bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
RAPID EVALUATION OF A POLICY AND A SERVICE: SOCIO‐ECONOMIC ADVICE IN ENGLAND AND WALES
Authors: Woods Elizabeth
Published: November 2008

In response to the difficulties experienced by individual members of the farming population involved in the structural adjustment of agriculture, socio‐economic advisory services were introduced in member states of the European Community (Directive 72/161/EEC). This paper describes the establishment of these services and the introduction of socio‐economic advice in 1975 in England and Wales, through the Agricultural Development and Advisory (A.D.A.S.) of the Ministry of Agriculture, fisheries and Food (M.A.F.F.). The potential success of this service as could have been predicted before it began operation is then considered. This is followed by a brief evaluation of the service in operation, based on discussion with the principal officers involved in providing socio‐economic advice, during 1978.

EVALUATION SUCCINCTE D'UNE POLITIQUE ET D'UN SERVICE—LES CONSEILS SOCIO‐ECONOMIQUES EN ANGLETERRE ET AU PAYS DE GALLES.

C'est pour tenter de résoudre les difficultés recontrées individuellement par les membres de la population agricole affectés par les ajustement structurels de I'agriculture que furent créés dans les Etats membres de la Communauté européenne (Directive 72/161/CCE) les services consultatifs socio‐économiques.

Le présent article décrit I'établissement de ces organismes et notamment la création en 1975 en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles de services consultatifs socio‐économiques, dans le cadre du Service de consultation et développement agricoles (A.D.A.S.) du ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pěcheries et de l'Alimentation (M.A.F.F.). Il examine ensuite le succès potentiel de ce service, tel qu'on pouvait le prévoir avant měme son démarrage, puis fait brièvement le point de son activité durant 1978, basé sur des entretiens avec ses principaux dirigeants.

DIE RAPIDE EVALUIERUNG EINER POLITIK UND EINES DIENSTES: SOZIO‐öKONOMISCHE BERATUNG IN ENGLAND UND WALES.

Als Antwort auf die Schwierigkeiten, die einzelne Mitglieder der landwirtschaftlichen Bevölkerung infolge der strukturellen Veründerungen in der Landwirtschaft erfuhren, wurden sozio‐ökonomische Beratungsdienste in den Mitgliedsstaaten der Europüischen Gemeinschaft (Direktive 72/161/EG) eignefürt. Dieser Artikel beschreibt die Errichtung dieser Dienste und die Einführung der sozio‐ökonomischen Beratung im Jahre 1975 in England und Wales durch den landwirtschaftlichen Entwicklungs‐ und Beratungsdienst (A.D.A.S.) des Ministeriums für Landwirtschaft, Fischerei und Ernührung (M.A.F.F.).

Der potentielle Erfolg dieses Dienstes, so wie er vor dem Inkrafttreten hütte vorhergesagt werden können, wird anschließend betrachtet. Darauf folgt eine kurze Evaluierung der Diensttütigkeit, basiert auf einer Diskussion mit den Hauptbeamten, die bei der sozio‐ökonomischen Beratung im jahre 1978 mittütig waren.
OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION IN BRITISH AGRICULTURE*
Authors: Errington Andrew
Published: November 2008

A major problem facing those concerned with manpower planning at a national level is the lack of meaningful data on occupational groups. This article demonstrates the deficiencies of the present methods of data collection which depend on the respondent's understanding of imprecise job titles. Data from a recent survey by the Agricultural Training Board are then used to illustrate an alternative approach based on a simple activity check‐list through which information on more uniform and meaningful occupational categories can be gathered.

LA CLASSIFICATION DES DIFFéRENCES CATéGORIES D'EMPLOI DANS L'AGRICULTURE BRITANNIQUE

Un des plus gros problèmes auxquels se heurtent ceux qui, au niveau national, sont chargés de dresser les plans sur la main‐d'oeuvre est le manque de données sérieuses sur les divers groupes d'emplois.

Aprés avoir démontré les lacunes des méthodes actuelles de recueil des renseignements, qui dépendent du sens donné, dans l'esprit de la personne interrogée, à telle ou telle description imprécise de type de travail, l'article s'appuie sur les résultats d'une enquěte récente des services officiels de la formation agricole pour préconsier la méthode utilisée par ces derniers, qui repose simplement sur une liste de contrǒle regroupant les diverses activités et permet d'obtenir plus d'uniformité et de précision dans la désignation des différentes catégories professionnelles.

BERUFSKLASSIFIKATIONEN IN DER BRITISCHEN LANDWIRTSCHAFT.

