Three index-based crop insurance contracts are evaluated for representative south Georgia corn farms. The insurance contracts considered are based on indexes of historical county yields, yields predicted from a cooling degree-day production model, and yields predicted from a crop-simulation model. For some of the representative farms, the predicted yield index contracts provide yield risk protection comparable to the contract based on historical county yields, especially at lower levels of risk aversion. The impact of constraints on index insurance choice variables is considered and important interactions among constrained, conditionally optimized, choice variables are analyzed.

This paper analyzes the European Union (EU) import demand for in-shell peanuts from three sources: the United States, China, and the rest of the world. We find that peanuts from different sources are differentiated by EU consumers. The expenditure elasticity is elastic for U.S. in-shell peanuts, which is associated with their higher quality. The conditional own price elasticities are more elastic for U.S. and Chinese in-shell peanuts. These findings have at least two implications. First, U.S. producers and exporters should direct efforts to ensure that in-shell peanuts exported to the EU are of the best possible quality, and, second, promotion efforts should stress the quality of U.S peanuts as an advertising tool.

Texas dryland upland cotton yields have historically exhibited greater variation and more distributional irregularities than the yields of other crops, raising concerns that conventional parametric distribution models may generate biased or otherwise inaccurate crop insurance premium rate estimates. Here, we formulate and estimate regime-switching models for Texas dryland cotton yields in which the distribution of yield is conditioned on local drought conditions. Our results indicate that drought-conditioned regime-switching models provide a better fit to Texas county-level dryland cotton yields than conventional parametric distribution models. They do not, however, generate significantly different Group Risk Plan crop insurance premium rate estimates.

We investigate the factors behind the growing U.S. trade deficit in consumer-oriented agricultural products by using reliable panel data and an empirical trade model derived from international trade theory. The results indicate that per capita income in the United States appears to be the most important determinant for the growing U.S. trade deficit of consumer-oriented agricultural products. An increase in per capita income and trade liberalization in foreign countries would improve the U.S. trade balance. U.S. foreign direct investment abroad in food manufactures and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are found to have negative effects on the U.S. trade balance.

A state-level analysis of the Re-enrollment and Extension (REX) program on southern states indicates a positive relationship between percentage of tree acreage and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) re-enrollment for states in which conservation acreage is dominated by trees. However, the relationship depends on crop mix where CRP acreage is dominated by grass. County-level analysis suggests that states will differ in how quickly they opt out of CRP. Of the states examined, Arkansas is the most likely to move land to corn, with Mississippi the least likely. Arkansas and Kentucky will switch to soybean first, followed by Mississippi and Georgia.

Farmers' markets presumably benefit local economies through enhanced retention of local dollars. Unlike other studies, the net impact of farmers' markets on the West Virginia economy is examined. Producer survey results are used in estimating annual direct sales ($1,725 million). Using an IMPLAN-based input-output model, gross impacts are 119 jobs (69 full-time equivalent jobs) and $2,389 million in output including $1.48 million in gross state product (GSP). When the effect of direct revenue losses are included (primarily for grocery stores), the impact is reduced to 82 jobs (43 full-time equivalent jobs), $1,075 million in output, and $0,653 million in GSP.

Increased demand for corn for ethanol production has helped push grain prices to record levels. This has increased livestock production costs, and producers have responded with changes to production systems. This paper explores the degree to which costs can be mitigated with alternative feeds, the effect this might have on physical performance, and the impact of alternative feeds on the competitive position of different species.

This study examines the causes of the countercyclicality of the trade balance in the three major sectors of the U.S. economy: services, manufacturing, and agriculture. These results are compared with the results pertinent to the U.S. economy as a whole. At the macroscopic level, Sachs' hypothesis seems to explain the countercyclicality of the trade balance, while results are mixed across individual sectors. The services sector may be explained by Sachs’ hypothesis, while results for the manufacturing sector are more consistent with the real business cycle hypothesis. The results for the agricultural sector, however, cannot be explained by either hypothesis.

This study analyzes the potential impacts of expanded ethanol production on southern agriculture. Results of regression analysis suggest that acreage planted for field crops (corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat) is inelastic with respect to relative prices. The results provide statistical evidence of potential significant acreage shifts favoring corn over cotton, soybeans, and wheat. Simulations indicate that higher corn prices will increase corn acreage, but the South continues to be a deficit corn region. U.S. corn production is capable of supplying domestic demand for ethanol, feed for livestock and poultry, and other uses, while maintaining exports at more than 2 billion bushels annually.

