Agribusiness Commons^™

The Economics Of Agricultural R&D, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, Jennifer S. James, Matthew A. Andersen

Agribusiness

Agricultural research has transformed agriculture and in doing so contributed to the transformation of economies. Economic issues arise because agricultural research is subject to various market failures, because the resulting innovations and technological changes have important economic consequences for net income and its distribution, and because the consequences are difficult to discern and attribute. Economists have developed models and measures of the economic consequences of agricultural R&D and related policies in contributions that relate to a very broad literature ranging across production economics, development economics, industrial organization, economic history, welfare economics, political economy, econometrics, and so on. A key general …

Economics And Policy Context For The Biological Management Of Soil Fertility (Bmsf) In Ethiopia, Habtamu T. Kassahun, Charles F. Nicholson, Dawit Solomon, Amy S. Collick, Tammo S. Steenhuis

Agribusiness

Many developing countries implement programs and policies to increase or maintain soil fertility, with the objectives of increased crop yields and decreased poverty. However, few countries give emphasis to the biological management of soil fertility (BMSF) compared to more traditional approaches. Ethiopia emphasizes the use synthetic fertilizers to increase food security and reduce poverty, with little attention to BMSF. This paper examines the long term fertilizer consumption and agricultural productivity response trend and discusses the potential for BMSF to promote agricultural productivity and reduce poverty in Ethiopia. The paper also discusses the Economics and Policy Context for BMSF for the …

Dynamic Market Impacts Of Generic Dairy Advertising, Charles F. Nicholson, Harry M. Kaiser

Agribusiness

Generic advertising of fluid milk and cheese represents the principal promotional activity undertaken with the $370 million per year provided by dairy farmers and fluid milk processors. This article describes a stock-flow-feedback simulation model that includes 17 intermediate and final dairy products, short-term and long-term milk supply response and government policies that influence the impacts of generic advertising on net revenues for dairy farmers. Permanent increases in generic advertising expenditures increase net revenues for dairy farmers, with a cumulative net benefit to cost ratio of 2.8. Permanent decreases produce a larger reduction in net revenues and indicate a net benefit …

Agricultural R&D Policy: A Tragedy Of The International Commons, Jennifer S. James, Philip G. Pardey, Julian M. Alston

Agribusiness

Over the past 50 years public agricultural research has contributed enormously to humanity, enabling the supply of food to grow faster than demand in spite of a rapidly growing population, income growth, and shrinking natural resources. Nonetheless, in many countries we see waning public support for agricultural R&D, especially in Africa, a diversion of research resources from farm productivity towards other agendas, and early warning signs of a slowdown in agricultural productivity. The world has continued to collectively underinvest in agricultural R&D because of domestic and international market failures associated with appropriability problems. Governments have failed to effectively address these …

Pet Wine Bottles: Will Consumers Accept Them?, David Baird, Wayne Howard

Agribusiness

No Abstract

Applying Experimental Economics To Obesity In The Family Household, Mariah D. Ehmke, Travis Warziniack, Christiane Schroeter, Kari Morgan

Agribusiness

The objective of this study is to identify experimental economic tools that can be employed to explain the role of economic behavior in overweight and obesity in the household. We identify three economic experiments that can be used to understand how parent-child economic relationships relate to obesity. Loss aversion experiments are discussed as a tool to understand challenges some individuals face in achieving a healthy diet. Finally, testbed experiments are introduced as a means to test and understand new policies and incentives for better health at the household level.

Economic Factors And Body Weight: An Empirical Analysis, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson L. Lusk

Agribusiness

With this study, we investigate the effects of changes in economic factors on body weight by constructing a utility theoretic model. The model is empirically estimated by combining data on individuals’ body weight, demographic and physical activity information, and state level measures pertaining to the prices of food away from home, food at home, and wages. By combining these data sources, we aim to estimate directly the weight effects of price and income changes. The empirical analysis suggests that decreasing the price of food at home could decrease body weight, a finding which has important public policy implications.

Do College Students Learn By Correcting Missed Exam Questions?, Christiane Schroeter, Steven V. Green, Erin Bess

Agribusiness

This study determines the learning benefit of correcting missed exam questions. The results show that in addition to exams being an assessment tool, they can also be used as a tool for student learning. The availability of this information will provide help considering design, development, and improvement of traditional assessment methods for student learning.

Determining The Impact Of Food Price And Income Changes On Body Weight, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson Lusk, Wallace Tyner

Agribusiness

We develop a theoretical model to identify conditions under which price and income changes are most likely to change weight. Although it is intuitive that raising the price of high-calorie food will decrease consumption of such goods; it is not clear that such an outcome will actually reduce weight. Our empirical analysis demonstrates a case where a tax on food away from home, a food intake category blamed for much of the rise in obesity, could lead to an increase in body weight; a finding which emphasizes the need to employ economic modeling when developing public policy to reduce obesity.