Ein Hauptproblem für die, die sich mit der Arbeitskraftplanung auf nationaler Ebene beschüftigen, ist der Mangel an aussagekrüftigem Datenmaterial für Berufsgruppen. Dieser Artikel zeigt die Müngel der gegenwürtigen Methoden der Datensammlung auf, die an dem schlechten Verstündnis von ungenauen Berufsbezeichnungen durch die Beantworter liegen. Datenmaterial, das aus einer kürzlichen Untersuchung der landwirtschaftlichen Ausbildungsbehörde stammt, wird anschließend benützt, ein alternatives Verfahren zu beschreiben, das auf einer einfachen Tütigkeitskontrolliste basiert, durch das Information über einheitlichere und aussagekrüftigere Berufskategorien gesammelt werden kann.
REGIONAL SPECIALISATION IN THE AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRY
Authors: Bowler I. R.
Published: November 2008

Data for Scotland are used to show how some farm types are becoming locationally more dispersed while others become more localised in those regions with which they have a traditional association. The process leading to a more specialised regional farm type structure is complex and varies in character from region to region. The differential movement into and out of the production of certain products, particularly beef, lies at the centre of the process. The regional specialisation of production has implications for the economic stability of farm economies and the environment.
THE THEORY OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH BENEFITS
Authors: Wise W. S.
Published: November 2008

This paper describes a new approach to the theory of agricultural research benefits based on component benefits rather than, as is customary, on surpluses. The surplus concept nevertheless emerges when the distribution of the national benefit is considered. Various published methods (Grossfield‐Heath, Lindner‐Jarrett, Akino‐Hayami, Griliches I and II) are derived as special cases of the theory and numerically compared.

Applications are briefly considered; Griliches II is used for the variability of crop yields and some typical results for the distribution of benefits are given.
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY:NATIONAL PROBLEMS IN A COMMUNITY FRAMEWORK
Authors: Benedictis Michele De
Published: November 2008

During the last twenty years Italian agriculture has undergone a process of fast growth but slow development: in spite of a sustained increase of gross agricultural production, intrasectoral and intersectoral income disparities become wider and the agricultural trade balance shows a mounting deficit. Both the CAP and national policy bear some responsibility in engendering these kind of trends. Community market and price policy has accorded to Mediterranean products levels of protection and support lower than those enjoyed by continental commodities, and its structural policy has been unable to provide satisfactory answers to those problems that show high regional specificities. National policy has unduly neglected critical areas such as agricultural research and extension, as well as those public actions needed to improve market structures and performance.
INTERNATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHICAL SERVICES FOR MARKETING: AN APPRAISAL IN TERMS OF CONVENIENCE FOR WORK IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Authors: Abbott J. C.
Published: November 2008

Adaptation of computer technology to the assembly of bibliographical information has expanded enormously the amount and range of information that can be held. Convenience in use remains an important consideration. This criterion is applied to some international bibliographical systems from the viewpoint of a particular discipline. A second stage selection based on the primary sources seems necessary to take full advantage of their potential.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ISRAEL'S MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE IN DIRECTING FARM INVESTMENT
Authors: Shashua Leon , Goldschmidt Yaaqov
Published: November 2008

This study tries to determine whether the kibbutz settlements in Israel follow the investment policy, as set by the Ministry of Agriculture.

A regression analysis, which was applied to data from 66 settlements, shows that the Ministry does direct the settlements to invest in approved projects financed by long term funds.
ON MEASURING YIELD POTENTIAL OF THE HIGH YIELDING VARIETIES TECHNOLOGY AT FARM LEVEL
Authors: Kalirajan K.
Published: November 2008

Among rice scientists in developing countries there is a general belief that on‐farm rice yields are far below their potential level. There is considerable controversy about the appropriate methodology to define and measure the potential yield at the farm level within the farmers' environment. Most of the methodologies are based on agronomic criteria and neglect the farmers' socio‐economic environment. The aim of this paper is to define the potential yield at the farm level incorporating the economic environment farmers face. This potential yield so defined is feasible in that it could be realised by all farmers with existing technology, provided that they have access to necessary inputs. Measuring potential yield in this way is also desirable from a welfare viewpoint.
EEC FOOD LAW AND TRADE IN FOOD PRODUCTS
Authors: Swinbank Alan
Published: November 2008

The paper first considers some of the legislation, and associate measures, affecting the availability, the form and presentation, and the price of foods to consumers. Little work seems to have been undertaken, and published, which would seek to establish the costs and benefits of ‘food law’. Food law can act as a non‐tariff barrier; and within the EEC, because of the elimination of other barriers to trade, national legislation now attracts much press and political comment. The EEC's food law harmonisation programme, and the implications of the Cassis de Dijon case, are briefly reviewed. As with food law in general, there appears to be little economic appraisal of the EEC's measures.
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN AGRICULTURAL MARKETING
Authors: Pickard D. H.
Published: November 2008

The author considers the question ‘What is a marketing improvement and how can it be recognised?’ and finds it a more difficult question to answer than it might first appear. Yet government is constantly urging ‘improvement’ on the industry. Rejecting the notion that government is somehow better placed than people in the market to decide what should be the pattern of the future, the author suggests that a proper role for government is to create the context within which the natural, self‐adjusting mechanisms of the market economy can function properly, and explores the implications of such a role. He also argues a case for reconsidering the structure and role of the bodies which represent sectoral interests.
AGRICULTURAL CO‐OPERATIVE THEORY: A REVIEW*
Authors: LeVay Clare
Published: November 2008

