Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sorghum Millet And Other Grains Crsp, Leader With Associates Cooperative Agreement No. Eep-A-00-06-00160: The New Program, John Yohe

INTSORMIL Presentations

INTSORMIL was created in 1979 by USAID and BIFAD as a long-term mechanism for agriculture development. It is meant to utilize capacity of U.S. land grant universities increase research capacity Increase food production. INTSORMIL was replaced in 2006 by the SMOG, Sorghum, Millet and Other Grains CRSP. The focus of these programs in Africa has been on sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, tef, and fonio. The programs have facilitated investigation of soil and water (environmental considerations), integrated pest management, nutrition and health, broadening market access, mitigating post-harvest constraints, enhancing productivity and livelihood in marginal areas, increasing income, improving food quality, …

Sorghum Breeding Programme, Medson Chisi

INTSORMIL Presentations

Overall the project has been a success--the challenge is to supply sufficient seed.

A sustainable seed distribution system is needed for farmers living in remote areas.

The Sorghum Programme requires continued support from all stake holders--collaboration.

There is need to link farmers to potential markets.

Most farmers have expressed the need for assistance in terms extension service and inputs.

Sorghum is an important crop as it is a direct substitute for maize.

Stock feed companies have also expressed willingness to purchase sorghum if more farmers are able to grow sufficient quantities.

Opportunities For Nebraska In Future Carbon Markets: Final Technical Report For Ncesr Project 3-#303, Richard K. Perrin, Adam J. Liska, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

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

This study was funded to explore potential opportunities for Nebraska in future carbon markets, most explicitly those opportunities related to the possibility of replacing fossil fuels with biomass at Nebraska corn ethanol plants. The most direct and significant finding is that biomass-fired CHP (combined heat and power) technology is not economically viable for Nebraska corn ethanol plants under current conditions. We estimate in the study that corn stover price would have to be at least $50 per ton of dry matter for the requisite amounts to be delivered to any of the three ethanol plant locations considered (Adams, Norfolk and …

An Analysis Of Supply Contracts In The Livestock Markets Of The United States, Doussou Traore

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this report, we discuss market relations in the cattle and beef sector of the United States by setting up a sequence of optimization decisions taken by cattle feeders (producers, sellers) and meat packers (processors, buyers) to solve for the equilibrium supply and demand proportions in the contract market in a first stage given the respective degrees of risk aversion for the representative producer and processor. Subsequently we derive the impacts of contracts, namely impacts on the spot market price and the processors’ ability to exercise oligopsony power, in a second stage. Using a model for a fixed-price contract, the …

Sorghum And Pearl Millet Improved Seed Value Chains In Zambia: Challenges And Opportunities For Smallholder Farmers, Priscilla Hamukwala, Gelson Tembo, Don Larson, Mark Erbaugh

INTSORMIL Scientific Publications

Sorghum and millet are a very important source of food and farm income for smallholder farmers, which can be enhanced especially if linked to new markets. These two crops have been widely viewed as minor traditional crops in the Zambian food systems. The two crops were displaced by maize in the 1900s with the opening of the copper mines. However, they remain important food crops for semi-arid areas of the country. In recent years, there have also been new market developments requiring farmers to increase productivity and production. Unfortunately significant productivity enhancements are impeded by low access to improved technologies …

Environmental Efficiency Among Corn Ethanol Plants, Juan P. Sesmero, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Economic viability of the US corn ethanol industry depends on prices, technical and economic efficiency of plants and on continuation of policy support. Public policy support is tied to the environmental efficiency of plants measured as their impact on emissions of greenhouse gases. This study evaluates the environmental efficiency of seven recently constructed ethanol plants in the North Central region of the U.S., using nonparametric data envelopment analysis (DEA). The minimum level of GHG emissions (per gallon of ethanol produced) feasible with the available technology is calculated for each plant and this level is used to decompose environmental efficiency into …

Collaboration For Improved Soil And Water Management In Eastern And Southern Africa, Charles S. Wortmann

