Katherine Ruhf and Kate Clancy recently released an extensive report that explores the concepts, practices, challenges, and promise of regional food systems. The report’s focus is on the Northeast U.S., a laboratory for regional food systems thinking and action, but it also describes and gives examples of regional food systems development across the country. The… [Read More]
Teaching Case for Sustainable Supply Chain Management
This teaching case describes the issues and dilemmas facing a natural beef cooperative at a turbulent moment in their industry. With a severe economic downturn, increasing cattle handling demands from their main customer and their management group in transition, Country Natural Beef is faced with decisions that will significantly impact its viability. This case is… [Read More]
Using Ag of the Middle Case Studies in a Course on Cooperative Organization
Developed by Dr. Robert P. King, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota (rking@umn.edu) This paper describes the use of a series of case studies on values-based food supply chains in a course on cooperatives taught at the University of Minnesota. Though not written for this purpose, these case studies are excellent tools for helping… [Read More]
Value Chains Teaching Materials for a Course in Agricultural Marketing
Developed by Dr. Cheryl Brown, Agricultural and Resource Economics, West Virginia University (cheryl.brown@mail.wvu.edu) These curriculum materials are based on case studies of Organic Valley, Country Natural Beef, Shepherd’s Grain and Red Tomato developed by the Agriculture of the Middle initiative. These case studies offer models of how mid-sized farms and ranches can prosper through producing… [Read More]
