Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Application Of A Simulation Model For Assessing Integration Of Smallholder Shifting Cultivation And Sheep Production In Yucatán, Mexico, David Parsons, Charles Nicholson, Robert W. Blake, Quirine M. Ketterings, Luis Ramírez-Aviles, Jerome H. Cherney, Danny G. Fox

Agribusiness

Simulation models are effective tools to examine interactions between livestock, cropping systems, households, and natural resources. Our study objective was to use an integrated livestock and crop model to assess the outcomes from selected suites of management decisions observed in smallholder sheep-cropping systems of Yucatán, Mexico. The scenarios contrasted specialized systems versus mixed farming, and evaluated the outcomes of increased crop-livestock integration. Mixed enterprise scenarios involving sheep provided more income than specialized enterprises, and capitalized on a lower price of on-farm maize grain, efficient utilization of surplus labor, and availability of common land. Labor and management income was greatest for …

An Hsi Report: The Impact Of Industrial Farm Animal Production On Food Security In The Developing World, Humane Society International

HSI REPORTS

Food security is often incorrectly used as a justification for the inhumane confinement of animals on industrial farm animal production facilities, while in reality, the industrialization of animal agriculture jeopardizes food security by degrading the environment, threatening human health, and diminishing income-earning opportunities in rural areas. Support from governments and international agencies for more humane and sustainable agricultural systems can ensure adequate food consumption and nutrition throughout the developing world.

Community Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Current Perceptions And Future Strategies: 2011 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley D. Lubben, Connie Reimers-Hild

Nebraska Rural Poll

By many different measures, rural Nebraskans are positive about their community. Many rural Nebraskans rate their community as friendly, trusting and supportive. Most rural Nebraskans also say it would be difficult to leave their community. In addition, most rural Nebraskans disagree that their community is powerless to control its future.

Differences of opinion exist by the size of their community. Residents of smaller communities are more likely than residents of larger communities to rate their community favorably on its social dimensions and to have positive sentiments about their community. However, residents of larger communities are more likely than residents of …

The Digital Age: Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans’ Use Of Technology: 2011 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley D. Lubben, Connie Reimers-Hild

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans use the Internet or email from home. The groups most likely to use the Internet or email from home include: persons living in or near larger communities, residents of the Panhandle region, persons with higher household incomes, younger persons, females, married persons, persons with higher education levels and persons with management, professional or education occupations. The Internet applications used by the majority of rural Nebraskans include: research, looking for health information, purchasing a product, watching a video and social networking.

Most rural Nebraskans have positive opinions about shopping online: that the Internet is the best place to …

From Peasants To Farmers: Peasant Differentiation, Labor Regimes, And Land-Rights Institutions In China's Agrarian Transition, Q. Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The development of factor markets has opened Chinese agriculture for the penetration of capitalism. This new round of rural transformation—China’s agrarian transition— raises the agrarian question in the Chinese context. This study investigates how capitalist forms and relations of production transform agricultural production and the peasantry class in rural China. The authors identify six forms of nonpeasant agricultural production, compare the labor regimes and direct producers’ socioeconomic statuses across these forms, and evaluate the role of China’s land-rights institution in shaping these forms. The empirical investigation presents three main findings: (1) Peasant differentiation : capitalist forms of agricultural production differentiate …

Behavioral Economics: A New Heavyweight In Washington?, Sean B. Cash, Christiane Schroeter

Agribusiness

No abstract provided.

Second Time Is A Charm: The Impact Of Correcting Missed Exam Questions On Student Learning, Christiane Schroeter, Steven V. Green, Erin Bess

Agribusiness

This study determined the learning benefit of correcting missed exam questions. The results show that in addition to exams being an assessment tool, they can also be used as a tool for student learning. The availability of this information will provide help considering design, development, and improvement of traditional assessment methods for student learning.

Tasting Room Insights From San Luis Obispo County, Kathryn Vogt, Wayne Howard

Agribusiness

No Abstract.

Current And Future Food Demand In Western Australia. Module 1 Scoping Study, Andrew Weinert, Robert R. Rouda

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

Maintaining and growing our food industries are priorities of the Western Australian Government and its Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA). Understanding our current food consumption levels, imports, exports and production limitations is critical to the formulation of effective agricultural and food polices.

