Agricultural Economics Commons^™

Farm Location Influence On The Optimal Crop Insurance And Pre-Harvest Hedging Level, Cory Walters

Cornhusker Economics

Improving farm financial health can come from improving the understanding of the market forces influencing the optimal crop insurance contract and preharvest hedging risk management tools. The biggest challenge for farmers is the difficulty of assessing risk since experiencing risk, is by default, rare. Additionally, farmers receive advice about which crop insurance plan they should purchase or how much pre-harvest hedging they should do from sources, such as farm magazines, that likely do not consider the differences in individual risk exposure. Following the advice of such sources could result in producers being inadvertently exposed to more risk. A producer’s location …

The Corn/Soybean Rotation And Profitability, Matthew Stockton, Devin Broadhead

Cornhusker Economics

One of the most basic questions farmers must answer on an annual basis is what to plant. In some cases this is simply a choice among cultivars in others it is a choice among different crop types. In Nebraska the choice may vary considerably since many different crop types are grown. This discussion focuses on the factors that affect profitability, which are created by both biology and economics, and how that might be used to make the best crop rotation selection between corn and soybean cropping systems.

Importance Of Being Digital Ready – What Does That Mean?, Charlotte Narjes

Cornhusker Economics

Communities often determine if they are digital ready on whether or not high speed internet is available. The conversation then focuses on who has high speed internet and who does not. Hence, the divide. High speed internet is an important factor on whether or not a community can be competitive in a global market. But, it is not the only digital-ready factor necessary to compete in a global economy. One challenge of focusing on the divide is that assumptions are made that individuals do not have skills in rural areas to use technology and, that these rural residents may not …

The Evolution Of Nebraska Corn Basis, Jessica J. Groskopf, Amanda Silva

Cornhusker Economics

In 2018 Nebraska farmers planted 9.7 million acres of corn, the most of any crop in the state. The primary uses for corn in the state are cattle feed and ethanol production. Nebraska currently has 25 ethanol plants producing around 2 billion gallons of ethanol annually. This capacity consumes approximately 40% of Nebraska’s annual corn production.

A Model For Farmer Support In Zimbabwe – Opportunity For Change, Brierly Kuhudzayi, Daniela Mettos

Cornhusker Economics

Community development refers to the collective action of a group of people to improve their quality of life or to fix a problem they face. It involves active participation by the people facing the problem. Input subsidy programs (ISPs) are commonly used in Sub-Saharan Africa as a strategy to achieve several development goals. They generally aim to improve the lives of poor subsistence-level farmers, improve agricultural output, and stimulate the economy. However, ISPs are not technically a community development tool because they are typically centrally planned and top-down in nature.

Economics Of Experimental Design: Finding The Optimal Design Of A Whole Field Randomized Experiment, Taro Mieno, David S. Bullock, Aolin Gong

Cornhusker Economics

An April 2017 Cornhusker Economics article Getting to Know Your Yield Response Better through Whole-field Randomized Experiments discussed a case study detailing a whole-field randomized agronomic experiment (nitrogen and seed rate). The study was conducted in Kentucky and funded through the USDA-NIFA Data Intensive Farm Management (DIFM) project. The project has so far resulted in more than 50 experiments across several states, including Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, and Washington. The overarching goal of the project is to provide agricultural producers with the best input rate, variable or uniform, which maximizes their farm profits. This involves statistically estimating the crop response function …

2018 Cash Lease Adjustments On Irrigation Equipment For Cropland Rental Arrangements In Nebraska, Jim Jansen, Jeffrey Stokes

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights Report 2017-2018 provides recent trends on land values and rental rates for landowners, tenants, and stakeholders. Each year the special feature section covers topics on new or emerging issues related to agricultural land in Nebraska. These topics reflect interest expressed by panel members and readership of the Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Highlights Report. The special feature section in 2018 focuses on cash lease adjustments on irrigation equipment for cropland rental arrangements in Nebraska. Results from this special feature section of the survey are summarized in this article.

