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Small dairy farms in Kentucky (USA) are exploring opportunities to differentiate from increasingly larger scale dairy enterprises.?€? Dairy products have been identified as having relatively high carbon footprint, both for farm-level production, but also for large scale processing and long, aggregated supply chains characteristic of most U.S. dairy production.?€? Climate smart branding has gathered increasing attention globally, recognizing that this attribute is becoming more valued by a larger group of consumers.?€? A survey of 800 Kentucky dairy consumers explores willingness-to-pay for climate smart branding through a latent class model choice experiment.?€? Cheddar cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and butter are each examined as well as various definitions of 'locally produced'.?€? Results from this study can potentially point a way to further explore opportunities for differentiation but will need to include further examination regarding the impacts of larger climate-smart policies on the dairy industry.

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Biographical background?€?

Dr. Woods is a Professor of Agricultural Economics and state extension specialist in the area of horticulture, agribusiness marketing, and management.?€? He has devoted his time and energy to help facilitate the development of small ag-related businesses and cooperatives that have promising innovative processes and/or products.?€? He served as the staff economist to the Kentucky Governor’s Office of Ag Policy and Ag Development Board.?€? His work has been presented at numerous international workshops, professional meetings, and state and regional extension programs.?€? He recently developed MarketReady, a nationally recognized best marketing practices education program for farmers selling to restaurants, grocery, and wholesale. This program is being used in 15 states.?€??€? Most recently, he has helped lead a national project around Covid impacts on local food systems with USDA and 17 national local food sector networks.?€? He is currently a visiting scholar within the Centre for Rural Policy at the University of ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵ.?€?