Komar County Agent Agricultural and Resource Management Agents Phone: 973- 948-3040 Fax: 973- 948-5582 Email skomar@aesop.rutgers.edu TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Field-days were conducted to showcase the production of ethnic greens and herbs to farmers in respective regions. Farmers at the field-day were given information about the production techniques specifically relating to ethnic greens and herbs. Also, farmers were provided with information about the geographical location of ethnic consumers. In the long-run, farmers will grow these ethnic crops and will be marketing to ethnic communities in the respective regions.

Publications

• Govindasamy, R., V. Puduri and J.E. Simon. The US Hispanic Consumers Perception Towards Buying Country of Origin Labeled Ethnic Produce, The IUP Journal of Management Research, 11 (2012).
• Ariyawardana, A., R. Govindasamy and V. S. Puduri. Preference for ethnic specialty produce by the Hispanics in the east coast of the USA, British Food Journal, 114 (2012).

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: During second year, we mainly focused on conducting consumer survey, data cleanup, tabulation and selection of crops for production trials. Based on the 2000 population characteristics and consumption priorities, we selected four major ethnic groups namely Chinese, Asian Indians, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. The geographic focus is 16 East-coast states including Washington D.C. The project team members identified greens/herbs of interest with help of respective ethnic consumers and crop expert panel review members. The team members identified over 100 crops of greens and herbs, out of which 40 were selected to represent 10 crops for each ethnicity to conduct focus group bulletin board and telephone survey. A separate survey for each ethnicity was prepared and modified based on the input from experts and selective ethnic consumers. The key components of this study have included an assessment of consumers' preferences, shopping patterns, opinions, willingness to pay premiums for locally grown greens and herbs, willingness to buy organically grown and genetically modified greens/herbs as well as analysis of the demographic characteristics of likely purchasers. The final survey instrument was adapted based on the focus group meeting results and a total of 1,117 samples (Chinese-276, Asian Indian-277, Mexicans-280, and Puerto Ricans-284) were collected randomly through a telephone survey from all four ethnicities. Additionally, 127 partial surveys from non-purchasers of ethnic greens and herbs (Chinese-21, Asian Indian-45, Mexican-24, and Puerto Rican-37) were also collected to document the reasons for not buying ethnic greens and herbs. The long version of survey includes top 10 crops for each ethnicity to document consumer demand. The cooperation rates of the consumer survey were calculated as: Chinese (34.8%), Asian Indian (42.1%), Mexican (44%) and Puerto Rican (35.4%), and with the overall yield rate 39%. The final consumer survey data was received during October 2010. The data cleanup and the tabulation were completed during 2010-2011. The initial selection of 10 crops from each ethnicity were further refined through a systematic process based on the survey results (demand) and relevant production considerations (supply) for the local marketplace, targeting at least 6 crops per each ethnicity to be included in the subsequent production research. In order to estimate the overall size of the greens/herbs market for each ethnic group, the survey component collected information on overall expenditure on produce, expenditure on ethnic greens/herbs, expenditures on top ten greens/herbs and the number of times an ethnic respondent visits grocery store in a month. Based on the survey results, the second phase of the project has focused on production research and demonstration of selective ethnic greens and herbs in Florida, New Jersey and Massachusetts during summer 2010. In addition, a logit model was developed based on a survey question relating to food safety and purchase of locally grown ethnic greens/herbs. The logit model results were presented at AAEA/NAREA meetings during July 2011. PARTICIPANTS: Kathleen M. Kelley, Co PD. Associate Professor The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Horticulture 301 Tyson Building, University Park, PA 16802 Telephone: (814) 863-2196, Fax: (813) 863-6139 kmk17@psu.edu Frank Mangan, Co PD. Extension Assistant Professor Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences French Hall, UMass Amherst, Mass. 01003 Phone: 413- 545-1178 fmangan@umext.umass.edu James E. Simon, Co PD. Professor Director, New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program (NUANPP), Rutgers University Department of Plant Biology and Plant Pathology-Foran Hall 59 Dudley Road New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 Tel: 732-932-9711, ext. 355; Fax: 732-932-9377 jesimon123@hotmail.com Shouan Zhang, Co PD. Assistant Professor Department of Plant Pathology Phone: 305-246-7001 Ext. 213 szhang0007@ufl.edu URL: http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/zhang/index.shtml William J. Sciarappa County Agent, Agricultural & Resource Management Agents 4000 Kozloski Road, P.O Freehold, NJ 07728 Phone: (732) 431-7278 Fax: (732) 409-4813 sciarappa@rcre.rutgers.edu Richard W. Van Vranken County Agent, Agricultural & Resource Management Agents 6260 Old Harding Highway Mays Landing, NJ 08330 Phone: (609) 625-0056 EXT: 6121 Fax: (609) 625-3646 vanvranken@rce.rutgers.edu Albert Ayeni Instructor, Plant Biology and Pathology 59 Dudley Road New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Off Ph: (732) 932-9711 EXT: 211 ayeni@aesop.rutgers.edu Peter Nitzsche County Agent Agricultural and Resource Management Agents Phone: 973-285-8307 Fax: 973-605-8195 Email: nitzsche@aesop.rutgers.edu Gene McAvoy County Extension Director Regional Vegetable Agent IV UF/IFAS Hendry County Extension PO Box 68 LaBelle, Florida 33935 Off Ph: 863-674-4092 gmcavoy@UFL.EDU Brian Schilling Associate Director, Food Policy Institute 3 Rutgers Plaza New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Phone: 732-932-1966 EXT. 3106 Fax: 732-932-9544 Email: schilling@aesop.rutgers.edu Stephen J. Komar County Agent Agricultural and Resource Management Agents Phone: 973- 948-3040 Fax: 973- 948-5582 Email skomar@aesop.rutgers.edu TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
This project is primarily focused on marketing (includes estimating consumer demand for ethnic greens and herbs, willingness to pay a premium for fresh leafy greens and herbs, document ethnic consumers preferences for local produce and demographic characteristics), production, profitability and dissemination of results to stakeholders. Data from both studies (focus group and consumer survey) will provide growers and retailers with information vital for meeting demand and exceeding the needs of ethnic consumers they serve. Furthermore, this market intelligence can assist growers in tailoring their products and promotional activities to better meet the needs of the ethnic greens and herbs purchaser, allowing these consumers to be able to purchase authentic ethnic produce from local farms which will enable them to satisfy their social as well as community needs. Moreover, promotion of locally grown produce reduces the food miles resulting in environmental benefits to the community. Availability and freshness of ethnic greens and herbs and producer willingness to grow new ethnic crops will also help intermediaries in the process of making suitable adjustments to their business and supply chain. As logit model results indicated, 38% percent of respondents indicated that food safety concerns influenced them to increase locally grown ethnic greens and herbs purchases. As the results indicated, distance from grocery store, number of years living at current location, age, education, income, gender and Asian Indian ethnicity were positively related to the increased demand for local greens and herbs due to food safety concerns. For example, Asian Indians have significantly increased purchases of locally grown greens/herbs compared to Mexicans. These results will help direct marketers, small and medium farmers along the east-coast region of the U.S., to understand ethnic consumer demographic attributes and influence on demand for locally grown ethnic greens and herbs. In addition, direct marketers will be able to attract the ethnic consumers by providing value added products based on their cultures. The summary of overall results will facilitate effective marketing efforts by enabling direct marketers, small and medium farmers to target appropriate markets and locations, based upon demographic profiles and geographic population concentrations. The research may lead to better understanding of eastern United States ethnic consumers' food safety concerns, shopping behavior, their preferences and demographic composition towards locally grown ethnic greens and herbs.

