Macro-algae is an umbrella term for seaweed, which is an important ingredient in many novel food products in New Zealand and other Australasian countries. While attitudes, consumption motivation, knowledge, and socio-demographic consumer profiles have been investigated in specific countries in the region, consumer behavior such as willingness to eat and factors driving this behavior have not yet been explored. Therefore, the present study fills this research gap in a New Zealand context and explores predictors of New Zealand consumers’ willingness to eat macro-algae and their perceived trust towards the countries of origin of these products. The symbolic value of food, health importance, food safety concerns, and food fussiness were the factors under investigation. The work builds on an online questionnaire and a sample of 437 consumers mirroring the New Zealand population in terms of gender, age, and annual household income. Data were collected through an opt-in panel provider in November 2023. The data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and partial least square structural equation modeling. Results show that health importance and food fussiness tendencies are the strongest predictors of willingness to eat and trustworthiness of the two countries of origin. Best practice recommendations for marketing managers in New Zealand food retail are provided.

Plant-based milk alternatives are important beverages in US consumer markets. Sustainability, consumer awareness, lifestyle changes, and other value-based reasons are why these beverages are increasing in popularity. The present study is focused on plant-based milk alternatives. It builds on an online consumer survey that explores the factors explaining US consumers’ willingness to try plant-based milk alternatives and their word-of-mouth sharing about these beverages. Animal welfare concerns, environmental concerns, health consciousness, and dairy preferences are the factors under investigation. Results show that animal welfare, dairy preference, environmental concerns, and plant-based milk enthusiasm are significant predictors for willingness to try plant-based milk alternatives. Dairy preferences, environmental concerns, and plant-based milk enthusiasm predict the word-of-mouth factors. Overall, plant-based milk enthusiasm is the strongest driver for both consumer behaviours. Best practice recommendations address marketers in the US food and beverage industry and provide suggestions on how to target different consumer groups based on nutritional preferences and needs and on value-based product characteristics.

The trend toward sustainable and healthy food consumption has stimulated widespread debate. US consumers demand healthy and sustainable food options and are increasingly interested in alternative proteins such as macro-algae, also known as sea-vegetables. The present study is built on the responses of an online survey aiming to explore US consumers’ commitment towards varying sea-vegetable-based products. Affordability, sustainability, taste, environmental friendliness, and health benefits, as well as product novelty and versatility, were the factors under investigation. All factors were found to be equally strong predictors for sea-vegetable product commitment. Best-practice recommendations for US food marketers and agricultural producers are also provided.

We explore the opportunity to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and T-Shaped Teams in risk management post the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. First, the study describes the three stages of AI adoption and the interest in AI before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second, the importance of AI in risk management is assessed based on the analysis of the performance of AI-implemented firms. Third, the roles of workforce, especially T-Shaped teams, in adopting AI at the firm level are highlighted. The new Technology, Innovation, and In-practice functions of the T-shaped teams are discussed along with the opportunities and challenges when building a T-shaped team and adopting AI in enterprises. Next, a guide for building T-Shaped Teams for risk management using AI is developed with the flexibility to implement in a wide range of corporates. The study concludes with future direction on risk management strategies to respond to new risks and make better business decisions to address shocks in the economy.

As the burden of mental health challenges increases globally, delivering mental health education programmes to at-risk groups is critical. Important factors governing the success of health and wellbeing education include the relationships and connections formed between students and those delivering the education. This article reports on the qualitative findings from a mixed-methods study evaluating a mental health wellbeing programme delivered to first-year agricultural students across two universities in New Zealand.

Lifestyle changes towards sustainable and healthy diets have given rise to superfoods. Sea vegetables, which are otherwise known as edible seaweeds fall in the category of superfoods and are perceived as sustainable and ethical food options. The present study is dedicated to US consumers’ willingness to buy and their willingness to pay a price premium for sea vegetables, providing insights and best-practice recommendations for marketing managers in the US food retail and gastronomy. An online consumer survey was distributed to explore predictors explaining willingness to buy and pay a price premium. Food engagement, food attributes, consumer knowledge, and health importance were the investigated predictors covered in the survey. Descriptive statistics and partial least square structural equation modelling were used to analyze the data. Food engagement and sea vegetable intrinsic and extrinsic attributes were identified as the strongest predictors for both willingness to buy and to pay a price premium. In contrast, health importance only influenced willingness to buy, and consumer knowledge only influenced willingness to pay a price premium. By focusing on the forms of consumer behavior with high commitment and exploring and validating the factors driving these consumers’ behaviors, the study fills an important research gap.

Student and lecturer insights gained on the pedagogical practices used during Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) for laboratory, field trip and tour practices, should be used to inform and improve in-person and online higher education programs for the traditionally practical-based courses of agriculture, horticulture and food. Qualitative lecturer focus group data was thematically analyzed and used to develop the online student survey. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected in mid-2021 from the online survey of students. Survey qualitative data was thematically analysed and used to validate and expand on the quantitative data descriptive statistics. Findings revealed that agricultural classes with practical components can be transitioned to deliver some material online to provide additional benefits that enhance the practical components, adds to existing material, and provides benefits in the understanding of that material for students. To transition these components well requires time, funding and online pedagogy professional development to be successful.

