An analysis of consumer willingness to pay for grass-fed beef in the Southeast

Grassfed beef is a product with several benefits that may appeal to consumers who are health-conscious and place a high value on environmentally sound production practices. To determine consumers willingness to pay for a grass-fed beef steak and the implicit value of its attributes, a total of th215 consumers from Athens, GA and Clemson, SC participated in a six n price auction. Results from a hedonic analysis show that willingness to pay estimates and implicit values varied across visual and taste evaluations. Findings show that production and nutrition information largely affect willingness to pay in both presentation formats. Of the 38% of consumers willing to pay at least a 17% premium for grass-fed beef, the latent factor concerning attitudes towards happy beef and sociodemographic variables had the greatest impact on the probability that consumers would pay a premium.