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Agricultural Economics

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2017

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Full-Text Articles in Agriculture

Managing Cattle Market Risk With Lrp Insurance, Jay Parsons Dec 2017

Managing Cattle Market Risk With Lrp Insurance, Jay Parsons

Cornhusker Economics

Price and market uncertainties pose a significant risk to cattle producers with a substantial amount of money invested in breeding livestock, land, and other infrastructure. Price protection through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures contracts and options can be used to help mitigate this risk but, in the case of futures contracts, they can also introduce financial burdens in the form of margin calls. Furthermore, many medium to small-scale producers prefer not to get involved with trading futures and options contracts.

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An Introduction To The Economic Impact Of Dry Edible Bean Production, Tim Meyer Dec 2017

An Introduction To The Economic Impact Of Dry Edible Bean Production, Tim Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Amazing statistics about Nebraska agriculture are plentiful. For example, Nebraska produces the 4th most output of agricultural products in the United States, while ranking only 37th in population. No wonder Nebraska's agricultural output ranks first when adjusted for population. It is safe to say most Nebraskans understand the importance of beef, corn, soybeans and ethanol. On the other hand, secondary crops play an important role in the economy as well, especially in the western portion of the state.

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Incentives And Nudges For Environmental Stewardship On Farmland: A Lab Experiment On The Agglomeration Bonus, Simanti Banerjee Dec 2017

Incentives And Nudges For Environmental Stewardship On Farmland: A Lab Experiment On The Agglomeration Bonus, Simanti Banerjee

Cornhusker Economics

Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes have an important role in generating ecosystem services conservation and restoration benefits through adoption of various land uses on private agricultural property. These policies provide financial compensation to producers for benefits delivered over and above a baseline level and for any income losses arising from the land use change (Hanley et al. 2012). Examples of PES schemes include the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the U. S., the Pago por Servicios Ambientales in Costa Rica and the Stewardship Schemes in the U. K. to name a few.

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Demand And Risk Management Analysis Of Rainfall Index Insurance, Ashlee Carlson Dec 2017

Demand And Risk Management Analysis Of Rainfall Index Insurance, Ashlee Carlson

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

This thesis has two research chapters regarding the government provided Rainfall Index Insurance for Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (RI-PRF). In the first chapter, we empirically examined whether charity hazard exists between Rainfall Index Insurance (RI-PRF) and government mandated Livestock Forage Program by estimating the demand for RI-PRF. Evidence was found that lagged LFP payments significantly increase the marginal effects of participating in RI-PRF in three of the five states and in the combined model. These results support the opposite of charity hazard where LFP payments improve the probability of purchasing RI-PRF. In our other models, the results provide evidence in …

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Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2015, Leah English, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller Dec 2017

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2015, Leah English, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Agriculture and associated agricultural activities are major contributors to the Arkansas economy. Agriculture is defined as the sum of agricultural production and processing activities, unless otherwise specified, and includes crop and animal production and processing, agricultural support industries, forestry and forest products, and textile goods. Agriculture contributes to the economy through direct agricultural production and value-added processing, and also leads to economic activity in other parts of the economy. This report is the tenth in a series of reports examining agriculture’s economic contribution to the Arkansas economy. The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on value …

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Small- And Medium-Sized Feedlots: Management And Marketing Survey Results, Matthew A. Diersen, Scott W. Fausti Dec 2017

Small- And Medium-Sized Feedlots: Management And Marketing Survey Results, Matthew A. Diersen, Scott W. Fausti

Economics Research Reports

Increasing sector specialization has led to a decline in the number of smaller feedlots in the U.S. However, some operations continue to finish or background cattle as part of diversified operations. After a set of focus group sessions a survey was conducted of feedlots in South Dakota to determine the competitive tradeoffs among size of operation and production and risk management practices. The mail survey was designed in collaboration with the National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS). NASS designed a stratified random sampling methodology for survey instrument dissemination. A bi-variate sampling stratification procedure was used; South Dakota feedlots with less than …

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2017 – 2018 Kentucky Agricultural Economic Situation And Outlook, Kenneth H. Burdine, Todd D. Davis, Jerry Pierce, William M. Snell, Timothy A. Woods, Jeffrey W. Stringer, Bobby Ammerman, Chad Niman, William R. Thomas Dec 2017

2017 – 2018 Kentucky Agricultural Economic Situation And Outlook, Kenneth H. Burdine, Todd D. Davis, Jerry Pierce, William M. Snell, Timothy A. Woods, Jeffrey W. Stringer, Bobby Ammerman, Chad Niman, William R. Thomas

Agricultural Situation and Outlook

No abstract provided.

