Chairperson Julie Caswell opened the meeting at 8:30 a.m. on November 14th (see attached meeting agenda and list of those attending). After a round of introductions, Julie discussed the meeting objectives. Since our last meeting, the new 5-year NE-165 Project was approved and will run from 1996-2001. At the June meeting, we decided to have two meetings in 1996-97 focused on launching the collaborative efforts of the group. This meeting is the first of these two, with sessions organized by researchers under several of the project's procedures. The objective of these sessions is to discuss research and methodological issues and make plans for future programs.
The morning's first session focused on the uses of consumer demand models in the NE-165 Project. Ron Cotterill presented "An Overview of Brand Modeling Approaches to the Measurement of Market Power". He discussed the use of scanner data, and price elasticities generated from them, in measuring market power. Cathy Wessells presented "U.S. Canned Salmon: Implications for Salmon Enhancement Policies". She discussed the private and public uses of scanner-based data. Questions and discussion followed the presentations.
The second session of the morning was a business meeting. The minutes of the last meeting were approved and we turned to our advisors for comments. Dan Rossi, our administrative advisor, congratulated us on the approval of our new proposal. He said it was excellent and had received a very positive response from the Northeast Directors. He also noted that he liked the format of this meeting with its focus on collaboration. Dan then discussed several factors affecting research including: level funding of experiment station efforts; the new Fund for Rural America, which will spend about $100 million on research and education over the next three years; and the increasing emphasis in government on accountability. Julie thanked Dan on behalf of NE-165 for his efforts during the course of the project approval process.
Susan Welsh, our CSREES advisor, congratulated us on Don West's and her behalf on a great proposal. She distributed a report on CSREES Research Activities that underlined many of the issues Dan discussed. Susan especially emphasized the need for NE-165 to get ready to show how its research findings are applied and what impact they have. She encouraged members to begin writing impact statements for her to kept on file as a way to start this process.
Julie then discussed plans for election of officers. She reviewed the administrative structure, noting that the elected officers (all holding three year terms) are chairperson, six members of the executive committee, and secretary. Up for election this Fall are the chairperson, two members of the executive committee, and the secretary. She suggested, and the group approved, that the election by conducted by the four continuing executive committee members: Everett Peterson, Cathy Wessells, Randy Torgerson, and Randy Westgren. Everett and Cathy are to be co-chairs. After discussion, the group approved a process by which Everett and Cathy would take nominations at this meeting and by email; distribute a ballot to all voting members (1 per station, agency, or other entity) in mid-December; and announce results at the end of December.
On the NE-165 publication series, Julie discussed the switch, accomplished during the Fall, to electronic distribution of NE-165 Working Papers through AgEcon Search (http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/) to all project members. Paper distribution will continue to be used for libraries. Julie will resend the email to everyone concerning how to submit a Working Paper. The AgEcon Search website also carries all the chapters from NE-165's 1995 conference proceedings and will carry future proceedings as well. Anyone with questions should call Julie. She also encouraged everyone to distribute articles and book chapters through the NE-165 Reprint Series (Ron Cotterill is the contact person). Julie said she expects the NE-165 Web Page to be up by March 1997.
The group then broke for lunch, to return in the afternoon and through the morning of Friday, the 15th, to two breakout sessions focused on the two objectives of the project. Julie asked the breakout groups to focus on discussing research, make concrete plans for collaboration, and return to a Wrap-Up Session on Friday afternoon to report plans for future NE-165 activities such as workshops and conferences.
Breakout Session for Objective 1 (Thursday Afternoon and Friday Morning)
Breakout Session for Objective 2 (Thursday Afternoon and Friday Morning)
Wrap-Up and Planning Session (Friday Afternoon)
The two subgroups met to coordinate plans. Ian Sheldon reported for the Objective 1 subgroup. The subgroup plans a major conference on vertical coordination (Subprocedure 1.A1) in 1998. The Organizing Committee is Ian Sheldon, Bill Tomek, Cathy Durham, Rodney Smith, Nick Powers, Tom Stafford, and Mark Denbaly (others who are interested should contact Ian Sheldon). A half-day session at the June 1997 NE-165 meeting will focus on price transmission and be a lead up to the 1998 conference. A possible focus in 1999 would be on Comparative Food Systems.
Julie Caswell reported for the Objective 2 subgroup. The subgroup plans a jointly organized FDA/NE-165 conference on benefit/cost analysis of HACCP and alternative risk reduction strategies to be held in late 1997 or early 1998. The Organizing Committee will be led by Laurian Unnevehr and Rich Williams, with other possible members including David Zorn (FDA), Cathy Wessells, Roberta Morales, and Julie Caswell (others who are interested should contact Laurian). The subgroup is interested in holding a researchers' conference followed up by presentations tailored for different audiences of policy makers. The subgroup is also interested in organizing a session on labeling and certification at the June 1997 NE-165 meeting.
