Agricultural Economics Commons^™

Making Better Farm Management Decisions, Matthew Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

Traditionally, producer education efforts around farm management are directed at understanding the academic topics of business operations and management including, accounting, law, human resources, marketing, production, risk, finance, etc. The information, techniques and tools taught are often concrete and focus on measurement, analysis, and data. For instance, a traditional grain marketing education program would generally include topics in forward contracts, options, futures, hedge to arrive, basis contracts, storage, and seasonality. While these programs can be quite powerful in developing quantitative skills and knowledge, they neglect a key element needed by all farm managers to make objectively clear decisions. This key …

Transforming The “Great Resignation” Into The “Great Attraction”, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel

Cornhusker Economics

Businesses of all types are scrambling to hire people, especially those that work on the frontline with customers - from healthcare to hospitality to retail and everything in between. This is resulting in an incredibly tight labor market across the nation. Some are calling this time “The Great Resignation” which refers to the more than 19 million workers - and counting - that have quit their jobs since April 2021. Logic would say that if people are resigning in record numbers that there should be a lot of employees out there to hire, but that is not the case. It …

Something Fishy In Seafood Trade?, Kathy Baylis, Lia Nogueira, Linlin Fan, Kathryn Pace

Cornhusker Economics

The safety of food imports continues to be in the spotlight. Globally, each year, contaminated food causes almost 1 in 10 people to fall ill and 420 thousand people to die (WHO, 2017). Protecting consumers from unsafe foods is complicated by the increased role of international trade in our food system. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that disease outbreaks associated with imported food increased from 1996 to 2014, with fish and produce being the main culprits (Gould et al., 2017). For example, in 2019, two separate cases of tuna from Vietnam were found to have sickened …

Farm Succession Planning: Why And How?, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

If you visit with an ag professional and ask them “What percentage of farmers and ranchers have an estate plan, or an up-to-date estate/succession plan?” the answer will be half, or just less than half. This article will examine why that happens and give some simple steps for anyone to follow to create an up-to-date estate or succession plan. Farmers and ranchers don’t have a plan for a variety of reasons. These might include not ever planning to retire, not wanting to give up control, or not wanting to admit that they will ever pass away. Too often, we don’t …

Nebraska Women In Agriculture “Together Again”, Jessica J. Groskopf

Cornhusker Economics

A crowd of over 200 gathered Feb. 24 and 25 in Kearney, Nebraska for the 37^th Annual Nebraska Women in Agriculture conference. 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 four general session speakers and 28 workshop sessions.

This year’s conference was supported in part by USDA-NIFA under award number 2020-70028-32728.

Commodity Prices, Climate And The High Plains Aquifer, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Felipe Silva, Karina A. Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

Crop prices and energy prices can affect the water level in an aquifer? Absolutely, yes, because over time, they affect the amount withdrawn for irrigation. Our recent research confirms that effect and provides estimates of the size of the effect on the High Plains Aquifer (HPA). The HPA underlies parts of eight states and 208 counties in the west-central United States (see Figure 1). This region produces more than 9% of US crop sales and relies on the aquifer for irrigation. These withdrawals for irrigation have contributed to a diminished stock of water in the aquifer that varies considerably across …

2022 Nebraska Farmland Values And Cash Rental Rates, Jim Jansen, Jeffrey Stokes

Cornhusker Economics

The market value of agricultural land in Nebraska increased by 16% over the prior year to an average of $3,360 per acre, according to the 2022 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey. This marks the largest increase in the market value of agricultural land in Nebraska since 2014 and is the highest non-inflation-adjusted state-wide land value in the history of the survey.

Drainage Law Proposal, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Legislative Bill 806 would significantly change Nebraska drainage law and bring long-overdue reform to Nebraska water law. This newsletter gives a quick overview of LB 806 and how it would impact the resolution of drainage disputes in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Ranch Practicum, Jay Parsons, Travis Mulliniks, Troy Walz

Cornhusker Economics

The Nebraska Ranch Practicum is a multi-disciplinary, hands-on educational program designed to give participants the skills and education needed to succeed in today's ranching industry. The Practicum was established in 1999 as a “three-season” program designed to integrate information producers encounter throughout the beef production year into a framework for decision making. The Practicum seeks to improve decision-making skills, enhance stewardship of natural resources, improve skills critical for evaluation of ranching enterprises, and enhance ranch sustainability.

Lost Grounds In Us Trade Integration, John C. Beghin

Cornhusker Economics

Growing World Trade Organization (WTO) membership and plurilateral trade agreements have increasingly occurred in the last 20 years leading to unprecedented market integration. However, in the last 5 years, the United States (US) has been diverging from its traditional role as a main driver of this integration. In contrast, Europe has been integrated progressively within itself and beyond, outpacing the US. The article documents these trends and changes. This article is based on a longer working paper and an article in EuroChoices coauthored with Jill O’Donnell.

