bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Analysis of Policy Alternatives to the Dairy Price Support Program
Authors: Kaiser Harry M.
Published: September 2016

This paper investigates the impacts of alternative federal dairy policies on the U.S. dairy sector. In addition to the current dairy price support program, five alternatives are investigated: (1) immediate deregulation, (2) gradual deregulation, (3) target price-deficiency payment program without supply control, (4) target price-deficiency payment program with supply control, and (5) mandatory supply control. An econometric model of the national dairy industry is used to simulate quarterly equilibrium price and quantity values at the farm and wholesale levels for each policy over the period 1980–90. Consumers are better off under both immediate and gradual deregulation, as well as the target price-deficiency payment scenarios because prices are lower, enabling them to consume more dairy products. Farmers, as a group, are better off under the two target price-deficiency payment program and supply control scenarios, where milk prices and producer surplus are highest.
Ranking Agricultural Economics Departments by AJAE Page Counts: A Reappraisal
Authors: Kinnucan Henry W. , Traxler Greg
Published: September 2016

AJAE per capita page counts provide one measure of an institution's research strength. In this article we refine Willis et al.'s measure of department size and, based on the refined measure, recompute departmental rankings for North American institutions. Results indicate that Northeastern United States departments are more widely represented among the top 20 institutions than 20 years ago and that two Canadian institutions—Guelph and British Columbia—rank in the top 12. The median AJAE publication frequency for the top 30 research institutions is about one article per research faculty member every 12 years. The AJAE page-count measure was found to be highly correlated (R2 = 0.82) with citation counts, whether narrowly or broadly defined. Thus, AJAE page counts appear to provide a simple yet valid representation of institutional research productivity.
Regional Impacts of Federal Milk Marketing Order Policy Alternatives
Authors: Schiek William A.
Published: September 2016

Impacts of alternative federal milk marketing policies which result in reduced fluid (Class I) milk prices were assessed using a simulation model of the U.S. dairy industry. Results indicated that milk production, farm milk prices and producer revenues were significantly reduced in the Southern and Northeast regions of the country under some options. The regional shares of total U.S. milk production were not significantly altered from those which would exist under a continuation of the current policy.
Preferences for Residential Development Attributes and Support for the Policy Process: Implications for Management and Conservation of Rural Landscapes
Authors: Johnston Robert J. , Swallow Stephen K. , Bauer Dana Marie , Anderson Christopher M.
Published: September 2016

The rural public may not only be concerned with the consequences of land management; residents may also have systematic preferences for policy instruments applied to management goals. Preferences for outcomes do not necessarily imply matching support for the underlying policy process. This study assesses relationships among support for elements of the policy process and preferences for management outcomes. Preferences are examined within the context of alternative proposals to manage growth and conserve landscape attributes in southern New England. Results are based on (a) stated preferences estimated from a multi-attribute contingent choice survey of rural residents, and (b) Likert-scale assessment of strength of support for land use policy tools. Findings indicate general but not universal correlation among policy support indicators and preferences for associated land use outcomes, but also confirm the suspicion that policy support and land use preference may not always coincide.
Modeling and Managing Urban Growth at the Rural-Urban Fringe: A Parcel-Level Model of Residential Land Use Change
Authors: Irwin Elena G. , Bell Kathleen P. , Geoghegan Jacqueline
Published: September 2016

As many local and state governments in the United States grapple with increasing growth pressures, the need to understand the economic and institutional factors underlying these pressures has taken on added urgency. From an economic perspective, individual land use decisions play a central role in the manifestation of growth pressures, as changes in land use pattern are the cumulative result of numerous individual decisions regarding the use of lands. In this study, the issue of growth management is addressed by developing a spatially disaggregated, microeconomic model of land conversion decisions suitable for describing residential land use change at the rural-urban fringe. The model employs parcel-level data on land use in Calvert County, Maryland, a rapidly growing rural-urban fringe county. A probabilistic model of residential land use change is estimated using a duration model, and the parameter estimates are employed to simulate possible future growth scenarios under alternative growth management scenarios. Results suggest that “smart growth” objectives are best met when policies aimed at concentrating growth in target areas are implemented in tandem with policies designed to preserve rural or open space lands.
Zoning, Development Timing, and Agricultural Land Use at the Suburban Fringe: A Competing Risks Approach
Authors: Hite Diane , Sohngen Brent , Templeton Josh
Published: September 2016

Competing risks survival analysis is used to investigate tax and zoning policy impacts on residential, commercial, and industrial development timing in a rapidly growing Midwestern county. Industrial development appears both to precede and occur concurrently with residential development, while commercial development follows other types. Although residences appear to locate away from industrial land, zoning decisions favoring industry may attract rather than deter residential development within a jurisdiction. Regions with higher infrastructure taxes experience development later. Because school taxes fund local public goods important to homeowners, they have little influence on residential timing, but strong influences on industrial and commercial timing.
A Hedonic Approach to Estimating Operation and Maintenance Costs for New York Municipal Water Systems
Authors: Schmit Todd M. , Boisvert Richard N.
Published: September 2016

