As with most agricultural industries, the U.S. dairy industry has evolved into a structure including fewer yet larger firms. In Louisiana, total milk production has declined along with dairy farm numbers since 1972. This study addresses the impact of alternative policies, macroeconomic factors, and technology on the structure of the Louisiana dairy industry using a micro-data non-stationary Markov chain analysis. Results indicate that a number of factors have affected the structure of the industry in Louisiana, including but not limited to prices, milk supply reduction programs, technology and interest rates.

The feasibility of integrating ethanol production into an existing sugar mill was analyzed by a stochastic spreadsheet model. As the price of corn continues to rise, ethanol producers will eventually need to look at other feedstock alternatives. Sugarcane has been proven to work well in the production of ethanol in Brazil. The results indicated existing U.S. sugar mills could economically switch to ethanol production. As imports into the United States threaten to undermine the U.S. sugar program, sugarcane producers have a viable alternative. At the very least, the alternative exists to diversify their income streams with ethanol production.

The location of ethanol plants is determined by infrastructure, product and input markets, fiscal attributes of local communities, and state and federal incentives. This empirical analysis uses probit regression along with spatial clustering methods to analyze investment activity of ethanol plants at the county level for the lower U.S. 48 states from 2000 to 2007. The availability of feedstock dominates the site selection decision. Other factors, such as access to navigable rivers or railroads, product markets, producer credit and excise tax exemptions, and methyl tertiary-butyl ether bans provided some counties with a comparative advantage in attracting ethanol plants.

With the seafood food market endowed with various attributes, consumers may prefer certain certifications over others. By surveying a diverse sample of respondents, this study examines consumer preference for farm-raised shrimp in Kentucky and South Carolina. Respondents’ assessment of certain seafood labels is evaluated using a stated preference survey. Willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates and various product profiles are generated. Consistent with previous studies, a strong preference for fresh and “local” was found. Furthermore, Homegrown by Heroes was highly valued among participants, as well as Best Aquaculture Practices. Based on WTP estimates for these attributes, marketing and policy recommendations are discussed.

This study utilizes a dynamic programming decision model, considering an intertemporal nitrogen carryover function, combined with both linear stochastic and deterministic plateau response functions to evaluate optimal nitrogen fertilizer decision rules and net present values (NPVs) in Texas High Plains cotton production. Nitrogen recommendations and NPVs are influenced by response function choice and nitrogen-to-cotton price ratios. Results indicate the stochastic plateau function better describes the data; the optimum nitrogen recommendation is to apply approximately 40 lb. of nitrogen for each bale of cotton production when considering nitrogen carryover information.

Student unrest and the dissatisfaction of activists with the performance of “the establishment” shook our society to its roots in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as underlying values and accepted concepts of right and wrong were criticized. Agriculture did not escape and is still widely criticized. Agro-ethics was born. Phrases sufficient to indicate the extent of the current concern about agro-ethics include: animal rights, environmental ethics, recombinant DNA, hard tomatoes/hard times, the export of our soil, energy ethics, Nestle and the multi-nationals, feeding the world's hungry, the plight of the small farm, helping the poorest of the poor, farmer-adapted technology, small is beautiful, and who controls U.S. agriculture.

The 1996 Farm Act and the 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act are recent examples of policy changes that have increased risks for U.S. farmers. New products are emerging to help farmers manage risks. This article examines some of the policy changes, farmer responses, and new risk-sharing products. The focus turns to the new revenue insurance products and their potential in the South. While there are reasons to believe revenue insurance should be attractive in the South, any revenue products that use existing crop insurance rates will face difficulties since poor actuarial performance in the South has resulted in relatively high rates.

This research shows that a portfolio of wheat varieties could enhance profitability and reduce risk over the selection of a single variety for Kansas wheat producers. Many Kansas wheat farmers select varieties solely based on published average yields. This study uses portfolio theory from business investment analysis to find the optimal, yield-maximizing and risk-minimizing combination of wheat varieties in Kansas.

We present a bioeconomic model of three invasive aquatic plants (hydrilla, water hyacinth, and water lettuce) in 13 large Florida lakes, and simulate one-year and steady-state impacts of three control scenarios. We estimate that the steady-state annual net benefit of invasive plant control is $59.95 million. A one-year increase in control yields steady-state gains of $6.55 million per year, and a one-year lapse causes steady-state annual losses of $18.71 million. This model shows that increased control of hydrilla, water hyacinth, and water lettuce is optimal.

The present study examines technical efficiency patterns in Ukraine's crop sector for 1991-1996. The economic and policy environment in Ukraine has changed since reform began in 1991. Many policy changes have exerted offsetting economic pressures on efficiency. Enterprise privatization and the liberalization of prices and trade put upward pressure on technical efficiency, whereas start-stop land privatization efforts, unpredictable government intervention, and slow developments in the credit and labor markets put downward pressure on efficiency. We found that technical efficiency appears to have improved slightly over the 1991-1996 period, suggesting that the positive forces had more impact.