The notion of a review article would presume that there exists a coherent body of literature on the topic in question. With agricultural co‐operative theory this is not quite the case since it has been approached seriously and systematically in some subject areas but disjointedly if at all in others. This review article attempts to ask what predictions can be made about the behaviour of agricultural co‐operatives in the present state of theoretical knowledge—thus, each section refers to a topic that readers might hope to have been investigated in the literature, though the findings are necessarily patchy since few areas have been given adequate attention. Where weaknesses and deficiencies occur, I have tried to point them out and to indicate areas for further research. In doing so, I have hazarded my own ideas, so that much of the material is original. As far as I know, for example, nobody has yet seriously considered the life‐cycle of the agricultural co‐operative organisation, which constitutes the subject matter of section 7, and the discussion put forward in the first half of section 6, on the supply curve of marketing associations, is also my own work. If these are duplicated in papers which I have failed to bring to light in my quest for material for this article, I can only apologise.
STRUCTURAL PROJECTIONS OF THE SCOTTISH DAIRY INDUSTRY USING MICRO AND MACRO MARKOV TRANSITION MATRICES
Authors: Buckwell A. E. , Shucksmith D. M. , Young D. A.
Published: November 2008

This article analyses changes in the size‐structure of the dairy industry in the SMMB area. It compares the performance of projections based on easily available, aggregate data using well‐known computer routines with projections made from detailed, infrequently collected, farm‐level data. The paper suggests that although yields are continuing to rise this may no longer be sufficient to compensate for the loss of producers, so that there may be a fall in total milk output in the 1980s.
TOWARDS AN AGRICULTURAL CO‐OPERATIVE CLASSIFICATION
Authors: Murray Gordon C.
Published: November 2008

In 1981 Agricultural Co‐operatives in the UK had total sales of £1.9 billion yet the behaviour of firms entitled ‘co‐operative’ remains little understood. The paper presents a system for classifying agricultural co‐operatives based on their financial structure and the means by which corporate financing is pursued. It is argued that differing co‐operatives, irrespective of their function, adopt quite separate and distinct capitalisation philosophies.

Two basic types of co‐operative are identified—Capital Accumulative Co‐operatives and Capital Specific Co‐operatives. The latter type can be sub‐divided into Capital Extensive Co‐operatives and Capital Intensive Co‐operatives depending on the level of assets and finance controlled by the organisation.

The paper details a number of organisational and operational differences between the co‐operative types and suggests that these have important implications where co‐operatives become instruments of Government policy.
THE OPTIMAL CHOICE OF A VARIETY OF A SPECIES FOR VARIABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Authors: Tisdell Clem
Published: November 2008

When yields of a variety are a non‐linear function of a relevant environmental condition, variability of this condition affects the average level of yields, and may favour one variety in comparison to another. When the yield function is strictly concave (exhibits diminishing marginal yield as a function of the environmental condition), heightened environmental variability increases the likelihood of the variety with the smallest change in marginal yield, the more tolerant one, maximising yield on average. However, if the yield function is strictly convex (increasing marginal yields are the case) increased environmental variability raises the likelihood of the variety with the greatest change in marginal yield, the less tolerant one, maximising yields on average. Examples are given, and simple rules are stated for choosing the variety that maximises average yields when yield functions are quadratic. The analysis can be adapted to decision‐making in which average profit or expected utility, rather than average yield, is to be maximised.
OPTIMAL ADVERTISING DECISIONS FOR FARMER AND FOOD PROCESSORS
Authors: Strak John
Published: November 2008

This paper reviews some advertising decision models that are appropriate for food producers and processors. The returns from advertising to farmers, the trade, and government are examined for the examples of liquid milk, cream and English butter. The analysis demonstrates that any conclusions will be sensitive to different assumptions about key parameters in the theoretical framework used. More generally, prescriptive work in this area may be overly dependent on the use of elasticities and it may be better to develop a model which utilises the response of sales to advertising directly.
E.E.C. FISHERIES POLICY
Authors: Quin Joyce
Published: November 2008

This paper looks at the special characteristics of the fishing industry which distinguish it from the rest of the ‘agricultural’ sector and which have made its organisation at E.E.C. level both politically and economically difficult. It examines the reasons for the moves behind the creation of a common fisheries policy, the difficulties which the Community of nine (and subsequently ten) countries had in adapting to rules worked out previously by the Six, the subsequent protracted negotiations and the eventual achievement of the new policy which was agreed in January, 1983. The details of the new Common Fisheries Policy are then outlined with possible future problems in the implementation of the policy as well as the opportunities it provides described by way of conclusion.
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND FARM INCOME DISTRIBUTION IN LDCs
Authors: Clayton Eric
Published: November 2008

