Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

The Role Of Non-Parametric Approach In Adjusting Productivity Measures For Environmental Impacts, Saleem Shaik, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

This paper addresses the role of non-parametric analysis in adjusting agricultural productivity measures for environmental impacts. The modified Tornquist-Theil index computed using shadow prices derived from the programming procedures is compared and contrasted with a nonparametric hyperbolic Malmquist index for the case of Nebraska agriculture.

Testing The Impact Of Corporate Farming Laws On Hog Industry Growth: A Partial Adjustment Approach, Holger Matthey, Jeffrey S. Royer

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

This paper analyzes the impact of corporate restrictions on the growth of the Nebraska hog industry. It utilizes a partial adjustment model to test the hypothesis that the restrictions hamper the development of the state's hog industry. The results support the argument that the regulations have slowed the growth of the Nebraska hog industry.

Welfare Differences Between Gross Water Pumped And Consumptive Use As Alternative Policy Control Variables To Meet Aquifer Management Objectives, Osei-Ageyman Yeboah, Ray Supalla, Derrel L. Martin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

The welfare cost of using gross water pumped instead of consumptive use as a control variable to meet consumptive use goal was estimated for Southwestern Nebraska. Crop simulation models for corn, grain sorghum, wheat and soybeans were estimated by EPIC. The models were then optimized for profit maximization under each irrigation scenario where groundwater is constrained through successive reductions. The results indicate that the social cost of reducing consumptive use is substantially overstated when using gross water pumped instead of consumptive use as the control variable, with the percentage difference declining as the size of the reduction increases. For example, …

Non-Parametric Environmental Adjusted Productivity [Eap] Measures: Nebraska Agriculture Sector, Saleem Shaik, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

Traditional total factor productivity [TFP] misrepresents the true change in agricultural productivity to the extent that environmental bads jointly produced with desirable outputs are unaccounted. Nonparametric productivity measures incorporating environmental bads are evaluated for Nebraska agriculture. The results indicate that prior to the 1980's the traditional TFP measures overstate productivity growth while it is underestimated afterwards, reflecting peak use of chemicals.

The World Food And Agricultural Situation - A U.S. Perspective, Clayton K. Yeutter

Clayton K. Yeutter, United States Secretary of Agriculture: Papers

It is a pleasure to be here in Minnesota at this year's Global Food and Agriculture Summit. And it is a special pleasure to share the podium today with lots of long-time friends, many of whom have forever been associated with American agriculture. would like to focus today on what kind of future might be ahead of us all as we contemplate the excitement of entering a new century. As we look back, we can only conclude that the 20th century was mighty exciting too, and assuredly challenging from an agricultural policy standpoint.

The Value Of Additional Central Flyway Wetlands: The Case Of Nebraska's Rainwater Basin Wetlands, P. Joan Poor

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Waterfowl habitat is a biological resource which is neither bought nor sold in the traditional market sense. Nebraska, which is situated near the center of the North American Central Flyway, contains unique wetland habitat. Recognizing this, resource managers working in Nebraska promote regulatory protection of such areas. This study found that Nebraskans positively value their state's Rainwater Basin wetland region in that they are willing to pay to have it maintained and expanded. In addition, this study demonstrates how this value was estimated and illustrates how such a value can assist in policy decisions regarding habitat acquisition programs.

Book Review: Pigs, Profits, And Rural Communities, Edited By Kendall M. Thu And E. Paul Durrenberger, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Early in their introductory comments, the editors of this book claim that they “are not political activists and that [they] neither promote nor defend industrial agriculture based on any political agenda” (p. 4). Industrial agriculture, as understood in this book, includes large corporations, vertically integrated firms, multinationals, and anything else that seems to differ from what might be thought of as a traditional family farm. The editors suggest that their goal is to provide objective assessments of one example of industrial agriculture, large-scale hog confinement operations. However, as the introduction progresses, strange things seem to happen to this perfectly sensible …

Testing For Input And Output Separability In Nebraska Agriculture Sector, Saleem Shaik, Glenn A. Helmers

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

Traditionally the role of separability in system of demand functions has been the subject of numerous analyses, with few directed toward systems of supply functions. Separability an important property of production, confirms the existence of aggregation in variables and the decentralization of decision making. Separability implies that marginal rates of substitution between pair of inputs (outputs) in the separated group are independent of the levels of inputs (outputs) outside the group.