A hedonic cost function is used to isolate the operation and maintenance costs for water treatments. For small systems, costs are substantial for some technologies, but not for others. When regional differences in input costs are accounted for, small systems located in rural areas may have a cost advantage over similar systems closer to urban centers; however, costs of water treatment to meet Safe Drinking Water Act amendments may still be substantial.
Incorporating Spatial Complexity into Economic Models of Land Markets and Land Use Change
Authors: Chen Yong , Irwin Elena G. , Jayaprakash Ciriyam
Published: September 2016

Recent work in regional science, geography, and urban economics has advanced spatial modeling of land markets and land use by incorporating greater spatial complexity, including multiple sources of spatial heterogeneity, multiple spatial scales, and spatial dynamics. Doing so has required a move away from relying solely on analytical models to partial or full reliance on computational methods that can account for these added features of spatial complexity. In the first part of the paper, we review economic models of urban land development that have incorporated greater spatial complexity, focusing on spatial simulation models with spatial endogenous feedbacks and multiple sources of spatial heterogeneity. The second part of the paper presents a spatial simulation model of exurban land development using an auction model to represent household bidding that extends the traditional Capozza and Helsley (1990) model of urban growth to account for spatial dynamics in the form of local land use spillovers and spatially heterogeneous land characteristics.
The Trees and the Bees: Using Enforcement and Income Projects to Protect Forests and Rural Livelihoods Through Spatial Joint Production
Authors: Albers H.J. , Robinson E.J.Z.
Published: September 2016

Forest managers in developing countries enforce extraction restrictions to limit forest degradation. In response, villagers may displace some of their extraction to other forests, which generates “leakage” of degradation. Managers also implement poverty alleviation projects to compensate for lost resource access or to induce conservation. We develop a model of spatial joint production of bees and fuelwood that is based on forest-compatible projects such as beekeeping in Thailand, Tanzania, and Mexico. We demonstrate that managers can better determine the amount and pattern of degradation by choosing the location of both enforcement and the forest-based activity.
Welfare Effects of Anti-Sprawl Policies in the Presence of Urban Decline
Authors: Bento Antonio M. , Franco Sofia F. , Kaffine Daniel
Published: September 2016

This paper extends first-best analysis of anti-sprawl policies, such as development taxes, and examines the welfare effects of development taxes in the presence of urban decline at the city core. We find that anti-sprawl policies generate several important feedbacks within the urban system, generating additional welfare gains and affecting the level of urban decline and suburban sprawl. Further, the optimal development tax exceeds the (first-best) Pigouvian level, irrespective of whether or not revenues are returned lump-sum to all landowners or earmarked for urban decline mitigation.
Exchange Rates, Foreign Income, and U. S. Agricultural Exports
Authors: Shane Mathew , Roe Terry , Somwaru Agapi
Published: September 2016

While it is generally accepted that change in the real value of the dollar is an important determinant of exports, it has not been rigorously demonstrated that this relationship, derivable from theory, holds empirically for agricultural exports and the components of agricultural exports. Starting with a dynamic maximizing framework, this paper estimates the real trade-weighted exchange rate and trade partner income effects on U. S. agricultural exports. For the period 1970–2006, a one percent annual increase in trade partners’ income is found to increase total agricultural exports by about 0. 75 percent, while a one percent appreciation of the dollar relative to trade partner trade-weighted currencies decreases total agricultural exports by about 0. 5 percent. While these effects carry over to 12 commodity subcategories, they are conditioned by differences between bulk and high value commodities, and differences in the export demand from high compared to low income countries. We use a directed acyclic graphs (DAG) technique to identify the inverted fork causal relationships from vector autoregression (VAR) models. We also find that there is an asymmetric exchange rate effect so that the negative effect of exchange rate appreciation on exports sometimes dominates the positive effect of foreign income growth.
Investing in Methane Digesters on Pennsylvania Dairy Farms: Implications of Scale Economies and Environmental Programs
Authors: Leuer Elizabeth R. , Hyde Jeffrey , Richard Tom L.
Published: September 2016

A stochastic capital budget was used to analyze the effect of net metering policies and carbon credits on profitability of anaerobic digesters on dairy farms in Pennsylvania. We analyzed three different farm sizes—500, 1, 000, and 2,000 cows—and considered the addition of a solids separator to the project. Results indicate that net metering policies and carbon credits increase the expected net present value (NPV) of digesters. Moreover, the addition of a solids separator further increases the mean NPV of the venture. In general, the technology is profitable only for very large farms (1, 000+ cows) that use the separated solids as bedding material.
Welfare Decomposition in the Context of the Life Cycle of Farm Operators: What Does a National Survey Reveal?
Authors: El-Osta Hisham S. , Morehart Mitchell J.
Published: September 2016