The WA food industries are affected by several factors that include previous domestic policies and market instruments; general lack of scale; geographical isolation; access to suitable land and water; the availability and use of new technology, communication, processing and transport infrastructure that facilitate efficient marketing; sales and administration; social factors; international tariffs and other trade …

Obesity Economics For The Western United States, Mariah D. Ehmke, Tina Willson, Christiane Schroeter, Ann Marie Hart, Roger Coupal

Agribusiness

The estimated obesity-related health care costs across the Western region in 2008 were $16.2 billion (this is an inflation-adjusted estimate based on the work of Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, and Wang (2004)). 25 The Western populations, the percentage of obese adults in each state, and the estimated annual obesity-related expenditures by state are summarized in Table 1. The cost estimates include only direct health care expenditures related to obesity. The actual cost of obesity is much higher and includes not only obesity-related illness and disease, but also indirect costs resulting from missed work days and lower worker productivity as well as valued …

Managing Maize Production In Shifting Cultivation Milpa Systems In Yucatan, Through Weed Control And Manure Application, David Parsons, Luis Ramirez-Aviles, Jerome H. Cherney, Quirine M. Ketterings, Robert W. Blake, Charles F. Nicholson

Agribusiness

Milpa cultivation involving cutting an area of forest, burning, and planting crops has existed in the Yucatán Peninsula for more than three millennia. Fallow periods are short and decreasing, leading to a productivity collapse of the system. Technologies that increase yield and maintain plots under cultivation have the potential to decrease the land area needed for family food production, resulting in more mature forests. This study was undertaken to examine the relative importance and potential interactions of declining fertility and increasing weed pressure in reducing maize (Zea mays L.) yields, and to examine the effectiveness of combinations of weed …

Modeling Feedback Between Economic And Biophysical Systems In Smallholder Agriculture In Kenya: The Crops, Livestock And Soils In Smallholder Economic Systems (Classes) Model, Emma C. Stephens, Christopher B. Barrett, Douglas R. Brown, Johannes Lehmann, David Mbugua, Solomon Ngoze, Charles F. Nicholson, David Parsons, Alice N. Pell, Susan J. Riha

Agribusiness

We investigate natural resource-based poverty traps using a simulation model of smallholder farms in highland Kenya. Simulation modeling allows for detailed examination of the complex interactions and feedback between farm-household economic decision-making and long-term soil dynamics, which may contribute to persistent poverty among smallholders in this region. We examine the effects of changing initial endowments of land, labour and stocks of on-farm soil organic matter on the long-term welfare of these households. We find that larger farms are better able to cope with both labour shocks and deteriorating natural capital than smaller farms, with smaller farms remaining poor and unable …

An Hsus Report: The Impact Of Industrialized Animal Agriculture On World Hunger, The Humane Society Of The United States

Impact of Animal Agriculture

Of the world’s nearly 6.8 billion humans, almost 1 billion people are malnourished. Feeding half the world’s grain crop to animals raised for meat, eggs, and milk instead of directly to humans is a significant waste of natural resources, including fossil fuels, water, and land. Raising animals for food is also a major contributor to global warming, which is expected to further worsen food security globally. To meet the daily nutritional needs of a rapidly expanding population, the world’s human community, particularly in Western countries, must reduce its reliance on animal products and shift to a more plant-based diet.

How Coupled Are Decoupled Farm Payments? A Review Of The Evidence, Arathi Bhaskar, John C. Beghin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This survey paper explores the literature on decoupling of farm programs that has emerged in the last 10 years. The paper identifies and assesses the various channels of potential coupling of decoupled farm payments and provides a taxonomy of coupling mechanisms found in theoretical and empirical papers. Coupling of decoupled payments is pervasive but effects when measurable are small, with the exception of the impact on land values. The paper points to unresolved issues on potential coupling mechanisms for further research.

Domestic subsidies to agriculture were brought under the discipline of global trade rules for the first time in the …

Structural Changes In U.S. Agricultural Production And Productivity, Jennifer S. James, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, Matthew A. Andersen

Agribusiness

The structure of U.S. agricultural production changed dramatically during the 20th Century. Major technological innovations transformed the relationship between agricultural inputs and outputs, and contributed to rapid increases in agricultural productivity. However, evidence is mounting that suggests we have entered a new era, with substantially lower rates of productivity growth. In this article, we examine trends and spatial patterns in agricultural input use, production of outputs, and productivity. We focus on productivity growth over the period 1949–2002, and find a statistically significant slowdown in productivity growth after 1990.

