Agricultural Economics Commons^™

2020 Cares Act – Apoyo Financiero Para Pequeñas Empresas, Marilyn R. Schlake, Sandra Barrera

Cornhusker Economics

Ya sea que un negocio se vea afectado por desastres relacionados con el clima, la construcción de carreteras o las recesiones económicas repentinas, tener un plan para mitigar los impactos puede ser crucial para la supervivencia inmediata y a largo plazo del negocio. Circunstancias imprevistas, como la pandemia de COVID-19, pueden requerir que los propietarios reevalúen sus modelos de negocios, reduzcan los costos operativos y busquen apoyos financieros externos, todo para mantener el flujo de efectivo y abrir el negocio. Para ayudar a las pequeñas empresas durante la pandemia, el 27 de marzo se promulgó la Ley de Ayuda y …

Examining The Role Of The Crop Insurance Selling Agent, Nathan Delay, Hayley Chouinard, Cory Walters, Philip Wandschneider

Cornhusker Economics

The United States Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency (RMA) partners with private insurance companies to deliver the federal crop insurance program through agents who sell policies directly to producers. The government subsidizes producers in the form of premium discounts and reimburses private insurance companies for administrative and operating (A&O) costs. The government provides further assistance to the industry by offering a cooperative reinsurance agreement that reduces loss exposure for insurance companies (Appel and Borba, 2009).

Subsidization of private market players may facilitate rent-seeking behavior—efforts to capture larger shares of tax dollars devoted to the program— especially in the settings …

Nebraska Women In Agriculture Celebrating 35 Years, Jessica Groskopf

Cornhusker Economics

A crowd of almost 300 gathered together February 20 and 21 in Kearney, Nebraska for the Nebraska Women in Agriculture conference, with the theme — Celebrating 35 Years! The conference is one of the longest-running women's conferences of its kind in the country. The goal of the Nebraska Women in Agriculture Conference is for women to build relationships with each other while gaining valuable knowledge about managing risk on their farms and ranches. The event featured 5 general session speakers and 35 workshop sessions.

Nebraska Cooperative Development Center Announces Mini-Grant Funding, Charlotte Narjes

Cornhusker Economics

Since 1999, the Nebraska Cooperative Development Center (NCDC) has provided technical assistance, education and training to groups who are developing or are considering the development of a cooperatively owned business. The primary objective is to improve the economic condition of rural areas through cooperative business development.

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Values Improve Despite Uncertainty In 2020, Jim Jansen, Jeffrey Stokes

Cornhusker Economics

The market value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased by three percent over the prior year to an average of $2,730 per acre according to the 2020 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey (Figure 1 and Table 1). This improvement provides the first increase in the market value of agricultural land in Nebraska since peaking in 2014 at $3,315 per acre followed by a 20 per- cent decline extending to 2019.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Agricultural Economics annually surveys land industry professionals across Nebraska including appraisers, farm and ranch managers, and agricultural bankers. Results from the survey are …

Safety First Risk Preferences And Post-Harvest Grain Marketing A Context-Rich Lab Experiment, Stamatina Stamatina, Simanti Banerjee, Cory Walters

Cornhusker Economics

Improving our understanding of the influence of risk- preferences on decision making represents an important objective for understanding behavior, designing policy and decision making theory. A natural place this problem persists is in the marketing of grain (Kastens and Dhuyvetter, 1999). Grain marketing research has primarily focused on the use of different marketing techniques that result in lower price risk and, therefore, lower-income risk (Musser, Patrick, Eckman, 1996). However, the extent to which the theoretical findings from these studies are relevant to real-world applications is not clear (Brorsen and Irwin, 1996; Garcia and Leuthold, 2004). While reducing income risk is …

2020 Nebraska Property Tax Issues, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska property taxes are the ninth highest in the United States. Nebraska ranks 41st in terms of property taxes (a smaller number means lower property taxes, while a higher number means high- er property taxes). By comparison, Missouri ranks 7th, Colorado is 14th, Kansas is 20th, South Dako- ta is 22nd, Iowa is 35th, and Wyoming is 39th. So Nebraska property taxes are high both regionally and nationally.