This paper examines the role of the life cycle in impacting the distribution of a combined income and wealth measure using data from the 2001 and 2006 Agricultural Resource Management Survey. Such an assessment is made using both graphical representation of the distribution of the well-being measure along with utilization of the social welfare decomposition procedure. Results show a mild yet statistically insignificant improvement in the distribution of the economic measure over the five-year period. Contribution to social welfare is found highest among the cohort where the age of the head of household is between 45 and 54 years. Targeted programs are found to enhance social welfare if they are aimed towards cohorts where the age of the head of household is younger than 35 years or where the age of the head of household is in the 35-to-44 age group, depending on whether the analysis is based on a perfarm household or on a per-capita basis.
Recreational Demand for Equestrian Trail-Riding
Authors: Blackwell Melanie , Pagoulatos Angelos , Hu Wuyang , Auchter Katharine
Published: September 2016

Using data collected from a combination of on-site and on-line surveys, this study examines recreational demand for equestrian trail-riding in Kentucky. A truncated, negative binomial regression is applied to analyze individuals’ visitation behavior consistent with a travel cost model. Results suggest that distance is the most significant determinant of average annual visits to a particular site. Various trail site characteristics, such as trail length, scenic overlooks, and trail markers, affect the number of visits an individual takes. Geographic information system (GIS) analysis permits the identification of equestrian population centers. Information obtained from this study offers a decision base for policymakers to use to manage existing equestrian trails and locate new ones.
Carbon Emissions, Renewable Electricity, and Profits: Comparing Policies to Promote Anaerobic Digesters on Dairies
Authors: Key Nigel , Sneeringer Stacy
Published: September 2016

Anaerobic digesters can provide renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manure management. Government policies that encourage digester adoption by livestock operations include construction cost-share grants, renewable electricity subsidies, and carbon pricing (offset) programs. However, the effectiveness and efficiency of these policies is not well understood. For the U.S. dairy sector, we compare predicted digester adoption rates, carbon emission reductions, renewable electricity generation and sales, and net returns and social benefits of several policies. We find that a carbon pricing policy provides the greatest net social benefit for a range of assumptions about the benefits of carbon reductions and renewable energy.
The Effect of Label Information on U.S. Farmers' Herbicide Choices
Authors: Hasing Tomas , Carpio Carlos E. , Willis David B. , Sydorovych Olha , Marra Michele
Published: September 2016

This paper analyzes the effect of labeling information on U.S. farmers' herbicide choices. Herbicide choices reported by U.S. soybean farmers are used to estimate farmer preferences for different herbicide attributes using a mixed logit model. Our results indicate that statements displayed on pesticide labels regarding risks to human health and the environment are important components in herbicide selection. We find that farmers are willing to pay an average of $27 per acre to avoid using an herbicide labeled with the word “Warning” and $38 per acre to avoid using an herbicide labeled with the word “Danger.”
Environmental Policy Since Earth Day I: What Do We Know About the Benefits and Costs?
Authors: Freeman A. Myrick
Published: September 2016

Data on costs and benefits of the major environmental laws passed during the 1970s are reviewed. The winners in terms of benefit-cost analysis include: getting lead out of gasoline, controlling particulate air pollution, reducing the concentration of lead in drinking water, and the cleanup of hazardous waste sites with the lowest cost per cancer case avoided under Superfund. The losers include: mobile source air pollution control, water pollution control, and many of the regulations and cleanup decisions taken under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and Superfund.
The Role of Social Capital in the Industrialization of the Food System: Comment
Authors: Smith Stephen M.
Published: September 2016

I found this paper to be quite interesting and thought provoking, which is the norm when Allan Schmid is involved. For years, he has provided our discipline with considerable intellectual stimulation. There is a lot of “meat” in the paper, and I will not be able to address all of it in the limited space. What I would like to do is (a) put this issue in the context I use in a graduate class to show where I think social capital fits in the standard economic concepts, and (b) emphasize some of Schmid's points.
Have Milk Fat Preferences Shifted? Structural Analysis of New York Milk Consumption
Authors: Ueda Takeshi , Frechette Darren L.
Published: September 2016

Consumption of lowfat and skim milk has increased substantially over the past decade. This study investigates whether the change is due to price and expenditure effects or to a more fundamental preference change in milk demand. Parametric and nonparametric analytical approaches provide a comprehensive analysis of structural change in milk consumption in New York State. A nonparametric approach first finds evidence of structural change. A parametric likelihood-ratio test then confirms the existence of structural change using a Kalman filter specification. The value of this technical analysis of milk preferences is its implication for labeling initiatives. Milk fat labels have allowed consumers to act on a new set of preferences, thereby improving consumer welfare.
Regional Differences in the Contribution of Off-Farm Work to Income Inequality
Authors: El-Osta Hisham S. , Bernat G. Andrew , Ahearn Mary C.
Published: September 2016

