bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Synbiotic supplementation and the effects on clinical and metabolic responses in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Authors: Zamani Batol , Farshbaf Shima , Golkar Hamid R. , Bahmani Fereshteh , Asemi Zatollah
Published: May 2017

Synbiotic intake may be associated with reduced inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) due to optimised inflammatory markers, oxidative stress and insulin resistance. This research was conducted to assess the effects of synbiotic supplementation on the clinical and metabolic parameters of patients with RA. A total of fifty-four patients with RA were allocated into two groups to receive either a synbiotic capsule (n 27) or a placebo (n 27) for 8 weeks in this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Fasting blood samples were taken at baseline and week 8 of the study to quantify related markers. After the 8-week intervention, compared with the placebo, synbiotic supplementation resulted in a significant reduction in serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels (–1427·8 (sd 3267·2) v. +2833·4 (sd 5639·7) ng/ml, P=0·001). In addition, compared with the placebo, synbiotic supplementation improved disease activity score-28 joints (DAS-28) (–1·6 (sd 0·8) v. –0·3 (sd 0·5), P<0·001) and visual analogue scales (VAS) pain (–30·4 (sd 18·7) v. –11·5 (sd 15·9), P<0·001). In addition, a significant elevation in plasma nitric oxide (NO) (+0·8 (sd 4·4) v. –2·6 (sd 4·5) µmol/l, P=0·008), and significant reductions in insulin values (–13·8 (sd 26·4) v. +4·2 (sd 28·2) pmol/l, P=0·01), homoeostasis model of assessment-estimated insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (–0·5 (sd 1·0) v.+0·1 (sd 1·1), P=0·03) and homoeostatic model assessment-β-cell function (HOMA-B) (–9·4 (sd 17·9) v. +3·3 (sd 18·9), P=0·01) following supplementation with the synbiotic compared with the placebo. Compared with the placebo, synbiotic supplementation also resulted in a significant increase in plasma GSH (+36·6 (sd 63·5) v. –58·5 (sd 154·4) µmol/l, P=0·005). Overall, our study demonstrated that synbiotic supplementation for 8 weeks among patients with RA had beneficial effects on hs-CRP, DAS-28, VAS, NO, insulin levels, HOMA-IR, HOMA-B and GSH levels.
Monitoring and mass-trapping methodologies using pheromones: the lesser date moth Batrachedra amydraula
Authors: Levi-Zada A. , Sadowsky A. , Dobrinin S. , Ticuchinski T. , David M. , Fefer D. , Dunkelblum E. , Byers J.A.
Published: May 2017

The lesser date moth (LDM) Batrachedra amydraula is a significant pest of date palm fruits. Previously, detection and monitoring of the pest was inaccurate due to high costs of sampling with lifting machines. We report a practical system for detection and monitoring of LDM based on pheromone traps and relevant models. Dose–response experiments with LDM pheromone traps indicated a 1 mg lure is optimal for monitoring. Delta traps with adhesive covering their entire inner surface gave the highest captures while trap colour was unimportant. Sampling pheromone traps throughout the night indicated male flight began at 1:00–2:00 and reached a peak 2 h before sunrise. Monitoring traps exposed all year long in Israel revealed three generations with different abundance. Trapping transects in a date plantation indicated interference from a monitoring trap became minimal at distances >27 m away. Inter-trap distances closer than this may lower efficiency of monitoring and mass trapping in control programs. Our estimate of the circular effective attraction radius (EARc) of a 1 mg delta trap for LDM (3.43 m) shows this bait is among the most attractive compared with baits for other insects. We developed encounter-rate equations with the pheromone trap EARc to model the interplay between population levels, trap density and captures that are useful for detection of invasive LDM and its control by mass trapping. The integrated methodologies are applicable to many pest species.
THE SUPREME COURT'S JUDGMENT IN MILLER: IN SEARCH OF CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE
Authors: Elliott Mark
Published: May 2017

In R. (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, the Supreme Court of the UK (1) held that the UK Government had no prerogative power to initiate the formal process whereby the UK will withdraw from the EU and (2) declined to recognise any requirement that the devolved legislatures’ consent be obtained in respect of legislation authorising the Government to commence the withdrawal process. This article critically examines Miller, arguing that the majority's analysis veers between unwarranted muscularity in relation to the prerogative issue and unnecessary conservatism as regards the devolution issue. The article goes on to argue that while the majority judgment's restrictive approach to the prerogative may be viewed as a progressive victory for constitutional principle, such an evaluation can be sustained only if a set of relatively traditional constitutional premises are adopted to begin with. The article also contends that the general approach adopted by the majority is problematic, given its willingness to invoke arguments of constitutional principle without adequately engaging with questions about what the pertinent principles are, and argues that such an intellectually lackadaisical mode of constitutional adjudication is to be deprecated.
Alien Sipuncula species in the Mediterranean Sea
Authors: Açik Sermin
Published: May 2017