Nebraska sales taxes are the ninth-lowest, and both state income taxes and total state taxes are in the middle. Property taxes account for 38% of total state and local tax collections in …

Three Profit Fundamentals Of Agricultural Production, Matthew Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

There is nothing magical or mythical about making a profit. Each ranch/farm business has unique challenges and complexities. This fact makes it easy for operators to become overwhelmed or distracted from the fundamental factors that drive profitability. Each decision made in the farm or ranch business has an impact on profitability through one of three fundamental paths- cost, revenue and their common link productivity. As a result of being involved in the University of Nebraska Testing Ag Performance Solutions (UNL-TAPS) competition in North Platte for the last several years, I have observed some very striking factors that have helped teams …

2020 Nebraska Crop Budgets Review, Glennis Mcclure

Cornhusker Economics

For the 2020 production year, 82 budgets for 15 crops including 2 cover crops are available from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Department of Agricultural Economics. The budgets are published online in two formats including a printable pdf file version and an Excel file version. cropwatch.unl.edu/budgets

Information on crop budgeting procedures, machinery operation and ownership costs, material and service prices, and a crop budget production cost summary is included in the format of each budget. Two new irrigated corn budgets, Numbers 33 and 34, and two new soybean budgets, Numbers 64 and 65, were added for 2020, which reflect …

Nebraska Agricultural Machinery And Equipment Sales Tax Exemption, Austin Duerfeldt

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska sales and use tax for farmers and ranchers can be a difficult subject. When purchasing or leasing depreciable agricultural machinery and equipment for commercial agricultural use those purchases are listed as exempt from Nebraska and local sales and use taxes. The purchase of a 200- horsepower tractor or a new 12-row planter often is the first to come to mind when thinking of assets that fall into that category. The question that often arises though is what about other items such as a seed tender, auger wagon, or skid steer? For that answer you have to do research on …

Internships In Nebraska Agricultural Cooperatives, Greg Mckee

Cornhusker Economics

Agricultural cooperatives are prominent employers across Nebraska. Several have developed internship programs. Cooperatives recruit interns to attract fulltime position applicants, to expose interns to various aspects of the cooperative business model as well as addressing short term labor needs. Students participate in internships to develop skills for career planning.

Nebraska agricultural cooperatives offered approximately one 100 internships in 2019. The number of cooperatives offering internships is increasing; at least two offered internships for the first time last year. Others are looking to strengthen their existing programs.

Internship program design varies across cooperatives. Relatively small agricultural cooperatives provide an overall work …

Comparison Of 2018 And 2019 Market Facilitation Program Payments For Nebraska Producers, Anil Giri, E. Wesley F. Peterson, Sankalp Sharma

Cornhusker Economics

In a previous issue of Cornhusker Economics ( October 3, 2018, available at https://agecon.unl.edu/ cornhusker-economics/2018/market-facilitationprogram) we reviewed the sequence of events surrounding the trade war between the United States and China, and, in particular, the response of the Trump administration to the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China on soybeans and other agricultural commodities. The Market Facilitation Program (MFP) has been the main mechanism for compensating farmers for losses associated with the trade war. In the past year, there have been several important changes related to these events:

1. On January 15, 2020, the first phase of a trade deal between …

How Emotions Affect Farm And Ranch Succession, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

Whenever a family has a discussion about agricultural estate planning, conversations can become emotionally charged. Stakes can be high and feelings can be hurt just by using the wrong words in a sentence. If things go south and parties are upset, they will likely withdraw from the dialogue or leave the gathering altogether.

When communications or negotiations break down, one way to help is to think about the five emotional blocks that need to be overcome if possible. They are: appreciation, affiliation, autonomy, status and role. Let's examine each to see how these blockages can interfere with a family moving …

Celebrating 25 Years Of The Nebraska Rural Poll, Rebecca J. Vogt

Cornhusker Economics

In 2020, the 25th annual Nebraska Rural Poll will arrive in mailboxes across the state. For 25 years, the Poll has examined many topics of concern to rural Nebraskans and accumulated a rich dataset for state and community leaders.

The Nebraska Rural Poll was first conducted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of Agricultural Economics in 1996 under the leadership of Dr. John Allen and Dr. Sam Cordes. Each year since, 7,000 surveys are mailed to randomly selected households located in the nonmetropolitan counties of the state. The goal of the poll is to give rural Nebraskans and their leaders …

The Combine: Program Overview (Brochure)

The Combine

Nebraska is known nationally for its distinguished brand and production efficiency in food and agriculture. The state ranks among the top producers of over a dozen commodities including corn, beans, beef, and millet.

