Specialty Crop Production and Marketing

The Food Industry Program is research, education and outreach focused on strengthening farm to retailer connections and promoting locally produced foods.

Research

Assessing High Tunnel Production for Organic Berries

Assessing High Tunnel Production for Organic Berries

The production of raspberries and blackberries in Arkansas is growing as more consumers demand a local supply of fresh, high-quality fruit. Demand for these fresh berries still typically exceeds supply in much of the state particularly early and late in the production season.

Commercial production with high tunnels offers promise for those producers willing to make the necessary capital investment for early and/or late-season production. Raspberry and blackberry interactive budgets can help producers in estimating the costs of production and in conducting what-if analyses around costs, revenues and production levels.

Contact:

Jennie Popp: jhpopp@uark.edu
Heather Friedrich: heatherf@uark.edu

Workbooks for Growers:

Budgets:

Presentations:

Missouri Organic Association: Feb. 6-8, 2015, Springfield, MO.

Horticulture Industry Show: Jan. 16 & 17, 2015, Ft. Smith, Ark.

Other Presentations:

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:

HortTechnology Spotlight:


Establishing a Vendor Agreement with Walmart

Due to consumer demand for local products, local producers have new marketing opportunities in large retail outlets, such as Walmart. Walmart is interested in sourcing local products in their stores. Becoming a Walmart vendor may be a profitable marketing strategy for a producer.  With the help of Walmart, CARS developed this fact sheet that outlines the important considerations and steps in becoming a vendor for Walmart.

Contact Information

Jennie Popp: jhpopp@uark.edu

 


Organic Certification and Marketing

As demand for local food has increased so has interest in organic certification and marketing. CARS has developed two fact sheets that address some of the legal and economic considerations of producing and marketing organic produce.

Contact:

Ron Rainey: rrainey@uark.edu
Harrison Pittman: hmpittm@uark.edu
Jennie Popp: jhpopp@uark.edu

 

 


General Resources

Veggie Compass – Veggie Compass is a whole-farm profit management tool for diversified small to mid-sized vegetable growers developed by the University of Wisconsin.