This study compares an ordered probit model and a Tobit model with selection to take into account both true zero and protest zero bids while estimating the willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation easements in Macon County, NC. By comparing the two models, the ordered/unordered selection issue of the protest responses is analyzed to demonstrate how the treatment of protest responses can significantly influence WTP models. Both models consistently show that income and knowledge are positive and significant factors, while distance to poorer quality streams and duration of residency are negative and significant factors on WTP.

This study identifies the most important factors affecting customers’ decisions to buy pick-your-own versus prepicked strawberries and muscadine grapes at direct-market operations in North Carolina. The relative importance analysis identified the region of location of the operations and prices as the explanatory variable explaining most of the variation observed in the customer's decision to choose the type of fruit to purchase. The estimated price elasticities indicate that sales of each type of fruit are very sensitive to prices.

An extension of the Rotterdam model is developed that makes the model's income flexibility and marginal propensities to consume varying coefficients. Frisch's duality relationships that the second partial derivatives of demand with respect to income and prices are independent of the order of differentiation are imposed with the marginal propensities to consume specified as functions of income and price, and the Slutsky coefficients specified as functions of income only. A uniform substitute specification is used to analyze the conditional demands for a group of beverages.

This study extends previous empirical research on land preservation by considering an actual land preservation scheme, the agricultural land reserve in British Columbia, Canada. The reserve was established in 1973 to ensure that development did not occur on the province’s most productive agricultural land. ‘To ensure that local food production is maintained,’ ‘the economic importance of British Columbia's agricultural sector,’ and ‘to protect the environment’ are the most important factors that underlie support for the reserve. Aggregate, provincewide willingness to pay to maintain the land reserve is substantial, with our most conservative estimate being Can$91.18 million per year.

Livestock rations are formulated to minimize feed cost subject to nutritional requirements for a target performance level, which ignores the potentially substantial cost of disposing of nutrients fed in excess of nutritional requirements. We incorporate nutrient disposal costs into a modified least-cost ration formulation model to arrive at a joint least-cost decision that minimizes the sum of feed and net nutrient disposal costs. The method is demonstrated with phosphorus disposal costs on a representative dairy farm. Herd size, land availability and proximity, crop rotation, and initial soil phosphorus content are shown to be important in determining phosphorus disposal costs.

Estimates of price and scale elasticities for U.S. consumed shrimp are derived using aggregate shrimp data differentiated by source country. Own-price elasticities for all countries had the expected negative signs, were statistically significant, and inelastic. The scale elasticities for all countries were positive and statistically significant at the 1% level with only the United States and Ecuador having scale elasticities of less than one. For the most part, the compensated demand effects showed that most of the cross-price effects were positive. Our results also suggest that despite the countervailing duties imposed by the United States, shrimp demand was fairly stable.

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.

Comparisons are made concerning labor required and profitability associated with continuous grazing at three stocking rates and rotational grazing at a high stocking rate in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. A unique data set was collected using a time and motion study method to determine labor requirements. Profits are lowest for low stocking rate–continuous grazing and high stocking rate–rotational grazing. Total labor and labor in three specific categories are greater on per acre and/or per cow bases with rotational-grazing than with continuous-grazing strategies. These results help to explain relatively low adoption rates of rotational grazing in the region.

The objective is to identify significant determinants of performance for food processing firms over the 1992 to 2003 time period, focusing particularly on the issue of family control. Variables measuring firm effects such as asset size, governance, income distribution, and risk are used to explain return on equity. This study builds upon previous research by including a measure of income distribution in the food processing industry. Governance variables are found to be significant determinants of return on equity. The results found no evidence of agency problems in family-controlled firms during this time period.

The genetic traits of a purebred bull convey the reproductive and economic value to buyers. This study examines and compares the value of actual production weights (birth, weaning, and yearling weight), production expected progeny differences (EPDs) (birth, weaning, milk, and yearling), and ultrasound EPDs (carcass quality predictors) for purebred Angus bulls sold at auction. One EPD, birth weight, was valued by buyers more than its corresponding actual weight, though both actual weights and EPDs significantly impact price. Predictors of carcass quality were important in determining price. Finally, several individual animal factors and sale characteristics were significant in determining price.