The Combine is a statewide program focused on fostering high-growth innovation and entrepreneurship in food and agriculture-tech sectors. The initiative is led by Invest Nebraska with support from The Nebraska Department of Economic Development and The Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

Invest Nebraska Corporation builds a better future for our state by providing financial and operational assistance to high growth companies, developing high growth infrastructure, and attracting out-of-state …

Representative Economic Budgets For Nebraska Cow Herds, Glennis Mcclure, Jay Parsons

Cornhusker Economics

In 2017, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources (IANR) and Nebraska Extension made a commitment to implement a multidisciplinary Beef Systems Initiative (BSI). BSI is administered by the Center for Grassland Studies and is comprised of six projects designed to develop and support implementation of beef production systems that optimize feed resource use, natural resource conservation, and producer success in Nebraska through improved management of perennial grasslands and systems of integrated crop-beef cattle production. In addition to BSI, a parallel project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is studying the best practices …

Accrual Accounting And The Farm Business, Part Ii, Timothy Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

My last Cornhusker Economics article, Accounting Assumptions and the Farm Business (October 16, 2019) set the foundation for a specific evaluation of the conceptual framework accrual accounting offers the farm or ranch manager. The article addressed cash accounting and hinted at its shortfalls which were rectified by accrual accounting. This article will explain conceptual frameworks, and two accrual accounting principles; namely the revenue recognition principle and the matching principle.

During one of my graduate school experiences, I encountered a professor who seemed to be in love with conceptual frameworks. I chose a framework and tried to use it as instructed, …

The Impact Of Veterans Treatment Courts On The Community, Daniela Mettos, Amanda Leingang

Cornhusker Economics

With the United States’ ongoing presence in the Middle East and the ever-present possibility of future conflict, the commitment to tend to the unique needs of veterans returning from combat is an essential one. The number of veterans suffering from mental health issues, substance abuse disorders, and physical trauma continues to rise. With this comes an increased risk of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), drug and alcohol abuse, and repeating criminal behavior, all of which increase the likelihood that veterans will find themselves involved in the criminal justice system at some point following their combat service.

Utilizing effective, reliable, and focused …

Further Thoughts On The Brazilian Grain Market, Its Competitiveness And Its Challenges, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

In previous articles in this space (on 6/20/2018 and 6/19/2019), I talked about recent developments and challenges for Brazilian grain markets. We discussed that one of the main obstacles for Brazilian competitiveness is the country’s logistics system. In those articles, we focused more on transportation and how higher marketing costs are explained by the poor infrastructure in Brazil and the modes of transportation used to haul grain to export ports. Today we will talk a bit more about this point, and then address another dimension of the logistics challenge in Brazil.

As previously discussed, the major agricultural area in Brazil …

Effects Of Irrigation And Climate On The High Plains Aquifer, Richard K. Perrin, Felipe Silva, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Karina A. Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA), sometimes known in Nebraska as the Ogallala Aquifer, is an enormous resource underlying 112 million acres across parts of eight states, from South Dakota to Texas.

Our research has previously estimated that irrigation water drawn from the HPA adds at least $2 billion worth of additional crops per year in Nebraska alone, and $3.5 billion across the entire HPA1.

In the years ahead, world population growth will surely increase the pressure for irrigation from the stock of water in the HPA. But pumping that water from the aquifer can increase the depth to groundwater which …

Appraisal Or Evaluation? The Impact Of Cap Rates On Financing, Jeff Stokes

Cornhusker Economics

Loan underwriting has long been a crucial function of financial institutions. The C’s of credit (character, capacity, capital, conditions and collateral) are taught in many college-level finance and banking courses and the process is even mentioned in popular movies such as “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The process is also recognized as being costly in terms of time and money. Regulations are promulgated and enforced to assure the safety and soundness of lending institutions. Nevertheless, there are situations when the risk to safety and soundness are so small that less extensive underwriting procedures may be appropriate. Benefits to lenders and borrowers …

Informing The (Willfully) Uninformed, Syed Imran Ali Meerza, Emie Yiannaka, Christopher Rand Gustafson, Kate Brooks

Cornhusker Economics

Antimicrobial Resistance: The Role of Food and Agriculture or Nature White Noise -- which would you rather watch?

A recent study by researchers in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln gave participants that choice. Nearly 40 percent of respondents avoided learning about antimicrobial resistance and chose the white noise video. The goal of the study was to shed light on the role that certain individual characteristics, such as knowledge, perceptions and attitudes, play on information avoidance behavior. In the study, information avoidance behavior is examined in the context of antimicrobial resistance.

The standard view in …

An Illustration Of Farm Program Decisions And Impacts, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

When the 2018 Farm Bill was signed last December, producers could look ahead to implementation and the coming decision between enrollment under the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) program or the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program. While the ARC and PLC programs carried over from the 2014 Farm Bill with relatively modest changes, the substantial drop in market prices and outlook since 2014 pointed toward a widespread shift in enrollment away from ARC and toward PLC due to the increased relevance of the price safety net.

