Digital Commons Network^™

Comparing California's Cost Of Regulation To Other States: A Case Study Approach For Agriculture, Lynn Hamilton

Agribusiness

Regulatory pressure is a source of increasing concern for California producers. Though regulations have a positive impact on society in terms of cleaner air and water, as well as increased worker safety; they impose multiple costs to farmers in the state. Growers must comply with a tangle of rules from the local, state and federal levels. Many regional differences arise in California environmental regulations, and regulatory pressure is unevenly applied throughout the state.

Previous studies regarding the regulatory environment in California have quantified the total cost of regulation on the state’s agricultural producers. The goal of this study was to …

Estimating Willingness To Pay Using A Polychotomous Choice Function: An Application To Pork Products With Environmental Attributes, Sean P. Hurley, Douglas J. Miller, James B. Kliebenstein

Agribusiness

Bid data from a Vickrey auction for pork chops with embedded environmental attributes were analyzed. It was found that approximately 62% of the participants had a positive WTP for the most "environmentally friendly" package of pork. Thirty percent of the participants had no WTP, and 8% had a negative WTP. A polychotomous choice model was used to accommodate data having an anchoring point within the distribution of the data. Standard variables found in the WTP literature coupled with this model were used to predict participants who were premium payers and non-premium payers using an estimated ordered probit equation.

Clustering Of Independent Dairy Operators For Generation Of Bio-Renewable Energy: A Feasibility Analysis, Sean P. Hurley, James J. Ahern, Douglas Williams

Agribusiness

According to the California Agricultural Statistical Service (CASS), California had almost 1.7 million dairy cows in 2003. These cows generated approximately four billion dollars in revenue, making the California Dairy industry the largest agricultural commodity in the state. These California dairies are estimated to have produced roughly thirty million metric tons of manure in 2003. According to the 2002 USDA census, eighty-seven percent of the dairy cows in California are located on farms of five hundred or more cows. Furthermore, the dairy industry is heavily concentrated in eight counties of California. This high concentration of dairies in the state implies …

Optimal Market Contracting In The California Lettuce Industry, Kallie Donnelly, Jay E. Noel

Agribusiness

Marketing and production contracts are a widely used risk mitigating strategy in the agricultural industry. Marketing contracts guarantee a market and focuses on the product at time of delivery. The producer owns the crop until time of delivery and is paid a premium based on quality and quantity predetermined in the contract. Production contracts create long term relationships between the producer and contractor. The producer will provide predetermined services to grow the crop. The contractor will provide inputs for the producer, giving the contractor some control over the production process and ownership of the crop. Graph 1 illustrates the growth …

An Estimation Of The Regulatory Cost On California Agricultural Producers, Sean P. Hurley, Jay E. Noel

Agribusiness

Regulations can have many different effects on producers—both positive and negative. They can positively affect producers by improving marketability of the crop and increasing worker’s safety which would provide benefits to producers in the form of higher prices and/or potential cost savings. They can also negatively affect producers by increasing the cost of production by mandating that producers use more costly or less efficacious inputs, causing negative effects to the producers’ bottom-line. Regulations can also have a negative effect on producers by increasing non-cash costs related to management time.

A Regional And Industry Analysis Of The Complexity Of The Regulatory Environment Affecting Agricultural Producers In California, Sean P. Hurley, Jay E. Noel

Agribusiness

Regulations have been studied from many different vantage points in the past. Carter, Chalfont, and Goodhue (2002) have studied how a particular regulation will affect a particular crop, while Antle (2000) and Cash and Swoboda (2003) have investigated the effect of a regulation on an industry. Kaplan, Johansson, and Peters (2004) have investigated the marginal costs and benefits of regulations. Attempts have been made by the federal government to obtain the total cost of the regulatory environment (Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 1997), while Hurley and Noel (2006) have attempted to develop a baseline cost of regulations for California …

The Unintended Consequences Of A Ban On The Humane Slaughter (Processing) Of Horses In The United States, James J. Ahern, David P. Anderson, Dee Von Bailey, Lance A. Baker, W. Arden Colette, J. Shannon Neibergs, Michael S. North, Gary D. Potter, Carolyn L. Stull

Agribusiness

Federal legislation has been proposed to amend the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be humanely slaughtered (processed) for human consumption, and for other purposes. The intent of the legislation is to enact a ban in the United States on processing horses for human consumption. The legislation does not provide fiscal support that would likely be needed to respond to an ever increasing number of unwanted, neglected, and abused horses. Often times horse neglect and abuse cases originate from a lack of economic resources …

Analysis Of The Regulatory Effects Of California Specialty Crops: An Examination Of Various Issues Impacting Selected Forest Products, Tree Fruit, Nut, And Vegetable Crop Industries, Sean P. Hurley, Richard Thompson, Christopher Dicus, Lori Berger, Jay E. Noel

Agribusiness

In a research report for the California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops, Hurley provided a broad overview of the web of regulatory bodies affecting California agricultural producers. He found that California specialty crop producers must comply with multiple regulations from multiple local, state, and federal agencies. Locally, producers must comply with county land use regulations developed by the county, as well as, regulations established by the County Agricultural Commissioner. At the state level, producers must follow the regulations established by California Environmental Protection Agency (CALEPA), the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), and the California Department of Food and …

Impact Of Increased Minimum Wage On Southern San Joaquin Valley Navel Orange Producers, Kallie Donnelly, Jay E. Noel

Agribusiness

The California Institute for the Study of Specialty Crops (CISSC) developed a representative farm simulation model for navel producers in the Southern San Joaquin Valley. The farm simulation model simulates a producer’s financial statements for 2005-2014, including the income statement, statement of cash flows, and balance sheet. This model allows model prices and yields to vary over time. The variability is based on historical variation in navel orange prices and yield. This is done to capture the risk and uncertainty associated with variable prices and yields.