About

Brian Schilling is the Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension at the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES). He leads all Cooperative Extension programs, which aim to help New Jersey's diverse population adapt to a rapidly changing society and improve their lives and communities through an educational process that uses science-based knowledge. Schilling's role involves overseeing programs that focus on community development, education, and outreach within the framework of Rutgers' land-grant mission.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Social Science
• Sociology
• Political Science
• Socioeconomics
• Demography
• Marketing
• Geography
• Business
• Programming language
• Forestry

Selected publications

• Ethnic crop consumption and marketing in the Eastern United States: Trends and prospects

  Mediterranean Agricultural Sciences · 2022 · 1 citations

  • Political Science
  • Geography
  • Sociology

  The population demographics of the eastern U.S has changed in recent years with an increase in immigrants, particularly of Asian and Hispanic origins. This trend motivated the identification of foods preferred by these ethnic communities in 16 states in the region and Washington, D.C., focusing on greens and herbs. Over 100 ethnic greens and herbs were identified as being preferred food choices, from which 40 were selected for further study, representing 10 crops important to four ethnicities: Asian Indian, Chinese, Mexican, and Puerto Rico. Bulletin board focus group and telephone survey participants responded to questions regarding their consumption in 2010. The relevant information was collected to assess retail sales for each crop for each of the four ethnic groups. Results demonstrated that the ethnic crop demand in the eastern U.S is significant, and the prospects for future growth are promising as the population of ethnic consumers in the region is projected to continue to grow.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Developing Effective Extension Programming for On-Farm Direct Marketing Operations Using Case-Study Assessments

  Journal of the NACAA · 2020

  • Computer Science
  • Marketing
  • Business
  Publisher

• Special Study: Agri-tourism as a Strategy for Farm Economic Development in New Jersey, USA: Opportunities and Cautions for Farmers

  WORLD SCIENTIFIC (EUROPE) eBooks · 2019-06-01 · 2 citations

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  The expansion of agri-tourism has been a notable trend in the United States in recent decades. Inviting the public onto farms for recreational enjoyment offers the opportunity for farm economic development, particularly in the Northeastern region of the country where urban expansion and exurban growth pose significant challenges to farming. For many urban-influenced farms, agri-tourism synergizes with direct-to-consumer marketing of farm products and capitalizes on strong consumer interest in “local food”. At the same time, agri-tourism is often an entirely new business paradigm for traditional production-wholesale farms, and brings new business challenges and risks. This chapter summarizes recent statistics on the prevalence and significance of agri-tourism in the US, with a focus on this sector’s prominence in the Northeast region. Drawing from experiences in New Jersey, a leading agri-tourism state, important business risk factors associated with agri-tourism are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Farmland Owners’ Satisfaction with Agricultural Conservation Easements

  Society & Natural Resources · 2019-10-24 · 4 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Despite substantial investments in purchase of agricultural conservation easement (PACE) programs to preserve farmland, little attention has been placed on evaluating landowner perspectives of PACE post-preservation. Understanding landowner experiences and satisfaction with operation of farms subject to PACE deeds of easement can inform future farmland preservation policy and procedures. The objective of this study is to empirically examine the extent and basis of landowner satisfaction with PACE program participation through statistical modeling of data from a phone survey of 507 preserved farmland owners in three Northeastern states (Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey). Ordinal logistic regression models are developed to explain factors affecting landowners’ satisfaction of PACE participation. Results show generally high levels of owner satisfaction with PACE programs in the region. “Second-generation” landowners (i.e., those who purchase or inherit preserved farms) and owners who have had a business activity restricted by easement terms are less likely to be satisfied with the program. Implications for policy formation and program administration are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Evaluation Checklists for Agritourism and Direct Marketing Operations: Farmer and Extension Resources

  Journal of Extension · 2018-02-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  The Rutgers Agritourism Training Team created a series of checklists designed for agritourism and direct marketing operators as part of an educational curriculum. Checklists were specifically crafted for farmer self-assessment or for evaluation in cooperation with Extension professionals. A primary training goal was to aid farmers with identifying operational improvements and adopting best practices in the areas of farm safety and liability management. Checklist topics included general farm safety conditions, animal safety protocols, emergency response procedures, liability management, employee training and management, food safety, and parking and traffic management. The ultimate goal was to improve farm visitor safety.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Agritourism: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Industry Analysis

  Journal of Agriculture Food Systems and Community Development · 2018-04-02 · 80 citations

  articleOpen access

  Visiting farms and ranches to experience agricul­ture and celebrate harvests is an age-old tradition. In the U.S. and many other countries, this tradition is the basis of an emerging industry known as “agritourism.” Although agritourism appears to be growing in many parts of the U.S., confusion about agritourism limits the ability of researchers and agricultural interests to fully understand this sector’s economic importance and to support its performance over time. A universal understanding of agritourism is needed for clear communication, reliable and consistent measurement, informed policies, and programs that support farms and ranches and their communities. To that end, the authors present a conceptual framework that incor­porates core and peripheral tiers, as well as five categories of activities, including direct sales, edu­cation, hospitality, outdoor recreation, and enter­tainment. The goal of this viewpoint is to stimulate commentary and debate that furthers our collective understanding of agritourism as it becomes an increasingly important industry in the U.S.COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK on this proposed framework are welcome at JAFSCD's Facebook page!