Bargaining Rationale For Cooperative Generic Advertising, Jennifer S. James

Agribusiness

The beggar-thy-neighbour aspect of commodity advertising means that benefits to one commodity from advertising come at the expense of other commodities. The effect can be mitigated by cooperation among groups as shown by Alston, Freebairn and James (AFJ). A drawback to AFJ’s analysis is that some cooperative outcomes require side payments from one producer group to another. This paper offers a bargaining solution as an alternative to cooperation in the case where cooperative side payments would be needed. We show that while bargaining without side payments is not as effective as cooperation at reducing beggar-thy-neighbour effects, it is a welfare …

Effect Of Management Decisions On Farm And Household Outcomes In An Integrated Crop-Livestock Agro-Ecosystem In Yucatan, Mexico, David Parsons, Jerome H. Cherney, Charles F. Nicholson, Robert W. Blake, Quirine M. Ketterings, Luis Ramirez-Aviles, Luis O. Tedeschi

Agribusiness

Mixed farming systems are defined by Sere and Steinfeld (1996) as those in which more than 10% of the dry matter fed to livestock comes from crop by-products or stubble, and more than 10% of the value of production comes from non-livestock farming activities. More simply, they are systems where livestock rearing and crop cultivation are, to a greater or lesser extent, integrated components of one farming system. The more integrated systems are characterized by interdependency between crop and livestock activity, optimizing circulation of locally available nutrients. The less integrated systems are those in which crop and livestock activities make …

The Economic Impact Of The Stanislaus County Food Processing Industry And The Food Processing By-Products Use Program, Jay E. Noel, Sean P. Hurley, Jessica Bylsma

Agribusiness

In the late 1970’s, Stanislaus County recognized that there existed a potential issue with the disposal of food processing by-products. The concern at the time was that the disposal of the by-products could be handled in a more efficient manner that could benefit all interested stakeholders. In 1978, the county took a proactive stance on the issue and brought together a group of producers, UC extension representatives, management from local food processors, and other interested stakeholders to discuss better ways of handling the by-products that came from processing agricultural products. As a result of these discussions, Stanislaus County developed the …

Science, Technology And Skills, Philip Pardey, Jennifer James, Julian Alston, Stanley Wood, Bonwoo Koo, Eran Binenbaum, Terrance Hurley, Paul Glewwe

Agribusiness

The invention of agriculture that occurred around 10,000 years ago heralded a shift from nomadic hunting and gathering to more managed forms of food, feed and fibre production. The domestication of crops initially involved the saving of seed from one season for planting in subsequent years. Later, farmers purposefully selected crop varieties and so in practice began matching and, by repeated selection over many years, adapting crop genetics to the environment in which the crop was grown. From its inception, enhancing G x E (i.e., gene by environment) interactions was an intrinsic, if not defining, feature of agriculture.

Invited Review: Role Of Livestock In Human Nutrition And Health For Poverty Reduction In Developing Countries, T. F. Randolph, E. Schelling, D. Grace, Charles F. Nicholson, J. L. Leroy, D. C. Cole, M. W. Demment, A. Omore, J. Zinsstag, M. Ruel

Agribusiness

Livestock keeping is critical for many of the poor in the developing world, often contributing to multiple livelihood objectives and offering pathways out of poverty. Livestock keeping also affects an indispensable asset of the poor, their human capital, through its impact on their own nutrition and health. This paper outlines the linkages between livestock keeping and the physical well-being of the poor, and examines a number of commonly held beliefs that misrepresent livestock development issues related to these linkages. These beliefs limit the scope of intervention programs to promote livestock and limit their potential contribution to poverty reduction. Recognition of …

Usda Feasibility Standards And Project Risk, Steven Slezak

Agribusiness

No abstract provided.

