Agriculture Commons^™

Integrated Vs. Specialized Farming Systems For Sustainable Food Production: Comparative Analysis Of Systems’ Technical Efficiency In Nebraska, Maroua Afi, Jay Parsons

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Complementarities between crops and livestock production have the potential to increase input use efficiency and maintain a diversified livelihood. This paper uses non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) to assess the technical efficiency (TE) of integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLS) compared to specialized cropping and specialized livestock systems in the state of Nebraska, in the central United States. We classify each county of Nebraska into one of three systems according to their dominant agricultural production revenues. We use DEA to measure the TE of each county compared, first, to a group production frontier (in-system comparison) and second, to a metafrontier (cross-system comparison). …

Comparative Performance Of Cooperative Equity Retirement Plans, Jeffrey S. Royer

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper compares the performance of revolving fund, percentage-of-all-equities, and base capital plans, and special plans for redeeming equity held by estates or based on member age. It also examines how the performance of the base capital plan is affected by changes in the base period, relaxing the equity requirements for underinvested members, and a variable cash patronage refund program. The base capital plan performs better than other systematic plans but places financial burdens on young members. Two modifications can mitigate that problem with only a slight diminution in performance. Special plans benefit cooperatives operating revolving fund plans the most.

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights 2017-2018, Jim Jansen, Jeffrey Stokes

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

2018 Nebraska Agricultural Land Values

Table 1 Average Reported Value of Nebraska Farmland for Different Land Types by Agricultural Statistics District, February 1, 2018

Table 2 2018 Values and Recent Trends by Area of the State

Table 3 2018 Values and Recent Trends by Land Class in Nebraska

2018 Land Values Ranges

Table 4 Average Reported Value Per Acre of Nebraska Farmland for Different Types and Grades of Land in Nebraska by Agricultural Statistics District, February 1, 2018

2018 Net Rates of Return to Agricultural Land

Table 5 Estimated Annual Net Rates of Return by Type of Land and Agricultural …

A Food Demand Framework For International Food Security Assessment, John Beghin, Birgit Meade, Stacey Rosen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We present a parsimonious demand modeling approach developed for the annual USDA-ERS International Food Security Assessment, a large-scale prospective assessment focusing on chronic food insecurity in 76 countries. The approach incorporates price effects, food quality variation across income deciles, and consistent aggregation over income deciles and food qualities. The approach is based on a simple demand approach for four food categories. It relies on data on food availability, complemented by own-price and income elasticities and food price data. Beyond consistent aggregation, the framework exhibits desirable characteristics: food quality is increasing with income; price and income responses become less sensitive …

2016 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates — Part I, Roger Wilson, Jim Jansen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Every two years a survey of custom operators is conducted to determine the current rates charged for specific machinery operations. The survey is divided into two parts. Part I includes the spring and summer operations such as planting and harvesting of small grains, and Part II includes information about fall and miscellaneous operations.

The responses are grouped by Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Districts as shown on the map below (Figure 1). Custom rates reported include charges for use of necessary equipment, fuel, labor, and supplies such as baling wire or twine provided by the custom operator. Seed, fertilizer, and chemical costs …

2016 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates — Part Ii, Roger Wilson, Jim Jansen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Every two years a survey of custom operators is conducted to determine the current rates charged for specific machinery operations. The survey is divided into two parts. Part I includes the spring and summer operations such as planting and harvesting of small grains, and Part II includes information about fall and miscellaneous operations.

The responses are grouped by Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Districts as shown on the map below (Figure 1). Custom rates reported include charges for use of necessary equipment, fuel, labor, and supplies such as baling wire or twine provided by EC826 (Revised May 2016) the custom operator. Seed, …

Ttip And Agricultural Trade: The Case Of Tariff Elimination And Pesticide Policy Cooperation, Bo Xiong, John C. Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

A possible Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement will further integrate agricultural markets between the United States and the European Union. The elimination of tariffs and cooperation on sanitary and phytosanitary measures will promote cross-Atlantic trade. We empirically estimate the impacts of tariffs and Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) on trade in plant products between the two partners. Furthermore, we simulate trade expansions under plausible negotiation outcomes. We find that a TTIP agreement promotes cross-Atlantic trade in plant products, in both directions, by over 60% if tariffs are removed and MRLs are mutually recognized or harmonized to Codex levels.