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Necessary Role of Extension in Development of Agricultural Regulations

  Journal of Extension · 2017-12-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Extension professionals are often sought out to provide technical information for and consult on agricultural issues. However, it is not widely known that Extension professionals can fulfill an important niche in assisting with developing regulations. Indeed, there is no other organization better suited for this role. In the State of New Jersey, Extension faculty are appointed to regulatory boards and committees as neutral parties who can provide nonbiased, science-based information. Extension faculty in the state have become trusted resources related to providing information for legislated programs, such as right-to-farm regulations, and agricultural conflict resolution.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Asian Crops Overview: Consumer Preference and Cultivar Growth on the East Coast of the United States

  HortScience · 2016-11-01 · 14 citations

  articleOpen access

  The rapid expansion of Asian populations in the United States presents significant opportunities and challenges for the eastern U.S. produce sector to take advantage of their close proximity to densely populated areas. Initial crop studies followed by ethnic consumer and crop surveys were conducted to examine vegetable, leafy green, and herb consumption and expenditures among Chinese, Asian Indians, and other Asian groups. Consumer choices were used to prioritize subsequent production trials. Family expenditures were determined for specific Asian produce types and total produce purchases. This market data were extrapolated to the east coast Asian populations to assess potential market size (90% confidence interval, error margin 5.6%). Chinese consumer values ranged from $245 to $296 million per annum and Asian Indians ranged from $190 to $230 million per annum. The average annual fresh fruit and vegetable expenditures by both Asian groups were 2 to 3.5 times respective national averages. Leading Chinese vegetables determined by average expenditures were baby bok choy, pak choy, oriental eggplant, snow pea, oriental spinach, and napa cabbage. Highest expenditure of leafy greens and herbs for Chinese consumers were chives and garland chrysanthemum. This market-driven survey reported consumption of over 100 Asian crops and 42 cultivars were ranked “feasible” to grow in the eastern section of the United States. Horticultural matrices of selection criteria narrowed the list to the most promising candidates for production. As a result, 28 cultivars were then grown in University research and demonstration plots at Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Florida in determining growth characteristics and yield to focus horticultural crop producers. Leading vegetable cultivars for Asian Indian consumers were bitter gourd, eggplant, fenugreek leaves, cluster beans, and bottle gourd. Leading leafy greens and herbs for Asian Indians were turmeric, fenugreek, sorrel spinach, and radish greens. Most of these Asian cultivars were demonstrated to grow well in the three main growing zones of 5, 7, and 9. Phytochemical attributes such as antioxidant activity, polyphenols, and mineral contents were analyzed for several of the leading crop candidates. This initial field and laboratory data shows that many of these ethnic crops can be grown in the eastern United States to direct production opportunities and are nutrient rich to help drive consumer demand.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Guidance for Directors and Leaders of Agricultural Organizations in New Jersey

  Journal of the NACAA · 2016-06-01

  articleSenior author
  Publisher

• Measuring the effects of preservation on farm profits in a continuous treatment setting

  Applied Economics · 2016-05-29 · 2 citations

  articleCorresponding

  Despite billions of dollars of public appropriations to state purchase of development rights (PDR) programmes, there has been limited evaluation of the effects of these investments on the economic performance of preserved farms. This article estimates dose-response functions to evaluate the effects of enrolment in New Jersey’s PDR programme on farm profitability. The generalized propensity score method in a continuous treatment setting is used to address selection bias arising from voluntary programme participation. Treatment effects are measured across treatment levels to determine whether farm profitability is affected differently across levels of programme participation. Our findings reveal that, relative to unpreserved farms, profit per acre tends to increase along lower treatment levels. The profit per acre of preserved farms in the 1–40% treatment range is, on average, $407 higher than that of unpreserved farms in the full sample. Positive profit differentials averaging between $317 and $472 per acre are also observed in the 1–20%, 1–40% and 1–60% treatment quintiles in the farming occupation sample. We do not observe statistically significant profitability differentials when treatment effects are averaged across all positive treatment values.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Adesoji O. Adelaja

  Michigan State University

  63 shared

• William K. Hallman

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  30 shared

• Benjamin M. Onyango

  29 shared

• Ferdaus Hossain

  Weill Cornell Medicine

  25 shared

• Kevin P. Sullivan

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  21 shared

• Ramu Govindasamy

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  20 shared

• Stephen Komar

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  20 shared

• William Sciarappa

  Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  17 shared

Labs

• NJAES LeadershipPI

Education

• Ph.D., Planning and Policy Development

  Rutgers University