Financial Impact Of The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act On Ag Producers, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

The dust still hasn’t completely settled from the changes made in December of 2017 to the tax code by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), but we are starting to dig through the law to make some sense of what this will look like for ag producers. What we know for sure is that the changes are far reaching and complex. We also know that for most producers, the changes will result in a lower tax liability. The largest unknown is exactly how the new 199a deduction (20% passthrough) will need to be implemented. We are currently still waiting …

Toxic Effects Of Lead Disposal In Water: An Analysis Of Tri Facility Releases, Patrick Koval

Economics Department Working Papers

Using county-level TRI data from 2003 to 2016, I find evidence that lead emissions in water adversely affect birth weights within the emitting county, especially with respect to the percentage of births considered low birth weight within that county (less than 2,500 grams). I find that a one percent increase in lead emissions per square mile increases the proportion of low birth weights by 0.27 percentage points. For a county with an average number of births in a particular year, this one percent increase in lead per square mile translates to an additional $475,000 in hospitalization costs from complications with …

2018 Nebraska Farm Custom Rates Statewide Survey Summary, Glennis Mcclure

Cornhusker Economics

Many Nebraska agricultural producers hire custom operators to perform machinery services for their farms and ranches across the state. The 2018 Nebraska Custom Rates Survey Report summarizes the current rates charged for specific machinery operations and other on farm or ranch custom services. Prices paid for these services become more critical as profit margins tighten because of lower commodity prices.

Agricultural Market Liberalization And Household Food Security In Rural China, Lia Nogueira, Kathy Baylis, Linlin Fan

Cornhusker Economics

Recent World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes have brought China’s agricultural trade policy back into the spotlight. In November 2008, China issued the nation’s first Outline of Medium and Long-term Plan for National Food Security (China Central People’s Government, 2008), in which they stipulate that the country will seek to stabilize the area sown to grain and achieve more than 95% grain self-sufficiency. Trade restrictions are argued to support implementing this plan because increased imports of grains and soybeans will lower prices, causing grain and soybean farmers to leave farming, thereby generating food insecurity (Wong and Huang, 2012). Others suggest that …

Trade Wars, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

Current United States trade policies are in line with an old economic doctrine known as mercantilism which calls for protectionist policies to reduce imports and expand exports with the goal of generating large trade surpluses. This doctrine has been discredited for over 200 years following the analyses of Adam Smith, David Ricardo and other late eighteenth- and early nineteenth century economists. Mercantilist policies by one country not only lower well-being in that country through harm to consumers and industries relying on imported inputs but also almost always lead to trade wars with that country’s trading partners. This is precisely what …

Role Of Information And Communication On Spatial Conservation Auction Performance: Evidence From A Laboratory Experiment, Simanti Banerjee, Marc Conte

Cornhusker Economics

Policy makers such as the USDA are interested in producers voluntarily adopting pro-environmental land use practices on their properties as these land uses deliver various ecosystem service benefits. As a result, they have implemented incentive based policies such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) (Hellerstein et al., 2015). The CRP involves a reverse auction in which producers submit bids for adopting different land use practices. In running these auctions, agencies are interested in both cost-effectiveness i.e. procuring land use projects which yield the highest level of ecosystem service benefits for the money spent and specific environmental goals. One key goal …

Salary Negotiation And Graduates From The Department Of Agricultural Economics, Larry W. Van Tassell

Cornhusker Economics

To better serve our students, one skill set that we as a department have considered incorporating more amply in our curriculum is negotiation skills. Negotiation can be defined as, “[a] give and take process between two or more parties (each with its own aims, needs, and viewpoints) seeking to discover a common ground and reach an agreement to settle a matter of mutual concern or resolve a conflict.” (http:// www.businessdictionary.com/definition/ negotiation.html) One of the first opportunities our students have to experience the negotiation process is in obtaining their first employment out of college and negotiating a fair market wage.