INTSORMIL Presentations

INTSORMIL Technical Focal Areas:

Enhancing productivity and livelihood in marginal areas

Soil and water management

Integrated pest management

Mitigating post-harvest losses

Nutrition and health

Food quality, processing and safety

Broadening market access

Increasing income

Breeding, biotechnology, and biodiversity

Getting Honest With Oil, Bruce Johnson

Cornhusker Economics

In this year of the monumental oil spill off our shores, Americans are being brought face-to-face with some stark realities of our time. First, we are seeing that current technology and human processes can’t insure the prevention of environmental disasters, creating havoc to large economic regions as well as to fragile ecosystems. In fact, if a single 21-inch pipe spewing millions of barrels of oil from the floor of the Gulf can continue for months on end, without effective correction, just how ingenious are we as humans?

Nebraska Panhandle Connects With German Institute On Agri Benchmark Project, Paul Burgener

Cornhusker Economics

In the Spring of 2009, the University of Nebraska Panhandle Research and Extension Center was contacted by a representative from the Institute of Farm Economics at the Johann Heinrich von Thunen Institute (vTI) in Braunschweig, Germany. In the initial meeting, a partnership was arranged to provide Western Nebraska irrigated economic data for the Agri Benchmark project operated by vTI, with the University of Nebraska receiving access to the worldwide data set that exists within the project. This relationship has grown over the past 18 months to include a number of other opportunities.

Co-Product Prices May Be Nearing Seasonal Low, Darrell R. Mark

Cornhusker Economics

The supply of corn milling co-products from ethanol production has increased rapidly over the last several years. Based on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projections of corn ground for ethanol production, approximately 38 million tons of distillers grains would have been produced in the 2009-10 marketing year, with 40 million tons projected for the 2010-11 marketing year. While supply has grown, so too has demand from both domestic and international users. Cattle feeders in particular have found wet distillers grains plus solubles (WDGS), modified wet distillers grains plus solubles (MWDGS) and dried distillers grains plus solubles (DDGS) to be …

Nebraska Farm Business Averages, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

Ten years ago, there was a pattern in net farm income of a good year followed by a bad year, followed by a good year, and so on. From 1999 to 2002 we saw continual drops in net farm income, and since 2003 the pattern has been record high incomes followed by new record high incomes. Grain prices went on the rise and returns followed. In 2009, we recorded the first drop in average net farm income since 2002.

Internet Connectivity And Use In Nebraska, Rebecca J. Vogt, Charlotte Narjes, Connie Hancock

Cornhusker Economics

As discussed in an earlier Cornhusker Economics article (May 26, 2010), the Nebraska Public Service Commission was awarded a grant from the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for conducting a study of broadband use and needs in Nebraska. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln conducted the survey for the Commission. In addition, the Nebraska Information Technology Commission (NITC), Community Council and Nebraska Department of Economic Development (DED) collaborated with the Commission on this survey.

Health And Growth: Causality Through Education, Rui Huang, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, E. Wesley Peterson

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Purpose--The paper theoretically and empirically investigates the impact on human capital investment decisions and income growth of lowered life expectancy as a result of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Design/methodology/approach--The theoretical model is a three-period overlapping generations model where individuals go through three stages in their life, namely, young, adult and old. The model extends existing theoretical models by allowing the probability of premature death to differ for individuals at different life stage, and by allowing for stochastic technological advances. The empirical investigation focuses on the effect of HIV/AIDS on life expectancy and on the role of health on educational investments …

Poverty Reduction And The Income Inequality In China, Yi Liu, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

In 2000, the United Nations adopted the Millennium Development Goals which set targets for raising living standards in low-income countries. The first goal was to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” (United Nations). The World Bank defines extreme poverty as income of less than $1.25 per day (World Bank, 2010a). Based on this definition, the World Bank estimates that the percentage of the population in China living in extreme poverty has fallen from 84 percent in 1981 to about 16 percent in 2005, a period during which China’s population grew by more than 300 million people (see Table 1 on last …

Nama National Conference A Learning Experience For Nebraska Students, Karoline Kastanek, Rosalee A. Swartz

Cornhusker Economics

Change was in the air at the 2010 National Agri- Marketing Association (NAMA) Annual Conference held April 20-23 in Kansas City, Missouri. Students and professionals alike were given the opportunity to rub shoulders with, and hear nationally known speakers engaging audiences on topics such as the new rules of marketing and publication relations, measuring the effectiveness of social media and strategy, and brand communication.