2016 Nebraska Crop Budgets, Robert N. Klein, Roger Wilson, Jessica Groskopf, Jim Jansen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

1-Alfalfa, Fall Establishment, Dryland

2-Alfalfa, Roundup Ready® No-Till, Fall Establishment, Dryland

3-Alfalfa, Roundup Ready®, Fall Establishment, Dryland

4-Alfalfa, Establish Spring Seed with Herbicides, Dryland

5-Alfalfa, Roundup Ready®, Establish Spring Seed, Dryland

6-Alfalfa, Establish Spring Seed with Herbicides, Pivot Irrigated

7-Alfalfa, Roundup Ready®, Establish Spring Seed, Pivot Irrigated

8-Alfalfa, Fall Seeded with Subsequent Year Production, Gravity Irrigated, Canal

9-Alfalfa, Large Round Bale, Dryland

10-Alfalfa, Large and Small Square Bale, Pivot Irrigated

11-Alfalfa, Roundup Ready®, Large and Small Square Bale, Pivot Irrigated

12-Alfalfa, Large and Small Square Bale, Pivot Irrigated

13-Alfalfa, Large Square Bale, Canal Irrigated

14-Alfalfa, Roundup Ready®, Large Square Bale, …

2014 Farm Bill Education Program For Nebraska Agricultural Producers, Tim M. Lemmons

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The 2014 Farm Bill presented agricultural producers with new options in farm risk management that was very different than previous years. This publication documents the evaluation and analysis conducted through a Nebraska Extension and Farm Service Agency educational effort reaching 13,328 producers, in 112 workshop meetings across the State of Nebraska. The evaluative effort included a post-workshop survey instrument and a six-month post event survey tool, showing the demographic breakdown of the workshop clientele, short- and medium-term knowledge/behavioral impacts, and the financial value of the program overall.

Non-Tariff Measures And Standards In Trade And Global Value Chains, John C. Beghin, Miet Maertens, Johan Swinnen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We assess the literature on public and private quality standards and their impact in food markets, international trade, and global supply chains. We focus on their effects on welfare, trade, industrial organization, and labor markets and with special attention to the North-South context. We also attempt to better characterize when these measures constitute protectionism, a complicate task. We look at studies investigating public and private standards and across various quantitative approaches and countries. These standards have complex effects. The evidence is mixed regarding standards as catalyst for or impediment against trade and development, reflecting the complexity of these effects and …

Piecemeal Reform Of Trade And Environmental Policy When Consumption Also Pollutes, Mark R. Metcalfe, John C. Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We incorporate endogenous (price-responsive) consumption pollution into a dual trade model to assess welfare effects of coordinated trade and environmental piecemeal reform in a small, open and distorted economy. Pollution is generated by production and consumption. Producers control the level of pollution and face incentives to abate both types of pollution. We identify sufficient conditions for welfare-improving reforms of trade and environmental policies. An additional domestic environmental policy instrument must be imposed on exportables because of their supply response to foreign environmental taxes.

Trade Restrictiveness Indices In The Presence Of Externalities: An Application To Non-Tariff Measures, John Christopher Beghin, Anne-Célia Disdier, Stéphan Marette

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We extend the trade restrictiveness indices (TRIs) approach to the case of market failures and domestic regulations addressing them, in presence of arbitrary tariffs and other domestic price policy distortions. We focus on standard-like non-tariff measures (NTMs) affecting cost of production and potentially enhancing domestic demand by increasing product quality or reducing negative externalities. The impact of NTMs on trade is ambiguous depending on the relative strength of the supply cost and demand enhancing effects. We apply the framework to the NTM database of Kee, Nicita, and Olarreaga (2009) and derive ad valorem equivalents for NTMs and other policy distortions. …

The Impact Of An Eu-Us Transatlantic Trade And Investment Partnership Agreement On Biofuel And Feedstock Markets, John C. Beghin, Jean-Christophe Bureau, Alexandre Gohin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We assess the impact of a potential TTIP bilateral free trade agreement on the EU and US bio-economies (feedstock, biofuels, by-products, and related competing crops) and major trade partners in these markets. The analysis develops a multi-market model that incorporates bilateral trade flows (US to EU, EU to US, and similarly with third countries) and is calibrated to OECD-FAO baseline for 2013–2022 to account for recent policy decisions. The major policy reforms from a TTIP involve tariff and TRQ liberalization and their direct contractionary impact on US sugar supply, EU biofuel production, and indirect negative effect on US HFCS production. …

Nebraska Cash Corn Prices And Basis Patterns, Jessica J. Johnson, Cory Walters

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Local cash grain prices can be broken down into two components, futures and basis.1 The futures portion is determined by buyers and sellers of futures contracts, which often represents factors influencing global supply and demand. The basis portion represents factors influencing the local elevator. For any grain marketing decision, sale or purchase, there is a corresponding basis. Understanding the forces driving basis and how to maximize returns from basis is central to making informed grain marketing decisions. The purpose of this publication is to provide an understanding of how basis works for a primary commodity grown in Nebraska, aimed at …

Disentangling Demand-Enhancing And Trade-Cost Effects Of Maximum Residue Regulations, Bo Xiong, John Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Maximum residue levels (MRLs) regulations in plant products can create unnecessary trade barriers on one hand and enhance demand via risk mitigation or quality assurance on the other. We stipulate a generalized gravity equation model to disentangle the effects of MRLs on the import demand and foreign exporters’ supply. Applying the framework to the MRLs on pesticides imposed by high-income OECD countries, we find that the MRLs jointly enhance the import demand and hinder foreign exporters’ supply. In addition, exporters from the less and least developed countries are more constrained by the MRLs than their competitors from the developed world.