Setting Agricultural Science Strategy In Tumultuous Economic Times, Jennifer S. James, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey

Agribusiness

The international competitiveness and prosperity of U.S. agriculture depends on steady and rapid productivity growth fueled by public agricultural research and development (R&D). Agricultural science benefits consumers and the environment, not just farmers. Enhanced productivity as a result of agricultural R&D means that consumers have access to a more abundant, cheaper, safer, higher quality, and more diverse and convenient food supply, produced with less stress on natural resources and the environment. From a global perspective, productivity growth allows agricultural production to increase faster than demand; food has become much cheaper over time in spite of a rapidly growing world population …

The Economics Of Agricultural R&D, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, Jennifer S. James, Matthew A. Andersen

Agribusiness

Agricultural research has transformed agriculture and in doing so contributed to the transformation of economies. Economic issues arise because agricultural research is subject to various market failures, because the resulting innovations and technological changes have important economic consequences for net income and its distribution, and because the consequences are difficult to discern and attribute. Economists have developed models and measures of the economic consequences of agricultural R&D and related policies in contributions that relate to a very broad literature ranging across production economics, development economics, industrial organization, economic history, welfare economics, political economy, econometrics, and so on. A key general …

Economics And Policy Context For The Biological Management Of Soil Fertility (Bmsf) In Ethiopia, Habtamu T. Kassahun, Charles F. Nicholson, Dawit Solomon, Amy S. Collick, Tammo S. Steenhuis

Agribusiness

Many developing countries implement programs and policies to increase or maintain soil fertility, with the objectives of increased crop yields and decreased poverty. However, few countries give emphasis to the biological management of soil fertility (BMSF) compared to more traditional approaches. Ethiopia emphasizes the use synthetic fertilizers to increase food security and reduce poverty, with little attention to BMSF. This paper examines the long term fertilizer consumption and agricultural productivity response trend and discusses the potential for BMSF to promote agricultural productivity and reduce poverty in Ethiopia. The paper also discusses the Economics and Policy Context for BMSF for the …

Dynamic Market Impacts Of Generic Dairy Advertising, Charles F. Nicholson, Harry M. Kaiser

Agribusiness

Generic advertising of fluid milk and cheese represents the principal promotional activity undertaken with the $370 million per year provided by dairy farmers and fluid milk processors. This article describes a stock-flow-feedback simulation model that includes 17 intermediate and final dairy products, short-term and long-term milk supply response and government policies that influence the impacts of generic advertising on net revenues for dairy farmers. Permanent increases in generic advertising expenditures increase net revenues for dairy farmers, with a cumulative net benefit to cost ratio of 2.8. Permanent decreases produce a larger reduction in net revenues and indicate a net benefit …

Beware Of Radical Change: China’S Agrarian Revolution, John A. Donaldson, Forrest Q. Zhang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Agricultural R&D Policy: A Tragedy Of The International Commons, Jennifer S. James, Philip G. Pardey, Julian M. Alston

Agribusiness

Over the past 50 years public agricultural research has contributed enormously to humanity, enabling the supply of food to grow faster than demand in spite of a rapidly growing population, income growth, and shrinking natural resources. Nonetheless, in many countries we see waning public support for agricultural R&D, especially in Africa, a diversion of research resources from farm productivity towards other agendas, and early warning signs of a slowdown in agricultural productivity. The world has continued to collectively underinvest in agricultural R&D because of domestic and international market failures associated with appropriability problems. Governments have failed to effectively address these …

Pet Wine Bottles: Will Consumers Accept Them?, David Baird, Wayne Howard

Agribusiness

No Abstract

Applying Experimental Economics To Obesity In The Family Household, Mariah D. Ehmke, Travis Warziniack, Christiane Schroeter, Kari Morgan

Agribusiness

The objective of this study is to identify experimental economic tools that can be employed to explain the role of economic behavior in overweight and obesity in the household. We identify three economic experiments that can be used to understand how parent-child economic relationships relate to obesity. Loss aversion experiments are discussed as a tool to understand challenges some individuals face in achieving a healthy diet. Finally, testbed experiments are introduced as a means to test and understand new policies and incentives for better health at the household level.

