Agricultural Economics Commons^™

Market Impacts Of A Meat Tax, Regan Gilmore, Azzeddine Azzam

Cornhusker Economics

Over time, animal activists and environmentalists have made calls to put a tax on meat. What effect would that have? To find out, we estimated the impacts that a retail-level greenhouse gas (GHG) tax on meat would have on livestock and grain markets.

The research used a multi-market economic model that integrates the beef, pork, and poultry markets with the corn, distillers' grain, soybean, soymeal, and ethanol markets. For GHG taxes, we used those provided by Springman et al. based on a emission price (social cost) of $52 per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent estimated by EPA. Emissions by …

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Values Continue Gradual Declines In 2019, Jim Jansen, Jeffrey Stokes

Cornhusker Economics

The market value of agricultural land in Nebraska declined by three percent over the prior year to an average of $2,650 per acre according to the 2019 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey (Figure 1 and Table 1). This marks the fifth consecutive year of downward pressure as market values have dropped approximately 20 percent since reaching a high of $3,315 in 2014.

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

Things To Consider Before Co-Signing A Loan, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Parents co-signing loans for their children is common in agriculture. This usually happens when the child needs a loan to purchase land, livestock, or farm equipment. Lenders are more willing to make the loan to a beginning producer if the parents co-sign. This means the parents promise to repay the loan if the younger producer cannot. Parents have been doing this as a way to help their kids get started in agriculture for decades. If the child turns out to be an effective producer, the risk of the parents being on the hook for the unpaid loan balance is pretty …

2019 Nebraska Property Tax School Funding Issues, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska agricultural property taxes are among the highest in the United States. Over the last three years, Nebraska farmers and ranchers have paid nearly 31 percent of their net farm income as property taxes (47 percent in 2017). When state and federal taxes are factored in, this represents an effective tax rate of more than 50 percent (over 60 percent in 2017). While no one particularly enjoys paying property taxes (or any other tax), property taxes are especially burdensome for Nebraska farmers and ranchers.

The proposed 2020 constitutional amendment to provide property tax relief would require dramatic state spending cuts, …

Three Key Factors To Balance When Choosing A Calving Season Based On Profitability, Matthew Stockton, Devin Broadhead

Cornhusker Economics

Cow producers base major decisions such as calving season on expected economic outcomes which include productivity, input costs, personal capability, individual preferences, markets, and so on. Calving systems are generally categorized into three seasons, spring, summer and fall. Many producers select the spring calving season to maximize the weaned calf weight at the end of the summer grass season. Unfortunately this increases feeding costs since extra nutrition is needed in the spring, prior to pastures being opened. Also due to the widespread adoption of this early spring calving, the mass marketing in late fall often results in depressed calf prices …

Negotiating Cash Rent: What It Takes To Negotiate Like A Pro, Austin Duerfeldt

Cornhusker Economics

The number one question I receive is about cash rent prices. Many landlords and tenants are working to find an equitable arrangement before February 28, 2019. Given the constraints on both sides, real estate taxes and the farm economy finding that arrangement is difficult. Becoming creative in how you analyze and value different cash rent options is necessary. Before sitting down face to face, here are some suggestions and preparations I recommend that can help maximize success.

Per-Ingredient Calorie Information Reduces Calories Ordered More In A Food-Away-From-Home Setting Than Information Provided Per, Christopher Gustafson, Eliana Zeballos

Cornhusker Economics

Obesity rates in the United States have risen dramatically over the past five decades, reaching what many public health officials have referred to as epidemic proportions. A common policy response to this obesity epidemic—which is often attributed to overconsumption of highly caloric, unhealthy foods—has been to increase consumers’ access to nutrition information to help them to make healthier choices. Recently, the increasing frequency of food consumption at restaurants led to the development of nutrition labeling requirements for restaurants with 20 or more locations. The rule, requiring food retailers to post calorie amounts and to make available information about other nutrients …

Tax Strategies For Farmers And Cooperatives Under The New Section 199a, Greg Mckee

Cornhusker Economics

This tax season will be the first time cooperatives and their patrons will consider the income tax consequences of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). A key element of the TCJA, Section 199A, affects farm income tax liability. Not only is the Section 199A deduction a good tax break for farmers, it changes incentives for farmer patrons to market through cooperatives. It also changes incentives for how cooperatives distribute their income. Cooperative members, their boards of directors, and management teams will have many tax strategy options to consider in 2019.

The good news about Section 199A is …

Trends In Nebraska Agricultural Land Ownership And Rental Patterns, Jim Jansen, Jay Parsons, Kate Brooks

Cornhusker Economics

In Nebraska, different types of rental arrangements are used on agricultural land. These arrangements commonly include crop share, cash lease, and cash lease with flexible provisions.

Crop Share: landowner receives a percentage of actual crop yield as payment for leasing the agricultural land to the tenant. The landowner may share input and production costs of raising the crop.

Cash Leases: landowner receives an agreed upon cash payment amount for leasing the agricultural land to the tenant.

Cash lease with Flexible Provisions: land owner and tenant set a base cash rental rate which can flex upon actual crop yields, prices, or …

Avoid Family Trouble When Planning Farm/Ranch Succession, Allan Vyhnalek

Cornhusker Economics

The story goes like this: The family has one brother who stayed on the farm to work with Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad are now gone. The other brothers and sisters are now wanting to meet to determine an equitable way to split the assets. The on-farm brother has been there over 50 years. He has contributed sweat, management, and value to the operation for decades.