There were remarkable and sustained increases in agricultural and food production in the developing countries over the last three decades. But the fruits of this progress were not shared by all, and many remain in poverty. Some believe this due to the unequal distribution of benefits and accordingly claim that an agricultural strategy which focuses on reducing disparities of income, assets and access is the most important objective for agricultural development. This approach is justified by claims of wide and increasing disparities of income in the agricultural sectors of LDCs. This paper looks at the evidence for such claims and finds that they cannot be supported by hard evidence. Indeed, the few valid studies of agricultural income distribution show modest disparities. Accordingly, redistribution strategies, especially those aimed at uni‐modal farm sectors, are rejected as unnecessary, undesirable and unachievable (without destroying the main spring of agricultural progress). On the contrary, it is urged that growth in productivity, output and incomes should be the dominant development objective to encourage, as many examples show, the enterprise, ability and energy of small farmers and their families. Such a strategy produces a degree of unequal distribution of benefits which reflects the distribution of personal qualities and endowments and acts as an incentive to their exercise. To keep disparities within bounds, agricultural policies relating to pricing, extension, credit, research and so on should aim at widening the number of small farmer beneficiaries of agricultural development.
THE EVOLUTION OF INFORMATION SOURCES AND THE USE OF INFORMATION‐TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS
Authors: Bellamy Margot
Published: November 2008

The paper reviews developments in bibliograhical, statistical and market information sources over the last 25 years, particularly since the application of the computer to information processing and dissemination. It concentrates on bibliographical sources: the evolution of WAERSA from a quarterly abstract journal to a monthly one, now also accessible on‐line, as well as discussing some of the other major bibliographical sources, notably the AGECON file on USDA's AGRICOLA (formerly the Bibliography of Agricultural Economics), FAO's AGRINDEX, a title‐only service available as a monthly journal and on‐line, the Bibliography on Agricultural Marketing from FAO's marketing division, and the information service provided by ESCA. Different methods of ‘packaging’ information are also mentioned, including regular profiles on particular topics (SDI), ‘state‐of‐the‐arts’ reviews, and ‘start’ reports. The paucity of adequate source guides specially tailored to the needs of agricultural economists is discussed. Finally, the availability of farming and market information through videotex is described. A plea is made for greater co‐operation between providers and users of information, better knowledge of and guides to sources, and for user education.
SIMULTANEITY IN THE UK DAIRY SECTOR*
Authors: Burton M.
Published: November 2008

Because of the high degree of interdependence in the livestock sector, the endogenous variables of econometric models should be simultaneously determined. This paper describes the specification, estimation and evaluation of a model of the UK dairy sector in which the herd size, number of culls, replacement heifer price and milk price are determined simultaneously. The major policy conclusion that emerges from the model is that any attempt to increase the price of milk received by farmers via a structural change in the policy rule used to fix the price will be offset by over 50% as a result of increases in the supply of milk.
THE FOOD AND DRINK INDUSTRIES AND THE SECOND PRICE COMMISSION (1977–1979)
Authors: Maunder Peter
Published: November 2008

This paper is a second one on the subject of price controls in the late 1970s, the previous one being that presented by Ivor Lightman to the April 1978 conference of the Agricultural Economics Society held at the University of Manchester (Lightman, 1978). That paper traced the development of price controls in the UK over the period between 1973 and 1978. Lightman explained how under the terms of the 1977 Price Commission Act the reconstituted Price Commission (PC) had been given the task of appraising notifications of price increases by large companies and of investigating cases in detail at its discretion. The present paper firstly discusses the problems that make it difficult to assess the impact of the reconstituted PC. It then offers an interim assessment of the PC arising from a project based at Loughborough University financed by the Economic and Social Research Council. The project involved a programme of interviews between the two researchers, Dr. M. C. Fleming and myself, and senior management of companies that were the subject of investigation by the PC.
A VOLUNTARY POLICY FOR REDUCING EEC MILK PRODUCTION
Authors: Rickard Sean
Published: November 2008

This paper describes and demonstrates a policy for reducing EEC milk production. The policy is a combination of (real) price pressure for all milk producers coupled with optional direct income support aimed at producers with small to medium herds. The method of calculating and paying the income aid encourages producers with small/medium‐sized herds to reduce the size of their herds. If the majority of small‐scale producers participate it is estimated that the policy would rapidly improve the balance between Community milk production and demand and lead to considerable budgetary savings.
TECHNOLOGY CHANGE AS AN INSTRUMENT IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Authors: McInerney John
Published: November 2008

The introduction of new technology into agriculture is a central feature of development schemes, but is regularly criticised because of its distributive effects. Technology change is unavoidably biased, however, and cannot easily be used to serve specific distribution objectives. Ex post studies do not necessarily guide the appropriate choice of technology as they rarely offer causal explanations. Predicting the consequences of innovation is hampered by the narrowness of established economic models and the conceptual indefiniteness of technology as a variable in those models. In the absence of a wider system framework, technology for development is selected according to more general guides. These emphasise either the primacy of output objectives or advocate technology forms presumed appropriate to distribution objectives. Neither adequately substitutes for a broad framework to guide the choice of technology as an instrument in development.
AGRICULTURAL POLICY IN CHINA—A VISITOR'S IMPRESSION
Authors: Peters G. H.
Published: November 2008