Economic Factors And Body Weight: An Empirical Analysis, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson L. Lusk

Agribusiness

With this study, we investigate the effects of changes in economic factors on body weight by constructing a utility theoretic model. The model is empirically estimated by combining data on individuals’ body weight, demographic and physical activity information, and state level measures pertaining to the prices of food away from home, food at home, and wages. By combining these data sources, we aim to estimate directly the weight effects of price and income changes. The empirical analysis suggests that decreasing the price of food at home could decrease body weight, a finding which has important public policy implications.

Do College Students Learn By Correcting Missed Exam Questions?, Christiane Schroeter, Steven V. Green, Erin Bess

Agribusiness

This study determines the learning benefit of correcting missed exam questions. The results show that in addition to exams being an assessment tool, they can also be used as a tool for student learning. The availability of this information will provide help considering design, development, and improvement of traditional assessment methods for student learning.

On Changes In Rural China: The Rise Of Agrarian Capitalism And Dissolution Of The Peasantry In Contemporary China, Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

For decades, Mr. Hong and his family have toiled the ground of Dounan Village, an area of Yunnan Province that became well-known throughout China for the quality of its fresh vegetables. While Hong and his neighbors have, since the early 1980s, concentrated on the small plot of land that the state allocated to them, in recent years, Dounan village has begun producing vegetables in large enough scale to market to distant, wealthy coastal areas, bringing new-found prosperity to the area. After gaining experience producing vegetables both on the plot that the government allocated to his family, and on his neighbors’ …

Determining The Impact Of Food Price And Income Changes On Body Weight, Christiane Schroeter, Jayson Lusk, Wallace Tyner

Agribusiness

We develop a theoretical model to identify conditions under which price and income changes are most likely to change weight. Although it is intuitive that raising the price of high-calorie food will decrease consumption of such goods; it is not clear that such an outcome will actually reduce weight. Our empirical analysis demonstrates a case where a tax on food away from home, a food intake category blamed for much of the rise in obesity, could lead to an increase in body weight; a finding which emphasizes the need to employ economic modeling when developing public policy to reduce obesity.

Bargaining Rationale For Cooperative Generic Advertising, Jennifer S. James

Agribusiness

The beggar-thy-neighbour aspect of commodity advertising means that benefits to one commodity from advertising come at the expense of other commodities. The effect can be mitigated by cooperation among groups as shown by Alston, Freebairn and James (AFJ). A drawback to AFJ’s analysis is that some cooperative outcomes require side payments from one producer group to another. This paper offers a bargaining solution as an alternative to cooperation in the case where cooperative side payments would be needed. We show that while bargaining without side payments is not as effective as cooperation at reducing beggar-thy-neighbour effects, it is a welfare …

Effect Of Management Decisions On Farm And Household Outcomes In An Integrated Crop-Livestock Agro-Ecosystem In Yucatan, Mexico, David Parsons, Jerome H. Cherney, Charles F. Nicholson, Robert W. Blake, Quirine M. Ketterings, Luis Ramirez-Aviles, Luis O. Tedeschi

Agribusiness

Mixed farming systems are defined by Sere and Steinfeld (1996) as those in which more than 10% of the dry matter fed to livestock comes from crop by-products or stubble, and more than 10% of the value of production comes from non-livestock farming activities. More simply, they are systems where livestock rearing and crop cultivation are, to a greater or lesser extent, integrated components of one farming system. The more integrated systems are characterized by interdependency between crop and livestock activity, optimizing circulation of locally available nutrients. The less integrated systems are those in which crop and livestock activities make …

The Economic Impact Of The Stanislaus County Food Processing Industry And The Food Processing By-Products Use Program, Jay E. Noel, Sean P. Hurley, Jessica Bylsma

Agribusiness

In the late 1970’s, Stanislaus County recognized that there existed a potential issue with the disposal of food processing by-products. The concern at the time was that the disposal of the by-products could be handled in a more efficient manner that could benefit all interested stakeholders. In 1978, the county took a proactive stance on the issue and brought together a group of producers, UC extension representatives, management from local food processors, and other interested stakeholders to discuss better ways of handling the by-products that came from processing agricultural products. As a result of these discussions, Stanislaus County developed the …