ECONOMIC STUDIES OF MAPLE SYRUP CONSUMERS AND PRODUCERS IN INDIANA

Extensive tree-cutting operations and prioritization of crop production a century ago caused a significant decline in maple syrup production in Indiana. Today, there is an increasing consumer interest in natural and locally produced food, creating potential for regrowth in the industry. Understanding both production and consumption behaviors is crucial to capitalize on this potential and ensure sustainable sugarbush resources in the state. This thesis comprised two chapters, presenting the findings on consumers and producers, respectively. The first chapter examined the factors influencing consumers' behavior toward maple syrup purchase and satisfaction. Results suggested that suburban residency, education, age, income, and lifestyle factors – such as visiting farmers' markets and purchasing organic food – may influence consumers' attitudes toward purchasing maple syrup. Moreover, consumers who purchase organic food tended to be satisfied with maple syrup and were more likely to recommend it to others. The second chapter explored the factors motivating maple syrup producers to manage their forests and investigated whether crowd-in or crowd-out effects exist among different management practices. I used logistic regressions to identify relationships among the adoption of a variety of forest management practices and a variety of independent variables, using data pooled from two producer surveys conducted in Indiana in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Production as a hobby, owning a sugarbush, and production capacity all positively affected the likelihood of management practice adoption. In addition, crowding-in effects were identified in adopting forest management practices, suggesting that producers were more likely to adopt multiple practices simultaneously. These chapters emphasized the importance of understanding maple syrup consumer socio-demographic characteristics for effective marketing strategies and producer behavior for sustainable production practices to promote industry growth.