Following a study tour of China a brief account is presented of recent changes in agricultural policy with some short comments on living conditions. The account concentrates on the prominence now given to agriculture within the planning process and the recent raising of its status relative to other sectors. This is associated with the change to the household responsibility system allied to upward adjustment in agricultural producer prices and some adjustment in input costs.
UNCERTAINTY, IRREVERSIBILITY AND THE LOSS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND
Authors: Hodge Ian
Published: November 2008

In the past, evaluations of the transfer of agricultural land to other uses have generally failed to incorporate the issues of uncertainty and irreversibility into the analysis. This can lead to an overestimation of development values. The paper commences with a brief review of the approaches which have been adopted in the assessment of the loss of agricultural land. It is then demonstrated that uncertainty relating to the rate of change of agricultural values through time requires the adoption of a more conservative decision criterion in the evaluation of irreversible land use changes than would otherwise be applied. This is followed by a numerical example and sensitivity analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of these results.
LOCATION AND ENTERPRISE CHOICE: A TANZANIAN CASE STUDY
Authors: Thiele Graham
Published: November 2008

Some of the assumptions of the theory of enterprise choice with respect to location, associated with von Thünen, require modification when labour, not land, is the scarce factor of production. Using these modified assumptions, and farm level data on grain and charcoal enterprises, a model of the local economy around the town of Dodoma in central Tanzania is constructed. At a distance of some 24 kilometres from the town grain replaces charcoal. Information on grain purchases by government‐registered villages suggests that this description of the spatial economy is a plausible one. The implications of this description for pricing and extension policies are also considered.
FARMING SYSTEMS RESEARCH: AN EVOLUTIONARY APPROACH TO IMPLEMENTATION
Authors: Heinemann Edward , Biggs Stephen D.
Published: November 2008

Evidence suggests that many FSR programmes have faced ‘institutional problems’. We argue that these have arisen largely as a result of the way in which FSR programmes have been planned. Too much emphasis has been attached to developing a methodology for FSR, and too little given to understanding the research environment for which the FSR programme is supposedly designed. An alternative approach to the planning of FSR programmes is proposed: one which is based upon a dialogue between the planners and researchers and which takes explicit account of the needs of the client research institution.
GOAL PROGRAMMING AND MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION‐MAKING IN FARM PLANNING: SOME EXTENSIONS
Authors: Romero C. , Rehman T.
Published: November 2008

This paper is the sequel to a previous article by Romero and Rehman on the role of multiple criteria decision‐making (MCDM) techniques, particularly goal programming (GP), in farm planning. This assessment of the potential usefulness of the MCDM paradigm is carried further and now covers the extensions to GP and other related methodologies such as multiobjective programming, compromise programming, multigoal programming and generalised GP. Later analysis is focused on methods of dealing with uncertainty and risk in farm planning models, by demonstrating how game theoretic principles and the MOTAD approach (along with its main variant, target MOTAD) can be incorporated within the MCDM framework.
TREATMENT OF RISK IN A CROP PROTECTION INFORMATION SYSTEM
Authors: Thornton P. K.
Published: November 2008

The importance of risk in a farm‐level management information system designed to help farmers make spraying decisions relating to leaf rust of barley is examined. Using utility functions which were elicited for a small number of cereal growers, and probability distributions of yield losses generated using the information system, it was found that strategy assessment using the criterion of maximisation of expected monetary value or the criterion of maximisation of expected utility could be expected to lead to identical recommendations in most years, for a wide range of risk attitudes.
SAMPLING FRAMES FOR FARM SURVEYS IN THE U.K.: SOME ALTERNATIVES
Authors: Errington Andrew
Published: November 2008

The lack of a suitable sampling frame can be a major problem facing those who wish to gather information from farm surveys but who do not have access to comprehensive lists of agricultural holdings. This paper considers two alternatives. The feasibility and sampling efficiency of using the natural clusters of farms contained within parishes is first examined using information gained from a survey of farms in the Vale of the White Horse District of Oxfordshire. The same survey also provides an opportunity to evaluate the suitability of ‘Yellow Pages’ Telephone Directories as a sampling frame for farm surveys. It is concluded that surveys based on such a frame will provide estimates of the values of population parameters sufficiently accurate for most purposes.
DEMAND ASYMMETRY AND MONEY ILLUSION WITH AN EXAMPLE‐MILK
Authors: Rutherford R. P. , Hocking A. , Ingham D.
Published: November 2008

This paper examines the question of an asymmetric response by consumers to equivalent real price movements depending on whether the source of the real price movement is a change in the money price of the product itself or a change in the general price level. This asymmetry is discussed as a special but pervasive case of asymmetry due to limited information in an inflationary environment. A method is developed to capture possible asymmetric responses of this type by consumers with which it is possible to measure the degree of money illusion they exhibit. This method is then applied to the demand for milk using Australian data to show evidence of a considerable degree of money illusion.
THE SOCIAL SCIENTIST IN FARMING SYSTEMS RESEARCH
Authors: Maxwell Simon
Published: November 2008