Highlights

• Pastoral farmers in Selwyn often feel misunderstood by regulatory authorities regarding the effects of increasing environmental regulations on their farm systems, and subsequent land-use change decisions.

• Financial factors and certainty around policy and practice were the most important factors to farmers when making land-use change decisions.

• Farmers were hesitant to make a sustainable land-use change decision without the confidence that it will remain a financially and strategically viable choice for the longer term.

• To encourage sustainable land-use change, regulatory authorities must give increased thought to understanding farmers’ response to regulations and how this affects creation and implementation of future regulation.

Do rising oil prices affect agricultural trade differentlyfrom falling oil prices? We answer this question usingdata on New Zealand, a net importer of oil and a netexporter of agricultural commodities. We consider adisaggregated approach, analysing exports and importsof five key commodity classes; nonlinear autoregressivelag models are employed to conduct the analysis. Wefind considerable evidence suggesting asymmetries inthe effects of oil price shocks on agricultural trade inthe long and the short run. Furthermore, in the longrun, agricultural exports and imports appear to belargely insensitive to foreign and domestic real income,respectively; there is limited evidence for imports andexports being associated with the real effectiveexchange rate. In the short run, however, income andexchange rates are associated with imports and exports.

Alternative forms of food procurement have increased in consumer popularity since the occurrence of food price inflation and the ongoing recession in the U.S. The present study explores predictors such as food engagement, food-related COVID-19 concerns, and the importance of sustainable foraging practices as determinants for U.S. consumers’ preferences for food foraging. Two scenarios are investigated, the preference for food foraging over growing food and food foraging over regular food buying. The study is based on an online consumer survey (n = 401) and used partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) for the data analysis. Results indicate that food engagement is the strongest predictor for both foraging over buying and foraging over growing scenarios. However, food-related COVID-19 concern appears to only be relevant for the foraging over buying scenario and the importance of sustainable growing practices is only relevant for the foraging over growing scenario. These findings are important because they indicate the attitudinal triggers of food foraging and are therefore of relevance to foraging communities and managers in municipalities, food retail, and horticultural businesses who are associated with traditional and alternative forms of food procurement.

Plant-based milk products are ultra-processed food products that enjoy a positive reputation as being safe, healthy, ethical, and sustainable. The present study is focused on these products and addresses the product and brand managers of US food retailers. A consumer survey explores the factors explaining US consumers’ preferences for and commitment to plant-based milk and other plant-based milk products. Environmental concerns, food safety, health, and sustainability concerns are identified as relevant predictors for both consumer behaviors. In addition, animal welfare concerns are relevant, but only for product commitment.

This study analyses the impact of clean energy use on rural residents’ subjective health outcomes (self-reported health status, health change, and discomfort) and objective health outcomes (bronchitis, asthma, medical expenditure, and fitness expenditure). Using an inverse probability-weighted regression adjustment estimator and the 2018 China Family Panel Studies data, we address the selection bias associated with clean energy use and estimate the treatment effects. The empirical results show that farmers using clean energy (liquid gas, natural gas, methane, solar energy, or electricity) as the primary cooking fuel report improved health, a lower probability of physical discomfort, and higher fitness expenditures than non-users. Clean energy use does not significantly affect self-reported health, the probability of having bronchitis and asthma, or medical expenditures. The health effects of clean energy use on men differ from those on women; they also vary across different economic strata. We also find that farmers’ decisions to use clean energy are positively associated with their educational level, household income, whether they rent farmland, and their happiness levels but are negatively related to their age, family size, whether they own real estate, and the ratio of elders in their household.

We use dynamic time warping, a non-parametric pattern recognition method, to study interlinkages between major energy and agricultural commodity prices. Cluster analysis is conducted to group commodity prices based on their behavioral likeness by maximizing the differences between groups while minimizing the differences within groups. Two clusters emerge: one comprises the prices of crude oil and six major agricultural commodities, whereas the other contains coal and natural gas prices. Regarding lead-lag associations, oil prices generally lag crop prices; however, there are periods during which the former lead the latter. Furthermore, the duration with which oil prices lead or lag crop prices changes frequently.

Climate change and environment-related problems are major concerns globally. Stakeholders including governments, corporates, investors, and customers, play different roles in building a sustainable world. Their tasks are challenging because of limited financial resources. To finance activities that benefit the environment and minimise the severe impact of climate change, green-labeled bonds are one of the resolutions.

With the green features, this type of fixed-income asset can signal investors and customers that the green bonds’ issuers are doing “good” for the future. However, there are other bonds that also hold similar green features as green-labeled bonds, but they are not readily recognised in the bond market. This paper describes a procedure to classify a new category for green-unlabeled bonds and call this as sustainable bond. The performance of green-labeled and sustainable bonds are compared. Evaluating the bond performance underpins the greenium fundamental of green bonds, and provides insight into applications of the new sustainable bond category in the economy.