The compilation of data on alien Sipuncula species reported from the Mediterranean Sea to date yields a total of eight species belonging to four families. Four species have become established in the area, while two species are classified as casual and two as cryptogenic. The pathways of the introduction of alien Sipuncula species were shipping and the Suez Canal. The eastern basin had the higher number of alien Sipuncula species (seven species) mainly due to its proximity to the Suez Canal and dense shipping traffic. Among these species,Aspidosiphon (A.) mexicanushas a wide distributional range in the region, but was considered as a cryptogenic species. The majority of alien Sipuncula species were found on soft subtrata in the region. Brief descriptions of the alien Sipuncula species and their distributional and ecological characteristics are given.
Economic Consequences of Measures for Preserving Farmland
Authors: Ogg Clayton W.
Published: May 2017

In the Northeast, efforts to preserve farmland have been justified primarily on the basis of shared feelings and values concerning land use as it affects the environment and quality of life. However, attention is increasingly directed toward economic impacts. Although success in preserving rural environments depends upon anticipating the economic consequences of alternative preservation measures, it is easy for interested groups to overlook some economic impacts, while concentrating on others.
An Econometric Model of Aggregate Food Marketing Services
Authors: Lin Kuang-Hsing Terence , Seaver Stanley K.
Published: May 2017

The purpose of the study is to describe quantitatively a market model of food marketing services for the post-W.W. II United States.
The Cost of Education – A Synthetic Approach
Authors: Sadler Ronald A. , Martin John V. , Ching C.T.K.
Published: May 2017

There is perennial interest in the quality of education relative to its cost. For example, several Supreme Courts have ruled that funding education on the basis of a real property tax is unconstitutional because it makes the quality of a child's education dependent upon the wealth of his parents and neighbors. California, Michigan, Texas, and other states have focused on this problem, though the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Texas decision (Rodriquez et. al. vs. San Antonio). These cases illustrate continuing interest in educational quality and cost. At the school level, the relation between quality and cost is also well known. Most, if not all, school administrators continually face the problem of providing education with rapidly increasing costs. In Nevada, for example, education costs have been increasing at a rate of 13.5 percent per year.
Agricultural Productivity Differences
Authors: Ruttan Vernon W. , Hayami Yujiro
Published: May 2017

Growth in aggregate agricultural output, and productivity is generally recognized as a necessary condition for economic development. The persistent differences productivity among countries and regions (Figure 1) have severely dampened the optimism among national policy makers and planners and among officials in the international aid agencies as to the possibility of substantially narrowing the gaps in productivity (total, land, and worker) in the feasible future.
Impact of Farmers Home Administration's Future Policies on Northern New England Dairymen
Authors: Nott Sherrill B. , Calub Laura
Published: May 2017

Individuals working with farmers in the Northern New England States of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont have claimed that the Farmers Home Administration has increased non-farm loans, while deliberately curtailing new farm loan activities and reducing the service on existing farm loans. If these allegations are true, it is important for the Northern New England agri-business sector to consider the future implications. The objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of future policy alternatives available to the Farmers Home Administration on the region's dairy farms.
Motives for Outdoor Recreation
Authors: Sargent Frederic O.
Published: May 2017

More accurate prediction of future demand (or needs) for land for outdoor recreational activities would significantly improve land use planning. Unfortunately, prediction of demand (or projected use) is difficult. Most standard predicting measures have little or questionable relevance to outdoor recreation. Straightline projections of past outdoor activities are of limited use as technology, income, leisure time, mobility, and habits are changing so fast that it is doubtful if the past may be used to predict the future. In fact, all methods of predicting (or projecting) future demand (or needs) on the basis of past trends are inoperative in periods when there is rapid change in all the components influencing the trend, as well as in life styles. Surveys and questionnaires are of some use, but their value is limited by the propensity of respondents to give answers which they think are expected and the fact that they cannot appraise their future attitude towards activities with which they are now unfamiliar.
Public Regulation of the Cereal Industry: The Need to Change National Policy Regarding Consumer Protection
Authors: Flaim Theresa
Published: May 2017

The Federal Trade Commission has recently charged that four corporations, Kellogg, General Foods, General Mills and Quaker Oats, have maintained monopoly power in the ready-to-eat cereal industry for over 30 years. The case against the cereal industry has set off a widespread wave of public reaction. Anti-business groups are anxious to prove that after all these years, America is not really dominated by big business interests after all. Consumerists are clamoring for the head of another conglomerate monster who has, so they say, been filling society's collective stomach with food products which are as expensive as they are non-nutritive. Business advocates are plaintively crying that it is high time that Americans recognized that big business is necessary both socially and economically, and that our national posture toward big business should be changed in order to protect it from periodic public witch hunting which is rooted in a system of values that became antiquated with the horse and buggy.
The Lower Penobscot River Area Rural Development Project in Maine
Authors: Bennett Austin E.
Published: May 2017

The Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics began deliberating upon rural development in early 1970. At that time the President's Commission on Rural Development issued its report, A New Life for the Country, and the Congress was considering various bills in support of better life for non-metropolitan residents. Two circumstances drew our attention.
Identification and Measurement of Micro-Land use Influences
Authors: Foster Bennett B. , Courser Frederick B.
Published: May 2017

It is generally appreciated that characteristics and features such as mountains, forests, snow-fall, lakes, secondary road networks and major highway systems from population centers greatly influence the type of activities and uses which ultimately develop on lands in a particular region. It is not surprising for example, that up-state New York and central New England have developed into areas of year-round vacation and tourism, since the composite “bundles” of characteristics offered by these areas include many features appropriate and necessary for such use. These general characteristics could be termed “macro-land use influences”. Once these macro-land use influences have attracted a certain type land use, however, the next question is: What specific characteristics influence the use of a specific acre or parcel of land? What are the “micro-land use influences”? Intuition would cause one to conclude that a parcel of land in the proximity of such things as a ski-slope, lake, exceptionally scenic area, access road or perhaps a vacation home, would be under strong pressure to be used for a vacation home also. Such characteristics, of course, would not be sufficient to determine land use, but they could certainly influence its ultimate use.
The Economics of Municipal Street Trees
Authors: Stanley Peter W. , Crossmon Bradford D.
Published: May 2017

This study analyzes the struggle for survival by trees growing along Massachusetts roadsides. Street tree problems have been prevalent for many years. Several organizations have proposals to help solve the street tree dilemma. A majority of the proposed cures have dealt with the application of sound arboricultural principles and latest technological advances. The tree authorities attempted to strengthen their programs by attending short courses and seminars. The utility companies have also sought to solve the problems of keeping their distribution lines clear of obstructions from trees so that both trees and utilities can exist harmoniously.
An Evaluation of Different Ways of Projecting Farm Size Distributions
Authors: Ching C. T. K. , Davulis J. P. , Frick G. E.
Published: May 2017

Farris and Padberg, Krenz, and Boxley have discussed different ways of projecting the distribution of firm sizes. Farris and Padberg utilize Markov chain analysis where transition probabilities were derived from observed changes in firm size for Florida citrus packing firms over a five-year period. Krenz, recognizing the difficulty of securing data with which to estimate transition probabilities, developed rules which could be used to derive transition probabilities from census data. Krenz applied this technique to the size distributions of North Dakota farms. Finally, Boxley applied a completely different technique to estimating farm size distributions in the United States. Boxley's technique involved fitting negative exponential functions to firm size distributions observed from census data. According to Boxley, these functions were sufficiently stable to permit estimation of future firm size distributions.
Viability of Dairy Settlement Farms in Jamaica
Authors: Dunn C. L. , Partenheimer E. J.
Published: May 2017

In 1963 the government of Jamaica, in an effort to reconcile prevailing milk consumption levels with the volume of local production, initiated a Dairy Settlement Project as part of a Dairy Development Program. This project aimed at establishing a corps of new dairymen on 25 acre farms set up on lands acquired by the government under its land reform program. A pre-investment study indicated that the project was viable and a soft loan was obtained from the United States Agency for International Development to finance the project.
Factors Influencing Land Values in the Presence of Suburban Sprawl
Authors: Lindsay Bruce E. , Willis Cleve E.
Published: May 2017

The spread of suburbs into previously rural areas has become commonplace in the United States. A rather striking aspect of this phenomenon has been the discontinuity which results. This aspect is often manifest in a haphazard mixture of unused and densely settled areas which has been described as “sprawl”. A more useful definition of suburban sprawl, its causes, and its consequences, is provided below in order to introduce the econometric objectives of this paper.
Crop Strategies for New England Dairy Farms
Authors: Nott Sherrill B.
Published: May 2017

Recent changes in feed, livestock and fertilizer prices as well as breeding and agronomic practice developments have created substantial interest in their implications on profitable dairy farm cropping programs. The movement in soybean oil meal prices from under $100/ton in early 1972 to over $400/ton in the summer of 1973 increased the interest in alternatives to soybean oil meal. Dairymen searched for feed ingredients which were relatively cheap per unit of protein. As a consequence, interest in the protein content of alfalfa as influenced by variety, harvesting systems, and method of storage has been substantial in the past few months. Although soybean oil meal prices are expected to drop below the peak levels, the issues raised by the high price levels during 1973 need to be examined.
High Density Apple Planting Systems
Authors: Good Darrel
Published: May 2017