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Who Is Trading In The Futures Markets And Why It Matters Part 2, Fabio Mattos Nov 2017

Who Is Trading In The Futures Markets And Why It Matters Part 2, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

In a previous article (Who Is Trading in the Futures Markets and Why It Matters ?Part 1, 12/14/2016), we discussed the importance of learning about different types of traders in commodity markets and how we can obtain and understand the Commitments of Traders (COT) report, which provides data on trader's positions in futures markets. Today we will discuss some approaches to interpret COT reports, trying to assess the reasoning behind trading decisions from different traders, which can reflect their price outlook and provide insights on how futures prices might change.

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Economic Impact Of The Sugarcane Aphid Outbreak In South Texas, Samuel D. Zapata, Rebekka Dudensing, Danielle Sekula, Gabriela Esparza-Díaz, Raul Villanueva Nov 2017

Economic Impact Of The Sugarcane Aphid Outbreak In South Texas, Samuel D. Zapata, Rebekka Dudensing, Danielle Sekula, Gabriela Esparza-Díaz, Raul Villanueva

Entomology Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to estimate the economic impact of the sugarcane aphid (SCA) outbreak in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), Texas. Local producers were surveyed to gather detailed information about crop production and pest control practices. Collected data were used to estimate the reduction in profit associated with the SCA infestation, as well as the monetary value of the prevented loss attributed to control efforts. Sorghum industry losses were then used to assess the overall economic impact of the SCA outbreak in the RGV economy.

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Community Size And Resident Satisfaction: Is There A Sweet Spot?, Randy Cantrell Nov 2017

Community Size And Resident Satisfaction: Is There A Sweet Spot?, Randy Cantrell

Cornhusker Economics

Members of the rural development industry have long debated the existence of a "Best" community size in which to invest resources successfully. Some places, it is argued, are simply too small to attract the businesses and population required for sustained development. Population trends of the last 50 years seem to support this notion, since every rural regions and communities have consistently lost population while larger places have grown by serving as regional trade centers.

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Livestock Air Emission Requirements, J. David Aiken Nov 2017

Livestock Air Emission Requirements, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Federal environmental laws require the reporting of emissions of hazardous substances beyond EPA-established minimum amounts. EPA has established a 2008 reporting exemption for livestock operations smaller than large CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). Environmental groups challenged the EPA livestock exemption. On April 11, 2017, the D.C. federal court of appeals invalidated the livestock reporting exemption. Reporting requirements will go into effect November 15, 2017 unless the court grants EPA an additional time extension for implementing the livestock reporting program.

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Risk Implications From The Selection Of Rainfall Index Insurance Intervals, Ashlee Carlson, Cory Walters, Kathleen Brooks, Monte Vandeveer, Jerry D. Volesky, Walt Schacht Nov 2017

Risk Implications From The Selection Of Rainfall Index Insurance Intervals, Ashlee Carlson, Cory Walters, Kathleen Brooks, Monte Vandeveer, Jerry D. Volesky, Walt Schacht

Cornhusker Economics

Since the passage of the 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act, the federal crop insurance program has grown in both size and scope. The program progressed from generating under $1 billion in premiums in 1994 to generating nearly $9.3 billion in 2016 (USDA-RMA 1994, 2016b). In 2007, the federal crop insurance program introduced the Rainfall Index (RI) and Vegetation Index (VI) Insurance Pilot Program for Pasture, Rangeland, and Forage (PRF) in selected states. In 2016, RI-PRF replaced VI-PRF and was made available in all 48 contiguous states enrolling 28,538 policies and providing over a billion dollars in coverage on more than …

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Econometric Estimation Of Groundwater Depth Change For The High Plains Aquifer, Jonathan R. Sims Nov 2017

Econometric Estimation Of Groundwater Depth Change For The High Plains Aquifer, Jonathan R. Sims