This paper uses the concept of the Gini Coefficient and data from the 1991 Farm Costs and Returns Survey (FCRS) to measure the role of off-farm income and that of other income sources in the size distribution of farm operator households' total personal income. Disaggregated FCRS data by region and by level of participation in off-farm employment show that nonparticipating farm operator households have, as a group, higher income inequality than participating households. The results also indicate that, irrespective of the off-farm work status of the farm operator household, the distribution of income among households in the North Central region is least unequal and that in the West is most unequal.
Integration of Agriculture and Technological Change
Authors: White Fred C.
Published: September 2016

Market structure has implications for research policies. The public sector reduced its support for technological change for poultry relative to beef and pork after poultry became integrated. However, market integration causes private sector research to be below the optimal level from society's perspective. In order to get the appropriate response from the private sector, the public sector should not reduce its support for technological change after market integration. Instead, the public sector should increase its support for research such as basic science that complements private sector research.
The Profitability of Sustainable Agriculture on a Representative Grain Farm in the Mid-Atlantic Region, 1981–1989: Reply
Authors: Hanson James C.
Published: September 2016

The authors are correct in identifying the mistakes in our article published in October, 1990 issue of the Northeastern Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. In the following, I will provide the correct numbers, note changes that should be made in the article's observations, and offer a recommendation given my experience in sustainable agriculture since 1990.
Farmer Forward Pricing Behavior: Evidence from Marketing Clubs
Authors: McNew Kevin , Musser Wesley N.
Published: September 2016

Numerous studies have investigated how farmers should use forward pricing markets, but only limited research exists on how farmers actually use these markets. This study relies on data from a real-time forward pricing game employed by Maryland grain marketing clubs from 1994 through 1998. Hypotheses are tested regarding the consistency of farmer behavior with the research literature on hedging. Findings indicate that farmers do not achieve price enhancement, a result consistent with the efficient market hypothesis. However, pricing behavior does not conform to the implications of efficient market models in a number of respects, suggesting farmers may form different expectations than those conveyed by forward prices.
Spatial Hedonic Valuation of a Multi-use Urban Wetland in Southern California
Authors: Frey Elaine F. , Palin Marissa B. , Walsh Patrick J. , Whitcraft Christine R.
Published: September 2016

Most of Southern California's wetlands have disappeared despite being critical ecosystems with many valuable attributes. Many of the wetlands that remain are in relatively urban areas, are severely degraded, and may not function properly. Using hedonic spatial error models, we measure the economic value of living near an urban multi-use wetland in Long Beach, California. Both sales prices and estimated values are used in the analysis. Results show that proximity to wetlands increases residential property values in the focus area. This analysis provides important information for policymakers to justify ongoing restoration projects and prevent further degradation of urbanized natural resources.
Use of Direct Marketing Strategies by Farmers and Their Impact on Farm Business Income
Authors: Uematsu Hiroki , Mishra Ashok K.
Published: September 2016

Direct marketing strategies increasingly have been recognized as a viable business option in U.S. agriculture as they allow producers to receive a better price by selling products directly to consumers. The objective of this study is twofold. Using a national survey, we first estimated a zero-inflated negative binomial model to identify factors affecting the total number of direct marketing strategies adopted by farmers. Then we estimated a quantile regression model to assess the impact of the intensity of adoption of direct marketing strategies on gross cash farm income. The results show that the intensity of adoption has no significant impact on gross cash farm income and that participation in farmers markets is negatively correlated with gross cash farm income at all five quantiles estimated.
Is There a Price Premium for Local Food? The Case of the Fresh Lettuce Market in Hawaii
Authors: Xu Xun , Loke Matthew K. , Leung PingSun
Published: September 2016

“Buying local״ has become one of the most important trends in food marketing. Despite widespread public attention, the influence of the “local״ attribute on food prices is not well understood. We aim to begin to fill this gap in research by exploring the presence of a price premium for “local״ in actual market transactions. Using scanner data on fresh packaged lettuce in the Honolulu market and hedonic modeling, we investigate consumers’ revealed preferences for the attribute. Contrary to the positive willingness to pay for local food widely reported in previous studies, we find no local premium for fresh lettuce in the Honolulu market.
Experimental Markets and Environmental Policy
Authors: Shogren Jason F.
Published: September 2016