The involvement of social scientists in agricultural research institutions has contributed to the improvement of research methods but has often been associated with conflict. The paper describes the development of such conflict in one composite situation and analyses five explanations: personal inadequacy; interdisciplinary communication barriers; poor group dynamics; inadequate institutional structure; and power struggle. It concludes that structural problems are more important than is usually recognised, and makes some suggestions as to the practical lessons of the analysis for social scientists, for the colleagues of social scientists and for policy‐makers.
ACTIVITY SELECTION UNDER CONDITIONS OF RISK AND INSTABILITY: CONSIDERATION OF FREQUENCY
Authors: Talpaz Hovav , Jr. John B. Penson , Harpaz Avraham
Published: November 2008

The terms ‘instability’ and ‘risk’ are sometimes used interchangeably in the literature. Some make the argument that instability will shift the firm's supply curve to the left if the producer is risk‐averse Risk, however, is associated with the unpredictable residuals, or deviations from the producer's revenue expectations. The inherent instability of these returns does not necessarily imply an added exposure to risk as long as the producer forms his expectations based on the entire information set available to him when constructing the mathematical model representing his judgement on the variables' future behaviour. The producer may also respond to the relative instability of the returns generated by an enterprise even if risk, as defined above, is perceived to be non‐existent. The existence of prediction errors exposes the producer to conditions of choice under risk while the predictable component exposes the producer to conditions of choice under instability. His preferences with regard to risk and instability may be quite different. The purpose of this paper is to extend the traditional planning model under risk to account for the producer's attitude toward the predicted instability of returns over time, and to illustrate the effect that this attitude will have upon his production plans.
RISK‐EFFICIENT THRESHOLDS FOR PEST CONTROL DECISIONS
Authors: Moffitt L. Joe
Published: November 2008

Risk and uncertainty are incorporated in an economic model to develop risk‐efficient pest control advice similar in character to advice currently being offered by researchers to farmers. An example to illustrate computation of risk‐efficient advice is presented and implications of risk aversion for efficient pest control advice and average pesticide use are examined.
THE EMPLOYMENT PROBLEM, AGRICULTURAL CHANGE, AND POLICY OBJECTIVES IN INDUSTRIALLY ADVANCED COUNTRIES
Authors: Wagstaff Howard
Published: November 2008

Traditional macroeconomic approaches to the employment problem are insufficient at the stage of development reached in the industrially advanced capitalist economies, and employment policy has to encompass a much wider range of incentives, public expenditure criteria, and investment decisions affecting all sectors of the economy. Implications for the agricultural sector are discussed. Employment and labour use are seen as inter‐related with other aspects of agricultural policy, including those concerned with agronomic and ecological problems. Performance criteria often adopted in evaluating agricultural change are called into question, and a reappraisal of cost concepts is found to raise some fundamental issues faced by industrially advanced societies.
A POLICY ANALYSIS OF EXCHANGE RATE FLUCTUATIONS ON THE RURAL SECTOR: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE CANADIAN RED MEAT INDUSTRY*
Authors: Coleman J. R.
Published: November 2008

Since 1976 the Canadian dollar has devalued by more than 20 percent vis‐à‐vis the US dollar. Many commentators have hypothesised that the devaluation has provided substantial benefits to Canadian producers of red meat. To test this hypothesis, a policy model of the North American red meat sector is formulated which captures the exchange rate effects on both product and factor prices. The model specification and validation are presented, followed by the simulation results for a 10 percent devaluation of the Canadian dollar. The major conclusion is that the exchange rate has not been a significant factor in the determination of production, consumption and trade of red meats.
PERSPECTIVES ON MILK MARKETING PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
Authors: Williams R.E.
Published: November 2008

The paper considers the policy background to differentiated milk pricing by the Board. It discusses the institutional and legal constraints which affect the determination of milk prices. The difference in structure between the milk industry in the United Kingdom and the rest of the Community is discussed and the possible effects of this on the operation of the common organisation of the milk market are examined and discussed.
FOOD, TECHNOLOGY AND EMPLOYMENT: THE FARM‐LEVEL POST‐HARVEST SYSTEM IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Authors: Greeley Martin
Published: November 2008

The prevention of food loss in the farm‐level post‐harvest system has become an objective of food policy in many developing countries. This objective is founded on the allegations that food losses are high, that technology is available to prevent or reduce these losses and that, as a consequence, hungry people will be less hungry. This paper first reviews the development of this policy objective. It then goes on to argue that this formulation of post‐harvest policy is inaccurate and frequently misleading. Evidence on the levels of food loss under traditional practices, and on the costs and benefits of technical change, show that at farm level cost reduction is the chief influence on technological choice; from a social perspective, employment and hence income distribution considerations are often the decisive factor in evaluating new techniques.
MANAGEMENT AND SIZE ECONOMIES IN THE ENGLAND AND WALES DAIRY SECTOR
Authors: Dawson P. J. , Hubbard L. J.
Published: November 2008