Expanding Cooperatives In Nebraska, Charlotte Narjes, Cythia Houlden

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska has a history of cooperatives in agriculture. The most common types are agricultural marketing and supply cooperatives. The Nebraska Cooperative Council map highlights that there are over 400 cooperative locations in Nebraska. In addition to agricultural cooperatives, such as Ag Processing, Inc. and Producers Livestock Marketing Association, there are also cooperative credit unions and the Nebraska Rural Radio Association.

Inflation: Just How Bad Is It?, Timothy Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Amidst the chaotic news cycle of politics, the pandemic, and global affairs, a new topic is making headlines – inflation. To some, rising inflation causes greater fear than the other headlines combined; to others, it is nothing more than a minor nuisance. This article will explain why people’s divisive attitudes toward inflation are likely justified.

Significant Changes In Cost Of Production For 2022 Crops, Glennis Mcmclure

Cornhusker Economics

For the 2022 crop production year, eighty-four Nebraska crop budgets, including two cover crops and a pasture budget, were prepared by crop specialists and extension economists at the University of Nebraska -Lincoln. The 2022 crop budget information is provided in three formats including the new report format from the Center’s new Agricultural Budget Calculator (ABC). Excel and printable pdf file versions are available as well.

The Impacts Of Social Activism And Corporate Social Responsibility On Food Fraud, Anubrata Deka, Emie Yiannaka, Konstantinos Giannakas

Cornhusker Economics

A recent report finds that 86% of Americans expect for-profit companies to be active in addressing social and environmental issues (Porter Novelli/Cone 2019). In addition to benefiting society, engagement in prosocial behavior, known as corporate social responsibility (CSR), can improve a firm’s competitiveness and economic performance. Engagement in proactive CSR can enhance a firm’s relationship with the public by building its reputation of being a trustworthy, credible and responsible citizen. Studies have argued that the reputation firms develop through CSR activities can provide ‘insurance-like’ protection from future negative publicity and attacks on the firm (Godfrey et al. 2009; Gardberg and …

Weather Impacts The Agricultural Production Efficiency Of Wheat: The Importance Of Precipitation Shocks, Bowen Chen, Elliott James Dennis, Allen M. Featherstone

Cornhusker Economics

Weather affects the production environment that farmers face and, in some cases, can affect their ability to efficiently convert production inputs into outputs. Despite that the effect of weather shocks on agricultural production has been well documented (Donaldson, 1968; Ito and Kurosaki, 2009; Schlenker and Roberts, 2009; Tack, Barkley, and Nalley, 2015), few studies have accounted for the weather as a source of production inefficiency or lower agricultural productivity. In a recently published paper, we showed the effects that weather has on the production efficiency of winter wheat farms and discussed some of the implications that climate change could …

Relationships Between Reported Pandemic Impacts And Well-Being Of Rural Nebraskans, Rebecca J. Vogt

Cornhusker Economics

Since March of 2020, the coronavirus pandemic has impacted Nebraskans in many ways, including their physical health, mental health, work, and socialization. The 2021 Nebraska Rural Poll examined to what extent various elements of life were affected or disrupted by the pandemic as well as respondents’ general assessments of their well-being. Did rural Nebraskans’ assessments of the impacts the pandemic has had on their lives correlate with their assessment of their well-being?

Insights Into Nebraska Rural Grocery Store Ownership, Marilyn R. Schlake, Shawn Kaskie, Greg Mckee, Charlotte Narjes, Jason Tuller, John Westra

Cornhusker Economics

In Fall 2020, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers started a research project to better understand the perceptions and experiences of transitioning a rural grocery store to new ownership. The project is part of the Heartland Challenge program funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Researchers conducted a survey of Nebraska rural grocers to seek their input and determine future research directions. Sixty-seven of the 216 distributed surveys were completed either electronically or by print. Survey questions pertained to challenges and opportunities owners experienced while operating a rural grocery operation, community support and involvement in store transition, and motivations for continued operation …

Driver Liability For Farm And Ranch Operations, Jessica Groskopf

Cornhusker Economics

One major concern of farming and/or ranching operations is the liability of semi-trucks and equipment when they are involved in a traffic accident.

Mistakes In Difficult Conversations, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

Farm families that work together across the family tree and across generations seem to encounter difficulty from time to time when separating “family” from “business.” Having clear, consistent, and honest communications will go a long way towards reducing the troubles that can arise in difficult conversations. This article addresses those troubles.

A Proposal For Insurance To Address Offsite Injuries Accompanying Dicamba Usage, Terence J. Centner

Cornhusker Economics

Soybean producers are familiar with the special dicamba products first sold in 2017 for use on Xtend soybeans to control glyphosate-resistant weeds. Dicamba can be applied as a post-emergent spray to kill weeds that germinate after soybeans have been planted. With the control of these weeds, producers reap increased yields. However, the use of dicamba products led to significant offsite injury to vegetation including non-dicamba-resistant soybeans. Damages to neighbors’ properties from dicamba usage strained the social relations of people living in many rural communities.