Historically, the standard tree set in commercial apple orchards has been 27 trees per acre, planted on 40 foot centers. With this planting system trees tend to become quite large, requiring substantial amounts of labor for pruning, spraying and harvesting. The large amount of vegetative growth on these trees renders much of the innertree fruit bearing surface unproductive due to shading.
Cost Minimization in Wastewater Treatment Via Regionalized Treatment Facilities: An Application of Zero-One Mixed Integer Programming
Authors: Gates J. M. , Norton V. J. , Mueller J. J.
Published: May 2017

The disposal of industrial and municipal wastes is a complex and costly problem. The combination of increases in population, affluence, and industrial activity is generating growing volumes of water borne waste that must be disposed of or recycled. In 1972 for example, the estimated volume of wastewater generated in Rhode Island was 179 million gallons per day (MGD). This represented an average of 185 gallons per day for each Rhode Island resident and indications are that this volume is increasing each year.
Empirical Evaluation of Environmental Preferences: A Case Study
Authors: Pendse Dilip , Wyckoff J. B.
Published: May 2017

In the eyes of environmentally concerned citizens, Oregon has set a splendid example. Their “bottle bill” was instrumental in reducing can and bottle litter on beaches, highways, and recreational and camping sites by 49 percent. A field burning ban becomes effective in 1975 to protect air quality. Legislation enacted in 1972 will remove billboards from its highways and interstate roads by 1975. A regulation to protect 820,000 acres of wilderness area from development was also adopted in 1972. Last year (1973) senators Robert Packwood and Mark Hatfield of Oregon and senators Frank Church and James McClure of Idaho jointly introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate to create a unique Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.
Providing Benefits of Agricultural Open Space in Urbanizing Situations
Authors: Park William L.
Published: May 2017

As the most densely populated area of the nation, New Jersey and the Northeast stand as a laboratory in which concepts and institutions might be developed and tested to preserve valuable nonrenewable farmland for multiple social uses including an ability to provide open space and life-sustaining food and fiber. In this context, there is a need to carefully consider the idea that actions by government and society generate or destroy economic values in property through the creation or modification of institutions and social organization. It is also true that the lack of action by government may result in the wasteful destruction of amenities which may be held in high regard by many individuals in society.
An Application of Mathematical Programming to Floodplain Land use Planning
Authors: Smiarowski Joseph , Willis Cleve , Foster John
Published: May 2017

The motivation of this study is to provide and solve a decision model for land use planning for an existing regional situation. The chosen framework views the task of floodplain management as a constrained optimization problem capable of solution by standard mathematical programming techniques. The framework is sufficiently flexible to permit incorporation of, in addition to floodplain zoning, such non-structural flood control measures as flood proofing, insurance, and flood warning systems. Further, the framework can be modeled so as to include political restraints and a broad range of socially desirable goals. In a larger regional context, the framework permits the internalization of the value of the externality commonly associated with development of floodplain lands.
Energy and Cost Considerations in the Distribution of Bulk Dairy Feed in the Northeast
Authors: Davulis J. P. , Andrews R. A. , Frick G. E.
Published: May 2017

The energy crisis has awakened interest in delivery systems, efficient fuel utilization, and alternatives for reducing delivery costs. Inquiries into the potential for energy and cost savings that exist within our economy are of immediate concern.
A Critique of Floodplain Planning in the Connecticut River Basin
Authors: Sargent Frederic O.
Published: May 2017

It is generally recognized that the goal of achieving acceptable river basin planning in New England has been elusive. This is especially true in regard to the Connecticut River Basin (7). Ten government agencies have spent more than 10 years and over $4 million in inventorying and planning the Connecticut River Basin but have not yet produced a plan acceptable to the people of the Basin.
World Food Problems
Authors: Johnson D. Gale
Published: May 2017

Responsible and informed individuals and groups now view the prospective balance between the world's demand and supply for food for the next decade quite differently. There are those who view the recent short-falls in production relative to desired consumption as relatively temporary in nature and that the most likely course of events is stocks of grain will be rebuilt and grain prices will decline to more usual levels over the next year or two. Those who argue this position consider the present situation as primarily a temporary aberration, of which there have been several others in recent history. At the turn of the present century the British were concerned that the demand for wheat was going to outpace the supply; after World War II there was deep concern about the problems of rebuilding agriculture in Europe and, somewhat later, meeting the increased demand for food due to the sharp increase in birth rates that occurred in both industrial and developing countries, and in the mid-1960's, following unfavorable crops in the Soviet Union, China and South Asia it was feared that the world faced famine on a large scale. Yet, following each, the course of events was feared that the world faced famine on a large scale. Yet, following each, the course of events was quite the opposite and grain and food prices fell and the concern of governments was to protect their farmers from the consequences of supply growing more rapidly than demand.
Factors Associated with the Variation in Hourly Wage Rates Among a Sample of Low Wage Workers in Rural Delaware
Authors: Bieker Richard
Published: May 2017