Julie noted that the plans of the two groups are very compatible and complementary. The group approved the two organizing committees going forth with plans for the two conferences. Julie thanked everyone for their enthusiastic participation in the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Julie A. Caswell, NE-165 Chairperson
List of Meeting Participants: |
|
Ronald Cotterill |
University of Connecticut |
William Tomek |
Cornell University |
Richard Kilmer |
University of Florida |
Stanley Fletcher |
University of Georgia |
Nick Powers |
University of Illinois |
Laurian Unnevehr |
University of Illinois |
Michael Ward |
University of Illinois |
Wes Harrison |
Louisiana State University |
Julie Caswell |
University of Massachusetts |
Eileen van Ravenswaay |
Michigan State University |
Rodney Smith |
University of Minnesota |
Azzeddine Azzam |
University of Nebraska |
Alberto Manalo |
University of New Hampshire |
Roberta Morales |
North Carolina State University |
Ian Sheldon |
Ohio State University |
Cathy Durham |
Purdue University |
Cathy Wessells |
University of Rhode Island |
Daniel Rossi |
Rutgers University |
Everett Peterson |
Virginia Tech. University |
Robin Douthitt |
University of Wisconsin |
Richard Williams |
Food and Drug Administration |
Susan Welsh |
CSREES, USDA |
Mark Denbaly |
Economic Research Service, USDA |
Jordan Lin |
Economic Research Service, USDA |
Tom Stafford |
RBCDS-Cooperative Services, USDA |
NE-165: Private Strategies, Public Policies, and Food System Performance November 14-15, 1996 Country Hearth Inn Orlando, FL Thursday, November 14 8:15-8:30AM Opening Session Introduction of New Members Meeting Objectives 8:30-10:30AM Focus on Research Approaches: Consumer Demand Models (Subprocedure 1.C1) An Overview of Brand Modeling Approaches to the Measurement of Market Power, Ron Cotterill, Univ. of Connecticut U.S. Canned Salmon: Implications for Salmon Enhancement Policies, Cathy Wessells, Univ. of Rhode Island 10:30-11:00AM Break 11:00AM-12:00PM NE-165 Business Meeting: Reports and Discussion Approval of Minutes of Last Meeting Comments from Administrative Advisor and CSREES Representative Plans for Nominating Committee NE-165 Publication Series and Electronic Communication Advance Planning for 1997 and Beyond Meetings NE-165 Activities at Toronto and Sacramento Meetings 12:00-1:15PM Lunch 1:15-3:15PM Breakout Sessions on Research Methods Session 1: Consumer Demand Models (Subprocedure 1.C1) Moderated by Everett Peterson, Virginia Tech. Univ. Session 2: Public and Private Benefits and Costs of Alternative Risk Reduction Strategies (Subprocedure 2.B3) Roundtable Moderated by Laurian Unnevehr, Univ. of Illinois Updates on Current Work Evaluation of Where the Research Area Is and Where it Needs to Go Data Development Activities Planning a Workshop for Professional Audiences Planning How Best to Disseminate Results to Policy Makers 3:15-3:45PM Break 3:45-5:00PM Breakout Sessions on Research Plans Session 1: Objective 1 "To analyze the impacts of changes in strategies, technologies, consumer behavior, and policies on the economic performance of the food system." Session Moderator: Ron Cotterill, Univ. of Connecticut Session 2: Objective 2 "To provide economic analysis of private and public strategies in order to assess their impact on improvement in food safety and other quality attributes." Session Moderator: Julie Caswell, Univ. of Massachusetts Friday, November 15 8:30AM-12:00PM Breakout Sessions (Note: A break will be served at 10:00AM) Session 1: Research Roundtable on Procedure 1 Session Moderators: Ronald Cotterill and Everett Peterson Session 2: Focus on: Risk Perception and Information (Subprocedure 2.A1) Session Moderators: Robin Douthitt and Eileen van Ravenswaay A Nation-Wide Survey of Consumer Food Risk Perceptions with Special Emphasis on Biotechnology Food Applications, Robin Douthitt, Univ. of Wisconsin Aspects of Consumer Perceptions of Foodborne Microbiological Health Risks, Jordan Lin, Economic Research Service Measuring Risk Learning, Eileen van Ravenswaay Consumer Preferences for Information on Fresh Salmon: A Rank-Ordered Logit Analysis of a Conjoint Experiment, Cathy Wessells, Univ. of Rhode Island 12:00-1:15PM Lunch 1:15-2:30PM Reports from Breakout Sessions, Wrap Up of Business and Planning 2:30PM Meeting Adjourned