The Impact Of The U.S. Sugar Program Redux, John C. Beghin, Amani Elobeid

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We analyze the various welfare costs, transfers, trade, and employment consequences of the current U.S. sugar program for U.S. consumers, other sugar users, sugar refiners, cane and beet growing and processing industries, other associated agricultural sectors, and world markets. The removal of the sugar program would increase U.S. consumers’ welfare by $2.9 billion to $3.5 billion each year and generate a modest job creation of 17,000 to 20,000 new jobs in food manufacturing and related industries. Imports of sugar containing products would fall dramatically, especially confectioneries substituting for domestic inputs under the sugar program. Sugar imports would rise substantially to …

Accounting For Product Substitution In The Analysis Of Food Taxes Targeting Obesity, Zhen Miao, John C. Beghin, Helen H. Jensen

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We extend the existing literature on food taxes targeting obesity. We systematically incorporate the implicit substitution between added sugars and solid fats into a comprehensive food demand system and evaluate the effect of taxes on sugars and fats. The approach conditions how food and obesity taxes affect total calorie intake. The proposed methodology accounts for the ability of consumers to substitute leaner low-fat and low-sugar items for rich food items within the same food group. This substitution is integrated into a calibrated demand system in addition to the substitution among food groups, using recent food intake data and existing demand …

The Trade And Welfare Impacts Of Australian Quarantine Policies: The Case Of Pigmeat, John C. Beghin, Mark Melatos

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We analyze the trade and welfare impact of quarantine measures imposed by Australia on imports of pigmeat. In particular, we account for changes to Australia’s pigmeat quarantine policy over time, including those changes related to the recent resolution of a WTO dispute between Australia and the European Union. Using a random utility model and applying it to corner solutions in import decisions, tariff equivalents (by major trading partner) are estimated for the different pigmeat quarantine regimes implemented by Australia during the period 1988-2009. The welfare impact on consumers, producers, and foreign exporters is computed using a partial equilibrium model calibrated …

Key Findings Of The Ntm-Impact Project, David Orden, John Beghin, Guy Henry

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This special issue of The World Economy presents research findings from the European Commission–funded project “Assessment of the impacts of non-tariff measures (NTM)—on the competitiveness of the EU and selected trade partners” (NTM-Impact). Directed toward the EU and its trade partners, the project’s first overall objective was to collect and analyze new data on NTMs for key and representative agri-food products. This involved three components: creating a large symmetric international database on the diverse types of governmental standards and regulations used to address food safety and quality issues, constructing measures of heterogeneity among these standards and regulations; and evaluating the …

Protectionism Indices For Non-Tariff Measures: An Application To Maximum Residue Levels, Yuan Li, John C. Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We propose aggregation indices of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) to quantify their protectionism relative to international standards. We apply the indices to national Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) regulations affecting agricultural and food trade and using a science-based criteria embodied in Codex Alimentarius international standards. The approach links two streams of the NTM literature, one concerned with the aggregation of various NTMs into operational indices for econometric and modeling purposes, and the other attempting to evaluate the protectionism of NTMs. The data used in the application come from a large international dataset on veterinary and pesticide MRLs and CODEX MRL standards for …

Guidelines For Articles Of Incorporation And By-Laws, John R. Uhrich, Philip A. Henderson, J. David Aiken

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

A growing number of farm and ranch owners are incorporating their farm or ranch businesses. In many instances, the farm or ranch operation has been incorporated primarily for estate planning purposes. Others have incorporated for income tax advantages, to limit liability, or for other reasons. The privilege to operate as a Nebraska based corporation is granted by the Nebraska Business Corporation Act. The Act requires an annual meeting of shareholders, election of directors, separate recordkeeping of corporate transactions, and the filing of annual reports4 with the State of Nebraska. Faih.,!re to comply with these statutory requirements can result in revocation …

Place Discrimination In Rail Shipments Of Wheat From Great Plains Origins, Dale G. Anderson, Brian L. Mariska

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to determine whether shipments of wheat by railroad from Nebraska and other Great Plains States are discriminated against relative to shipments from other wheat producing states and regions. Primary objectives were: 1. To develop a technique for measuring place discrimination. 2. To employ the technique in testing empirical data for evidence of discrimination. 3. To analyze the results and explore implications for geographically- separated wheat shippers. Ratios of railroad revenue/out-of-pocket costs for the years 1958 and 1966 were used to compare the relative cost burden borne by wheat shipments in geographically-separated hauls. Resulting ratios …