Many persons in rural areas in the U.S. are dependent largely on labor earnings for their economic well-being. Seventy-five percent of the 14.8 million rural nonfarm persons and fifty-two percent of the rural farm persons 16 years old and over who were employed in 1969 were employed as wage and salary workers. Of the 1.6 million rural nonfarm families with incomes less than the poverty level in 1969, 51 percent had male heads less than 65 years of age, and 71 percent of these male heads were in the labor force in 1969. Sixty-seven percent of the 442,000 rural farm families with incomes less than the poverty level had a male head less than 65 years old and 81 percent of these male heads were in the labor force in 1969.
Economics of Compensation in Development Rights Programs
Authors: Field Barry C. , Conrad Jon M.
Published: May 2017

Interest in land-use planning and control in the United States has recently shifted to a variety of non-conventional tools in an attempt to attain results that have eluded older techniques such as traditional zoning. A major land-use objective has been to continue certain existing land uses in the face of market pressures to convert to more intensive uses. This has been the case, for example, with ecologically fragile areas such as wetlands, or environmentally valuable areas such as scenic land, which are also economically attractive for development into housing or industrial property. In recent years interest has also turned to preservation of agricultural land, particularly in areas near urban concentrations that are feeling the effects of urban sprawl.
Costs and Returns of Fishermen in the Massachusetts Inshore Lobster Fishery
Authors: Gates J. M. , D'Eugenio J. M.
Published: May 2017

The inshore lobster fishery is one of the more important ones in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, accounting for approximately 14 percent of the total landed value of all species in Massachusetts in 1971. Until recent years this fishery accounted for virtually all the pot landings in the state. Despite numerous attempts at conservation such as gear regulation, size restrictions, and prohibitions on harvesting egg-bearing females, the fishery has been subject to rapidly increasing effort and virtually constant landings. In the past decade it has become obvious to many fishery biologists and economists that conservation of fish stocks is a necessary but not sufficient criterion for fisheries management. Resource managers have become increasingly aware of the interdependence between economic factors and the intensity, location and composition of fishing effort.
Methodological Issues in Analyses of Use and Adequacy of Community Services in Rural Areas: With an Application to Legal Services in the Northeast
Authors: Willis Cleve E. , Crawford Charles O.
Published: May 2017

Three major problems appear common to recent research efforts aimed at measurement and assessment of the adequacy of community services. These include:

(i)

difficulties and inconsistencies which relate to the definition and interpretation of utilization behavior,

(ii)

econometric misspecification—e.g., omission of critical variables affecting needs or use—, and

(iii)

choice of inappropriate estimation technique when the dependent variable (e.g., use or non-use of the service) is dichotomous.
Economics of Mechanical Tree Fruit Harvesters
Authors: Good Darrel , LaDue Eddy , Davey Lance
Published: May 2017

Mechanical fruit harvesters have been commercially available to New York growers for ten years. However, adoption of mechanical apple harvesters has been relatively slow because of (l) the availability of relatively inexpensive hand labor, (2) the lack of a suitable fresh fruit harvester, and (3) the wide variation in tree size, apple varieties, farm size and production practices which make operation of a mechanical harvester physically and/or economically infeasible.
Decisions with Competing Objectives: An Application to Sludge Disposal Alternatives in Massachusetts
Authors: Lindsay Bruce E. , Perlack Robert D. , Willis Cleve E.
Published: May 2017

Economic theory generally involves choice between real-valued criterion vectors x = (xi, …, xn) ε X, where X is the feasible set of such vectors. For example, in the theory of consumer demand, the criterion xi can be interpreted as the quantity demanded of the ith good. Under certainty, a rational consumer would choose a value of x that would maximize the ordinal utility u(x) subject to x ε X. If a function u(x) does not exist, in the paradigm of Marschak [1976], he is not national, his choices are not consistent, and some of them will be regretted. Even greater focus is placed on the multidimensional nature of the criterion function by the alternative approach suggested by Lancaster [1966]. His approach views goods or services as being demanded because they yield want-satisfying characteristics to consumers. In general, a good or service has multiple characteristics, any one of which may be shared by more than one good or service (the traditional consumer model is a special case which views the number of characteristics as equal to the number of goods or services). Further, goods or services in combination may possess characteristics (attributes) different from those pertaining to the items separately.
Community Service Convenience and Satisfactions of the Elderly in Nonmetropolitan Areas of the Northeast
Authors: Ray Nelson Le , Derr Donn A.
Published: May 2017

The elderly in the Northeast are increasing in both relative and absolute numbers. Research on the delivery of services to rural people in the Northeast and their satisfaction with services has been given a high priority. Among community services, research on services for the elderly has been given the highest priority. This article documents the opinions about community services of non-institutionalized, nonmetropolitan people 60 years of age and over.
The Small College Experience: Comparisons, Challenges, and Opportunities
Authors: Tobey Donald Marvin
Published: May 2017

