We tested agricultural productivity convergence in the United States using the state level total factor productivity data and utilizing new estimation and cluster identification methods to identify convergence in the data. The empirical investigation did not indicate any evidence of agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) convergence at the state level. However, we found the evidence of TFP convergence at the regional level for some regions/clusters.

Geographic concentration in U.S. hog production from 1974-96 is investigated using a measure based on Theil's entropy index. For the U.S. as a whole, geographic concentration is occurring at a slow rate, both for hog farms and hog numbers. However, for particular states, primarily in the new Southern Atlantic production region, concentration is high and increasing at a rapid pace. Concentration was increasing for the 23-year period for 16 out of the 20 states in the analysis. Results indicate that geographic concentration by augmentation is occurring to the greatest degree in Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania.

The food stamp program, as enacted into law in 1964, was intended to improve the diet of low income households, but whether the program resulted in a nutritional improvement remains a controversial question. Several studies have evaluated the nutritional impact of the food stamp program on participant households. In general, the study findings do not conclusively resolve the question of nutritional improvement for participant families. Studies of California families showed some nutritional improvements among food stamp recipients in comparison with nonrecipients [7, 8]. A study in Pennsylvania showed no nutritional improvements, except in temporary periods of cash shortage [9].

A national survey of broiler industry executives is conducted to analyze site-specific factors related to the broiler-complex location problem. Conjoint analysis is used to analyze the broiler complex location decision. Feed costs, community attitude toward the broiler industry, availability of geographically concentrated growers, unemployment rates, and wage rates were found to be the top five factors affecting broiler company location decisions. The quality of roads between feed mill and growers; electricity, heating, water, and sewage costs; and the number of potential growers in the region were also found to be important.

We administered an online choice experiment to a sample of U.S. raw-oyster consumers to identify factors influencing preferences for Gulf of Mexico oysters, determined the extent of preference heterogeneity, and estimated marginal willingness to pay for specific varieties and other key attributes. Results indicate significant preference heterogeneity among select varieties, with non-Gulf respondents estimated to require a price discount on Gulf oyster varieties on the order of $3–$6/half dozen. Gulf respondents were found to be less sensitive to oyster variety, and estimated to be willing to pay a price premium only for select Gulf varieties on the order of $0–$3/half dozen.

Alternative hypotheses of market integration in the U.S winter market for fresh tomatoes were evaluated using a dynamic model of spatial price adjustment. The results showed that while Florida and Mexico were integrated in the same market, a price change in one area was not instantaneously reflected in the other. Lagged effects were important with long-run integration being supported for both Florida and Mexico and short-run integration for Mexico. However, the information flow, while relatively efficient, was not symmetric. Florida was found to be dominant in the price formation process with Mexico responding to changes in the Florida price.

After California voters decided in a state initiative to ban gestation crates and battery cages, some are asking whether other states will host similar initiatives and if they will pass. This study addresses this question by using voting data in California to predict how voters in other states would respond to a similar initiative. Results suggest that a number of states allow such initiatives and possess a demographic profile favorable to the initiative's passage. However, because these states host only a small portion of the livestock population, the impact of such initiatives on the well-being of farm animals is questionable.

This article identifies factors that influence agricultural economics professionals' job choice between academic and government employment. Respondents agreed that job responsibilities were the most important factor in choosing their current position. They also agreed that having a positive work environment, good salary, family time, adequate resources, and professional and social interaction were important job attributes. Proportionally more women than men regarded partner opportunities, nondiscrimination, time for child care, and supportive colleagues as very important attributes influencing their decisions. A binomial probit of respondents' current job sector indicates significant job choice determinants include sector preference (academic or government), previous professional experience, a positive work environment, and advancement opportunities.

A major concern with immigrants coming into the United States is that they adversely affect domestic workers through job competition and wage depression. We study the displacement and wage reduction effects of immigrants in California vegetable production, which is labor intensive, and 95% of the farmworkers in California are immigrants. Our findings show that this concern is not valid in vegetable production because the addition of one new immigrant displaces only 0.0123 domestic workers, and wage reduction is inconsequential. But one immigrant worker increases the vegetable production by $23,457 and augments the productivity of skilled workers, material inputs, and capital by $11,729.

“Rural Development” is a phrase much in the news and literature. Both the terms rural and development are used somewhat ambiguously, though the niceties of having quantitative measures for each term are readily recognized by researchers. Although what constitutes development and how it should be measured is a very important question, the focus of this paper is on the term rural.

Marginal probability effects of demographic variables on consumer concerns about pesticide residues were assessed as well as the likelihood of consumer beliefs given different channels of information on produce safety and risks. This was done using maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of ordered logit models. The empirical results showed that pesticide residue concern levels appeared to be lower for more highly educated and high income households. Safety information from the academic community was found to have the highest likelihood of acceptance by consumers.

The impacts of program subsidy on productivity growth is investigated in this study. Mundlak's concept of endogeneity is applied to technical efficiency and generalized within a dual framework. Technology is described by an aggregate cost function while technical efficiency is conditional on a vector of state variables. Empirical evidence from the U.S. dairy sector supports the hypothesis that protectionism, in the form of program subsidy, is the source of considerable technical inefficiencies.

