Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Federal Court Invalidates Initiative 300, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

On December 15, 2005, the U.S. District Court for Nebraska (Judge Camp) ruled that Article 12 Section 8 of the Nebraska Constitution, popularly known as Initiative 300, violated federal law. The court ruled that I300, which regulates corporate farming, violated the Interstate Commerce Clause and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Tourism: The Cinderella Stepchild Of Economic Development?, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel

Cornhusker Economics

When most people think about the economic engines that drive the state of Nebraska, agriculture and manufacturing almost always come to mind. But did you know that tourism is ranked #3 in dollars generated into the state economy?

2006 Nebraska Water Policy Choices, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska is blessed with relatively abundant (but not unlimited) ground water supplies. In the tradition of other western states with significant ground water supplies, Nebraska has followed a largely local-control approach to ground water management. This means that local political subdivisions (Natural Resource Districts, or NRDs in Nebraska, other ground water districts in other states) have had the option whether to regulate ground water development and use to extend the life of local ground water supplies. In Nebraska, as well as in Texas, there has traditionally been no effective state role in ground water management – if ground water problems …

The Market Potential Of A New High-Oleic Soybean Developed At Unl, Amalia Yiannaka

Cornhusker Economics

The introduction of genetically modified (GM) products into the food system has been a contentious issue eliciting divergent responses from the major players in the agri-food sector. While farmers have been embracing the agronomic benefits associated with the first generation of producer-oriented GM products, an increasing number of consumers have been raising objections to food containing GM ingredients in major markets around the world. Consumer reaction to GM products is founded on health, environmental, ethical and/or philosophical concerns, and has impaired the potential of agricultural biotechnology.

Market Reports

Cornhusker Economics

No abstract provided.

Risk Management Education In The North Central Region, Beth A. Eberspacher

Cornhusker Economics

The North Central Risk Management Education Center is beginning its competitive grant programs for 2005-2006. During the past four years the Center has been able to offer approximately $2.5 million in grants for the development of risk management educational programs for producers in the North Central Region. The grant program encourages collaboration and partnering of public and private entities inside and outside of the region.

Class I School District Consolidation Ballot Referendum, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Class I School Districts. Nebraska has 477 operating school districts, 220 of which (46 percent) are Class I districts. Class I school districts are K-6 or K-8 (Table 1). Enrollment in Class I districts is very small, averaging only 3.84 students per grade per school (Table 2). Class I districts average 3.62 teachers per school, about one teacher per 10 students. Each teacher is responsible for 2-3 grades on average. Class I districts educate 2.79 percent of Nebraska’s children.

Crop Insurance Performance In Nebraska In 2005, H. Douglas Jose

Cornhusker Economics

Unfortunately grain prices, particularly corn, have sagged this fall under the weight of a good harvest across most of the country. With the grain mostly harvested, lets look at what has happened with crop insurance this year and how it complemented marketing opportunities.

Ccc Marketing Loans, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

The current grain market situation has brought about a renewed discussion on Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) and marketing loans this fall. Understanding the tax situation of each may help in deciding which option is right for you. As you know, producers have the option to take a LDP or receive a marketing loan upon harvesting their crop.

Safety Regulations For New Gmo Crops, Richard K. Perrin

Cornhusker Economics

Starlink. Monarch Butterflies. Frankenfoods. These words conjure foreboding thoughts of potential catastrophe lurking behind the development of genetically modified organisms, or GMO’s. Are they really safe to be released? Are they safe to even experiment with? The purpose here is to describe the federal regulatory system that addresses these issues.

Usda National Needs Fellowships At The Center For Agricultural And Food Industrial Organization

Department of Agricultural Economics: News, Announcements, and Information

Call for Applications

Masters Level Support in Agricultural Economics With a Specialty in Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization.

GOAL: To encourage undergraduate women to pursue advanced degrees in agricultural and food industrial organization (AFIO); foster a welcoming atmosphere of scholarship, mentoring, and networking for women with an eye on placing them in leadership positions in industry, academia, and public policy; and capitalize on the future success of the fellows to induce more women to pursue advanced degrees in AFIO.

