Greenville Leader

Are consumers willing to pay more for regenerative and permaculture - aka sustainable farm-to-table agriculture that doesn't contribute to climate change - farming? That is the question that Furman University students intend to answer, according to an university news and media strategy release.

The students, along with the faculty and five upstate state farms are working in conduction for the research.

Several student researchers are being funded to conduct the analysis from a three-year, $213,000 SAFE program grant, according to the release.

Researchers will work with farmers in the summers to detect ways to diversify their revenue, a practice called pathway diversity, and connect with consumers. 

The study will also facilitate a network among the farmers so they can learn from each other.

John Quinn, associate professor of biology, developed a tool named the healthy farm index that the researchers employed this summer to measure the farms’ diversity and sustainability, ecologically and economically.

Courtney Quinn, a visiting research associate in Furman's Department of Earth, Environmental and Sustainability Sciences said there was more to examine other activities beyond food production on a farm.

“Farms provide more than just food,” she told the university. “They can be a livelihood as well as habitat for biodiversity, soil sequestration, agritourism and a community hub. We want to understand the relationships between farmers and consumers to better equip farmers to take advantage of pathway diversity opportunities in order to create a more resilient local food system.”