Institutions of higher education span as great a range of size, illustrating as great a variation in fixed and variable inputs, as most of the firms that economists have occasion to study: farms, marketing concerns, recreation businesses, and the like. In the educational field, professionals at the smaller schools frequently look to their counterparts at larger institutions for innovation and leadership. This is, perhaps, a natural outgrowth of the age, prestige, and scope of academic enterprise which typify most of the larger universities.
Faculty Unionization – Expected and Unexpected Realities
Authors: Koch A. Robert
Published: May 2017

Many University and College faculties throughout the Northeast and nation have addressed, debated, accepted or rejected unionization. Within the past year numerous faculties or state universities that are represented by the Northeast Agricultural Economics Council have voted yea or nay on the issue of union representation.
Non-Traditional Careers: Female Agricultural Economists
Authors: Templeton Mary E.
Published: May 2017

Not too long ago, most decisions were made by men. Using the brain was considered “unfeminine,” and it was a rare woman who was acquainted with the intricacies of financial planning. Today, things are changing as more and more women realize that prudent action in money matters can mean the difference between a comfortable future and “just getting by.”
Conserving Irrigation Energy in the Northeast
Authors: Lea Dallas M.
Published: May 2017

While there has been some irrigated agriculture in each of the 11 States in the Northeast farm production region for a number of years, irrigation has never been widely practiced in this region. The latest available data indicate that only about 2 percent of the cropland in the Northeast is irrigated, while 12 percent of the cropland in the nation is under irrigation, largely in the more arid West. During the past year, ERS has investigated why supplemental irrigation is not practiced by more farmers in the East. The one example of extensive supplemental irrigation in a humid State is Florida, which contains over half of the irrigated acreage in the 26 States east of the Mississippi River although it has the second highest average annual rainfall in the nation. Although discussed in the last section, the main purpose here is not the potential for expanding supplemental irrigation, but to discuss ways of conserving energy with the irrigation already practiced in the Northeast.
Rural Development Strategies: A Description of the Delaware Title V Project
Authors: Kuennen Daniel S.
Published: May 2017

There are a number of lessons to be learned from the Title V Extension and Research activities recently completed throughout the U.S. Several aspects of the Delaware project are discussed in this paper. Some of the detail of our project is not presented because a fifteen minute documentary video-tape of the project was viewed at the time the paper was presented.
Agricultural Projections to 1985 for the Northeast and Comparisons with the United States
Authors: Fox Austin S. , Quance C. Leroy
Published: May 2017

This paper contains new but preliminary agricultural projections to 1985 for the Northeast and for the United States. The projections reflect our best judgement of the future agricultural production and resource use, but these are subject to additional review and revision before becoming official projections of the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Unemployment Insurance Coverage of Agriculture; Policy Alternatives for Selected States
Authors: Elterich Joachim G.
Published: May 2017

In October 1976, President Ford signed into law PL 94–566 (the “Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1976,” henceforth the law), which among other items extends unemployment insurance (UI) coverage to agricultural workers in establishments employing 10 or more workers for 20 weeks or more or with a high quarter payroll of at least $20,000, (henceforth the ‘10 in 20 or $20,000’ provision).
Price Relationships for Frozen Apples and Tart Cherries
Authors: Thompson Stanley R. , Butler Leslie J.
Published: May 2017

Extremely volatile price behavior is characteristic of the markets for apples and cherries. Unstable price behavior makes it particularly difficult for the industry to accurately anticipate future prices. Accordingly, uncertainty regarding the nature of the price determination forces can lead to serious marketing inefficiencies. To enable more effective production and marketing decisions, improved price forecasting methods are needed. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of the price structure within the apple and cherry industries by suggesting an appropriate analytical model and empirically evaluating its performance.
1977 Food and Agricultural Policy: Impact on Consumers
Authors: Herrmann Robert O.
Published: May 2017

The interests of American consumers in our food policy can be set forth rather simply. Consumers are concerned about ensuring adequate supplies of safe and nutritious food at reasonable prices. The real problem, of course, is finding policies which can lead toward these goals, and enacting them.
Impact of Proposed Changes in Commodity Programs on Farmers and Agricultural Business in the Northeast
Authors: Robinson K. L.
Published: May 2017

The proposed changes in commodity programs which are now being considered by Congress will not have a major impact on the incomes of farmers in the Northeast nor on sales of firms supplying inputs or services to farmers. This conclusion is based on the assumption that the principal changes finally adopted will be to raise target prices for wheat, and to a lesser degree for corn, and to encourage on-farm storage of these commodities. Neither commodity, of course, is an important source of farm income in most of the states represented at this meeting. One of the consequences of raising target prices, however, will be to increase the cost of farm programs. Substantial government payments are likely to be made once again to producers of wheat and perhaps to those growing corn and cotton as well.
The Influence of Input Availability and Market Access on Industrial Growth: A Conceptual and Empirical Investigation
Authors: Hastings Steven E. , Goode Frank M.
Published: May 2017

