Tennessee Consumers’ Willingness to Pay For Beef Produced in Tennessee

Little is known about Tennessee consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for beef produced in the state or about the type of outlet where they would expect to purchase Tennessee beef. Tennessee beef cattle production and sales decision making can be guided by the willingness to pay of consumers, demographics profiles of those willing to pay a premium for Tennessee beef, and outlet choice for purchasing local beef. A telephone (land-line and wireless) survey of major metropolitan areas in Tennessee was conducted in 2013 to collect data from a total of 1,209 respondents. This data is used in probit models to estimate consumer WTP for two Tennessee beef products: 85%/15% ground beef and a boneless ribeye steak. The probit models are also used to determine how demographic characteristics and consumer attitudes influence WTP. Data is used to determine which outlets people would expect to purchase local beef from and the influences on these expectations. A multivariate probit model is estimated using data from the consumers who expressed a WTP for local beef. The multivariate probit measures the likelihood that the consumer would expect to purchase local beef in outlets including gourmet stores, butcher shops, farmer markets, and directly from farmers.