However, with this year’s extreme weather events, concerns over crop production, and hopes for improved …

Accounting Assumptions And The Farm Business, Timothy Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Farmers in Nebraska and the surrounding area have been slow to adopt accrual accounting methods. This is no surprise; the alternative, cash accounting, is simple, provides a real-time analysis of the cash position of the firm, and works well with income tax preparation. However, cash accounting has no methodology for the special timing of agricultural production or specific processes to evaluate profitability, liquidity, or solvency. Accrual accounting, GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), and finally the FFSC (Farm Financial Standards Council) rectify these shortcomings. Adoption of GAAP, and subsequently the FFSC “tweaks” will allow farmers and ranchers in Nebraska to make …

Maryland Nutrient Management Policies, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Nonpoint pollution control. The federal Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates point sources of water pollution (such as municipal and industrial wastewater discharges to river and streams) but not nonpoint sources (NPSs), like farm runoff. EPA has provided financial incentives to states to develop and implement NPS programs but does not regulate NPSs itself. Clean water groups have sued to force states to implement wasteload allocation under the CWA on streams not meeting water quality requirements and to require cities and idustries to clean up their wastewater discharges to improve water quality. States can elect to regulate NPSs under this total …

Does Targeting Healthy Food Labels To Populations At High Risk Of Diet-Related Diseases Increase Label Effectiveness?, Christopher Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

The decades-long increase in obesity in the U.S. has inspired multiple policies aiming to improve individuals’ food choices, which play an important role in diet-related diseases. Early policies—which have continued to be implemented and refined—took the view that providing consumers with information would give them the tools needed to choose a healthy diet. Both nutrition facts panels, which are provided on the side or back of nearly all packaged food products in the U.S, and calorie labeling in restaurant chains with 20 or more locations seek to address a lack of information among consumers.

While nutrition information is a necessary …

The Difference Between Maximum Profit And Maximum Production, Matthew Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

Nitrogen fertilizer (N) is commonly used as a production input to increase crop yields. It is included as one of the six Testing Ag Performance Solutions (UNL TAPS) program decision choices and contributes much to productivity as well as costs. Its use however is not without controversy. The over-application of N gets into the groundwater and nearby waterways becoming a pollutant. Excessive use does little or nothing to increase revenue but can inflate costs, thereby reducing profit. For these reasons and others, using the right amount of N has become a popular and important topic among those that use and/or …

The Role Of Farm Size In Crop Insurance, Sankalp Sharma, Cory Walters

Cornhusker Economics

The role of farm size in crop insurance has been a reoccurring U.S. political issue with multiple attempts at legislation proposing to limit premium subsidies to large producers. For instance, in 2015 bill S.2244, amongst other items, proposed to cap crop insurance premium subsidies at $40,000 per year1. The most recent attempt was made by the current administration in mid-2017, where they introduced the same premium subsidy cap of $40,000 per year. The first mention of the $40,000 figure emerged from a report sanctioned by the Government Accountability Office in 2012 (GAO-14-700, 2014)2. Eventually no premium subsidy caps were included …

Potential Economic Impact Of The Goshen/Gering-Ft. Laramie Tunnel Collapse, Jessica J. Groskopf

Cornhusker Economics

Goshen and Scotts Bluff Counties reside in the High Plains and receive less than 16 inches of average annual precipitation. This low precipitation makes surface-water irrigation a critical component of modern agriculture in this area. Farmers in these counties produce irrigated alfalfa hay, corn, sugar beets, and dry edible beans, as well as other hay and crops.

Surface-water refers to water derived from melted snow that is delivered through a series of dams and canals from the mountains of Colorado and Wyoming along the North Platte River. This infrastructure, often referred to as “The North Platte Project,” was built by …

Ag Lenders Panel Provides Insight Into Beef Systems Initiative, Jay Parsons, D. D. Redfearn, Mary E. Drewnoski

Cornhusker Economics

In 2017, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources (IANR) and Nebraska Extension made a commitment to implement a multidisciplinary Beef Systems Initiative (BSI). The BSI is administered by the Center for Grassland Studies and is comprised of six projects designed to develop and support the implementation of beef production systems that optimize feed resource use, natural resource conservation, and producer success in Nebraska through improved management of perennial grasslands and systems of integrated crop-beef cattle production. In addition to the BSI, a parallel project funded by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) is studying …