Then the reality sets in. There is a family conversation about the farm now that the parents are gone. It is fairly common to have a difference in perception about the on-farm brother’s …

Examining Preferences For Rural Living And How To Save The Rural Economy, Rebecca J. Vogt

Cornhusker Economics

Recent articles in the New York Times and the Washington Post discuss preferences for rural living and if rural economies can be saved. Data from the Nebraska Rural Poll and other state surveys are used to further explore these topics.

Six Key Components Of A Farm Or Ranch Business Plan, Jay Parsons

Cornhusker Economics

Developing a good farm or ranch business plan can have many benefits. In an earlier Cornhusker Economics article, I outlined six good reasons to develop a business plan (Parsons 2015). It helps to get your business organized and moving in the right direction. It lets your lender know you have a plan to succeed, which opens up your access to capital. It also helps you organize your thoughts, clarifying the goals and objectives you wish to achieve. In summary, putting together a written business plan increases the likelihood of your business achieving success (Scarborough 2011).

Jerome Powell Is Not The Bad Guy, Timothy Meyer

Cornhusker Economics

One of the maxims often heard in economics, agriculture, and politics is that those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. At first glance, this is a pessimistic view of human behavior. However, I believe that in some part it is a reflection of the positive spirit exhibited by many Americans. While it is true some have not bothered to learn from history, others have simply emphasized the positive times while simultaneously limiting the memory of more challenging experiences.

Do We Need More Futures Contracts In Commodity Markets?, Fabio Mattos

Cornhusker Economics

In the last couple of months, there has been news about a new futures contract for soybeans. The Financial Times and Reuters, among others, reported that the CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange, is considering launching a futures contract based on Brazilian soybeans. The discussion seems to have started after trade issues between the United States and China resulted in a 25 percentage-point tariff on U.S. soybeans exported to China. As Chinese buyers try to avoid the tariff by purchasing grain from other suppliers, notably Brazil, a new price dynamics between U.S. and Brazilian soybeans could be emerging. This …

Agricultural Production From The High Plains Aquifer Is Worth Over $3 Billion Per Year, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Federico Garcia

Cornhusker Economics

Recent research (Garcia, Fulginiti and Perrin, 2018) has shown the that the extra agricultural production from irrigation across the High Plains Aquifer (HPA) was worth about $3.5 billion in 2007, $2 billion of which was produced in Nebraska. The aquifer water is valuable!

The Economics Of The Capitalization Rate For Farmland, Jeff Stokes, Jim Jansen

Cornhusker Economics

There are three approaches that real estate appraisers use to value real property, namely, the market or sales comparison approach, the income approach, and the cost approach. The sales comparison approach is the primary way that residential real estate is appraised with the cost approach thrown in for good measure. For income producing properties, which includes commercial real estate as well as farm real estate, all three approaches are frequently used. When there are minimal improvements on farmland, the sales comparison and income approaches often provide competing estimates of value that must be reconciled so that an appraiser can render …

Initiative 427: Nebraska Medicaid Expansion, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

This article summarizes information regarding Initiative 427–the Medicaid expansion question on the November 6, 2018 ballot. It reprints the actual ballot language and the Nebraska Secretary of State’s summary of arguments for and against Initiative 427.

Background. Originally Medicaid covered the elderly, the disabled, children in low-income families, and low-income pregnant women. In 2010 Medicaid coverage was expanded by Congress to include the working poor. In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requiring states to expand Medicaid was unconstitutional. This made it a state option whether or not to expand Medicaid. …

Farm Programs, Payments And Prospects, Bradley D. Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) began issuing payments to producers in October for Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs for the 2017 crop year. While these farm program payments had provided substantial cash flow to help buffer falling market price and farm income projections in the past three years, the current programs will provide relatively little cash flow for now and for the coming year. Only the ad hoc trade assistance payments and the outlook for new farm programs and decisions in 2019 may provide potential relief from the current outlook.

Applying Interconnected Game Theory To Analyze Transboundary Waters: A Case Study Of The Kura-Araks Basin, Marianna Khachaturyan, Karina A. Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

A number of environmental problems are international in nature, including many water management issues. Rivers, for example, do not recognize political boundaries. Therefore, pollution generated in one country can affect neighboring countries, while water extraction in an upstream country can affect water flow and water availability in a downstream country. The situation creates an interdependency among countries, which might lead to disputes over the management of transboundary water. Therefore, coordination among the countries is necessary for effective management of these transboundary resources.

The focus of a recently published study (Khachaturyan and Schoengold, 2018) is the transboundary Kura-Araks Basin (see Figure …

Doing Well By Doing Good In The Fight Against Malnutrition And Hunger, Konstantinos Giannakas, Amalia Yiannaka

Cornhusker Economics

Technological innovation and the conduct of innovating firms are key weapons in the fight against hunger and the pursuit of food security around the world. Agricultural biotechnology seems uniquely equipped, if not destined, to spearhead the effort to combat malnutrition and hunger around the world by conferring significant agronomic benefits to producers and by having the ability to enhance both the resistance of plants to environmental stresses and the quality and nutritional value of food. Research that was recently published by the Center of Agricultural and Food Industrial Organization- Policy Research Group at the University of Nebraska Lincoln analyzes the …

Market Facilitation Program: Impact On Nebraska Corn And Soybean Producers, Anil Giri, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Cornhusker Economics

In July 2018, President Trump imposed a first round of 25-percent tariffs on Chinese electronics and high-tech equipment including automobiles, computer hard drives, and LEDs. The tariffs were imposed on roughly $34 billion worth of imported goods. In August 2018 additional 25-percent tariffs were imposed on $16 billion worth of Chinese exports to the United States and in September tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese exports to the United States were added. (Bradsher, 2018). The Trump Administration has also imposed automobile, steel and aluminum tariffs on imports from Canada, the European Union and other countries.

In response to the …

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 …

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.