PDA Presents Ag Research Symposium II
(Continued from Pago A 29)
some are more user-specific than
others.
For example, under develop
ment by the St. Joseph’s Universi
ty Center for Food Marketing, Dr.
Nancy Childs gave an overview ol
a project, “Pennsylvania Feeds
The World: An Export Guide To
International Markets.”
Childs is an associate professor
of food marketing, and she dis
cussed the goal of the project to
provide vastly increased opportun
ities for export marketing for all
sizes of operations.
Started in October 1998,
according to Childs the project is
to provide three tangibles: a hard
copy reference guide that is to
serve as an export primer, an inter
active Website on the world wide
web to link producers and buyers;
and an advisory board to maintain
direction and focus for the
program.
“This project will provide assis
tance and guidance to make the
export process easier and to iden
tity new and expanded value
added expat opportunities,” she
said.
She said the web site is to pro
vide access to information accord
ing to export opportunity, geogra
phy, and commodity.
In more common terms, an
“export opportunity” is cssentailly
notice of a request for information
about suppliers of services and
commodities, or notice of a pend
ing export sale; “geography"
relates to location of production
facilities to shipping ports as well
as other producers; and “commod
ity” is self-explanatory.
hr a nutshell, the project is
designed to bring together as much
information as possible, in as easy
to use a format as possible, to
allow those seeking or contemplat
ing exporting opportunities to
“identify, evaluate, and access
markets for existing products.”
The concept is that through the
interaction, it should be feasible
for agricultural, forest product and
food processing businesses to
work together to seek out and fill
orders for export.
In effect, it is to serve as a catal
yst for trade, because it is to serve
as a high-tech meeting place for
those wanting to buy, sell, and per
haps coordinate sales efforts.
Coordinating sales efforts could
include such scenarios as a group
of cattle breeders meeting through
the web page to discover a buyer
for cattle and through cooperation
provide enough animals to meet
the order.
Given the tight introductions
and the luck to discover a market
(buyer), it should be possible for
different producers of the same
product to share in production
strength and to coordinate efforts
on meeting needs for a sale.
As well, associated businesses
not necessarily associated with the
main sale, may be able to become
involved through “value-added”
types of business deals.
A “risk assessment matrix” has
been created as well.
This “matrix” uses a number of
indicators of conditions that could
affect exporting success, and that
could suggest high risk such as
the existance of armed conflict,
terrorism, economic stability, the
form of government and the reg
ulations of the country where the
buyer is based, as well as any perti
nent and available history on sol
vency of the buyer and past
dealings.
The matrix also includes assess
ments of existing market competi
tors, so that those contemplating
exporting to certain markets can
know what they are up against
For example, a small com syrup
manufacture may not want to com
pete against Archer-Daniels Mid
land, but depending on strategies
and abilities to work around per
ceived weaknesses in ADM’s
market supply operation, a small
business could very well take over
as supplier, or supplement it by
offering something slightly more
desirable to that market.
According to Childs, “The
advisory board’s role is to keep the
program on track, to understand
insights into practical, technical,
and regulatory impasses to
exporting.”
Hie project involves a number
of people and disciplines, and its
$325,600 cost has the potential for
a 15:1 return on investment,
according to Childs.
As it is, the amount invested in
the project, compared to the gross
receipts of 1997 Pennsylvania
forestry and food exports, repre
sents .03 percent
A chart supplied by Childs
shows the projected timeline for
accomplishment. The goal is to
have the hardcopy export manual
and web site ready for use in June
2000.
A market risk assessment, and a
competitor assessment is to be
completed in December.
PDA provided synopses of the
other presentations:
• Economic Impact of Pen
nsylvania agriculture
According to Dr. Charles Abdal
la, growth of Pennsylvania’s rural
population is creating change and
placing pressure on agriculture,
the rapidity of this change may
find local communities without
sufficient informational resources
about the economic impact of agri
culture on the community when
making decisions that affect the
industry. Dr. Abdalla’s research is
designed to develop an economic
Lancaster Farming, Saturday July, 3, 19M-A3l
model that will increase the body
of facts about the role of agricul
ture in rural communities and lend
to improved decisions by com
munity officials.
• Alternative Dispute Resolu
tion Conducted by Dr. John
Becker with the Penn State Uni
versity Department of Agriculture
and Rural Affairs. As suburban
development and traditional pro
duction agricultural zones come
into contact, it has become all too
common for conflict to develop
between two communities. Becker
has been developing model strate
gies that communities can use to
help resolve disputes.
• Abatement of Agriculture
Odors Conducted by Dr.
Charles Wysocki, of the Monell
Chemical Senses Center. Odors
from agricultural activities is a
common source of conflict. Ongo
ing research is designed to develop
a practical and economic program
to ameliorate the odors.
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