Dominant users of Lake Okeechobee water resources are agricultural producers and recreational anglers These uses will be directly affected, should the lake become infested with zebra mussels. We employ a probabilistic bioeconomic simulation model to estimate the potential impact of zebra mussels on consumptive water uses, recreational angling, and wetland ecosystem services under alternative public management scenarios. Without public management, the expected net economic impact from zebra mussels is –$244.1 million over 20 years. Public investment in prevention and eradication will yield a net expected gain of +$188.7 million, a superior strategy to either prevention or eradication alone.

Factors that affect the decision to feed or sell calves at weaning are analyzed for Arkansas cow-calf operators. A discrete choice logit model is used to analyze the adoption of value-added cattle production. Farm size, human capital, perception of risk/returns and enterprise diversification are hypothesized to explain this decision. Regional factors and land quality are also accounted for. Operator perceptions towards risk, profitability and facilities were important. Production control and attention to marketing were also significant, but farm size and scale of cattle production had a minimal impact. Effects of human capital and off-farm labor opportunities need further investigation.

Protecting the safety of the U.S. food supply is a shared responsibility.Accomplishing that task requires the efforts of multiple government agenciescombined with private sector participation. Despite the best efforts of thepublic-private partnership, the presence of microbial contaminationincidents continues to raise questions regarding the safety of the U.S. foodsupply. As a result, there have been increased efforts to take measures toenhance food safety by the government and industry groups. The passage ofthe Food Safety Modernization Act establishes an increasing role forgovernment in establishing and enforcing food safety standards. This newinitiative is designed to address food from domestic and foreign origins.These U.S. government initiatives combined with the labyrinth of food safetystandards promoted by international organizations, foreign governments,private-sector retail food sales, food processors, and producers have acommon foundation. All of these standards generally apply to four basicbiohazards areas: soil, water, animals, and people. However, they all havean effect on the costs that producers and other members of the industry faceas they attempt to implement and/or document the multitude of activitiesrequired for compliance. This article provides an overview of the evolutionof food safety standards related to the fresh produce industry. An exampleof their potential consequences on the profitability of southern regionvegetable producers is provided and the potential impact on import suppliersis discussed.

A revealed-preference–based approach is proposed for valuation of the environmental and human impacts of pesticides. It is assumed that farmers reveal their willingness to pay for improved pesticide safety by selecting a specific product out of the set of available alternatives based on their costs, effectiveness, and safety. The approach is applied to estimate the welfare impact of changed patterns of herbicide use on Roundup Ready soybeans. The results indicate that farmers associate positive values with safety improvements. The aggregate welfare impact of the reduced risk for the U.S. soybean farmers was estimated to be $90.3 million in 2001.

Farmers and taxpayers would benefit from more cost-effective agricultural nutrient pollution control measures. The objectives of our study are (1) to assess compliance costs and reductions in phosphorus loadings from implementation of nutrient management and riparian buffers; and (2) to estimate how the spatial scenario, which is the method of representing farms within the watershed, affects estimated compliance costs and reductions in phosphorus deliveries. Estimated compliance costs are quite sensitive to the spatial scenario. Buffers are more cost-effective than nutrient management under one of the two spatial scenarios, whereas nutrient management is more cost-effective under the other scenario. Shifts to more erosive crops reduce the effectiveness of both pollution control measures.

This study aims to assess the market potential for organically farmed shrimp. The rank-ordered logit model was employed to investigate consumer perceptions; the findings reveal that consumers prefer organic shrimp from mariculture, and inland-farmed shrimp to the coastal version. The willingness to pay (WTP) for conventional shrimp amongst consumers with low knowledge is less than that for organic shrimp amongst highly knowledgeable ones. In addition, the lower WTP for organic shrimp compared with safe shrimp amongst those with a medium knowledge level shows that the organically farmed shrimp market is lagging behind due to limited knowledge and confusion.

This study provides an empirical investigation of how consumers rate meat attributes. Results show an importance order for 12 selected meat attributes and reveal some relationships between the importance ratings and consumer's demographic or socioeconomic characteristics. The findings suggest that (1) the meat marketing strategy should focus on freshness, taste, and appearance; (2) nutritional attributes have become important factors in the meat purchasing decision of female, educated, and married consumers; (3) older, married, low-income, or non-white consumers still remain price conscious; and (4) USDA label has become an important symbol of meat quality and safety to older, female, Baptist, and high-income consumers.

A sequential decision-making model was developed, and data from farm-raised catfish production were used to demonstrate its use. Outcomes of sequences of decisions which satisfied chance constraints on ending cash balances were traced through a specified time period. Discrete choice variables were specified due to the fixed nature of pond facilities. Recourse actions specified were sale of production in excess of endogenously determined transfer levels or purchase of inputs to supplement needs of the next production stage. Production activities cannot be changed during the planning period. Only yield variability was considered due to its impact on relative competitiveness among growth stages. Deviations were calculated from endogenously determined target levels based on goal and probability limits.