The Report of the President's Task Force on Rural Development, issued in 1970, makes recommendations as to what might be done in the public and private sectors to stimulate the economic and social development of the rural communities of America. Although these recommendations include such things as financial investment, expanding educational facilities and programs to increase the nutritional level in rural communities, the report maintains that the creation of employment opportunities in rural communities is a most essential part of their economic and social development. Since manufacturing activities are one possible source of jobs in rural areas, it is relevant to determine what factors influence the growth (location of new establishments or expansion of existing ones) of manufacturing industries in rural areas.
Public Policy and Regulation
Authors: Hildreth R. J.
Published: May 2017

A few years ago, it was unlikely anyone would write a paper on public policy and regulation. The field was reasonably well-developed, the issues well-defined, and the consequences of policy alternatives agreed-upon. It was generally agreed that the purpose of government regulation of business was to cure competitive imperfections in the marketplace. Most scholars agreed the regulatory agencies were largely captured by the regulated interests, and there was a comfortable and cooperative relationship between the regulator and the regulated. Most of the agencies were organized on an industry-by-industry basis, i.e., Interstate Commerce Commission, Civil Aeronautics Board, and the Federal Communications Commission. The Congressional Acts creating the regulatory agencies were general statements which conferred extremely broad powers to the agencies, and provided little specific policy guidance except to tell the agency to act in the public interest.
Population Trends in the Northeast
Authors: Beale Calvin L.
Published: May 2017

It was an unexpected pleasure to be invited to speak before the opening session of the Northeast Agricultural Economics Council. I assume that I am not here on the strength of my earlier writings on “American Triracial Isolates” or “The Increase in Divorce Among Separated Persons as a Factor in Divorce Since 1940”. Clearly it is the perceived significance of shifts in the distribution of population in this decade that brings a demographer — and a noneconomic one at that — to occupy this place on your program.
Women in Agricultural Professions
Authors: Templeton Mary E.
Published: May 2017

About 15 years ago a national effort was mounted to provide equal employment opportunity to any person based on the individual's qualifications without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, age or national origin. This effort included executive orders which contained guidelines for hiring, promotions, transfers and discharges. The orders specified that additional job opportunities would be made available to persons who had not previously been given adequate opportunities.
Labor Productivity of Apple Harvest Workers
Authors: Fisher Dennis U.
Published: May 2017

Apple producers in New York's Champlain Valley have traditionally harvested their crop using local and migrant workers, and supplemented this labor force with temporary foreign workers (Jamaicans). In recent years, obtaining certification to use Jamaicans through the U. S. Department of Labor has become increasingly difficult. There has been some concern that the use of foreign workers might be stopped completely. Obtaining skilled migrant crews has also become increasingly difficult, and growers in this area have suggested that the quality and availability of local workers have declined substantially. Thus, Champlain Valley apple growers have been and will be experiencing shifts in the composition and productivity of their harvest labor forces.
Socio-Economic Determinants of Rural Land Values in Greenbrier County, West Virginia
Authors: Colyer Dale
Published: May 2017

Land values have tended to increase at a substantially more rapid rate than the general level of prices in recent years. There is a growing body of evidence that this is occurring due, in part, to factors other than agricultural opportunity costs, size of parcel, improvements and other factors historically related to land values (Bishop, Bryant, Pasour). Some other factors influencing rural land values seem to include urbanization, investment or speculation, and increasing wealth or incomes. Additional information on the determinants of land values is needed if these phenomena are to be more completely understood. This paper reports on a study of the relationships of socio-economic characteristic of land owners (buyers and sellers) and rural land values.
Multi-State Cooperation in Rural Development Programming
Authors: Leadley Samuel M.
Published: May 2017

Are there observable systematic forces that encourage or discourage participation by individuals, departments and colleges in cooperative multi-state, multi-university research and extension rural development work? A better understanding of these forces could lead to recommendations for improved management strategies.
Multiple Objective Decision Making: Generating Techniques or Goal Programming?
Authors: Willis Cleve E. , Perlack Robert D.
Published: May 2017

Two approaches to formal multiple objective decision analysis are described, illustrated and compared. These two approaches, generating techniques and goal programming, are illustrated by the solution of a simple numerical example. This solution combined with some lessons from the field of psychology provide a basis for some judgments on the relative merits of the approaches.
The Frontier Production Function: A Tool for Improved Decision Making
Authors: King Richard A.
Published: May 2017