Weak separability in the estimation of a systems of demand functions was first explored by Sono(196 1) and Leontief(1947) to deal with aggregation problems in consumer and producer theory …

Effect Of Risk Perception On Willingness To Pay For Improved Water Quality, Renu Sukharomana, Ray Supalla

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

Groundwater quality improvement benefits for Nebraska were estimated using both contingent valuation (CV) and averting expenditures (AE) methods. Willingness to pay (WTP) and averting expenditures were measured based on a mail survey of 4,000 randomly selected Nebraska households that was conducted in mid October 1997. A double-bounded referendum format was used to elicit WTP for water quality improvements. The questionnaire also solicited information on the socioeconomic factors hypothesized to influence WTP and averting expenditures, including: risk perceptions, age, level of education, income, length of stay in Nebraska, source of water supply, opinions regarding who should pay for water quality programs, …

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Developments 1997-98, Bruce B. Johnson

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Reports

Nebraska's 47 million acres of agricultural real estate is currently valued at nearly $35 billion, averaging more than $700 per acre. Only four other states have a higher-valued farm real estate base.

The value of agricultural land in Nebraska rose an average of 8.6 percent during the year ending February 1, 1998. Based upon the annual UNL Farm Real Estate Market Survey series, this represented the 11th consecutive year of value increases for the state's all-land average.

The three districts which comprise the eastern third of the state experienced the largest percentage gains in all land values, approaching 10 percent …

Agricultural Productivity In Developing Countries, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper examines changes in agricultural productivity in 18 developing countries over the period 1961-1985. We use a nonparametric, output-based Malmquist index and a parametric variable coeficients Cobb-Douglas production function to examine, whether our estimates confirm results from other studies that have indicated declining agricultural productivity in LDCs. The results confirm previous findings, indicating that at least half of these countries have experienced productivity declines in agriculture.

Externalities From Roaming Livestock: Explaining The Demise Of The Open Range, Terence J. Centner, Ronald C. Griffin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Fence-in laws in most states require ranchers to pay for fences to keep their livestock from trespassing onto others' property. Some states, or jurisdictions within states, have a fence-out rule that requires ranchers' neighbors to pay for fences to keep livestock out. Both rules are Pareto optimal. Using a potential Pareto criterion, we show that a preference for fence-out in some areas may end as conditions change, such as increased nonranching land uses. Changed conditions may have legal consequences. Specific fence-out and fence cost-sharing provisions may be potentially Pareto inefficient and may be challenged for being unconstitutional under the due …

Facing A Watershed: Managing Profitable And Sustainable Landscapes In The 21st Century, Heidi Carter, Richard Olson, Charles A. Francis

CARI Extension and Education Materials for Sustainable Agriculture

Overview of Freshwater Use, Introduction to Watershed Management, and a Watershed Management Plan

Group Dynamics in Designing and Implementing a Watershed Management Plan

Information Sources for Watershed Management

Conservation Buffers and Riparian Management

Farmland Protection, Green Corridors, and Suburban Sprawl

Information Sources for Sustainable Agriculture and Sustainable Agriculture Education

Ldc Agriculture: Non-Parametric Malmquist Productivity Indexes, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Agricultural productivity in 41 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries from 1960 to 1999 is examined by estimating a semi-nonparametric Fourier production frontier. Over the four decades the estimated rate of productivity change was 0.83% per year, although the average rate from 1985-99 was a strong 1.90% per year. Former UK colonies exhibited significantly higher productivity gains than others, while Liberia and countries that had been colonies of Portugal or Belgium exhibited net reductions in productivity. We measure a significant reduction in productivity during political conflicts and wars, and a significant increase in productivity among those countries with higher levels of political …

Platte River Basin Study, Report To The Western Water Policy Review Advisory Committee, Leo Eisel, J. David Aiken

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This 1997 report analyzes water use conflicts between water supply and endangered species within the Platte River Basin in Colorado and Nebraska. It is a background report for the 1998 report, Water in the West, the final report of the Western Water Policy Review Commission.

