Policymakers and industry participants are increasingly incorporating sustainability factors into decision-making and business models, affecting the U.S. beef sector. However, designing effective beef sustainability strategies requires research evidence on consumer preferences and trade-offs across environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Using a nationally representative survey of 3,001 U.S. consumers and generalized ordered logit models, this study presents findings on consumer rankings and preferences for sustainability attributes. Consumers prefer cattle/beef producer-led sustainability efforts without policy interventions, placing strong support for animal welfare and reduced hormone/antibiotic use. Most respondents favor funding support for productivity-enhancing research that will reduce beef prices to sustain the industry’s profitability. Consumers show limited support for producer taxation or subsidization-based policies to attaining beef sustainability goals.

The US role in global agricultural markets shifts with competition, trade issues, and conflict. This study examines the impact of US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ending stocks projections on corn and soybean futures prices. Using an event study framework and futures price data, we find that unexpected changes in US ending stocks drive price responses while world ending stocks do not. Our results suggest markets treat USDA as the more credible source for domestic supply information but not for global aggregates. For hedgers and policymakers, knowing which information moves prices is essential to managing risk and allocating data collection resources.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications are changing consumers’ appetites. Little is known about how GLP-1 use is associated with U.S. meal location choices and protein preferences. Using meal reporting from a consumer survey and a random parameters logit model, we examine associations between GLP-1 use, duration of use, meal location choices, and protein preferences. Results indicate that GLP-1 users differ substantially from non-users in their outlet choices, meal skipping rates, and certain protein preferences. These differences are most prominent among shorter-term users. Our findings highlight notable patronage patterns associated with GLP-1 use, with implications for food retailers and opportunities for foodservice.

US cattle producers face volatile prices due to cattle cycles, drought, and unexpected market shocks. USDA-RMA offers subsidized insurance programs like Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) to mitigate output risks, yet participation remains limited. Using a 21-year state-level panel and a two-part econometric model, this paper evaluates how risk management education workshops influence LRP utilization among feeder cattle producers. Results indicate that education workshops increase the likelihood of insurance participation, especially in non-pilot states, while subsidies dominate in pilot states. The marginal effect of education is smaller in higher subsidy environments, suggesting substitution between education and subsidy.

We apply machine learning methods to predict Thoroughbred yearling auction prices at the Keeneland September Sale (2020–2024). Our sample includes 5,788 yearling prices with pedigree data. We use both linear and tree-based models to predict log prices. We use cross-validation to tune model hyperparameters and select Ridge regression (α = 1.451) as the primary model for interpretation given its stability and interpretability. The Ridge regression explains approximately 54% of out-of-sample variation (R2≈ 0.5403). Sire and Dam Reputation emerge as the dominant predictors. Results provide pricing benchmarks and show how reputation and session structure shape Thoroughbred yearling auction prices.

Dairy farming has a strong position in Finnish food system. However, the sector phases managerial challenges due to structural change. We conducted a survey among dairy farmers resulting 135 responses, of which 25 had experience of using Lean, to explore which factors supports Lean adopting and potentially overcoming managerial challenges. Our results show that the adoption of Lean was related to farm size, growth orientation, and the need to improve labor efficiency. More support for Lean adoption is needed if Lean is seen as a potential solution to improve milk production practices, cost reduction, and continuous improvement of farm management practices.

Plastic pollution from takeout and delivery food packaging is a growing concern, especially in low- and middle-income countries with weak waste management infrastructure and single-use plastics policy. Using a novel metric developed for this research project, this study evaluated the impact of an information intervention on the sustainability of takeout and delivery packaging in Honduran restaurants. In an exploratory randomized controlled trial, managers were offered a 12-hour online course, with packaging sustainability measured before and after. Sustainability decreased in both the control and treatment groups, with no significant treatment effects.