A Benefit Transfer Approach To The Estimation Of Agro-Ecosystems Services Benefits: A Case Study Of Kern County, California, Eivis Quenani-Petrela, Jay E. Noel, Thomas Mastin

Agribusiness

Agro-ecosystem functions support not only the production of food and fiber but a variety of non-market goods and services that are socially valuable. Examples of those non-market goods and services include aesthetic experiences, wildlife habitat, carbon sequestration, and recreation to name a few. There is a growing awareness of the importance that provision of these non-market goods and services has to the long-run sustainability of agriculture in general and California agriculture in particular. This awareness has led to an increasing interest in the estimation of the economic value of agro-ecosystem functions non-market goods and services. This increased awareness can be …

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption Among College Students In Arkansas And Florida: Food And Culture Vs. Health Knowledge, Christiane Schroeter, Lisa House, Argelia Lorence

Agribusiness

This study determines the impact of demographics, dietary and health knowledge, and food culture on fruit and vegetable consumption of college students in Arkansas and Florida. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that food culture significantly impacts consumption of fruits and vegetables; a finding which emphasizes the need to target cultural aspects when developing effective and efficient management of agribusiness firms. Understanding the antecedents to consumption for products like fruits and vegetables is important to agribusiness industry, policy makers and organizations interested in evaluating the effectiveness of health education in promoting college students’ health and decreasing the trends to obesity.

Pennsylvanians' Knowledge Of Agriculture, Fern K. Willits, A. E. Luloff, Jennifer S. James

Agribusiness

In 2005, researchers at Pennsylvania State University surveyed 1,521 Pennsylvanians in 65 counties to determine their knowledge of and perceptions about agriculture in the state. The study looked to: assess the level of agricultural knowledge of Pennsylvanians; ascertain how personal characteristics and frequency of rural visitation related to agricultural knowledge and to the perceptions of citizens about various agricultural issues; explore the relationship of agricultural knowledge to public perceptions of selected agricultural issues; and suggest how information on Pennsylvanians’ knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of agriculture are relevant to policy makers. The study results showed that, overall, most participants believed they …

Childhood Obesity In The U.S.: How Effective Are School Prevention Programs?, Christiane Schroeter, R. I. Carreira

Agribusiness

This study uses a logistic regression to analyze the 2004-2005 Arkansas Center for Health Improvement body mass index data from four school districts in Arkansas. We conclude that the probability of elementary school children being overweight or at risk of being overweight depends on economic factors, demographics, and food availability.

Financial Performance Value-Added Dairy Operations In New York, Vermont And Wisconsin, Charles Nicholson, Mark Stephenson

Agribusiness

Federal, state and local governments have funded various efforts to support value-added agriculture, often implicitly assuming that the enterprises would be profitable and that the transition from commodity producer to producer-processor-marketer-distributor would be relatively easy. Some analysts (e.g., Streeter and Bills; 2003a, 2003b) have questioned both of these assumptions, noting that available aggregate data do not allow assessment of the financial performance of value-added enterprises. Our study collected detailed financial information from 27 value-added dairy enterprises with cows, goats or sheep in three states. These businesses processed and marketed cheese, fluid milk products and yogurt; 17 had begun processing during …

The Impact Of Economic Factors On Consumer Health, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson L. Lusk

Agribusiness

This study estimates the relationship between economic factors and consumer health. The results show that increasing prices of food away from home are associated with decreasing the probability of risk factors and health conditions, which emphasizes the need to differ between multiple food types in health demand analysis.

An Analysis Of The Tradeoffs Between Policy Instruments To Induce Dairy Producers In California To Participate In A Centralized Digester, Sean P. Hurley, James J. Ahern, Douglas Williams

Agribusiness

Tradeoff between different utility rates and policy intervention to induce dairy producer to join a regional digester are studied. Results demonstrate that a regional digester for the dairy industry in California is feasible given the digester receives $0.05 per kWh and government intervention or $0.0925 per kWh with no intervention.

U.S. Agricultural Productivity And Returns To Research, Jennifer S. James, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, Matt Andersen

Agribusiness

No abstract provided.

Review Of Methods For Modelling Systems Evolution, Charles F. Nicholson

Agribusiness

Acceleration of economic, technological, social, and environmental change challenge decision-makers of various kinds to learn at increasing rates, and at the same time, the complexity of the dynamic systems in which we live is growing (Sterman 2000). In agriculture and international development contexts, there are often significant delays in the development and implementation of technologies and policies, and agriculture-based livelihood systems are in constant and sometimes rapid evolution. In order to make technologies and policies better match the future state of these systems, it is necessary to better understand the likely evolution of agricultural systems. The goal of these efforts …

Devolution Of Federal Agricultural Policy: The Case Of Specialty Crop Block Grants, Jay E. Noel, David Schweikhardt

Agribusiness

There is a lengthy history of devolution of federal policy and programs to the states through the use of grants-in-aid in general and block grants in particular. In the area of agricultural policy, for example, programs for agricultural research and extension have, since their origin, been jointly funded by a system of grants from the federal government to the states. In recent years, the possible consequence of a major devolution of farm policy and programs from the federal government to the states has received much attention.

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 …

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.

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 …