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

This article presents a new method for estimating changes in depth to groundwater at a yearly, county level and incorporates these estimates as the dependent variable of econometric models for the High Plains aquifer. The High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer underlies eight states in the central United States and is the primary source of irrigation water for this large food producing region. The stock of groundwater is a finite, non-renewable resource with minimal recharge in most areas. Many fields of study, including hydrology and agricultural economics, are interested in depth to groundwater changes because they serve as a proxy for estimating …

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Hedonic Pricing Of Chocolate Quality Characteristics: Is There A Difference For Fruit Or Nut Chocolate?, Willie B. Bedell, Michael R. Reed Oct 2017

Hedonic Pricing Of Chocolate Quality Characteristics: Is There A Difference For Fruit Or Nut Chocolate?, Willie B. Bedell, Michael R. Reed

Agricultural Economics Presentations

Chocolate campaigns in the United States have focused on the production of premier quality and healthy blend chocolate bars. We expect that merchandising efforts will offer a higher price for fruit or nut blend chocolates. Using online retail data from Amazon, eBay, and Walmart, we applied the hedonic function to estimate retailers offer price for a blended bar. The findings show that online retailers have mixed offer prices for a blend or plain bar. The paper suggests that studies would learn much more from a data and analysis that control for quantity sold and time effects in the chocolate market.

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Strengthening Quality Of Life In Small Towns, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel Oct 2017

Strengthening Quality Of Life In Small Towns, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel

Cornhusker Economics

Quality of life is often mentioned as the reason why some people choose to live in a small town. But if you try to get a definition of what quality of life means, you quickly discover that there are all kinds of answers. For instance, it may be the low student-to-teacher ratios in the local school, or it may be the friendly check-out person at the grocery store or the variety of activities available through civic organizations and local churches which come to mind when people define small town quality of life.

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Is Less More In Food Safety Information Provision?, Kofi Britwum, Emie Yiannaka Oct 2017

Is Less More In Food Safety Information Provision?, Kofi Britwum, Emie Yiannaka

Cornhusker Economics

The development of several niche food markets has been enabled by labels highlighting the existence of desirable or the absence of undesirable food attributes and/or production technologies, effectively targeting consumers willing to pay for this type of information. Examples include the "All Natural," “No growth promoting antibiotic," "No GMOs," and "Cage-free" food labels. In what could be viewed as an extreme example of labeling what is absent, consumers can now purchase gluten-free water (McFadden 2017). This type of "redundant" labeling seeks to exploit uninformed consumers.

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Livestock Production And Health, Christopher Gustafson Oct 2017

Livestock Production And Health, Christopher Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

As in Nebraska and other cattle-producing states, livestock are an important source of income for hundreds of millions of people living in developing countries. However, for livestock keepers in developing countries, animals are often central to multiple dimensions of the family’s existence, providing—in addition to income—important sources of energy-dense, nutrient-rich animal source foods, generating cultural status, including playing a role in family formation through wedding dowries, and serving, for some, as the household’s primary store of wealth. Livestock play all of these roles in pastoralist—semi-nomadic livestock-keeping—communi-ties. While in the past pastoralism was a relatively common way of life throughout the …

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2015 Maple Business Benchmark, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren, Betsy Miller Oct 2017

2015 Maple Business Benchmark, Mark Cannella, Christopher Lindgren, Betsy Miller

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

The 2015 Maple Business Benchmark is the third year of financial analysis for a small group of commercial syrup producers. The University of Vermont Extension worked with 14 maple producers to complete financial analysis of their maple enterprise. This report demonstrates key management and financial metrics including: yield statistics, land use, operating costs, investment requirements, total cost of production, marketing strategy and net income. The participants represent a small sample of the entire Vermont maple industry but the findings can compel any manager to consider the methods and results of financial analysis for their particular business situations. This report will …

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Shrimp Aquaculture In Aguadulce: Impacts On Mangrove Forest Health And Shrimp Larvae Populations In Two Sites On The Salado Coastline, Nick Jickling Oct 2017

Shrimp Aquaculture In Aguadulce: Impacts On Mangrove Forest Health And Shrimp Larvae Populations In Two Sites On The Salado Coastline, Nick Jickling