Experimental markets can be a useful tool to guide and evaluate environmental policy. This paper reviews four experiments to illustrate. Two institutional experiments are considered—Coasian bargaining with positive transaction costs, and a gaming experiment of dynamic choice in a conflict. Two valuation experiments are also discussed—the impact of sequential reduction mechanisms on the value of risk, and experimental auction markets to elicit the value of safer food.
The U.S. Apple Industry: Econometric Model and Projections
Authors: Willett Lois Schertz
Published: September 2016

A dynamic model of the U.S. apple industry, including relationships for bearing acres, production, utilization, and allocation to the fresh, canned, frozen, juice, dried and other markets, is specified. Demands for each of these markets are modeled. Model coefficients are obtained using Zellner's seemingly unrelated regression procedure and data from 1971 through 1990. Elasticities and flexibilities are compared with other studies. Projections indicate that price fluctuations will continue in the industry when acreage is held at 1990 levels. A ten percent increase in fresh exports strengthens all apple prices. However, a ten percent decrease in the price of juice imports mitigates some of this effect.
Institutional Affiliation of Authors in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 1988–1992
Authors: Willis Cleve E. , Willis Lisa M. , Shea Jill
Published: September 2016

Opaluch and Just reported the top 20 departments in pages per faculty of articles in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics for the five year period 1968–1972. To determine how much has changed and how much has not during the intervening two decades, the analysis was repeated for the five year period 1988–1992. Some things seem not to change. University of California, Berkeley, remains at the pinnacle twenty years later. And 13 of the top 20 departments two decades ago, remain there during the 1988–1992 period. But seven did change, and the most notable aspect is that the number of Northeast departments in the top 20 rose from two to five.
Farmers’ Participation in Agritourism: Does It Affect the Bottom Line?
Authors: Joo Hyunjeong , Khanal Aditya R. , Mishra Ashok K.
Published: September 2016

Agritourism is an alternative source of farm income. We examine farmers’ participation in agritourism activities to assess the impact of participation on farm household income and return to assets using a large farm-level survey. The results reveal that older, educated, and female operators are more likely to participate in agritourism. However, government subsidies and the population of the county are negatively correlated with agritourism. Of the types of farm operations examined, small-scale farms that involved agritourism generated the greatest household incomes and returns to assets. For operators of small farms, agritourism can boost the economic well-being of farm households.
Twelve-month and Nine-month Agricultural Economics Faculty Salaries
Authors: Robbins Lynn W. , Reed Michael R.
Published: September 2016

Ever more agricultural economics departments are offering appointments for nine rather than twelve months but little if any analysis of the impact of this change has been done. Our research shows that converting to nine-month contracts is an effective way to raise salaries without an initial outlay of new funds and thus meets the retention criterion. Lower ranks do not suffer significantly lower salaries (without supplements) and professors earn more. Because the nine-month alternative costs more, justification for converting all twelve-month faculty members must rest on other factors, such as enhanced grants or comparability.
An Examination of Consumer Willingness to Pay for Local Products
Authors: Adalja Aaron , Hanson James , Towe Charles , Tselepidakis Elina
Published: September 2016

We use data from hypothetical and nonhypothetical choice-based conjoint analysis to estimate willingness to pay for local food products. The survey was administered to three groups: consumers from a buying club with experience with local and grass-fed production markets, a random sample of Maryland residents, and shoppers at a nonspecialty Maryland supermarket. We find that random-sample and supermarket shoppers are willing to pay a premium for local products but view local and grass-fed production as substitutes. Conversely, buying-club members are less willing to pay for local production than the other groups but do not conflate local and grass-fed production.
A Note on First-Price Sealed-Bid Cattle Auctions in the Presence of Captive Supplies
Authors: Crespi John M. , Xia Tian
Published: September 2016

The authors present an analytical model of a first-price sealed-bid cattle auction in which a spot and coordinated markets are interconnected. The model reveals that the conventional wisdom that market coordination negatively affects the bid price in the spot market is an oversimplification. The relationships between key market variables impact bids and bid shading in complex ways. While captive supplies can lead to lower spot prices, the price reductions do not necessarily stem from an increase in market power due to contracting. The model emphasizes the importance of several variables for future empirical studies.
A Financial Training Program for USDA/FSA Borrowers: Evolution and Impacts
Authors: Parsons Robert L. , Hanson Gregory D. , Musser Wesley N. , Freund Roland , Power Lehan
Published: September 2016

A financial training program designed by Cooperative Extension specialists was provided to over 2,000 USDA/FSA borrowers from the Northeast during the period 1994–1999. Key to the success of the workshops was an in-depth, user-friendly curriculum that evolved over time, eventually replacing satellite-feed instruction with pre-taped videos. Cluster analysis classified nearly 70% of workshop participants as “Low Finance Priority” or “Low Finance Knowledge.” Farmers in these clusters received a relatively greater educational benefit from the program than those not in these clusters. Impact analysis indicated that perceived annual gain in farm net worth from application of workshop tools ranged from approximately $5,000 to $10,000. The training addressed the needs of producers typically isolated from Cooperative Extension because the workshop was the only extension program attended that year by nearly two-thirds of them.
Producer Expectations and the Extensive Margin in Grain Supply Response
Authors: Boussios David , Barkley Andrew
Published: September 2016