Analyses of size economies in the England and Wales dairy sector have generally been made on the basis of comparisons of input‐output measures. These measures have been classified according to input use and farm size and have led to conclusions about efficiency and structural change. This paper examines the influence of managerial ability on economies of size using econometrically estimated long‐run average cost (LAC) functions from Milk Marketing Board data for 1980/1. The results show that the LAC curve is U‐shaped though skewed to exhibit greater economies than diseconomies of size. Better managed farms are shown to produce any given level of output at lower average cost. Moreover, they have larger optimal levels of output.
TAX CHANGES AND MACHINERY INVESTMENT
Authors: Bright Geoff
Published: November 2008

The effects of recent tax changes on the profitability and feasibility of machinery investment and on the incentive for the substitution of labour by machinery are studied. Using two examples, variations in tax, interest and inflation rates are also evaluated, as is the effect of the consideration of tax bands. The results indicate that not only has the change in capital allowances made machinery investment less favourable, but so also does the use of tax bands, especially for more expensive items. If interest and inflation rates decline in the longer term the profitability of machinery investment will deteriorate, although feasibility may improve.
UNCERTAINTY, IRREVERSIBILITY AND THE LOSS OF AGRICULTURAL LAND: A RECONSIDERATION
Authors: Kennedy John O. S.
Published: November 2008

A previous article has discussed how the irreversible transfer of land from agricultural to urban uses should be addressed (Hodge, 1984). If the future value of land in either use is uncertain, some additional value should be placed on a decision which keeps future options open by retaining land in agriculture. It is argued that Hodge's estimates of the value, known as quasi‐option value, are unsatisfactory, and revised estimates are provided. More fundamentally, the usefulness of quasi‐option value as an operational concept is queried. It is better to solve irreversible decision problems under uncertainty as stochastic dynamic programming problems.
MEASUREMENT OF FIRM‐SPECIFIC TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY: A COMPARISON OF METHODS
Authors: Ekanayake S. A. B. , Jayasuriya S. K.
Published: November 2008

Various procedures have been used for the measurement of firm‐specific technical efficiency. Most commonly used methods are static and deterministic. Deterministic methods tend to yield biased estimates of technical efficiency and to overestimate the variability of technical efficiency over time. These conclusions are illustrated by applying stochastic frontier production function analysis and corrected ordinary least squares procedures to farm data from Sri Lanka.
PART TIME FARMING—IMPLICATIONS FOR FARM FAMILY INCOME
Authors: Robson Nigel , Gasson Ruth , Hill Berkeley
Published: November 2008

The Common Agricultural Policy has been more successful at securing food supplies than at providing adequate incomes for small farmers. Among proposals for resolving the problem, part time farming is a promising option. To date, agricultural policy has at best ignored farms below the ‘full time’ threshold, at worst discriminated against them. The new Agricultural Structures policy embodies a more positive approach, however. Robson's paper calls for better information on farm households with other gainful activities. Statistics from the 1983 Farm Structure Survey provide insight into the nature and extent of part time farming in the European Community.

Neglect of part time farming in the UK up to now may have stemmed from its perceived irrelevance for agricultural policy. Now that it is being viewed in a more favourable light, policy makers need to be appraised of the facts. Currently about one third of main agricultural holdings in England and Wales are part time farms in the sense that farmer or spouse combines another paid job with farming. Gasson's paper explores the nature of these other jobs and features of their distribution. Following trends in other developed countries, non‐farm activities are becoming increasingly important for UK farming families.

Growth in part time farming has obvious implications for income support, widely agreed to be the fundamental objective of agricultural policy in western Europe. Existing farm income measures are not adequate for assessing the extent of the income problem in agriculture. Data from the Inland Revenue's Survey of Personal Incomes and the Wye College part time farming survey fill some of the gaps left in official measurements. Non‐farming earnings, pensions and investment income contribute significantly to farm household incomes. A majority of part time farming families in England and Wales make more from other sources than from farming. Although average incomes of part time farmers may exceed those of full timers, Hill's paper identifies a section of part time farming families with inadequate incomes from all sources.
DYNAMIC INTERRELATED DEMAND FUNCTIONS FOR FACTORS OF PRODUCTION AND THE AGGREGATE PRODUCTION FUNCTION IN UNITED KINGDOM AGRICULTURE
Authors: Zanias George P.
Published: November 2008

Taking the price situation as given in product and factor markets, a non‐linear differential equation model of gross output, employment, capital accumulation, and gross input for united Kingdom agriculture is derived by incorporating internal adjustment cost functions into the representative decision‐maker's objective function, and estimated using a discrete approximation. The results are consistent with efficient use of resources, but further incentives for capital investment and a greater exodus of labour could upset this. Adjustment costs as estimated account for 2.6 per cent of the value of output; those associated with net investment for 1.8 per cent, and those associated with employment and gross input for 0.57 and 0.23 per cent respectively.
FORECASTING MILK OUTPUT IN ENGLAND AND WALES*
Authors: White B.
Published: November 2008