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Shrimp aquaculture is an important industry in Republic of Panama, providing jobs and infrastructure, while supplying the country with seafood and export income. Aquaculture is accompanied by many negative impacts on mangrove ecosystems, and subsequently offshore marine stocks. The abundance and diversity of gastropods and shrimp were sampled in the Salado coastline of Aguadulce, Panama to evaluate the impacts of aquaculture disturbance on mangrove forests. Gastropods were sampled at 3 sites on 9, 100m transects in a “pristine” and disturbed forest. Shrimp were sampled using a push net in 24 sites in tide pools and abandoned shrimp ponds of the …

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Luchadoras: Resistencias Contra La Violencia De Género Por Las Mujeres En La Región De San Ramón, Olivia "Livey" Beha Oct 2017

Luchadoras: Resistencias Contra La Violencia De Género Por Las Mujeres En La Región De San Ramón, Olivia "Livey" Beha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This qualitative study describes the dynamic resiliency-building process against gender-based violence in two rural coffee-producing communities in the region of San Ramon, Nicaragua. It examines the methods and efficacy of economic empowerment and educational interventions facilitated by the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives Augusto Cesar Sandino (UCA San Ramón) in addressing gender inequality, preventing gender-based violence, and increasing access to resources for women in the cooperatives of El Privilegio and Danilo Gonzales. This complex ecology, comprised of the interactions between women, their communities, available resources, and institutions, is assessed through the lens of women’s individual perspectives as they engage in three …

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Do Advisors Perceive Climate Change As An Agricultural Risk? An In-Depth Examination Of Midwestern U.S. Ag Advisors’ Views On Drought, Climate Change, And Risk Management, Sarah P. Church, Michael Dunn, Nicholas Babin, Amber Saylor Mase, Tonya Haigh, Linda Stalker Prokopy Oct 2017

Do Advisors Perceive Climate Change As An Agricultural Risk? An In-Depth Examination Of Midwestern U.S. Ag Advisors’ Views On Drought, Climate Change, And Risk Management, Sarah P. Church, Michael Dunn, Nicholas Babin, Amber Saylor Mase, Tonya Haigh, Linda Stalker Prokopy

Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Through the lens of the Health Belief Model and Protection Motivation Theory, we analyzed interviews of 36 agricultural advisors in Indiana and Nebraska to understand their appraisals of climate change risk, related decision making processes and subsequent risk management advice to producers. Most advisors interviewed accept that weather events are a risk for US Midwestern agriculture; however, they are more concerned about tangible threats such as crop prices. There is not much concern about climate change among agricultural advisors. Management practices that could help producers adapt to climate change were more likely to be recommended by conservation and Extension advisors, …

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Assessing Tourists’ Preferences For Recreational Trips In National And Natural Parks As A Premise For Long-Term Sustainable Management Plans, Diana E. Dumitras, Iulia C. Muresan, Ionel M. Jitea, Valentin C. Mihai, Simona E. Balazs, Tiberiu Iancu Sep 2017

Assessing Tourists’ Preferences For Recreational Trips In National And Natural Parks As A Premise For Long-Term Sustainable Management Plans, Diana E. Dumitras, Iulia C. Muresan, Ionel M. Jitea, Valentin C. Mihai, Simona E. Balazs, Tiberiu Iancu

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Sustainable tourism management plans rely on relevant and consistent information about factors that can influence the decision to visit a protected area. This paper uses the choice experiment method to investigate tourists’ preferences with regard to recreational trip characteristics in national and natural parks in Romania. An on-site survey questionnaire was administered to visitors. The multinomial logit model was employed to investigate the preference orderings of the identified groups of recreational users. Overall, results indicate that tourists gain benefits after visiting the parks. Main preference differences were found for information sources and location of campsites. Visitors who stated that the …

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A Food Demand Framework For International Food Security Assessment, John Beghin, Birgit Meade, Stacey Rosen Sep 2017

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 …

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Latino Immigration And Community Development In Rural Nebraska, Daniela Mettos Aug 2017

Latino Immigration And Community Development In Rural Nebraska, Daniela Mettos

Cornhusker Economics

"Community" originates from the Latin "communis," meaning common. A community can be defined as a group of people who know one another and share common cultural traditions, interests, concerns, and objectives mainly because they have always interacted on a regular basis. To most rural people, community means the same familiar faces and places, a daily routine, social systems and norms they understand, things they have always done. This scenario has been changing with the influx of immigrants in rural areas. Nowadays, rural community residents find themselves sharing their place with new people from distant regions and different cultures.