Grain supply is the joint effect of both area and yield; however, research often targets either one or the other. The research presented here estimates the complete supply elasticity of grains using novel approaches to approximate producers’ price and weather expectations on both yield and acres planted. The results from this approach combining acreage and yield show the negative impact of expanded production on average yields and the supply response. Additionally, the research extends previous methods of approximating producers’ price expectations through the use of historical basis prices.
Regional Competitiveness in Fresh Produce Markets: Exploring Seasonal Dynamics and the Role of Energy Costs in Apple Markets
Authors: Hu Wenjing , McFadden Dawn Thilmany , Pendell Dustin L.
Published: September 2016

The fresh produce sector is subject to season-specific market conditions so understanding differential impacts of various factors across marketing periods is important. We analyze the market structure, key factors influencing shipments, and seasonal price relationships in regional apple markets at the shipping-point and terminal-market levels using a symmetric variable threshold autoregressive model that allows threshold bands (which define price ranges considered in shipping decisions) to vary seasonally. We find that transportation costs and seasonality have a significant impact on threshold bands of market pairs and that the impact varies seasonally. This varying band across seasons may represent suppliers who perceive more or less opportunities to adjust their supply between regional markets and gain advantage by being responsive to market conditions.
Multifunctionality, Agricultural Policy, and Environmental Policy
Authors: Abler David
Published: September 2016

In addition to supplying food and fiber, agriculture is a source of public goods and externalities. This article addresses two questions. First, do price and income support policies promote a multifunctional agriculture in an effective manner? Second, would policies targeted more directly at multifunctional attributes be more efficient than price and income support policies? The answer to the first question is no, at least for policies targeted at outputs (price supports, export subsidies, etc.). Public goods are not directly linked to production, but rather to land use and agricultural structures. Evidence in response to the second question is sketchier with respect to policies targeted at land.
Using Sciences to Improve the Economic Efficiency of Conservation Policies
Authors: Wu JunJie
Published: September 2016

In the last 20 years, both public and private expenditures on resource conservation and environmental protection have increased dramatically. However, there are numerous technical and political barriers to the efficient use of conservation funds. This paper discusses some of these barriers and approaches to overcoming them. It argues that ecosystem complexities such as threshold effects, ecosystem linkages, and spatial connections often mitigate against politically palatable criteria for resource allocation. Ignoring these complexities is likely to result in substantial efficiency losses. While challenges are daunting for the efficient management of conservation investments, payoff is potentially high for the use of sciences.
Some Hard Truths About Agriculture and the Environment
Authors: Lichtenberg Erik
Published: September 2016

Environmental problems in agriculture have proven difficult to address due to the spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability intrinsic to agriculture. Agriculture is largely a struggle against nature; both its sustainability and the prospects for improving environmental performance and farm income simultaneously are thus inherently limited. Agriculture's high degree of variability makes direct regulation inefficient. Subsidies for improving environmental performance can have negative consequences and have proven ineffective in practice, due largely to bureaucratic culture. Pollution taxes should be the most effective and efficient form of policy. Interdisciplinary research is needed to provide models for performance evaluation.
Modeling Migration Effects on Agricultural Lands: A Growth Equilibrium Model
Authors: Hailu Yohannes G. , Rosenberger Randall S.
Published: September 2016

We estimate a system-of-equations model designed to measure the interaction between intertemporal patterns of changes in population, employment, and agricultural land densities. The model is applied to West Virginia for the 1990–1999 period. Consistent with recent findings on migration patterns, the results show that jobs followed people. New jobs were captured by commuters, while agricultural land losses were occurring in the commuters’ counties of origin or bedroom communities. However, counties with relatively more profitable and concentrated agricultural enterprises were less susceptible to alternative land use pressure than counties with less productive or fragmented agricultural land. Elasticities indicate population change is elastic, whereas employment and agricultural land density changes are inelastic to factors affecting them. Growth management, when combined with agricultural land retention programs, may be most effective at preserving agricultural land in high growth or potential growth areas.
A Carrot-and-Stick Approach to Environmental Improvement: Marrying Agri-Environmental Payments and Water Quality Regulations
Authors: Johansson Robert C. , Kaplan Jonathan D.
Published: September 2016