A frontier production function may be thought of as a “best practice” production function (Førsund and Jansen) or a function that expresses the maximum product obtainable from various combinations of factors given the existing state of technical knowledge. It is the theoretical counterpart to farm enterprise budgets or processing plant budgets derived by economic engineering methods to describe the best possible production processes.
Export Promotion and Trade Adjustment Assistance Priorities in the Northeast
Authors: Blandford David , Boisvert Richard N. , Alba Pedro
Published: May 2017

During the past decade, the significance of international trade for the United States’ economy has changed dramatically. In 1970, merchandise exports were $43 billion and accounted for five percent of the Gross National Product (GNP); merchandise imports amounted to $40 billion (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis). By 1977, such exports had increased to almost $120 billion and imports to $150 billion, in both cases a rate of increase almost double that for GNP over the same period.
Site-Value Taxation of Real Estate and Land Use at the Rural-Urban Fringe
Authors: Jones Patty T. , Epp Donald J.
Published: May 2017

Urban sprawl occurs around cities in this country despite the fact that the central portions of our urban areas contain much underused and vacant land in the form of slums, low-rise buildings, single-level parking lots and vacant land. The National Commission on Urban Problems studied the 106 largest U.S. cities and found that 34 percent of the land inside these cities was not being used (Cowan, et al.). Other studies have shown similar findings. Many economists and urban planners claim that this country's tax treatment of real property is one of the major causes of this underuse of urban land.
Optimal Production Schedules for a Representative Farm Under Alternative Seasonal Milk Pricing Patterns of the Base-Excess Plan
Authors: Prindle Allen M. , Livezey Janet S.
Published: May 2017

Production of milk under various pricing policies were examined for a representative dairy farm operating under the base-excess plan. Three pricing scenarios were examined to determine calving schedule, milk production, and shadow prices. The period May-July was most profitable, and December-January the least profitable months for calving, under the base-excess program in the Mid-Atlantic Order. The representative producer responded to the pricing policies by shifting production in response to changes in the seasonal patterns of the base and excess prices.
Design of Programs Using Transferable Development Rights to Preserve Farmland in the Northeast
Authors: Mabbs-Zeno Carl C.
Published: May 2017

Permanent conversion of agricultural land to urban uses has concerned both suppliers and demanders of agricultural products in recent years. Although controversy on the importance of the problems associated with this conversion persists among economists (General Accounting Office, Healy, Plaut), policymakers across the nation have accepted the preservation of farmland as a goal requiring government action. All but two States (Georgia and Mississippi) provide some form of preferential property tax assessment for farmland (Davies and Beiden). Most localities with zoning authority attempt to protect farmland, and several less common land use management institutions have been implemented with farmland preservation as a principal goal.
Economic Evaluation of Biogas-To-Electricity Systems on Cage Layer Operations
Authors: McMahon G. , Altobello M.S. , Bravo-Ureta B.
Published: May 2017

Increased bird density on egg production operations has led to high electricity consumption and manure handling problems. Anaerobic digestion offers a source of energy (biogas) and a consistent method of manure management. This paper reports the results of a computer simulation model designed to evaluate the economic viability of biogas-to-electricity systems on four egg farms containing different numbers of hens. These results indicate that the economic viability of the investment analyzed is directly related to the number of hens and projected electricity prices.
Energy and Employment Implications of Foreign Trade Opportunities in the Northeast
Authors: Alba Pedro , Blandford David , Boisvert Richard
Published: May 2017

In the Northeast, the principal market expansion for its manufactured products is likely to come from outside. Sales to export markets can create jobs and could potentially exacerbate the region's dependence on imported energy. This analysis demonstrates that 26% of the Northeast's manufacturing employment is in sectors which have experienced significant expansion in exports in recent years. For most of the export sectors, the employment contribution is above the average for domestically-oriented industries, and the energy requirement is below the average. By focusing export promotion policies on these sectors, employment objectives need not conflict with energy conservation objectives.
The Competitive Position of Tourism in the Northeast, 1972–1977
Authors: Brown Tommy L.
Published: May 2017

The shift-share approach is used to examine changes in the competitive position nationally of tourism in the Northeast, using lodging receipts as an index of tourism. The Northeast share of national lodging receipts, which declined from 1972 to 1977, was heavily influenced by a lack of substantive growth in New England and the Middle Atlantic regions. This parallels population trends, but does not necessarily reflect a dismal future for tourism in the Northeast.
Estimation of Income and Employment Multipliers for Marine-Related Activity in the Southern New England Marine Region
Authors: Grigalunas Thomas A. , Ascari Craig A.
Published: May 2017

This paper summarizes some results of a Sea Grant-funded economic input-output study of marine-related activity in the Southern New England Marine Region. Data were obtained from 390 personal interviews; in addition, a wealth of secondary data was used. Type I and Type II income and employment multipliers were estimated for each of the nineteen marine-related industries included in the model. The results provide a basis to assist analysts concerned with assessing the impacts on regional income and employment of marine-related policies or developments proposed for the Region.