Publications

• Sciarappa, W. 2011. (on behalf of SCRI project team members), Presentation at NACAA Annual Conference, Surveying Consumer Preferences for Leafy Green & Herbs, Overland Park, Kansas, 8/9/11.
• Sciarappa, W. 2011. (on behalf of SCRI project team members), Poster at NACAA Annual Conference, Specialty Greens & Herbs Selections for the East Coast, Overland Park, Kansas, 8/8/11.
• Govindasamy, R., V.S. Puduri and K.M. Kelly. 2011. The Influence of Food Safety Disquiet on the Demand for Locally Grown Ethnic Greens and Herbs: A Logit Analysis, 2011 AAEA & NAREA Joint Annual Meeting, July 24-26, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Sciarappa, W. 2011. (on behalf of SCRI project team members), Agent report to NJ Vegetable Growers Association Meeting Rutgers SCRI Grant Update/Specialty Crops, Mt. Holy, NJ, 3/9/11.
• Sciarappa, W. 2011. (on behalf of SCRI project team members), Survey Results for Consumer Preference of Specialty Greens & Herbs, NJ Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Conference, Atlantic City, NJ, 2/10/11.
• Sciarappa, W. 2011. (on behalf of SCRI project team members), Consumer Preference of Specialty Greens & Herbs: Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, Hershey, Pa. 2/9/11.
• Govindasamy, R., and V. S. Puduri. 2011. Marketing Ethnic Produce to Consumers on the East Coast, First Annual New York Produce Show and Conference, Sponsored by Eastern Produce Council, New York, November 10, 2010.
• Govindasamy, R., K. M. Kelly and V. S. Puduri. 2011. Using Internet Bulletin Board Focus Group Sessions to Elicit Consumer Preferences for Ethnic Greens and Herbs, Food Distribution Research Society, Destin, Florida, October 16-20, 2010.
• Govindasamy, R., K. M. Kelly, F. Mangan, J. E. Simon, S. Zhang, W. Sciarappa, R. VanVranken, A. Ayeni, P. Nitzsche, G. McAvoy, B. Schilling, S. J. Komar and V. S. Puduri. 2011. Locally Grown Ethnic Greens and Herbs: Demand Assessments and Production Opportunities for East Coast Farmers, Poster Presentation at Specialty Crops Research Initiative Project Directors Meeting on August 2, 2010 in conjunction with American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) Annual Meeting August 2-5, 2010, Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Palm Desert, California.

