Transportation and Marketing

Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program

Fiscal Year 2021 Description of Funded Projects

Number of Grants Awarded: 5

Amount of Funds Awarded: $1,093,631.00 

For more information, please visit the grant program's website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/fsmip

NOTE: The below project descriptions were provided by the grant recipients.

New York

Recipient: Cornell University

Project Type: Cooperative Development

Award Amount: $250,000.00

Match Amount: $250,000.00

Total Project Amount: $500,000.00

A New Dawn for Shepherds: Grazing Sheep Under Utility-Scale Solar Arrays

Cornell University’s goal is increase cooperation among producers and industry organizations by 

examining the needs and opportunities of a cooperatively structured business or multi-producer owned 

organization to provide coordination and logistical services for farmers grazing sheep under solar arrays.

The project further investigates the potential benefit that can be derived by farmers joining together to 

market lamb and further explores the price enhancement derived from a value-added, branded product 

labelled as “produced under solar arrays.” The New Dawn project area will focus on New York, 

Pennsylvania, and the New England states to expedite project management and cost control. The 

outcomes derived from the project will be useful to sheep farmers throughout the United States.

Tennessee

Recipient: University of Tennessee

Project Type: Market Development

Award Amount: $219,218.00

Match Amount: $219,218.00

Total Project Amount: $438,436.00

Quantifying Consumer Preferences, Valuation, and Marching Channel Effectiveness for the Pick 

Tennessee Products Program

University of Tennessee is partnering with Tennessee Department of Agriculture to help add value to 

Tennessee’s agriculture and forestry industries by providing information to aid in effective promotion of 

the products and services that participate in the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s (TDA) Pick 
Tennessee Products (PTP) Program. Objectives to address this overall project goal are: 1) develop 

market profiles of PTP core customers based on demographics, perceptions, and motivations; 2) 

estimate willingness-to-pay (WTP) for PTP in key product categories using example products; 3) provide 

assessment of effectiveness of various marketing channels in reaching the core customers, building 

brand awareness, and generating value for Tennessee producers; and 4) disseminate results by 

providing outreach and education materials to Tennessee producers about opportunities related to 

participation in the PTP Program and value it could add to their products based on consumer research. 

An online consumer choice survey will assess Tennessee consumers’ awareness of PTP and WTP for PTP 

in several key product categories. In addition, an eye-tracking study will evaluate how different 

promotion content impacts consumer preferences for products in the PTP Program. Results will aid in 

developing a digital marketing campaign which will be launched during the study and consumer online 

traffic will be measured. A second post-campaign survey will provide measures of campaign awareness, 

PTP awareness, and WTP. Results will aid future marketing efforts related to the PTP Program by 

identifying core consumer demographics and perceptions allowing for better target marketing strategies 

to these customers.

Texas

Recipient: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

Project Type: Market Development

Award Amount: $249,962.00

Match Amount: $249,962.00

Total Project Amount: $499,924.00

Increasing Sales by Promoting the Attributes of Pecan through a Systematic Science-Based Marketing 

Strategy

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s main goal is to quantify the potential economic benefits of promoting 

evidence-based health benefits and taste-related attributes of pecans. The results of this quantitative 

evaluation will serve as a basis to propose a plan that systematized the promotion and marketing 

practices in the pecan industry, which will have the potential to be expanded to the entire specialty crop 

industry. With this goal in mind, they propose the following objectives: To develop health-and tasterelated information based on scientific evidence and ongoing industry marketing efforts; to assess 

consumer preferences and producer benefits from selling pecan products varying heath- and tasterelated information; to evaluate the effect of heath- and taste-related information on actual sales and to 

develop a systematic science-based marketing plan based on the generated evidence and the 

experience of partnership with industry. The conclusions of this study can be used to enhance the 

already successful programs developed by the pecan industry for marketing messages to increase sales. 

The outcome and experience of this academic-private industry partnership will serve as a basis to 

develop a systematic marketing strategy that can inform producers/retailers of other specialty crops 

about how to potentially improve sales. 

Virginia

Recipient: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Project Type: Market Development

Award Amount: $245,855.00

Match Amount: $245,855.00
Total Project Amount: $491,710.00

Eliminating marketing barriers to support the transition from methyl bromide fumigation to vacuum 

and steam treatment technology: The Case for Export Logs

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University’s goal is to support the transition from methyl 

bromide (MB) fumigation to non-chemical phytosanitary treatment methods for the treatment of export 

logs (value of $1.2 billion in 2020) and other agricultural products. Over the last 10 years, the U.S. has 

started to focus on the gradual elimination of ozone-depleting chemicals like MB for phytosanitary 

treatment. A Virginia Tech (VT) team developed an effective alternative to MB using vacuum and steam 

technology. Today, the solution has been brought to the market and is available for commercial use. The 

research team will conduct a study to identify the most feasible location for a vacuum and steam 

treatment facility in Virginia. This location will also serve West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North 

Carolina, and South Carolina. The team will visit log importers and phytosanitary authorities in China and 

Japan to capture barriers and drivers of this new technology from their perspective. These countries 

represent 86% of the U.S. export log market. The outputs of this project will be highly beneficial not only 

to the export log industry but to other agricultural commodities that can be treated using steam and 

vacuum such as fruits, vegetables, cotton, rice, straw, and seeds. In addition, using environmentally 

friendly treatment technologies would help gain market penetration in alternative markets such as the 

European Union.

Vermont

Recipient: Vermont Agency of Agriculture

Project Type: Market Development

Award Amount: $128,596.00

Match Amount: $152,680.00

Total Project Amount: $281,276.00

Market Development through Business Education

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Market’s (VAAFM) goal is to assist producers in increasing 

sales through education of how to operate in and interact with critical market channels. By focusing on 

three key channels – direct to consumer, local, and regional/national – VAAFM will be able to support 

the broadest array of businesses who will benefit from a deeper understanding of tactics to increase 

sales and consumer connection. Business owners will receive services tailored to the specific buyer to 

make the grant-funded opportunity relevant, timely, and meaningful to increasing long-term market 

competitiveness. Focusing on cohort-based trainings will encourage business owners to learn from each 

other and their own successes or struggles in certain market channels while increasing the impact of 

Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program funds. VAAFM’s application builds on successful past 

work and strong partner relationships, leading to long-lasting positive impacts as businesses increase 

their market potential, sales, and knowledge.