Defining The Financial Capacity Of Rural Communities To Meet Sewer And Water Needs, Ray Supalla, Saeed Ahmad

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

The relative ability of rural communities to pay for sewer and water systems was analyzed. It was found that median household income, as currently used for many grant programs, is a poor measure of relative need. An alternative approach using measures of wealth and income distribution was developed.

The Value Of Additional Central Flyway Wetlands In Nebraska’S Rainwater Basin Wetland Region, Joan Poor

Department of Agricultural Economics: Presentations, Working Papers, and Gray Literature

Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin wetland region is recognized internationally as a significant wetland complex for migratory waterfowl habitat. A contingent valuation study was undertaken to determine Nebraskan’s willingness-to-pay for government acquisition/management programs for this resource. The study consisted of a double bounded referendum format. A censored regression model was utilized for data analysis.

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Developments 1996-97, Bruce B. Johnson, Bart Miller

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Reports

Agricultural real estate values in Nebraska rose an average of 7.6 percent during the year ending February 1, 1997, with the all-land average value climbing to $654 per acre. This represented the tenth consecutive year of value increases, but the percentage increase was the largest for the all-state average since 1988. The basis of these findings is the UNL Farm Real Estate Market Survey now in its 20th year.

Land value increases occurred across the entire state, although largest gains were associated with cropland in the predominantly cash-grain areas. A combination offavorable crop prices, good yields in 1996, and transition …

Integrating Agroforestry Into Usda Programs: A Task Force Report To The Usda Interagency Working Group On Agroforestry, W. J. Rietveld, James P. Lassoie, Charles A. Francis, William Farris, Catalino Blanche, Bruce Wight

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The task force collected and synthesized infonnation and recommended actions to develop the potential of agroforestry to help attain USDA sustainable development goals.

Productivity Measurement In The Presence Of "Poorly Priced" Goods, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Young (1995) estimated Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea. He reported moderate growth rates for these four regions. This means that rapid growth of GDP in these four economies is due mainly to fast increase of inputs. Young (2000) also estimated the TFP growth rate of China to be 1.4% per year during the period of 1978 to 1998. Similar to his claim for the four 'Asian Tigers', he concluded that 'the productivity performance of the non-agricultural economy (of China) during the reform period is respectable, but not outstanding.' China's real GDP grew …

Färe, Rolf, Shauna Grosskopf. Intertemporal Production Frontiers With Dynamic Dea. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996, 208 Pp., Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This work is a natural succesor for Färe and Grosskopf's previous titles. It's main contribution is...

Irrigation Management Practices In Nebraska, Ray Supalla, William Miller, Benedict Juliano

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Farmers have adopted a variety of new irrigation practices and technologies in recent years. These practices generally have led to better yields per unit of applied water, reduced labor, improved profits, and have often produced positive environmental impacts. Environmental improvements result from irrigation practices which reduce runoff or deep percolation below the root zone, hence reducing surface and groundwater pollution from pesticides and fertilizer.

Recently, a mail survey was sent to 5,000 irrigators in Nebraska, resulting in 898 useable returns. This survey provided information on how irrigators decided when to irrigate and how they determined the amount of water applied. …

The Change From Red To White Meat: The Role Of Technology, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Since 1950, the composition of the U.S. meat diet has shifted markedly from red meats to poultry. For example, from 1970 to 1984, on a percapita basis, beef consumption has declined by 6.4 percent, while chicken and turkey consumptions have increased by 37.9, and 42.5 percent respectively (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1985). The numerous studies of this phenomenon from the demand side (Chavas, 1983; Braschler, 1983; Nyankori and Miller, 1982; Moschini and Meilke, 1984; Wohlgenant, 1985, Thurman, 1987; Chalfant and Alston, 1988) have failed to achieve a consensus as to whether a change in taste contributed to this shift. One …

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Developments 1995-96, Bruce B. Johnson, Bart Miller

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Reports

Nebraska's agricultural land values generally moved upward during the year ending February 1, 1996; although variation was rather pronounced. For the state as a whole, the increase averaged 4.5 percent and represented the ninth straight year of value increases.

