Liz Maynard, Emily DeaKyne and Ariana Torres co-authored with Lauren Asprooth (Univ. Wisconsin) and Michael O’Donnell (Recovery Ag LLC) recent outreach publications from the Diverse Corn Belt project. Diversifying the Corn Belt: Horticultural Food Crops and Diversifying the Corn Belt: Extended Rotations introduce these crop options by providing an overview of benefits; relation to corn-soybean…Read more about New Diverse Corn Belt Outreach Publications[Read More]
Dr. Ariana Torres and members of the Torres Lab, Visiting Scholar Alvaro Hernandez and Postdoctoral Researcher Juliano M.R. Marques, examined how food-label preferences among agricultural buyers relate to sourcing from diversified farms. Using survey data from procurement managers, the study identified distinct buyer segments based on preferences for certified and non-certified sustainability labels and found…Read more about New Research Connects Food Label Preferences to Diversified Farm Purchasing[Read More]
Master’s student Maria Celeste Ortez, mentored by Dr Ariana Torres, evaluated the economics of incorporating cut sunflowers into diversified specialty-crop operations using the Purdue HortCalculator framework. Under the study’s baseline assumptions, a 1,000-ft² sunflower planting generated $4,760 in gross revenue and $629 in net returns, with profitability highly sensitive to marketable yield and price….Read more about Graduate Research Explores Profitability of Cut Sunflowers Using HortCalculator[Read More]
Dr. Ariana P. Torres (Horticulture & Landscape Architecture / Agricultural Economics) has published a new paper with former MS student Jean Pierre Zavala (now at Texas Tech University) in HortTechnology: “HortCalculator: A Web-based Financial Decision-Support Tool for Midwestern Spinach Production in High Tunnels.“ The paper presents HortCalculator, a free, web-based financial planning tool developed for…Read more about New Publication from Ariana Torres and Jean Pierre Zavala[Read More]
Dr. Ariana Torres recently sat down with host Chad on the How We Grow podcast for an episode titled “The number one reason why crops fail!” During the interview, Dr. Torres breaks down the business decisions behind specialty crop farming. She highlights why growing the crop is only half the job—the other half is knowing…Read more about Dr. Ariana Torres Featured on the “How We Grow” Podcast[Read More]
Juliano Martins Ramalho Marques, Ariana P. Torres, Fernanda Machado Fonseca Ramalho Marques, Katherine O. Pivaral and Aslihan D. Spaulding (University of Kentucky) has published a new research paper in the British Food Journal: Inside the hearts and minds of oat milk enthusiasts: consumer preferences and values.
Congratulations to several of our HLA researchers who received AgSEED grants for their projects. Petrus Langenhoven (PI) and collaborators Kranthi Varala, Amanda Deering, Allison Kingery, and Brian Schilling were awarded an AgSEED grant titled Assessing Scotch Bonnet Pepper Adaptability in the Midwest: A Preliminary Study of Variety Performance and Molecular Characterization. Scotch Bonnet peppers present…Read more about HLA Researchers Awarded AgSEED Grants[Read More]
Several current and former members of HLA participated in the Soil and Water Conservation Society meeting in Costa Mesa, CA, where they presented the Diverse Corn Belt symposium. Attendees included Seth Harden (Purdue graduate), Brennan Radulski (HLA post-doc), Linda Prokopy (former HLA faculty), J. Arbuckle (Iowa State), Emily DeaKyne (HLA staff), Sarah Church (former Purdue…Read more about Diverse Corn Belt Team Showcases Project at SWCS Meeting[Read More]
Dr. Ariana Torres joined the South Dakota Specialty Producers Association podcast to talk about the Purdue HortCalculator. On the podcast, Dr. Torres talked about the intersection of specialty crops and market access, and why connecting research with real-world farmer needs is so important. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcGR-peNsJU
Dr. Ariana Torres published a paper titled Personal values, motivations and food safety concerns for melon consumers in Indiana US farmers markets in the British Food Journal. The paper introduces an innovative integrated model to better understand the relationship between melons’ attributes, the consequences of their consumption and the personal values that guided consumers’ buying…Read more about Dr. Ariana Torres Published New Paper[Read More]