Farmland offered for its productive or consumptive value may be viewed as a class of goods characteristic of product differentiation. Using the generalized Box-Cox transformation, an unrestricted hedonic model was employed to derive implicit valuations of parcel attributes. Results suggest that the significance and level of importance of attributes on land pricing depends on the spatial extent of markets in Georgia. Differences in the productive or consumptive use of farmland may imply that different factors and functional forms are appropriate to different farmland markets.

Agriculture operates in an uncertain environment. Yields, prices, and resource usage can change dramatically from year to year. However, most analyses of the agricultural sector, at least those using mathematical programming methods, assume decision making is based on average yields, ignoring yield variability. This study examines how explicit consideration of stochastic yield outcomes influence a sector analysis. We develop a model that can be used for stochastic sector analysis. We extend the risk framework developed by Hazell and others to incorporate discrete yield outcomes as well as consumption activities dependent upon yield outcomes. An empirical application addresses a comparison between sector analysis with and without considerations of the economic effects of yield variability in a global warming context.

Although Tennessee has Advanced Master Beef Producer (AMBP) and Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certifications for cattle producers, currently there is no state-certified beef labeling program. A choice experiment was administered to Tennessee consumers to determine their willingness to pay for Tennessee Certified Beef (TCB) and other attributes such as labels indicating producer participation in AMBP and BQA. Random parameter logit model results indicate consumers most valued TCB steak and no-hormones-administered ground beef. Consumers also valued many labels when appearing alongside the TCB label. The impact of providing participants label definitions prior to the choice experiment was examined.

This paper reports on a study examining the ranking of selected attributes of fresh pork by Asian-origin consumers in San Francisco, California. Freshness is ranked as the most important attribute, followed by the attributes of the color of meat, lowness in fat, and the whiteness of fat. The attributes of price, freedom from chemicals, and being USDA labelled were also ranked to be of importance. Empirical results from an ordered probit model, postulated to explain respondents' importance rankings of attributes, suggested that particular demographic and socio-economic characteristics of Asian-origin consumers influenced the importance rankings of selected pork attributes. The findings suggest that Asian-origin consumers should not be treated as a single homogenous niche group in marketing, since there are identifiable sub-groups of these consumers with specific attitudes and preferences.

This paper examines two interrelated issues in commodity markets, namely,the cyclical relationship between stocks and commodities and the function ofcommodity and agribusiness indexes in portfolios. A high negativecorrelation has existed between stock and commodity prices over the past 140years. Moreover, the two markets have alternated in price leadership with29-32-year cycles. The recent price dominance in agricultural commoditiesstarted in 2000, a result supported by the empirical results of theportfolio allocation analysis. For a risk-averse investor, irrespective ofthe period analyzed, placing funds in agribusiness and/or agriculturalcommodity indexes was sound investing.

International agricultural trade has evolved over time. Processed foods and developing countries have become major growth markets for U.S. agricultural exports, and foreign direct investment (FDI) has become even more important than exports as a means of accessing foreign markets. The critical question is whether FDI is a substitute for or a complement of exports. This research builds upon an existing theoretical FDI model and contributes to the literature through the development of a simultaneous equation system for FDI and exports, which is estimated using two-stage least squares. Empirical analyses were used to examine the relationship between U.S. FDI and exports of processed foods into East Asian countries-China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan-from 1989 to 1998. The results indicated a complementary relationship between FDI and exports. Additionally, these results indicated that interest rates, exchange rates, gross domestic product (GDP), and compensation rates are important variables that influence U.S. FDI in East Asian countries, while GDP, exchange rates, and export prices are important export determinants.

Given the geography and agroclimatic conditions of the Southeast, coupledwith continued population expansion from in-migration, local foods marketsmay be a promising niche market for some farms in the region. The Southeasthas more small farms than any other U.S. region. Using farm-level data, weaddress the question of how successful southeastern farms engaged in directsales to consumers differ from other farms. We also include a case study ofa marketing association in the panhandle of Florida. In both analyses, wefocus on the role of the supply chain for direct sales in explaining farmreturns.

Using USDA's Agricultural Resource Management Survey data, factors leading to the adoption of technology, management practices, and production systems by U.S. beef cow-calf producers are analyzed. Binary logit regression models are used to determine impacts of vertical integration; region of the U.S.; farm size, diversification, and tenure; and demographics on adoption decisions. Significant differences were found in adoption rates by region of the U.S., degree of vertical integration, and size of operation, suggesting the presence of economies of size and vertical economies of scope. Results also indicate high degrees of complementarity among technologies, management practices, and production systems.

This article reviews the current debate on whether U.S. agricultural productivity growth is slowing. It also assesses recent research on how productivity is related to long-term investment in research and development (R&D). It describes significant changes taking place in the U.S. agricultural research system, including the growing role of private agribusiness as a main developer of new agricultural technologies and what this implies for agricultural science policy. The conclusion has suggestions for future research on these issues.