OPPORTUNITIES: Fellows will be trained in state-of-the-art industrial organization concepts applied to the agri-food system, taught by an internationally-renown and culturally …

Crop & Livestock Prices For Nebraska Producers: Nebraska Cooperative Extension Ec03-883-C, Darrell R. Mark, Dillon Feuz, Brad Heinrichs

Department of Agricultural Economics: News, Announcements, and Information

This report contains historical price data for the major crops and livestock commodities produced in Nebraska. Prices received by producers are reported for 1960-2005 for most of the commodities. The data was compiled from Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service and Agricultural Prices, National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA; Oil Crops Situation and Outlook, Economic Research Service, USDA; Cotton and Wool Outlook, Economic Research Service, USDA; and Livestock and Grain Market News, Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA. Sources of prices for each commodity are indicated on the tables. Calendar year average prices (simple averages of the January through December prices) are provided in each …

Downturn In Nebraska Net Farm Income Expected For 2005, Bruce B. Johnson

Cornhusker Economics

What is obvious to most observers of the state’s agricultural sector is that this year’s income levels will not match those of a year ago. And in some cases, they won’t even come close. However, we need to remember that 2004 represented a truly unique set of circumstances, where both the crop and the livestock sectors were enjoying phenomenal conditions. So, even though down from 2004, the 2005 net farm income forecast still looks relatively strong in the context of the past 10 years.

Long-Term Care For Farmers And Ranchers, David J. Goeller

Cornhusker Economics

An Aging Population There are more than 36 million Americans over the age of 65. Projections estimate this segment of the population will double to 72 million in the next 25 years. Long-term care for America’s aging population is an important consideration in estate and business transition planning. Many have become increasingly aware how easily the cost of long-term care can wipe out a lifetime of savings or hamper the transfer of a family farm, ranch or business to future generations.

Measuring The Accountability Of Advertising Expenses In The Presence Of Sales Cost Inefficiency And Marketing Spillovers, Konstantinos Giannakas, Giannis Karagiannis, Vangelis Tzouvelekas

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

This paper develops a tractable theoretical framework for analyzing the substitutability between different advertising media, the extent of marketing spillovers in the market, the allocative efficiency of advertising spending, and the sources of total advertising productivity and sales growth. Maintaining the separability assumption between sales and production technology, the proposed methodology relies on cost-function decomposition of total factor productivity and the duality between input distance and cost functions. Utilizing a flexible Translog advertising distance function, the methodology is applied to the advertising activity of meat processing firms in Greece during the period 1983-1997. Scale economies in advertising expenses turn out …

Women In Agriculture: Making The Critical Difference, Meg Klosterman Kester

Cornhusker Economics

In 2002 the Census of Agriculture reported the total number of farm operators was 70,668. Nearly 16,000 of those operators were women, representing 22.5 percent of all operators. Over 3,000 women were designated as principal operators, representing over 6 percent of Nebraska’s 49,355 farms. Because women play a significant role in farm operation in the state, the Women in Agriculture program has grown and flourished over the past 21 years.

Cull Cow Marketing, Dillon Feuz

Cornhusker Economics

Every year, about this time of year it seems that someone asks me to speak about cull cow marketing. The date they want me to speak is generally the week before Thanksgiving. The problem with that talk then, is I am always a couple of months late with my advice. So I am getting my advice out early, or perhaps I should say on time, this year. Cull cow sales likely account for 20-25 percent of gross revenue on most cow-calf ranches. It is therefore worth considering different cull cow marketing strategies.

Rural Depopulation: A Closer Look At Nebraska’S Counties And Communities, Randolph L. Cantrell

Rural Initiative Program: Publications and Reports

There is no question about it; rural population loss and Metropolitan concentration continue to be important factors in shaping social and economic conditions in much of America’s Great Plains region. Despite widespread population increases throughout much of nonmetropolitan America during the 1990s, the rural Great Plains has remained an area of persistent decline (Johnson and Beale, 1998 and 2001). Declining populations have characterized many Great Plains counties since the early 1900s, and the trend has continued with few exceptions through the most recent census in 2000. In fact, for some Great Plains counties, the rate of population decline has actually …

Farm Bill Forum, Husker Harvest Days, Grand Island, Nebraska, Mike Johanns

Department of Agricultural Economics: News, Announcements, and Information

Transcript of NEBRASKA FARM BILL FORUM WITH AGRICULTURE SECRETARY MIKE JOHANNS AND MODERATORS SUSAN LITTLEFIELD, KZEN FARM NET, KEN RAHJES OF KRVN AND EMERY KLEVEN OF KOYL AT THE HUSKER HARVEST DAYS IN GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA ON SEPTEMBER 15, 2005

Retail Patterns Across Nebraska, A 10-Year Perspective, Aaron C. Raymond, Bruce B. Johnson

Cornhusker Economics

Retail activity is very dynamic and highly variable, across both time and space. We have been following total retail activity, using taxable retail sales from the Nebraska Department of Revenue as a proxy for many years. Over time, we have witnessed the continuing trend towards increasing concentration of retail activity in the larger trade centers and urban communities, and away from rural and small trade centers. While state sales tax data provides some clear perspectives on overall changes and trends, even down to town and county levels, details as to the specific type of retail activity is precluded.

