Agriculture of the Middle

Research, education and policy strategies that keep farmers and ranchers on the land

  • Home
  • About
    • Research
    • Education
    • Policy
  • People
  • Publications
    • Definitions
    • Background Reading
    • Research
    • Guides for Producers and Extension Educators
    • Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Studies
    • Teaching Materials
    • Food Hubs Map
  • Participatory Action

Exploring Supplier-Manufacturer Relationships in the Specialty Food Sector

Shermain Hardesty, Robert P. King, Gail Feenstra, Laurie Houston, Jan Joannides, and Larry Lev
March 2018

We use results from a survey of specialty food manufacturers to examine how supplier–manufacturer relationships vary in the specialty food sector. While diverse mechanisms govern relationships between manufacturers and suppliers, relational contracts (longstanding, informal commitments) are the most common governance structure in our sample overall, particularly for medium-sized manufacturers. Vertical integration with the principal supplier is most common for smaller manufacturers, who also are most likely to use open market purchases. The largest manufacturers are significantly more likely to use formal contracts. Nearly half of manufacturers in our sample, regardless of their size, purchase directly from farms.

Continue reading (PDF)

Filed Under: Publications, Research

What We Do

  • Education
  • Policy
  • Research

Publications

  • Definitions
  • Background Reading
  • Research
  • Guides for Producers and Extension Educators
  • Values-Based Food Supply Chain Case Studies
  • Teaching Materials
  • Food Hubs Map
Member log in (coming soon)
Contact our webmaster: mmmille6@wisc.edu

Current funding support provided by United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) through the Multistate project, NC-1198, “Renewing an Agriculture of the Middle: Value Chain Design, Policy Approaches, Environmental and Social Impacts”(2017 -2022).

nifa logo

Copyright © 2023 Board of Regents · University of Wisconsin· Log in