Dr. Carolyn Dimitri, New York University
Mr. Juan Carlos Sánchez Herrera, New York University
Seminar Title: “Dynamics of U.S. Organic Dairy Farmer Social Networks: 2002 to 2015”
Abstract:
This paper uses network analysis to study the geo-localization decision of new organic dairy farm operations in the USA between 2002 and 2015. Given a dataset of organic dairy certifications containing the addresses for new organic dairy operations, we simulate spatio-temporal networks based on the location of existing and new organic dairy farming operations. The simulations were performed with different probabilities of connecting with existing or incoming organic farmer operations given the lack of real connection data. Next we calculate network statistics on the simulated networks such as average degree, average shortest path, closeness (centrality), clustering coefficient, and the relative size of the largest cluster, to demonstrate how the networks evolved over time. The findings reveal that new organic dairy operations cluster around existing ones, reflecting the role of networks in the conversion into organic production, as existing and incoming organic farmers enter the sector. Our contributions are twofold. First, we analyze the potential implications of social networking in the development of a relatively new agriculture market, by examining the evolution of the location of farmers that adopt organic dairy production practices. Second, we add to the literature on empirical social networks by using a new dataset with information on actors not previously studied analytically.
Friday, March 8, 2019
1:30pm-2:45pm
W.B. Young Building, room 132
View the full Spring 2019 ARE Seminar Schedule
For more information, contact: Tatiana Andreyeva at tatiana.andreyeva@uconn.edu