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Full-Text Articles in Agriculture
Cooperative & Nebraska “Blue Sky” Statutes, J. David Aiken
Cooperative & Nebraska “Blue Sky” Statutes, J. David Aiken
Cornhusker Economics
Cooperative fever is sweeping Nebraska. Agricultural producers are looking for ways to add value to what they produce, often through forming “new generation” cooperatives or by forming limited liability companies (LLCs). New generation cooperatives differ from traditional cooperatives in that new generation cooperatives typically (1) have closed membership and (2) process goods produced by co-op members. New generation cooperatives are more like citrus and other fruit cooperatives that have existed in other parts of the country. The Nebraska Unicameral is providing financial assistance to assist developing these kinds of value-added efforts through LB1348, the “Agricultural Opportunities and Value-Added Partnerships Act.” …
Amartya Sen And World Food Day 2000, Bettina Klaus
Amartya Sen And World Food Day 2000, Bettina Klaus
Cornhusker Economics
As every year, World Food Day took place on October 16th. Being relatively new to UNL (and the U.S.), and being an assistant professor in the Economics Department (joint with the Agricultural Economics Department) with research interests in social choice and game theory, the probability that I would get involved with World Food Day were slim. However, somehow it caught my eye that the yearly teleconference that accompanies World Food Day featured the 1998 Nobel prize winner for economics, Professor Amartya Sen. The 2000 World Food Day’s teleconference topic was “Poverty and Hunger: The Tragic Link” and in a superb …
Faculty Exchange Program In Second Year At Unl, Lynn Lutgen
Faculty Exchange Program In Second Year At Unl, Lynn Lutgen
Cornhusker Economics
The Agricultural Economics Department joined USDA in a Faculty Exchange Program (FEP) with the Ukraine and Russia in the spring of 1999. Each year four professors from the Ukraine and Russia arrive in Lincoln in August and leave the middle of December. While in Nebraska they take classes, travel, and develop class outlines and news articles that they will use when they return home. This year we have three professors visiting from the Ukraine and one from Russia. The following are their impressions of the U.S. and Nebraska, along with some thoughts on the Faculty Exchange Program.
Potential Cost Of Agricultural Water For Meeting In-Stream Flow Demands, Raymond J. Supalla
Potential Cost Of Agricultural Water For Meeting In-Stream Flow Demands, Raymond J. Supalla
Cornhusker Economics
In 1997 the states of Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming signed a Cooperative Agreement (CA) which called for making 130,000 to 150,000 acre feet of additional water available for meeting endangered species needs along the Big Bend Reach of the Platte River. Three projects, one in each state, will contribute 70,000 acre feet towards this goal. The remaining 60,000 to 80,000 acre feet must be acquired thorough other means, the most likely being the purchase or leasing of rights to what is now irrigation water. If the CA is eventually implemented, all purchases and leases of irrigation water will be negotiated …
Projecting Cash Needs And Production Costs, Roger Selley
Projecting Cash Needs And Production Costs, Roger Selley
Cornhusker Economics
Some producers suggest they prepare a cash flow if needed for their lender, but otherwise find the projection too dependent upon unknowns to be useful. Earlier newsletters have suggested using projected cash flow commitments to determine the level of crop insurance coverage. Much of the information required to prepare a cash flow projection can also be used to prepare a projected return over variable costs (gross margin) for individual enterprises. Gross margins can be used to project, for example, which crops will be most profitable.
Value-Added And The Declining Farm Share Of Consumer Expenditures For Food, Jeffrey S. Royer
Value-Added And The Declining Farm Share Of Consumer Expenditures For Food, Jeffrey S. Royer
Cornhusker Economics
The farm share of consumer expenditures for food has fallen substantially over the past five decades. As shown in Figure 1, consumer expenditures for domestically produced farm foods increased from $50.9 billion in 1952 to $618.4 billion in 1999. The farm value of these foods increased from $20.4 billion to $120.5 billion during the same period, representing a decline in the farm share from 40 percent to 20 percent.
