Centralized, off-farm compost facilities were evaluated as a disposal option for poultry litter. Disposal fees to growers were required to develop an economically feasible facility for a private investor. The potential for a compost facility to compete with current litter alternatives depends upon development of compost markets comparable to urban areas along with a depressed market price for litter. Given disposal fees and uncertainty associated with market development, further expansion of land application and cattle feeding disposal alternatives is recommended.

This paper examines the impact of domestic and foreign macroeconomic variables on U.S. meat exports, including beef, pork, turkey, and chicken, in the context of an open economy. The results show that foreign macroeconomic variables exert more significant and persistent effects on U.S. meat exports than domestic macroeconomic variables. The implication is that the U.S. can increase its meat exports more effectively by expending efforts on international macroeconomic policy coordination rather than on domestic sectoral policy. The results also suggest that macroeconomic models of the agricultural sector should include foreign variables and should not be limited only to domestic ones.