Cropland values were higher throughout the state as crop commodity prices pushed to 20-year highs by the end of 1995. Dryland cropland values generally rose 5 to 6 percent, with gains of 9 percent recorded in the East District of the state. Gravity irrigated land rose an average of 5 percent while center pivot irrigated land values rose over 7 percent …

An Allais Measure Of Production Sector Waste Due To Quotas, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

In this paper we adapt a partial equilibrium approach of Allais and Diewert to measure the efficiency loss in the producing sector due to quotas. The measure of waste is the additional profits available due to reallocation subject to constraints that the welfare of persons and firms outside the sector is unaffected. An example is presented using the tobacco quota program in the U.S.

Obligations And Penalties Under Lemon Laws: Automobiles Versus Tractors, Terence J. Centner, Michael E. Wetzstein

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Distinctive new provisions of tractor lemon laws which create obligations and provide penalties for defective self-propelled agricultural equipment are contrasted with provisions of automobile lemon laws. Lemon-law obligations involve both producers' guarantees to provide consumers with a serviceable vehicle and producers' promises to remedy defects. Due to fewer manufacturer obligations under the tractor lemon laws as opposed to automobile lemon laws, tractors may be expected to have more defects than automobiles. Yet the tractor lemon laws contain fewer penalties in the form of restitution remedies. The inconsistences of these obligations and penalties suggest tractor laws may be inefficient.

Almost Ideal Area Yield Crop Insurance Contracts, Vincent H. Smith, Hayley H. Chouinard, Alan E. Baquet

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Using yield data for a sample of 123 dryland wheat producers in Montana, the effects of three area yield contracts, including the contract currently offered by the United States Federal Crop Insurance Corporation and two individual yield contracts on individual farm yield variability, are examined. The results indicate that while the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation area yield contract provides all farmers in the sample with some protection against yield variability, a simpler, actuarially equivalent “almost ideal” area yield contract provides substantially larger reductions in yield variability. However, actuarially equivalent individual yield contracts provide levels of protection against yield variability similar …

Interventions And Production Sector Waste In Ldc Agriculture, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Recent studies have revealed that less developed countries (LDCs) have been taxing their agricultural sectors at rates of 40-50%. This study uses quantity-based general equilibrium measures of deadweight loss to evaluate the cost of these distortions in 18 of these countries. The Allais-Debreu loss measures indicate that from 7–16% of either output or of the agricultural resource base has been wasted due to the associated misallocation of agricultural inputs across these countries. Agriculture is heavily taxed in less developed countries (LDCs), with combined direct and indirect tax rates of 40 to 50% being common. These levels of intervention surely have …

Policy Perspectives And Future Directions: A View From A Former U.S. Trade Representative, Clayton K. Yeutter

Clayton K. Yeutter, United States Secretary of Agriculture: Papers

Tom Donahue expressed very well where we as a nation and we as a world should go on the worker rights issue. I'm going to spend most of my time focusing on how we get there, if we really want to accomplish something. Many countries would prefer not to have worker rights in the GATT at all. When we went to Punta del Este in 1986 to begin the Uruguay Round, the United States was a minority of one in trying to get the worker rights issue on the agenda in any way, shape, or form.

Ec94-872-S Nebraska Crop Budgets, Roger Selley, Larry Bitney, Richard T. Clark, Daryl E. Ellis, H. Doug Jose, Dale Kabes, Robert Klein, Raymond E. Massey, Timothy A. Powell

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Historical Materials

Resource Persons • Crops Budgeting Procedure • Prices Used for 1994

Panhandle • Gravity Irrigated Crops • Sugar Beets • Dry Edible Beans • Corn for Grain • Corn for Silage • Establish Alfatfa with Oats • Alfalfa Hay Gravity Irrigated • Center Pivot Irrigated Crops • Sugar Beets • Dry Edible Beans • Corn for Grain • Winter Wheat • Alfalfa Hay • Non-Irrigated Crops • Winter Wheat Stubble Much Fallow • Winter Wheat, Eco-Fallow (Chemical and Tillage Combination) • Sunflower, Wheat-Sunflower-Fallow Rotation • Millet, Wheat, Fallow, Millet, Fallow

Southwest • Corn for Grain, Gravity Irrigated • Corn for …