Progress 09/01/09 to 08/31/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project is primarily focused on marketing (includes estimating consumer demand for ethnic greens and herbs, willingness to pay a premium for fresh leafy greens and herbs, document ethnic consumer preferences for local produce and demographic characteristics), production, profitability and dissemination of results to stakeholders. The specific ethnic market subjects of study are the Asian and Hispanic segments, chosen for their strong recent growth and continued growth expectations. The top two sub-groups within each of these segments were chosen for the study; Chinese and Asian Indian (Asian sub-groups) and Puerto Rican and Mexican (Hispanic sub-groups). The geographic focus is the East Coast and includes Washington D.C. and sixteen states bordering the East Coast. During the first year of the project, the priority was given to collect literature, identify ethnic greens and herbs, preparation of consumer survey and conduct focus group bulletin board interviews. Based on the work plan, literature was collected pertaining to food habits of all four ethnic consumers and their preference for particular greens and herbs. The project team members identified ethnic greens/herbs of interest with the help of respective ethnic consumers and crop expert panel review. From over 100 crops of greens and herbs identified as known subjects from all four ethnicities, 40 crops were selected for focus group bulletin board and telephone survey. A separate survey for each ethnicity was prepared and modified based on the input from experts and selective ethnic consumers. Key components of this study include an assessment of consumers' preferences and willingness to pay premiums for locally produced greens and herbs, as well as analysis of the demographic characteristics of likely purchasers. The survey also included top 10 crops for each ethnicity to document consumer demand. The surveyed crop list will be further refined and prioritized based on the survey results. The survey was pre-tested before conducting focus group bulletin board survey. The focus group bulletin board survey was conducted for two days during March 2010. Each of the two-day sessions, included eight to 12 consumer panelists who identified themselves as belonging to one of four targeted ethnic groups: Asian Indian, Chinese, Mexican, or Puerto Rican. Selected participants were screened to ensure that they were the primary grocery shopper in their household, lived within the East Coast region of the U.S., and were at least 18 years of age. Focus groups were segmented based on ethnicity in order to examine issues related to the consumption and availability of ethnic greens and herbs of specific interest to each culture. The list of greens and herbs evaluated, by culture, was determined through extensive background research, expert opinion, and preliminary market assessments in selected urban areas. To reduce ambiguity and possible respondent confusion, common variations of each product name were listed and each Internet forum exhibited photos of each green and herb as it would commonly be found in a retail setting. PARTICIPANTS: Kathleen M. Kelley, Co PD. Associate Professor The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Horticulture 301 Tyson Building, University Park, PA 16802 Telephone: (814) 863-2196, Fax: (813) 863-6139 kmk17@psu.edu Frank Mangan, Co PD. Extension Assistant Professor Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences French Hall, UMass Amherst, Mass. 01003 Phone: 413- 545-1178 fmangan@umext.umass.edu James E. Simon, Co PD. Professor Director, New Use Agriculture and Natural Plant Products Program (NUANPP), Rutgers University Department of Plant Biology and Plant Pathology-Foran Hall 59 Dudley Road New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 Tel: 732-932-9711, ext. 355; Fax: 732-932-9377 jesimon123@hotmail.com Shouan Zhang, Co PD. Assistant Professor Department of Plant Pathology Phone: 305-246-7001 Ext. 213 szhang0007@ufl.edu URL: http://trec.ifas.ufl.edu/zhang/index.shtml TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
The main purpose of this project is to assess the demand for greens and herbs and importance of locally grown produce and translate the demand into local production possibilities towards the benefit of small and mid-size farms in the east-coast region. The crops selection and the focus group survey results are the key factors that led to conduct a final consumer survey which will be the major component of this study to provide ethnic greens and herbs market information to the east coast producers and intermediaries. As focus group results indicated accessibility to ethnic markets, perceptions of product quality and freshness, and price were revealed as key factors influencing purchases of greens and herbs within each ethnic group. Panelists residing in more metropolitan areas were more likely to report having access to ethnic greens and herbs through at least one outlet. Others indicated that certain greens and herbs were difficult to find locally. A relatively smaller number of panelists reported traveling distances up to 40 miles from their residence to purchase these products. Respondents compared conventional grocery stores with ethnic stores and noted that greens and herbs sold through ethnic markets tended to be higher quality and fresher due to more frequent stock rotation. Initial data suggest that greens and herbs available through ethnic markets may be priced lower than similar products sold through conventional supermarkets. Findings from the online focus groups will be used to construct a broader telephone survey of the four ethnic consumer populations previously described in order to develop more robust data and information for informing producers and marketing professionals about market demand and consumer preferences for local ethnic greens and herbs. The survey data will inform planned field production trials, which will be focused in assessing the production feasibility of selected high-market-potential greens and herbs in the southern, central and northern regions of the East Coast.

Publications

• No publications reported this period