2022 AAEA Annual Meeting

Using a discrete choice experiment, our study investigates consumer preferences for different levels of pesticide use in organic, integrated pest management, and Conventional production methods. An online survey of fresh tomato purchases was conducted in Missouri in the fall of 2021. Fresh tomatoes were selected because tomatoes grown using various production methods are currently being sold at farm stands, farmers\u27 markets, supermarkets, natural stores, or even online in Missouri. Tomatoes are listed in the Dirty Dozen because of threats of pesticide residue from insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides (The Environmental Working Group, 2020). We estimated WTP for one pound of tomatoes, differentiated by varying degrees of pesticide use and other attributes discussed below. The study contributes to the scarce literature on demand for sustainable production method attributes such as IPM. The WTP measures estimated in the paper also provide insight into the perceived trade-offs among product attributes. Because individual WTP values are calculated, this information can also be used to examine the characteristics of consumers interested in lower pesticide us