Estimations of Consumer Demand for Local Beef

In this article, we explore the role of local production as an attribute in consumer preferences for beef and attempt to quantify consumers’ purchasing behavior with respect to changes in price. We develop and employ a survey instrument using a randomly selected sample of consumers in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho. Using data from the survey, we use conjoint analysis to estimate own-price elasticities of demand for beef produced using different production technologies and at different distances from purchase site to place of origin. Results show that consumer demand for beef and beef products is highly elastic, and the implications of this for producers and marketers are explored.