Brazil And Its Role In Global Agriculture, H. Douglas Jose

Cornhusker Economics

The themes which have been applied to Brazilian agriculture include “a growing agricultural giant,” and “the future of modern agriculture.” I had the opportunity to visit Brazil and observe some of their agriculture first hand in August. There is always a danger of making general observations based on limited time in a country and a limited area covered. But this two-week visit left me with some observations to consider as we think about the structure of global agriculture in the future.

Appeals Court Rules Cattle Marketing Agreements Are Not Anti-Competitive, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Traditionally cattle have been purchased for cash prices on the open market, at livestock auctions or directly from cattle producers. Cattle buyers from meatpackers negotiate with feedlot operators to purchase pens of cattle, attempting to estimate the average quality that the cattle will yield on the spot. Feedlot operators consider bids from competing packers and then decide which offer to accept. Cattle are delivered seven days from the date of the purchase.

Labor Issues In Nebraska Feedyards, Rik R. Smith, Darrell R. Mark

Cornhusker Economics

Cattle feeders in Nebraska employ significant labor resources to care for and manage the two million cattle on feed in Nebraska. With an average of about one employee for every thousand head of cattle fed, that translates to around 2,000 jobs for rural economies in Nebraska.

The Land Market And 1031 Exchanges, Glenn A. Helmers

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska agricultural land values have increased nearly 50 percent in the past decade. To many observers this increase is much greater than would be expected based on crop profitability. Increasingly it is mentioned that the Section 1031 Exchange provision of the Internal Revenue Code is an important element leading to increased land values. This provision provides for tax deferral of the capital gain tax if an exchange occurs with like-kind property. The 1031 provision was enacted in 1984 by limiting the scope of the Starker Court decision of 1979. In 1991 IRS issued regulations regarding procedures of 1031 Exchanges. Section …

New Domestic Production Deduction, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

At this time last year we didn’t think we would see a new piece of tax legislation in 2004 and October brought us two of the largest bills in recent history. The second of the two was the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. The fuel behind this bill was largely related to the Extra-Territorial Income Exclusion Act (ETI) of 2000 that had been deemed “inconsistent with international trade agreements” by the World Trade Organization. This had been a tax preference for strictly exporters, which is why the WTO had a problem. While the new law called for a three …

What Price The Moral High Ground In A Competitive Economic Environment?, Gary D. Lynne

Cornhusker Economics

A recent book by Robert Frank (2004), a well-known researcher and writer on the nature of our economic nature, points to how the business world appears to be in the grip of “infectious greed” attributing this phrase to Alan Greenspan, the current U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman. Greenspan has also said it is “not that humans have become more greedy than in generations past,” but rather that “the avenues to express greed have grown so enormously (quoted by Frank, 2004, p. vii).” So, apparently in the minds of the business community, perhaps even in our own agribusiness and farming communities, many …

The Effect Of Wal-Mart On The Economic Growth Of Nebraska Counties, Gibson Nene

Rural Initiative Program: Publications and Reports

Wal-Mart is the largest corporation in the world operating 3600 stores in the US and 1150 stores in other countries. With its highly automated distribution system, Wal-Mart has dominated the retail industry in the US becoming the largest employer and realizing higher sales than any other retail corporation in recent years. There are claims that the store has created benefits for consumers in the form of low prices, a wide assortment of products under one roof and employment opportunities and that communities have also benefited from Wal-Mart in the form of its involvement in charity and infrastructure.

Despite its market …

Basis Risk Reduction With Lrp Insurance, Rik R. Smith, Darrell R. Mark

Cornhusker Economics

Livestock Risk Protection Insurance (LRP) is a pilot program from the USDA-Risk Management Agency (RMA) that provides minimum price protection for fed cattle, feeder cattle and swine producers. The program works like a put option in that a minimum price is established, but if prices increase producers can benefit from the increase. Producers pay a premium in exchange for this price insurance, which is available from licensed crop insurance agents.

The Effect Of Cooperatives On Innovation, Konstantinos Giannakas

Cornhusker Economics

Innovation activity is a critical element of business conduct affecting the competitiveness of firms, the arrival rate of innovations in the economy, productivity growth and social welfare. The strategic interactions among firms and their effect on innovation have received considerable attention in the economic literature with the main focus being on innovation competition in a pure oligopoly – i.e., a market in which a small number of profit-maximizing, investorowned firms (IOFs) operate.

Dry Beans As A Farm Program Commodity: Is This A Good Idea?, Paul Burgener

Cornhusker Economics

With the inclusion of soybeans in the direct payment program and chickpeas, dry peas and lentils in the marketing loan program under the 2002 Farm Act, the question of whether or not to push for inclusion of dry beans in the 2007 legislation has been posed. There are a number of factors that need to be considered before making a major lobbying effort to get dry beans included in the 2007 Farm Bill. The key points will be discussed here.