Agri-environmental programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, provide payments to livestock and crop producers to generate broadly defined environmental benefits and to help them comply with federal water quality regulations, such as those that require manure nutrients generated on large animal feeding operations to be spread on cropland at no greater than agronomic rates. We couch these policy options in terms of agri-environmental “carrots” and regulatory “sticks,” respectively. The U.S. agricultural sector is likely to respond to these policies in a variety of ways. Simulation analysis suggests that meeting nutrient standards would result in decreased levels of animal production, increased prices for livestock and poultry products, increased levels of crop production, and water quality improvements. However, estimated impacts are not homogeneous across regions. In regions with relatively less cropland per ton of manure produced, the impacts of these policies are more pronounced.
Do Conservation Practices and Programs Benefit the Intended Resource Concern?
Authors: Westra John V. , Zimmerman Julie K. H. , Vondracek Bruce
Published: September 2016

Many conservation programs under the 2002 Farm Act address resource concerns such as water quality and aquatic communities in streams. Analyzing two such programs, simulated changes in agricultural practices decreased field-edge sediment losses by 25–31% in two geophysically distinct Minnesota watersheds. However, while in-stream sediment concentrations and lethal fisheries events decreased significantly in one watershed, there was no discernable improvement for the fisheries in the other, despite potentially spending over $100,000 annually in conservation payments. These results highlight the importance of performance-based conservation payments targeted to genuine resource concerns in watersheds and the value of integrated bioeconomic modeling of conservation programs.
Risk Management Strategies in Humid Production Regions: A Comparison of Supplemental Irrigation and Crop Insurance
Authors: Dalton Timothy J. , Porter Gregory A. , Winslow Noah G.
Published: September 2016

Recent federal agricultural programs have accelerated the devolution of enterprise risk management responsibility from the state to individual producers. Using a biophysical simulation model, the risk management benefits of federal crop insurance and supplemental irrigation are derived and compared to uninsured rainfed crop production in an expected utility framework. Federal crop insurance programs are inefficient at reducing producer exposure to weather-related production risk in humid regions, and the risk management benefits from supplemental irrigation are found to be scale and technology dependent. Environmental policies that regulate resource development will increase the investment cost of irrigation alternatives and reduce economic feasibility.
Constraining Phosphorus in Surface Waters of the New York City Watershed: Dairy Farm Resource Use and Profitability
Authors: Hanchar John J. , Knoblauch Wayne A. , Milligan Robert A.
Published: September 2016

The New York City Watershed Agricultural Program seeks to reduce the potential for phosphorus movement from farms to surface waters. A “phosphorus index for site evaluation” (P-index) provides planners in the New York City Watershed Agricultural Program with a tool for identifying individual farm business, phosphorus related problems, and evaluating solutions. A linear programming model is employed to examine dairy farm resource use and profitability, with the P-index used to impose phosphorus movement constraints. Results indicate dramatic differences in farm resource use and farm business profitability depending on the level of the P-index. Small changes in the target index level result in large shifts in optimal resource use and business profitability. These differences illustrate that restrictions on phosphorus movement from land to surface waters potentially have major impacts on resource use and farm profitability in the New York City Watershed.
Revenue Impacts of MPP Branded Funds: A Firm-Level Analysis
Authors: Jakus Paul M. , Jensen Kimberly L. , Davis George C.
Published: September 2016

The USDA's Market Access Program (formerly Market Promotion Program) recently underwent a major change to redirect all branded products export promotion funds to small domestic firms and cooperatives. The redirection responded to criticisms by the General Accounting Office of past allocations of branded products export promotion funds to large, experienced exporters. This study uses a firm-level analysis to examine whether firm size and export experience matter in how effectively firms use the promotion funds to increase their revenues. The results support neither the GAO criticisms nor the recent program redirection.
Regulation, Market Power, and Advertising Effectiveness
Authors: Chen Kevin , Weerahewa Jeevika
Published: September 2016

Using the case of Canadian dairy industry, this paper investigates the farm level effectiveness of generic advertising in two vertically related markets under government regulation and oligopolistic power. Comparative static analysis indicates that an increase in advertising may either increase or decrease the farm level profit when the processing industry is oligopolistic. When advertising leads to an increase in the farm level profit under the oligopolistic processing industry, the size of this effect may be more than, less than, or the same as that under perfect competition. Specifications of the retail demand function play an important role in determining both the direction and magnitude of the effect of advertising on the farm level profit under the oligopolistic processing industry. The simulation results of the Canadian butter industry illustrate that the magnitude of the bias caused by an erroneous assumption regarding the market structure could be significant.
A Note on the Efficiency of Income Redistribution with Simple and Combined Policies
Authors: Bullock David S. , Salhofer Klaus
Published: September 2016