This paper evaluates the ablility of an autoregressive integrated moving average (arima) model to forecast monthly milk output before and after the imposition of quotas in April 1984. In the post quota period the standard arima model is modified to a ‘discontinuity’ model allowing the quota to be represented explicitly. It is concluded that for a medium term forecast this is preferable to the standard arima model, whilst for one period ahead forecasts the models are equally good.
FORECASTING LIVESTOCK SLAUGHTER: AN EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF MLC FORECASTS
Authors: Byers J. D. , Peel D. A.
Published: November 2008

Allocating resources to the provision of public forecasts may be justified as a means of reducing fluctuations arising from divergent expectations. In this paper we examine certain forecasts provided by the Meat and Livestock Commission. Our results indicate that these forecasts pass a number of tests of model adequacy. In particular they appear to be unbiased and efficient.
A LINEAR PROGRAMMING STUDY OF FAMILY‐RUN DAIRY FARMS IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Authors: Kirke A. W. , Moss J. E.
Published: November 2008

The paper presents the results of a study in which multiperiod linear programming models were used to examine the probable responses of small and medium sized dairy farms in Northern Ireland to various policy, farm indebtedness and development options and to project consequent structural change in the dairy sector. The introduction of quotas has curtailed the considerable potential for expansion of output on these farms while having a less detrimental effect on farm profits and the survival of the smaller dairy herd than the price cut necessary to produce the same reduction in output.
LABOUR USE AND LABOUR REQUIREMENTS IN UK AGRICULTURE
Authors: Errington Andrew
Published: November 2008

Estimates of labour input coefficients for individual agricultural enterprises have many uses for policy‐makers, agricultural administrators, farm mangement advisers and academics alike, though they have attracted relatively little attention in the UK in recent years. This article describes a new method for estimating labour input coefficients which enables the estimates to be updated quickly and cheaply using information already available from the annual June Census. Some possible uses of the resulting coefficients including the evaluation of prospective changes in agricultural policy are described.
WORLD AGRICULTURAL TRADE AND THE NEW GATT ROUND
Authors: Reeves George W.
Published: November 2008

World agricultural markets are grossly imbalanced with supplies running well ahead of demand at current depressed world prices. At the heart of the problem is the high protection given to agriculture in many OECD countries. In particular, price supports to farmers are too high and incentives to maintain or expand production too great. The success of the Uruguay Round in achieving greater liberalisation of trade in agriculture will depend on the willingness of participating governments to undertake significant reforms of domestic agricultural policies, with the aim of reducing overall protection to agriculture and switching support measures away from direct producer price support to income aid for specific disadvantaged producers. In some countries, this notion has run up against complex politico‐social and structural objectives, which prevent these countries from agreeing to any significant price reduction. Price support policies, however, have been ineffective in the long run in retarding the outmigration of labour from agriculture. Measures involving only quantitative controls on production will be useful in the short run to reduce surpluses but will not solve the underlying problems which the new GATT Round must address.
THE PROVISION OF CARBOHYDRATES FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY'S BIOTECHNOLOGY AND CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES
Authors: Harris S. A.
Published: November 2008

Biotechnology was originally identified as one of the leading‐edge technologies the EC needed to support in order to maintain its industrial competitiveness: only subsequently was the scope for biotechnology in creating new uses for agricultural products seen as a potential outlet for agricultural surpluses. The development of new, biotechnologically‐based products by the chemical industry has been hindered by the price of agricultural raw materials in the EC and the difficulty of negotiating arrangements to bring sugar and glucose prices, for the chemical industry, close to world levels. The negotiations to achieve this end were ultimately concluded successfully in 1986. These are described and a common carbohydrate supply policy called for to avoid such difficulties in the future.
INCOME ELASTICITIES OF DEMANDS FOR FOODS IN GREAT BRITAIN
Authors: Chesher Andrew , Rees Hedley
Published: November 2008

This paper describes analysis of data from the National Food Survey to determine the influences of household income and composition on household demand for foods in 1974, 1979, 1980 and 1982. The paper focuses on fats, cheese and carcase meats. The analysis uses household level data, regarding zero expenditures as arising because of infrequent purchasing and the expenditure‐income relationship used in the Almost Ideal Demand Model. This is in contrast with the analysis reported by the National Food Survey Committee which uses a constant elasticity model and averaged income and expenditure data.
MODELS OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN PUBLIC AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH: A SURVEY
Authors: Fox Glenn
Published: November 2008

The identification of research priorities in public agricultural research has been the focus of investigation for a broad range of analytical and empirical studies. Pressure on budgets has meant that efficient resource allocation has become increasingly important to guarantee the continued productivity of agricultural research. This paper provides an overview of the various approaches that have been used in these studies. Generalisations are drawn from the findings of this research programme.