No-till acreage has increased in recent years, but many farmers alternate no-till with other tillage practices, limiting public and private benefits from sustained no-till adoption. Revealed preference data are used in an ordered logit regression analysis to determine the effect of soil characteristics, climate, regions, farm characteristics, and producer demographics on producers’ choices to use continuous tillage, alternate no-till systems with tillage systems, or continuously use no-till. The model provides insight into the characteristics and conditions that are conducive to each tillage regime. The attributes found to significantly affect continuous no-till use are erodibility classification, drainage, farm size, and climate.

Forecast users and market analysts need quality forecast information to improve their decision-making abilities. When more than one forecast is available, the analyst can improve forecast accuracy by using a composite forecast. One of several approaches to forming composite forecasts is a Bayesian approach using matrix beta priors. This paper explains the matrix beta approach and applies it to three individual forecasts of U.S. hog prices. The Bayesian composite forecast is evaluated relative to composites made from simple averages, restricted least squares, and an adaptive weighting technique.

Agriculture is unique with respect to the importance of weather variability on output and profits. Irrigation has long been recognized as a means of increasing yields and profits in the arid west, and recently interest in investments in supplemental irrigation in humid areas has accelerated (Brown and Skinner; Hewitt et al.; Levins; Clouser et al., Worm et al.; Schoney and Massie).

The study examines Louisiana small farmers' reasons for not participating in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), their awareness of the program, and their willingness to participate in the program. The results suggest that: farmers do not participate in the CRP if revenues from cropland are an important source of income, or if they are tenants; awareness is significantly related to education, income, race, and average return per acre; willingness is positively influenced by payment per acre, age, and farm status. Participation depends on whether payments per acre are comparable to the opportunity costs of removing cropland from production.

An important aspect of structural change in the U.S. hog industry has been the adoption of breeding technology. The adoption of each of four breeding technologies, weekly farrowing, intensive breeding, terminal crossbreeding, and artificial insemination, in U.S. hog production is analyzed using multivariate probit analysis. Results suggest that diversification, whether the producer raised breeding stock, debt and asset levels, and producer's education influence adoption rate. Larger, more risk-averse producers were more likely to adopt technology. Producers who rated the quality of labor available as higher were more likely to adopt management-intensive technologies.

The spatial distribution of economic activity has been the subject of much theoretical study during the last 150 years. The two-state study which provides primary evidence for this article is, to the authors' knowledge, the first attempt to analyze statistically the determinants of industrial location in rural communities with an explicit objective of more enlightened public action at the local, state, and federal levels.

Human resource management in agriculture and associated risks are under-researched topics. To identify the sources of human resource management risks confronting dairy farms, gain insights into how dairy farmers perceive the impacts of these risks, and identify control strategies, four focus group discussions were held with dairy farm managers. Managers' perceptions served to develop a framework for the analysis of human resource management risks in agriculture and derive recommendations for reducing these risks. Results of this study have been used to tailor educational programs for farmers and suggest strategies for future research.

The influence product markets, agglomeration, labor, infrastructure, and government fiscal attributes had on manufacturing investment flows in Indiana between 2000 and 2004 were estimated using Poisson regression, geographically weighted regression, and a spatial general linear model. Counties with access to urbanization economies, product markets, available labor, a high-quality workforce, and transport infrastructure were more likely to attract manufacturing investment. These effects were magnified to some extent when inter-county spatial effects were modeled. The distributional assumptions of the spatial models are different, but both methods are useful for understanding the spatial context of the factors influencing manufacturing investment flows.

This study focuses on managing cotton production and marketing risks usingcombinations of irrigation levels, put options (as price insurance), andcrop insurance. Stochastic cotton yields and prices are used to simulate awhole-farm financial statement for a 1,000 acre furrow-irrigated cotton farmin the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley under 16 combinations of riskmanagement strategies. Analyses for risk-averse decision makers indicatethat multiple irrigations are preferred. The benefits to purchasing putoptions increase with yields, as they are more beneficial when higher yieldsare expected from applying more irrigation applications. Crop insurance isstrongly preferred at lower irrigation levels.

Binary logit analysis was used to identify the factors influencing adoption of Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance systems by cotton farmers in 11 Mid-south and Southeastern states. Results indicate that adoption was more likely by those who had already adopted other precision-farming practices and had used computers for farm management. In addition, younger and more affluent farmers were more likely to adopt. Farmers with larger farms and with relatively high yields were also more likely to adopt. Education was not a significant factor in a farmer's decision to adopt GPS guidance systems.

Forward pricing behavior of random samples of Indiana, Nebraska, and Mississippi crop producers was analyzed using Heckman's two-step limited information maximum likelihood estimation procedure. Producers who forward priced during the 1995–1998 period generally expected to forward price in 1999 using similar techniques. Probit models were estimated for cash forward contracts and taking a direct position in futures or options separately and combined. Results provide limited support for the hypothesis that forward pricing should be analyzed as an adoption decision. Variables reflecting risk attitudes do affect the decision to use forward pricing, while variables related to economic position affect the level of forward pricing.