Recent studies have investigated the efficiencies of policies that use several policy instruments simultaneously (for example, a policy that uses a production subsidy combined with a production quota). Several studies of very specific cases find that optimal combination of two policy instruments is more efficient than optimal independent use of either. In this note we demonstrate using set theory and maximization theory, that all such specific results are examples of a more general result, which is that by combining m instruments efficiently, a government can always be at least as efficient as when using a subset of those m instruments. This result holds for any of the several definitions of “efficiency” in the literature.
Distribution Channel Choices of Wineries in Emerging Cool Climate Regions
Authors: Sun Lin , Gómez Miguel I. , Chaddad Fabio R. , Ross R. Brent
Published: September 2016

The number of wineries in nontraditional cool climate regions of the United States has increased dramatically in the last decade. We examine factors influencing distribution channel choices by these wineries, including winery characteristics, marketing strategies, and the extent of vertical and horizontal integration. Using a survey of winery operators in Michigan, Missouri, and New York, we developed fractional logit models to test hypotheses regarding their distribution channel choices. We find that the share of wine sold through intermediated channels increases with winery size, years of operation, increased vertical and horizontal integration, and greater promotional intensity and levels of self-reported marketing challenges.
Taxing Food to Improve Health: Economic Evidence and Arguments
Authors: Cash Sean B. , Lacanilao Ryan D.
Published: September 2016

Many observers have suggested that tax policy can be used to change the relative prices of foods in ways that will produce desirable health outcomes. We briefly review the economic evidence regarding such claims, and discuss several conceptual and pragmatic issues surrounding the use of such interventions to achieve public health objectives.
Yield Reserve Program Costs in the Virginia Coastal Plain
Authors: Metcalfe Todd , Bosch Darrell J. , Pease James W. , Alley Mark M. , Phillips Steve B.
Published: September 2016

A proposed Yield Reserve Program designed to compensate farmers for any reduced yields resulting from nitrogen (N) application rates reduced to below recommended rates is evaluated. Assuming that farmers currently follow Extension recommendations for applying N, Yield Reserve Program participation reduces expected net revenue by $10 to $13/ha. The Yield Reserve Program reduces expected net revenue by $17 to $20/ha for farmers who apply N to maximize expected net revenue. Farmers' costs of participation increase with lower probabilities of inadequate rainfall and higher corn prices and decline with higher N prices. The Yield Reserve Program can significantly reduce N applications to cropland, which may reduce N content of surface waters, but the costs to taxpayers and farmers will depend on how the program is implemented.
Food Processors' Use of Contracts to Purchase Agricultural Inputs: Evidence from a Pennsylvania Survey
Authors: Jaenicke Edward C. , Shields Martin , Kelsey Timothy W.
Published: September 2016

Using data from a survey of Pennsylvania food processors, we investigate what firm-level characteristics make a processor more or less likely to buy agricultural inputs and ingredients though contracts. We find that over 20 percent of Pennsylvania processors use contracts, and over 44 percent of agricultural inputs (based on value) are purchased under contract. We also analyze the two related questions of what firm attributes, attitudes, or other factors make a firm more likely to use contracts at all, and what factors lead a processor who does contract to use them more intensively.
Public Price Reporting in the Cash Market for Live Cattle: A Spatial Market Approach
Authors: Fausti Scott W. , Diersen Matthew A. , Qasmi Bashir A.
Published: September 2016

Legislative authorization for the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 was renewed in October of 2006. One of the cited justifications for implementing mandatory reporting was that the voluntary reporting system for the slaughter cattle cash market was unable to provide accurate and timely market information. We extend the spatial market analysis literature by developing a methodology for detecting distortions in spatial relationships across related price series. Using spatially linked regional markets, we compare state-level mandatory price-reporting data to the U.S. Department of Agriculture voluntarily reported state data to determine if the spatial relationship between price-reporting mechanisms was disrupted by market distortions prior to implementation of federal mandatory price reporting. We found no empirical evidence of system failure; therefore, we conclude that market thinning or noncompetitive behavior had not reached the level necessary to disrupt the ability of the voluntary price-reporting system to provide timely and accurate price information.
Keep It Down: An Experimental Test of the Truncatedk-Double Auction
Authors: Doyon Maurice , Rondeau Daniel , Mbala Richard
Published: September 2016

The introduction of a centralized institution for trading production rights in quota-regulated agricultural sectors can dramatically improve the flow of information among market participants and increase efficiency. On the other hand, prevailing conditions in these small markets can provide sellers with a market advantage, yielding high quota prices that impose important financial costs on quota holders and limit the entry of new producers into the industry. In this paper, we modify the normal allocation rule of thek-double auction (kDA) to counter thin market conditions and to favor buyers who bid low prices. In laboratory experiments, we test the “truncated” kDA (T-kDA) against a regular kDA for its ability to affect buyer and seller behavior and decrease equilibrium prices, and assess how it impacts efficiency. The results show that the T-kDA significantly lowers the equilibrium price and results in moderate efficiency losses. Most importantly, the T-kDA effectively counters the market power of oligopolists when demand far outstrips supply.