Producer Protection Act Of 2000, J. David Aiken
Producer Protection Act Of 2000, J. David Aiken
Cornhusker Economics
Agricultural production contracts are becoming more widespread in Nebraska. (Contract production should be distinguished from custom farming, which is not at issue here). Under ag production contracts, farmers may contract to produce crops or livestock typically for processors. Contracting is widespread in the broiler industry, and is becoming more common in the swine and beef industry, and for some crops. The Producer Protection Act of 2000 (PPA) is a proposed model state statute prepared by the National Association of Attorney Generals to deal with legal issues associated with agricultural contracting. The PPA was developed in order to avoid some problems …
Carbon Sequestration: What’S It All About?, Douglas H. Jose
Carbon Sequestration: What’S It All About?, Douglas H. Jose
Cornhusker Economics
The following article is based on an interview I did with Professor Dan Walters on the Market Journal video broadcast on October 16. The full interview can be viewed by going to the Rural Routes website (ruralroutes.unl.edu) and clicking on “broadcast” under the “October Market Journal” heading.
The Effects Of Biotechnology On Concentration And Structure In The Agricultural Inputs Industry, Konstantinos Giannakas, Murray Fulton
The Effects Of Biotechnology On Concentration And Structure In The Agricultural Inputs Industry, Konstantinos Giannakas, Murray Fulton
Cornhusker Economics
In the last five years, biotechnology has emerged as a major focus of interest in agriculture. This article focuses on one of the many questions that have arisen around this new technology. In particular, the purpose of the paper is to identify the scope and significance of the links between biotechnology and the structure and conduct of the agricultural inputs industry and to develop a framework for analyzing the distribution of the benefits of innovations due to biotechnology.
Marketing: A Changing Concept In Changing Times, Allen Prosch
Marketing: A Changing Concept In Changing Times, Allen Prosch
Cornhusker Economics
Pork Powerhouses 2000, the annual report from Successful Farming magazine changed this year when they recast the report as the 50 largest commercial pork producers in North America. Recognizing the movement of pork production in the international sector, while not innovative in itself, indicates the changes in agriculture taking place in the world. The minimum number of sows to make the list increased sixty-six percent (66%) from 1999's 7,200 sows to 12,000 sows this year. Eight Canadian firms made the list this year with a total of 202,200 sows.
Renting Grain Storage Facilities, Larry Bitney, Wade Nutzman
Renting Grain Storage Facilities, Larry Bitney, Wade Nutzman
Cornhusker Economics
Renting a grain bin from a neighbor may be the answer to a producer’s grain storage needs. Retired farmers, those who have excess storage capacity, and those who have scaled back their operations may want to generate some income from renting out their bins. In most cases the parties involved want to know, “What is a fair rental rate?”
Improved Beef Demand Benefits Nebraska Cattle Producers, Richard T. Clark
Improved Beef Demand Benefits Nebraska Cattle Producers, Richard T. Clark
Cornhusker Economics
From 1979 until 1997 inflation-adjusted, retail beef prices in the U.S. declined by over 30%. During this same time period, per capita consumption declined about 10 pounds. These two facts, declining prices and declining consumption, lead to the conclusion that demand for beef in the U.S. declined over this time period.
Employee Motivation, Lance L. Cummins-Brown
Employee Motivation, Lance L. Cummins-Brown
Cornhusker Economics
Currently in the state of Nebraska, there is a shortage of agricultural workers. As Nebraska’s population continues to move east, and the size of grain and livestock operations continue to increase, finding and retaining employees will become a necessity for more agricultural producers. Research is being conducted at the University of Nebraska to improve the leadership skills of producers. Even though there are many skills successful leaders need to have, one of the most important is being able to motivate your employees. A recent study looked at the relationship between an employee’s source of motivation and the type of behaviors …
Is Grass The Cheapest Feed?, Richard T. Clark
Is Grass The Cheapest Feed?, Richard T. Clark
Cornhusker Economics
A recent IRM meeting with cattle producers in Gering highlighted the fact that different producers have different approaches to answering this question. It was quite obvious that the answer is “it depends.” It depends on the availability and cost of alternative sources of nutrition for the animal, labor costs and producer goals.