Politics And Trade In The Former Soviet Union, Marianna Khachaturyan, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

Fifteen independent countries emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989-91. Aside from the Russian Federation, the former Soviet Republics lie in four geographic regions: the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia); Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan); the Baltics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania); and Eastern Europe (Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine).

Nebraska’S Virtual Corn Suitability Rating, Bruce B. Johnson, Tyler Rosener

Cornhusker Economics

Corn Suitability ratings have been used for many years in other parts of the Corn Belt as an agronomic measure of soil productivity, and in turn, some correlation with associated cropland values. For example, in Iowa the Corn Suitability Rating (CSR) is used extensively as a measure of soil productivity across regions and counties, and even down to parcel levels. Google on Iowa CSR, and you will find weighted average CSRs for each county, as well as private firms offering detailed analysis of CSR for any parcel of land in the state. The intent is to provide an index (between …

New 2010 Division Fence Law, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

The 2010 Unicameral revised Nebraska’s division fence statutes. This newsletter discusses the changes made to Nebraska’s division fence statutes by LB (Legislative Bill) 667. The primary change is that the cost of a wire division fence is split 50-50 in all cases, except where the neighbors have agreed to a different division of the fence cost.

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights 2009-2010, Bruce B. Johnson, Ryan Lukassen, Tyler Rosener

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Reports

NOTE: Due to UNL budget constraints, the following is an abbreviated version of the historical annual report series. It essentially maintains the key data sets and briefly highlights the recent findings. It is available as a down

A Comprehensive Index For Assessing Environmental Stress In Animals, Terry L. Mader, Leslie J. Johnson, John B. Gaghan Dr

Nebraska Extension: Faculty and Staff Publications

Numerous models and indices exist that attempt to characterize the effect of environmental factors on the comfort of animals and humans. Heat and cold indices have been utilized to adjust ambient temperature (Ta) for the effects of relative humidity (RH) or wind speed (WS) or both for the purposes of obtaining a “feels-like” or apparent temperature. However, no model has been found that incorporates adjustments for RH, WS, and radiation (RAD) over conditions that encompass hot and cold environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive climate index (CCI) that has application under a wide range …

Essays On Equity-Efficiency Trade Offs In Energy And Climate Policies, Juan P. Sesmero

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Economic efficiency and societal equity are two important goals of public policy. Energy and climate policies have the potential to affect both. Efficiency is increased by substituting low-carbon energy for fossil energy (mitigating an externality) while equity is served if such substitution enhances consumption opportunities of unfavored groups (low income households or future generations). However policies that are effective in reducing pollution may not be so effective in redistributing consumption and vice-versa. This dissertation explores potential trade-offs between equity and efficiency arising in energy and climate policies.

Chapter 1 yields two important results. First, while effective in reducing pollution, energy …

Leveraging Technology For The Future Of Nebraska: Creating A Statewide Broadband Plan, Charlotte Narjes, Rebecca J. Vogt, Connie Hancock

Cornhusker Economics

In Nebraska, some areas of the state S primarily in the most rural areas of the state S may be underserved or unserved in terms of broadband access. Rural areas of the state also lag in economic development and are experiencing population losses. Additionally, broadband adoption and Internet usage among certain income and population groups remains low. Increasing adoption of broadband and Information Technology (IT) services is one way to create economic opportunities, attract new residents to rural areas and address economic inequalities among population groups.