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Impacts Of A Community Supported Agriculture (Csa) Voucher Program On Food Lifestyle Behaviors: Evidence From An Employer-Sponsored Pilot Program, Jairus J. Rossi, Timothy A. Woods, James E. Allen Iv Aug 2017

Impacts Of A Community Supported Agriculture (Csa) Voucher Program On Food Lifestyle Behaviors: Evidence From An Employer-Sponsored Pilot Program, Jairus J. Rossi, Timothy A. Woods, James E. Allen Iv

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Community supported agriculture (CSA) programs have recently received attention for their potential to influence food lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes. We build on and expand inquiries into the relationship between CSA participation and behavior change by presenting the results from a controlled pilot study of first-time CSA shareholders. We offered 95 first-time shareholders a $200 voucher to participate in a CSA. Prior to and immediately following CSA participation, these shareholders completed a survey on food lifestyle behaviors. Using econometric analyses, we measured shareholder behavior changes against an 82 person control group. All participants were drawn from a pool of individuals …

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Market And Welfare Effects Of Renewable Portfolio Standards In United States Electricity Markets, Suparna Bhattacharya, Konstantinos Giannakas, Karina Schoengold Aug 2017

Market And Welfare Effects Of Renewable Portfolio Standards In United States Electricity Markets, Suparna Bhattacharya, Konstantinos Giannakas, Karina Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

Rising energy prices, dependence on foreign oil supplies, and alarming consequences of global warming have prompted governments worldwide to initiate green energy policies that can motivate a shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewables for electricity generation. Recognizing the fact that around 40 percent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States come from fossil fuel combustion in the electricity sector, several policies have been adopted across states for reducing carbon emissions and stimulating renewable energy development. One of the innovative policy instruments that stands out due to widespread adoption by states since the late 1990s is the …

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2017 Crop Share Leasing Trends In Nebraska, Jim Jansen Aug 2017

2017 Crop Share Leasing Trends In Nebraska, Jim Jansen

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights Report 2016-2017 provides recent trends on land values and rental rates for landlords, tenants, and stakeholders. Each year, a special feature section covers emerging issues related to agricultural land in Nebraska. This year the special feature section focuses on crop share leasing trends in Nebraska given the renewed interest in this lease arrangement due to lower commodity prices.

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Community Ownership Of Essential Businesses In Small Nebraska Towns, Jim Crandall Aug 2017

Community Ownership Of Essential Businesses In Small Nebraska Towns, Jim Crandall

Cornhusker Economics

Some communities in rural Nebraska are facing the closure of what many would consider an essential business in their community. Grocery stores, cafes and restaurants, clothing, hardware, gas/service stations, and variety stores often top the lists of businesses calling it quits. Most of the time the business is the only one of its kind in town.

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Label Position And Its Impact On Willingness To Pay For Products Containing Genetically Modified Organisms, Ruskin Gautam Aug 2017

Label Position And Its Impact On Willingness To Pay For Products Containing Genetically Modified Organisms, Ruskin Gautam

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

Food labels play an important role in communicating information. Labels provide information about production techniques, nutrition and ingredient information, and quality of a product (i.e. federal grade standards for eggs, U.S.D.A. quality grades on beef and pork). These are some of the key product attributes that consumers seek while making purchasing decisions. However, labels can be confusing and misleading and at times consumers simply ignore them. Research on the placement and effectiveness of labels conducted over the past few decades have found that information on the label influences buying habits. Food manufacturers could strategically use or place such attributes of …

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Historical Perspective Of Crop Rotations Across Nebraska, Matt Stockton, Daran Rudnick, Devin Broadhead Aug 2017

Historical Perspective Of Crop Rotations Across Nebraska, Matt Stockton, Daran Rudnick, Devin Broadhead

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska is a diverse state with a wide range of farm production environments including irrigated and rain-fed systems. With this diversity, crop rotation has become a big factor. Recent work at Stanford University, published in the March issue of the Agronomy Journals, is a whole series of various corn/soybean rotational effects and yield penalties across the U. S. Corn Belt. (Refer to references below) This information is leveraged by University of Nebraska-Lincoln to simulate historical economic relevance for producers in their state. Historical annual corn and soybean yields for 6 of the 8 United States Department of Agriculture - National …

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