Thinking About The Corn Market, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

It was twenty years ago today, in the late 1990s, that the United States was the dominant corn producer and exporter in the world, producing about 240 million metric tons (40 percent of the world total) and exporting close to 50 million metric tons (65 percent of the world total). Brazil, on the other hand, was a minor player in the corn market, producing approximately 25 million metric tons (4 percent of the world total) and exporting barely anything. Many changes have happened and we have a different corn market today. For the 2018/19 crop year, USDA projections show the …

Livestock Production Value And Economic Impact For Nebraska Counties, Glennis Mcclure, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

Livestock production provides a significant economic impact in Nebraska. In 2016, 56 percent of all agriculture commodity sales in Nebraska were attributed to livestock and the industry accounted for over 50 percent of agricultural commodity sales each year since the 2012. This article provides an analysis of livestock production value and corresponding direct economic impact per county. The analysis estimates the direct economic impact of livestock production is $8.5 billion and the total impact of livestock production in Nebraska is $13.8 billion.

Consumer Response To Fraudulent Producer Behavior In The Agri-Food Marketing System, Syed Imran Ali Meerza, Christopher Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

Over the last decade, food fraud scandals, such as the adulteration of Chinese milk with melamine, the discovery of horse-meat in many European meat products, and the mislabeling of Italian olive oils, have increased the attention of the media, consumers, and governments about the vulnerability of the food system to intentional adulteration or misrepresentation of product ingredients or products themselves based on economic motives (Lotta and Bogue 2015). Food fraud is defined as the intentional substitution, addition, tampering, or misrepresentation of food products for economic gains (Spink and Moyer 2011). Food fraud is motivated by economic gain and is enabled …

Syngenta Gmo Settlement Claims Due October 12, 2018, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

The federal judge presiding over the Syngenta class action lawsuit granted preliminary approval for the $1.51 billion Syngenta GMO corn lawsuit settlement on April 10, 2018. Written settlement notices have been mailed to corn producers, crop-share and some variable cash rent landlords, grain handling faculties and ethanol production facilities beginning on May 11, 2018. This newsletter focuses on the claims process for corn producers and eligible landlords.

North Central Extension Risk Management Education Center, Christine Lockert, Cheryl Griffith, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

After several years of growing agricultural prosperity and United States net farm income that peaked at $124 billion in 2013, the most recent forecast from UDSA’s Economic Research Service projects net farm income at less than $60 billion for 2018. The drop of more than 50% since 2013 is primarily due to a decline in commodity prices, presenting significant challenges for agricultural producers. While the aggregate financial position of U.S. agriculture remains relatively strong with a debt-asset ratio of less than 13% (USDA-ERS, 2018), total debt has grown while profit margins have shrunk, putting more pressure on management decisions and …

National Agri-Marketing Association Annual Conference A Winning Combination Of Experiential Learning And Networking, Erika Harms, Rosalee A. Swartz, Kara Heideman

Cornhusker Economics

The National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) is comprised of 22 professional chapters in 6 regions nationwide and 33 student chapters at universities across the United States and Canada. NAMA members include professionals in agribusinesses, advertising and public relations agencies, commodity associations, and faculty, staff, and students. Nebraska’s professional Cornhusker Chapter has nearly 70 members and Nebraska NAMA student members are invited to Cornhusker Chapter meetings to learn about the latest trends and rub shoulders with marketing professionals. This network of professionals— at the state and national levels—provides valuable opportunities for Nebraska NAMA students.

Smart Choices In Agriculture, Jay Parsons

Cornhusker Economics

Smart Choices in Agriculture (Figure 1) is a process designed to provide agricultural producers with a solid foundation for consistenly making good decisions in a very challenging environment. Besides operating in the presence of an incredible amount of uncertainty, farmers and ranchers typically make decisions with multiple short-term and long-term objectives in mind. They have a lot of things they are trying to accomplish with the choices they make on a regular basis. Sorting through information to arrive at the best choice can be a bit of a challenge when information is deep and time to process seems short. It …

2018 South Dakota Commodity Crop Producer Survey Results, Jessica D. Ulrich-Schad, Abdelrahim Abulbasher, Department Of Sociology And Rural Studies, Ness School Of Management And Economics