Detailed information on firm level food safety costs is reported. Survey data for small and very small meat processors are modeled. Economies of scale in implementing Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems are investigated. Results indicate that even after controlling for scale, very small plants incur higher compliance costs. Diseconomies of scope are assessed using the probability and number of products discontinued due to HACCP. Such “partial exit” is positively related to the current range of items produced and the need for facility modification. However, no evidence is found for higher levels of partial exit in very small plants.

Data from a western Kansas feedlot were analyzed to estimate the quantitative impacts of price and performance variables on profits per head from finishing cattle. Sale prices, feeder prices, and corn prices had the most impact on profit variability over time. Differences in sale prices, feeder prices, and feed conversions were important in explaining the difference in steer and heifer profits over time. Results suggest that breakeven prices should be calculated for a range of fed cattle, feeder, and corn prices, and that these three variables need to be stochastic in representative farm modeling efforts.

Cattle feeding enterprises operate amid variability originating in prices and production. This research explicitly models yield risks related to cattle feeding by relating the mean and variance of yield performance factors to observable conditioning variables. The results demonstrate that pen characteristics, such as entry weight, gender, placement season, and location influence the mean and variability of yield factors, defined as dry matter feed conversion, average daily gain, mortality, and animal health costs. Ex ante profit distributions, conditional on cattle placement characteristics, are derived through simulation methods to evaluate the effects of price or yield shocks on the distributional characteristics of expected profits.

A two-stage budgeting LES-LA/AIDS system is used to estimate rural household demand in China with special emphasis on changes in demand for fruit and vegetable commodities across different income groups. The own-price elasticity for food was found to be more elastic than that for clothing, housing, durable goods, and other items. Within the food group, price elasticities range from –1.042 to –0.019. Grain, with an expenditure elasticity of almost unity, is an important staple food for the average rural household. Vegetables are important nonstaple foods relative to fruits. Lower value vegetables are the most price elastic in the vegetable group. Fruits are more price elastic than vegetables, with grapes being the most price elastic. Different income groups share a common demand function.

The study examines the effects of adoption of sustainable land management practices on farm households’ technical efficiency (TE) and environmental efficiency, using household-level data from Ghana. We employ selectivity biased-corrected stochastic production frontier to account for potential bias from both observed and unobserved factors. The empirical results show that adopters exhibit higher levels of TE and output, compared with the nonadopters. However, the results reveal that adopters are found to use excess herbicides that could have adverse environmental consequences. The results also reveal that extension services and access to credit positively and significantly correlate with TE.

Subsidized crop insurance may encourage conversion of native grassland to cropland. The Sodsaver provision of the 2008 farm bill could deny crop insurance on converted land in the Prairie Pothole states for 5 years. Supplemental Revenue Assistance payments, which are linked to crop insurance purchases, could also be withheld. Using representative farms, we estimate that Sodsaver would reduce expected crop revenue by up to 8% and expected net return by up to 20%, while increasing the standard deviation of revenue by as much as 6% of market revenue. Analysis based on elasticities from the literature suggests that Sodsaver would reduce grassland conversion by 9% or less.

The market of wooden beds in the U.S. has been flooded with imports from China and Vietnam in recent years. Static and dynamic Almost Ideal Demand System models are used to assess the import demand for wooden beds from the top seven supplying countries. The analyses reveal that the antidumping investigation on China has some temporary trade depression effect on China, but trade diversion occurs to Vietnam, Indonesia, Canada, and Brazil. The formal implementation of antidumping duties since 2005 has not shown any significant effect on the trade pattern. U.S. consumers spend more on beds from newly industrialized countries and there are moderate degrees of substitution among wooden beds from most countries.

The effects of biofuel production on commodity prices and their transmission to retail food prices are discussed. Factors driving higher commodity prices are tight global supplies and increased demand of corn ethanol in the short term. Evidence suggests that higher corn prices contribute to food price inflation for some food items. These include eggs, poultry, pork, beef and milk. The findings imply that food price inflation for these items is related to increased production of corn ethanol, primarily because of high oil prices. Higher oil prices also increase fuel and energy costs, which increase marketing costs for all food categories.

Off-flavor in catfish restricts farm marketings 10 to 45% depending on the season. The economic impact on society of this imposed supply restriction depends, in part, on the elasticity of demand for catfish. Econometric estimates based on disaggregated processing plant data indicate an elastic demand at the processor level but an inelastic demand at the farm level. Short-run social welfare gains from the elimination of off-flavor are estimated to equal 12.0% of farm revenues ($10.0 million in 1983). The inelastic demand for catfish at the farm level, however, means that most of the societal gains will accrue to individuals beyond the farm gate. Thus, an economic justification exists for public sector funding of off-flavor research.

This article addresses the dynamic impact of the 2005 H5N1 avian influenza outbreak on the Turkish poultry sector. Contemporary time-series analyses with historical decomposition graphs are used to address differences in monthly price adjustments between market levels along the Turkish poultry supply channel. The empirical results show that price adjustments are asymmetric with respect to both speed and magnitude along the marketing channel. Results also reveal a differential impact of the exogenous shock on producers and retailers. The findings have critical efficiency and equity implications for the supply-chain participants.