Tax Planning For High Income, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

Agriculture has always been an industry with cyclical income trends. Prior to 2003, the average farm income reported in our annual data would typically go up and down each year -- having a good year and then a bad year and then a good year again. Since then, the trend has been more about longer periods of good, followed by multiple years of down income, etc. These longer stretches also see more extremes and this makes tax planning even more important and more difficult. More important because we are likely not making a decision that only affects one year and …

The Coronavirus Pandemic And International Trade, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

The Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted economic activities around the world. Many businesses had to cease operations and furlough or lay off their workers. The World Bank (2021) has reported that global economic output fell by 3.4% in 2020. The good news is that the massive infusion of financial support from many governments in high-income countries meant that the worst economic effects of the pandemic were mitigated, and a rapid recovery has begun to make up for the pandemic-related losses. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that the global economy will grow by 5.9% in 2021 recovering the 2020 losses and …

Challenges Of Making Financial Decisions And Avoiding Fraudulent Schemes, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

Last month there was an article in the local newspaper about a man accused of defrauding commodity investors for several years in Nebraska. This person is a commodity pool operator (CPO), who is an individual or organization that operates a commodity pool and solicits funds for that pool. A commodity pool is an enterprise in which funds contributed by a number of clients are combined for the purpose of trading futures contracts, options contracts, among other types of financial products. Generally speaking, a CPO manages an investment fund focused on commodity products.

Crop Insurance Premium Subsidies Influence On Family Farms, Cory Walters, Azzeddine Azzam, Taylor Kaus

Cornhusker Economics

The U.S. current taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance program represents a culmination of a series of legislative acts, beginning in 1980 with the Federal Crop Insurance Act, followed by the Federal Insurance Reform Act in 1994, and the Agricultural Risk Protection Act (ARPA) in 2000. All acts aimed at encouraging producer participation through increased premium subsidies and enhanced coverage options. Increased subsidization was effective in increasing participation, as more than 90% of corn acres were covered by some form of crop insurance by 2020. For 2021, premium subsidies in Nebraska for all crop insurance policies ranged from just over $36,000 in Hooker …

Finding Hidden Members In Your Community, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel

Cornhusker Economics

It is not uncommon for rural Nebraska coffee shop talk to touch on the topic of who is involved or not involved in the community. Typically, the conversation comes to the conclusion that the same people seem to be doing everything. The topic could relate to a civic group, community event, or even an elected office in the community. There are no new faces and no new ideas as well as there is no one there to allow for a leadership transition. Have you ever heard this conversation? Have you participated in it?

Optimal Regulatory Response To Food Fraud, Syed Imran Ali Meerza, Konstantinos Giannakas

Cornhusker Economics

Food fraud refers to the deliberate substitution, addition, tampering, or misrepresentation of food for economic gains. In this context, food fraud can be divided into two broad categories: food adulteration and mislabeling. While food adulteration can be defined as the intentional substitution or addition of substances in a food product to reduce its costs of production, mislabeling refers to acts of misrepresentation of the type or quality of food products. Food fraud is motivated by economic gains and is enabled by the fact that information about the nature of credence goods is typically asymmetric – while product suppliers know the …

Evolving Protein Demand And Income Elasticity, Timothy Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

Teaching large classes in the Ag Econ department has some unique benefits. One of them is that I have a pulse on the attitudes of a large cross-section of producers. One concern that has been gradually gaining momentum is the threat that plant protein poses against traditional animal protein, namely beef.

Trends in protein demand do not support this specific fear. In general, consumers’ appetite for animal protein continues to grow. This article explains the concept of income elasticity, along with the changing income elasticities of specific meats.

Allowing Consumers To Choose Quantities In Choice Experiments Impacts Consumer Choice, Rationality, And Willingness-To-Pay Estimates, Elliott James Dennis

Cornhusker Economics

Choice experiments are frequently used by industry and academic researchers to examine existing and hypothetical products. These experiments generally fix the quantity purchased and allow product attributes to vary. New choice experiments have explored allowing quantity to be a flexible choice attribute. In a recently published paper, we explored the potential differences and similarities between these two choice experiment frameworks. To illustrate these comparisons and any relative improvements by using a quantity choice framework, we used a between-subject design that assessed U.S. meat preferences.

Farm Program Projections And Management Implications, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

USDA’s Farm Service Agency annually distributes commodity program payments to enrolled crop producers every October. The payments come either as Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) payments or Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments With higher commodity prices since last fall, the expectations for payments and the reliance on payments as part of the farm’s bottom line are substantially reduced. However, there are still some payments to be made and some important lessons from the current outlook for prices and farm program support.

Readiness For Change, Charlotte Narjes, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

One community is innovative in addressing long-term issues and situations related to quality of life, economic impact, and demographic renewal. Another community is not. What is the difference? What can communities do to be ready for change? What role can Extension play in helping a community address complex situations such as identifying new leaders, being competitive in a digital economy, creating healthy communities, or attracting new populations and retaining exciting community members? One key to success is assessing community readiness for change.