Agriculture, Trade And The Wto, E. Wesley F. Peterson
Agriculture, Trade And The Wto, E. Wesley F. Peterson
Cornhusker Economics
The Uruguay Round (UR) of trade negotiations, conducted under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), ran from 1986 to 1994. The final UR agreement brought agriculture under the full discipline of the GATT for the first time. It also established the World Trade Organization (WTO) which incorporates all of the earlier agreements included in the GATT as well as the Agreement on Agriculture and several other components. These agreements were officially signed in Marrakesh, Morocco in 1995 and entered into force that same year after they were ratified by national governments, including that of the …
Some Abcs On Commodity Loans And Ldps, Roger Selley
Some Abcs On Commodity Loans And Ldps, Roger Selley
Cornhusker Economics
The objective of the loan rate has been to provide eligible producers the equivalent of a minimum price. When the market price remains below the loan rate a nonrecourse loan accomplishes this objective by allowing the producer (borrower) to forfeit the grain provided as security and cancel a loan that was made at the loan rate. The grain must be in storage under loan for 9 months before forfeiture is an option. The net result with forfeiture is the producer realizes the loan rate (accrued interest is forgiven) less storage costs. The marketing/promotion assessment is also deducted from the loan …
State’S Net Farm Income Levels Tell Quite A Story, Bruce B. Johnson, Jared Burkholder
State’S Net Farm Income Levels Tell Quite A Story, Bruce B. Johnson, Jared Burkholder
Cornhusker Economics
Nebraska’s 1999 net farm income levels document what people in the industry already knew – 1999 was not a good year for the agricultural economy. According to the recently released 1999 USDA net farm income statistics, Nebraska’s 1999 aggregate net farm income was estimated at $1.66 billion. This total falls 10 percent below the 1998 figure and nearly 18 percent below the annual average of the 1990’s (Table 1).
Are There Opportunities To Enter Production Agriculture Today?, Dave Goeller
Are There Opportunities To Enter Production Agriculture Today?, Dave Goeller
Cornhusker Economics
Most persons would not be surprised that the average age of Nebraska farmers is increasing. In 1982 there were approximately 1.5 farmers under age 35 for every farmer over age 65. In 1997 the relationship of younger farmers to older farmers had reversed. The latest Nebraska census of agriculture indicates there are about 2.5 farmers over age 65 for every farmer under 35. Approximately 41% of the land and farm machinery in Nebraska ($14 billion) is owned by those 55 years of age or older. That age group owns approximately 46% of Nebraska’s cow herds as well as about 27% …
To Diversify Or Not? A Lesson From A Harvard Research Study, Ram Valluru
To Diversify Or Not? A Lesson From A Harvard Research Study, Ram Valluru
Cornhusker Economics
Not long ago in 1998, Doug Jose and I conducted 16 focus group interviews with a diverse set of beginning farmers across the state, to learn about the main constraints and opportunities for beginning farmers. Despite the diversity, a common thread seems to run across the fabric of these farmers: a strong goal to have the country lifestyle and independence. Almost all the farmers expressed a severe resource crunch. Two thirds of the producers that were interviewed expressed that they were struggling to make a decent living on the farm, netting at least $ 35,000 per year. As an economist, …
Direct Farm Marketing - Rural Economic Development Opportunities, Marilyn Schlake
Direct Farm Marketing - Rural Economic Development Opportunities, Marilyn Schlake
Cornhusker Economics
Direct farm marketing is once again on the rise. Enterprising producers across the nation are developing a renewed interest in direct sales for numerous reasons - - low farm-gate prices, increased interaction between farming communities and growing suburbs, increased interest in food safety and the environment and a willingness of consumers to purchase food products at a premium price. Direct marketing potentially means preserving small farms, strengthening the social relations between rural and urban citizens and rural economic development.
Industrialization And Globalization: A Battle Over Values?, Gary D. Lynne
Industrialization And Globalization: A Battle Over Values?, Gary D. Lynne
Cornhusker Economics
About a year ago a French farmer proclaimed, while he checked himself into jail for his part in vandalizing a new McDonald’s restaurant, “My struggle remains the same . . . the battle against globalization, and for the right of people to feed themselves as they choose'' (New York Times, August 29, 1999). Such protests reflect even more fundamental underlying concerns for food produced in ways not always meeting higher level needs, e.g., not satisfying the cultural needs for the French, a country in which the event of a meal is often just as important as the food itself. The …
What Can We Expect From The Markets For The Next Few Months, Lynn Lutgen
What Can We Expect From The Markets For The Next Few Months, Lynn Lutgen
Cornhusker Economics
When we started into June we had the chance of fluctuating markets due to drought in some areas and hot weather coupled with inadequate subsoil moisture in other areas of the United States. Then the rains started, and since then we have had general widespread and very adequate rainfall. Now that is not to say that some areas such as Southwestern Nebraska are not suffering from drought conditions, but for most of the U.S. the drought and chance of drought has certainly been curtailed.
