Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Climate-Smart Food

A recently published study in the Journal of Food Distribution Research titled “Willingness-to-Pay Premium for Climate-Smart (CS) Food Across Age Groups: The Moderating Role of Knowledge” offers timely insights into what drives Midwestern consumers to pay more for food produced using climate-smart agricultural practices. The research, conducted by Dr. Arbindra P. Rimal and Jacob Brewer of Missouri State University, was supported through a federal USDA
Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant subaward through the Missouri Organic Association (MOA), the principal awardee. This collaboration between  university researchers and MOA demonstrates how research and producer-focused organizations can work together to better understand the market side of climate-smart and regenerative agriculture.

For farmers across Missouri and the broader Midwest, adopting practices such as cover crops, conservation crop rotations, no-till systems, windbreaks, field borders, and alley cropping can contribute to more resilient and sustainable agricultural systems. But long-term adoption also depends on whether consumers understand these practices and value the food produced through them. By examining consumer willingness to pay for climate-smart food, this research helps connect on-farm conservation and regenerative practices with consumer demand. The findings can inform farmer education, outreach, labeling, and market-development efforts that help producers communicate the value of climate-smart production and potentially strengthen markets for sustainably produced food.

Agriculture plays a dual role in climate change: it can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, but it can also be part of the solution. Climate-smart (CS) agriculture is therefore gaining attention as an approach that seeks to maintain agricultural productivity while improving resilience and environmental sustainability. At the same time, consumers are showing increasing interest in food produced with sustainable attributes. Younger generations often report particularly strong environmental awareness, although their ability to pay higher prices can still be constrained by income.

The study surveyed 2,016 consumers across six Midwestern states—Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Kansas—to understand how age and knowledge of climate-smart farming influence willingness to pay a premium for climate-smart food.

The results showed that younger consumers generally reported a greater willingness to pay a premium. Among consumers ages 18–34, many were willing to pay between 1% and 15% above the conventional price. In contrast, about 39% of consumers ages 55 and older reported that they were unwilling to pay any premium. Across the full sample, the estimated weighted average premium was approximately 5.6% above the price of conventionally grown food.

However, age was not the whole story. Consumer knowledge of climate-smart agriculture emerged as an important predictor of willingness to pay. The study measured familiarity with practices such as conservation crop rotation, cover crops, and no-till farming. Once climate- smart farming knowledge and its interaction with age were included in the full statistical model, age by itself was no longer a significant predictor. In other words, some of the apparent differences between younger and older consumers were linked to differences in their knowledge of climate-smart agricultural practices.

So, why does this matter for farmers, agricultural organizations, and policymakers?
The findings suggest that building consumer knowledge can be an important part of expanding markets for climate-smart and sustainably produced food. Education campaigns, clear product labeling, extension and outreach programs, and partnerships among farmers, universities, nonprofits, and other agricultural organizations can help consumers better understand how their food is produced. Stronger understanding may translate into stronger demand, particularly among younger consumers. 

For MOA, this research reinforces the value of connecting producer education and regenerative agricultural practices with consumer awareness and market development. Supporting farmers in adopting sustainable practices is one part of the transition; helping consumers recognize and value those practices is another. Collaborative research like this can provide evidence that guides outreach, strengthens producer-to-consumer communication, and helps build more resilient agricultural markets across Missouri and the Midwest.

Written by Mr. Diwas Dhital, M.S. Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Georgia under the guidance of Swati Shrestha, PhD, Programs Manager, Missouri Organic Association