Dairy products such as cheese, butter, and yoghurt are popular staples in American households; however, alternative plant-based products are gaining increasing popularity. An online survey was conducted to investigate the factors that determine US consumers’ preferences for plantbased and regular milk-based products before and since the occurrence of food price inflation. The study used descriptive statistics and partial least square structural equation modelling for the analysis. The accessibility of plant-based substitutes, the perceived impact of food price inflation and associated consumer behaviour, engagement with food-related activities, and environmental concerns were important factors in both scenarios. Recommendations to marketers on how to target different consumer groups are offered.

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), a key perennial pastoral species used globally, can strengthen pastural mixes to withstand increasingly disruptive weather patterns from climate change. Breeding selections can be refined for this purpose by obtaining an in-depth understanding of key functional traits. A replicated randomized complete block glasshouse pot trial was used to observe trait responses critical to plant performance under control (15% VMC), water deficit (5% VMC) and waterlogged conditions (50% VMC) in seven red clover populations and compared against white clover. Twelve morphological and physiological traits were identified as key contributors to the different plant coping mechanisms displayed. Under water deficit, the levels of all aboveground morphological traits decreased, highlighted by a 41% decrease in total dry matter and 50% decreases in both leaf number and leaf thickness compared to the control treatment. An increase in root to shoot ratio indicated a shift to prioritizing root maintenance by sacrificing shoot growth, a trait attributed to plant water deficit tolerance. Under waterlogging, a reduction in photosynthetic activity among red clover populations reduced several morphological traits including a 30% decrease in root dry mass and total dry matter, and a 34% decrease in leaf number. The importance of root morphology for waterlogging was highlighted with low performance of red clover: there was an 83% decrease in root dry mass compared to white clover which was able to maintain root dry mass and therefore plant performance. This study highlights the importance of germplasm evaluation across water stress extremes to identify traits for future breeding programs.

The New Zealand External Reporting Board (XRB) is-sued for public comment a standard on Assurance Engagements over GHG Emissions Disclosure. The Auditing and Assurance Standards Committee of AFAANZ prepared a submission, based on the findings reported in published research, responding to a number of the questions asked by the XRB. This technical note presents the formal submission made to the XRB.

There is an opportunity and an urgent need for transformational change of the current farming systems in Pacific Island Countries (PIC) to increase food and nutritional security, to be better adapted to climate change and to be less emissive of greenhouse gases. Substantial global evidence indicates that Conservation Agriculture and Sustainable Intensification (CASI) systems are better adapted, but their effectiveness in PIC is yet to be fully evaluated. The overall aim of this Small Research Activity (SRA) was to undertake a targeted assessment to explore the opportunities for implementing CASI in smallholder farming systems as an adaptive and potentially transformational climate change response in PIC. This SRA was a Proof of Concept which identified and evaluated the research, technological, social and policy interventions required for future implementation and scaling of these more regenerative agrifood systems. It also identified key research and development sites for future work to compare the performance of CASI practices with the current commonly used systems.

Distributed Manufacturing (DM) is becoming increasingly important in operations management due to its potential to support sustainability goals, reduce risks in global supply chains, and boost local economies. However, previous analyses of the advantages and disadvantages of DM have mainly focused on operations, overlooking additional benefits across the supply chain. For example, DM can enable local sourcing, better serve end-users, and tackle reverse supply chain challenges. While economies of scale are essential for reducing costs and improving productivity, highly centralised manufacturing can increase transportation costs, vulnerability, and supply chain disruptions, particularly during pandemics or other times of restricted transportation. To address these challenges, this study introduces a Multi-attribute Decision Support System (MADSS) and assessment process that considers impacts across the supply chain and guides stakeholders, academics, and decision-makers. The MADSS handles quantitative and qualitative information, missing data, and uncertainty, and a team of experts from academia and industry in New Zealand has developed the evaluation. The MADSS was used to analyse DM and traditional construction alternatives from economic, social, environmental, and resilience perspectives in New Zealand. The research contributes to a better understanding of the impacts of DM across the entire supply chain. Also, it proposes a flexible decision-making framework to engage with stakeholders and support decision-making in other industries and regions.

Adoption of Global Good Agricultural Practices (Global-GAP) improves food quality and safety along fresh produce value chains. However, adoption rates have been low among small‐scale pineapple farmers in Ghana, but with possible heterogeneous responses due to farm size economies. This study estimates the impact of GlobalGAP adoption on net incomes earned by small‐scale pineapple farmers in Ghana's main producing region, and examines size‐induced heterogeneous effects of adoption on income.Household and farm‐level data gathered from 546 small‐scale farmers were analyzed using a two‐stage regression model to estimate the impact of GlobalGAP adoption on per hectare pineapple net income. Robustness of the results was checked by re‐estimating the two‐stage model using a maximum likelihood extended regression model. GlobalGAP adoption reduced net income on small farms growing less than 1 ha of pineapples, but increased net income on small farms growing more than 1 ha of pineapples. We conclude that GlobalGAP adoption and farm size are not independent determinants of profitability,and recommend that extension and other interventions intended to promote GlobalGAP adoption among pineapple farmers in Ghana should be targeted at those who are willing and able to grow more than 1 ha of pineapples.