Acreage Trends Mixed For Gmos, Roy Frederick
Acreage Trends Mixed For Gmos, Roy Frederick
Cornhusker Economics
USDA’s June Crop Report made headlines mostly because the corn acreage planted for 2000 exceeded expectations. At 79.6 million acres, the total was at least 1 million acres higher than most pre-report guesses. Prices skidded, helped along by reports of timely rains throughout the Corn Belt.
Farm Use Of Computers And Internet, Matt Spilker
Farm Use Of Computers And Internet, Matt Spilker
Cornhusker Economics
The availability of personal computers and the Internet has changed the business climate on farms and ranches across the United States. Record keeping, business analysis, communications and marketing are a few notable examples of potential computing applications. But how many in the farm sector have taken advantage of this potential tool?
Responding To Financial Stress, Larry L. Bitney
Responding To Financial Stress, Larry L. Bitney
Cornhusker Economics
Drought, low grain prices and high fuel prices are on the minds of many Nebraska farm families this summer. The impact of these events will of course be different by area of the state, by enterprise mix on each farm and the financial position of the business coming into this year. Unless managed properly, these events are likely to lead to financial difficulty this fall or next spring.
Who Is Buying Nebraska Farmland?, Bruce B. Johnson, David Drozd
Who Is Buying Nebraska Farmland?, Bruce B. Johnson, David Drozd
Cornhusker Economics
As part of our ongoing monitoring and analysis of Nebraska抯 agricultural land market, we have tracked for several years the patterns and trends of actual real estate transactions. Each year, our reporters from around the state provide us with detailed information on about 500 transactions which have occurred during the previous 12 months. They report on sales which they deem as armslength and typical for their locality. Given that only about three percent of the state's agricultural land base changes ownership each year, the tracts reported in our survey represent about 10 percent of the total annual transactions? a size …
Preharvest Soybean Marketing Strategies, George H. Pfeiffer, Roger Wilson, Jim Kendrick
Preharvest Soybean Marketing Strategies, George H. Pfeiffer, Roger Wilson, Jim Kendrick
Cornhusker Economics
Soybean producers who decide to use the futures markets to price their crop face a number of important decisions. Among the choices they face are whether to use futures or options on futures, when should positions be established and liquidated, which futures months are most appropriate and what particular marketing strategies or combinations of strategies to employ. Ongoing research in Nebraska on soybean marketing strategies from the early 80's through the present has revealed evidence that relatively simple marketing strategies employing futures markets can be profitable for producers, and that the most profitable strategies have been relatively consistent over time. …
Telecommunications Act Of 1996: Issues That Effect Nebraskans, John J. Allen
Telecommunications Act Of 1996: Issues That Effect Nebraskans, John J. Allen
Cornhusker Economics
With the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the pace of regulatory change increased exponentially. The impact on rural areas is significant; the issues specific to Southern states and communities unique. This report provides a brief history of telecommunications regulation and an overview of the key elements of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Innovations in state telecommunications regulations, as well as a summary of actions taken by Southern states since the 1996 Act was adopted, are discussed. After this whirlwind tour of telecommunications regulation, the report examines the evidence for the importance of telecommunications technology in rural areas and …
U.S. Economy Less Robust, Roy Frederick
U.S. Economy Less Robust, Roy Frederick
Cornhusker Economics
The U.S. economy is a lot like the human body. Experts know a great deal about both. That doesn’t mean, however, that quick remedies are possible for every ailment that comes along.
An Economic Development Strategy For Rural Nebraska: Recommendations From The Nebraska Rural Development Commission, Sam Cordes
Cornhusker Economics
Earlier this year the Nebraska Rural Development Commission released a report titled Determining the Future of Rural Nebraska. The stated goal of the report is ?..to stimulate discussion, debate and consensus regarding what we should be doing locally, regionally, and at the state level and nationally to create our future for the next millennium.?This 53 page report provides a wealth of information and ideas for anyone who is interested in the future of rural Nebraska.*