North Central Risk Management Education Center, Cheryl Griffith

Cornhusker Economics

Today’s farmers and ranchers face an unprecedented risk environment. Extreme price volatility has impacted the cost of inputs for producers, as well as the prices they receive for farm commodities. Livestock producers in the dairy, hog and poultry sectors have faced liquidations due to declining profits stemming from high feed prices and reduced consumer demand. The price of fertilizer has increased nearly 400 percent in the past three years, while the price of a bushel of corn, after extreme fluctuations, has settled at roughly the same price as three years ago. In response to the world economic conditions, agricultural lenders …

Attracting And Retaining Workers In Rural Communities, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Charlotte Narjes

Cornhusker Economics

Many rural communities focus their development efforts on job creation. In the non-metropolitan portions of the Northern Great Plains, job creation efforts in the first half of this decade were quite successful. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA, 2005), 167 of the 223 non-metropolitan counties in Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota saw an actual aggregate increase in total jobs (full and part-time) of 28,734, between the years 2001 and 2005.

2010 Legislative Summary, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

What were some of the major issues addressed in the 2010 Legislature? Water, fences, wind energy and the state budget.

What happened with water? The main bill was LB862, which extends the $10/acre irrigated acre tax to all Natural Resource Districts (NRDs) that are preparing an integrated water management plan. Formerly, this authority had been extended only to Republican Basin NRDs, but the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that limitation unconstitutional. The Unicameral also repealed the water checkoff on corn and sorghum, and opened up the integrated management plan process to all NRDs. LB862 may help NRDs get closer to where …

Energy Restriction During Development In Breeding Gilts: An Economic Analysis, Justin Cech

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Swine production has become a low-margin business. As costs of production have increased, producers are continuing to increase efficiency in market pig production and gilt development. Restricting energy intake during gilt development could have a positive impact on a producer’s bottom line, but few studies have economically analyzed production differences caused by energy restriction.

This study utilized gilt development and market pig production data from biological studies that included a 2x2 factorial arrangement of half-sibling maternal lines (LWxLR and L45X) entering two gilt development programs. In one program, gilts were fed on an ad libitum basis. In the other, gilts …

Stochastic Partial Budgeting: A New Look At An Old Tool, Sunil P. Dhoubhadel, Matthew Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

Farm business managers are constantly making adjustments in their businesses for smoother operations and profitability. Many times, these choices involve actions to enhance the financial return of the farm business; while other times these decisions are made out of necessity to minimize the effects of unfavorable conditions or events such as drought or changes in the market conditions. Some of these decisions are relatively simple, requiring making choices among alternatives within an enterprise; while others are complex involving a total overhaul of the business and its enterprises. Alternative choices within an individual enterprise can have a differential impact on farm …

Tiered Pricing And Cost Functions: Are Equity, Cost Recovery And Economic Efficiency Compatible Goals?, Karina Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

Suppliers of water and energy are frequently natural monopolies, with their pricing regulated by governmental agencies. Pricing schemes are evaluated by the efficiency of the resource allocation they lead to, the capacity of the utilities to capture their costs and the distributional effects of the policies, in particular, impacts on the poor. One pricing approach has been average cost pricing, which guarantees cost recovery and allows utilities to provide their product at relatively low prices. However, average cost pricing leads to economically inefficient consumption levels, when sources of water and energy are limited and increasing the supply is costly. An …

Not Fully-Appropriated Basins Subject To New Well Restrictions, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

On April 8, 2009, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) determined that the Lower Platte River Basin was not fully appropriated. On April 6, 2009, Nebraska Governor Heineman signed LB483, which established procedures to limit new irrigation development in areas like the Lower Platte Basin. This newsletter discusses these developments.

501(C)(3) Nonprofit Organizations In Nebraska: 2008, Randolph L. Cantrell

Cornhusker Economics

Nonprofit organizations are important to the quality of life in communities. They exist in complex variety and include church congregations, private schools, service clubs, business leagues, social and recreational clubs, labor unions, farm bureaus, community theaters, neighborhood organizations and many more. Only the largest of nonprofits are likely to have employees, with most relying upon volunteers to meet their human resource requirements. They obtain their financial resources through donations, investments, grants and fee based activities, such as festivals and educational programs.