South Dakota Farm Survey

From January to March 2018, we surveyed South Dakota commodity crop producers about their land management practices and attitudes. Farming operations in 34 South Dakota counties east of the Missouri River, where most of corn and soybean farming activities in the state are located, were targeted to take the questionnaire (see map below). We obtained a list of 10,000 farming operations that had participated in Farm Service Agency (FSA) programs in 2016 from the FSA and selected 3,000 operations to participate using proportionate stratified-random sampling according to number of farming operations in the study counties. The questionnaire directed the person …

Agricultural Production And Forest Preservation In The Brazilian Amazon, Felipe De Figueiredo Silva, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Cornhusker Economics

Brazil has become a strong competitor in world soybean production. In 2014, Brazil produced 28% of the world’s soybeans, while the United States produced 34%. Brazil increased its production sharply during the 1990s and 2000s, partly due to the expansion into the Amazon forest region. Soybean was one of the main commodities that led to this expansion. In 2016, the Legal Amazon region produced 33% of the Brazilian soybean production compared to 15% in 1990 (Figure 1).

Impacts Identified With Women In Agriculture Conference Review, Marilyn R. Schlake, Rebecca J. Vogt

Cornhusker Economics

Since 1985, more than 300 farmers, ranchers and business owners annually attend the Women in Agriculture (WIA) Conference. Their purpose – to learn and to network. Are these women using their newly acquired knowledge and skills to positively impact their personal and business goals? Do they share their knowledge, teach others, add value to their agricultural operations, or serve as advocates for agriculture?

The Ethanol Renewable Identification Number Price Fight And Nebraska Agriculture, Richard K. Perrin

Cornhusker Economics

The petroleum industry has launched a fierce political fight against the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the regulations that require renewable fuels such as ethanol to be blended into the motor fuel supply. The industry complains that meeting those requirements has become too expensive. President Trump has been presiding over frequent White House meetings to address the issue, with corn-state senators leading corn/ ethanol constituents in confrontation with Texas senators leading the petroleum refiners.

Complexity And Efficiency In Conservation Auctions: Evidence From A Laboratory Experiment, Simanti Banerjee, Marc Conte

Cornhusker Economics

Payment-for-ecosystem-services (PES) schemes financially compensate producers for implementing various conservation practices on their properties that generate ecosystem-service benefits for society. Conservation auctions have been adopted in several PES programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) (Hellerstein et al., 2015) and involve producers submitting bids for one or more environmental practices for consideration in the auction.

Conference Educates, Uplifts Nebraska Women In Agriculture, Jessica J. Groskopf, Haley Apel

Cornhusker Economics

Women in agriculture are business partners, owners and operators; they oversee financial and human resources and keep farms and ranches running. This was the message more than 250 women heard at the 33rd annual Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference February 22 and 23 in Kearney.

Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference, Charlotte Narjes

Cornhusker Economics

What Is It? The Connecting Entrepreneurial Communities Conference is an opportunity to educate communities on the various tools and resources available to assist them in helping entrepreneurs grow and prosper in their communities. Presenters are found locally, regionally and from other states to share how they found success in a variety of aspects of building the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

A Systematic Review Of Consumer Preference For E-Cigarette Attributes: Flavor, Nicotine Strength, And Type, Samane Zare, Mehdi Nemati, Yuqing Zheng

Agricultural Economics Faculty Publications

Objective

Systematic review of research examining consumer preference for the main electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) attributes namely flavor, nicotine strength, and type.

Method

A systematic search of peer-reviewed articles resulted in a pool of 12,933 articles. We included only articles that meet all the selection criteria: (1) peer-reviewed, (2) written in English, and (3) addressed consumer preference for one or more of the e-cigarette attributes including flavor, strength, and type.

Results

66 articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. Consumers preferred flavored e-cigarettes, and such preference varied with age groups and smoking status. We also found that several flavors were …

2018 Trends In Nebraska Farmland Values And Rental Rates, Jim Jansen, Jeffrey Stokes

Cornhusker Economics

The average market value of farmland in Nebraska declined by three percent over the prior year to $2,745 per acre according to the 2018 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey (Figure 1 and Table 1). This marks the fourth consecutive year of downward pressure. Market values have dropped 17 percent since reaching a high of $3,315 in 2014.