Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Does The Federal Estate Tax Impact Farm Transition?, David J. Goeller

Cornhusker Economics

Statistics show that the Federal Estate Tax impacts an extremely small number of farms and ranches. A Congressional Budget Office report based on data from the year 2000 projects less than 125 estates that own agricultural property would pay Federal Estate Tax nation wide.

Labor Force Implications Of Population Decline In Non-Metropolitan Nebraska, Randolph L. Cantrell

Rural Initiative Program: Publications and Reports

The most recent release of population estimates from the Census Bureau indicates that 70 Nebraska counties lost population between 2000 and 2005. These counties included 52 of the 53 that recorded population losses between 1990 and 2000, joined by 18 counties that had grown through the 1990s.

While those counties estimated to have lost population over the last five years included three of 11 micropolitan core counties, eight of ten outlying microplitan counties, and even one of seven outlying metropolitan counties, the great majority were nonmetropolitan. Of the 43 Nebraska counties containing no community of 2,500 or more residents, 42 …

Intsormil Crsp: Sorghum, Millet And Other Grains Collaborative Research Support Program: Leader With Associates Cooperative Agreement No. Eep-A-00-06-0016-00; Award From The U.S. Agency For International Development To The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Joseph Schmidt

INTSORMIL Scientific Publications

Pursuant to the authority contained in the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) hereby awards to University of Nebraska - Lincoln (hereinafter referred to as the "Recipient"), the sum of $9,000,000.00 to provide support for a program in Sorghum, Millet, and Other Grains Collaborative Research Support Program as described in the Schedule of this award and in Attachment B, entitled "Program Description."

This Leader with Associates Cooperative Agreement is effective and obligation is made as of 09-30-2006 and shall apply to expenditures made by the Recipient in furtherance of program objectives during …

What Are The Market And Regulatory Conditions Under Which Livestock Mandatory Reporting Would Benefit Livestock Producers?, Azzeddine Azzam, Konstantinos Giannakas, Kenneth Njoroge, Amalia Yiannaka

Cornhusker Economics

On Wednesday, September 20, 2006, Senator Chuck Hagel’s office announced the re-authorization of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act. Enacted in 2001, the Act provides market participants with information on all cash and non-cash transactions reported by packers to the Marketing Service on a daily basis. The information is aggregated under specific confidentiality guidelines to preserve anonymity of the source, and published in the Mandatory Livestock and Meat Market News Reports.

Report Discusses Farm Policy Preferences, Bradley Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

The development of the next farm bill is a complex, comprehensive process that involves numerous issues. The process will, in part, be driven by the economic climate, the budget situation, the trade arena and the political setting at the time of the debate. The economic setting and the political setting invite a significant debate on the shape of the farm bill and the potential for new directions or alternatives. The budget setting and the trade setting both present challenges for this farm bill debate in terms of program priorities and potential program trade-offs.

Bioenergy, Safety Net Tools Are Producers’ Top Priorities For Next Farm Bill, Bradley Lubben, Mary Thompson

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

Bioenergy and the structure of safety net programs are of high interest to farmers and ranchers as the next farm bill is debated, according to more than 15,000 farmers and ranchers in 27 states surveyed by Farm Foundation’s National Public Policy Education Committee (NPPEC). The survey was released today as part of Farm Foundation's 2007 Farm Bill Forum.

Producers ranked renewable energy, enhancing opportunities for small and beginning farmers, and assuring a safe and affordable food supply as their top three goals for the next farm bill. “All the goals presented to producers to rank were decades-old rationales for farm …

Agricultural Earnings Highly Variable Over Time And By Sub-State Region, Bruce Johnson, Gibson Nene, Anneke Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

For anyone close to production agriculture it is obvious that income and earnings levels are highly fickle from one year to the next. This can be clearly seen in Nebraska’s year-to-year total net farm income levels over the past decade, which have ranged from a low of $813 million in 2002 to nearly $3.4 billion in 1996 and again in 2004. But what about variation across the sub-state regions? And what economic impacts might these variations have for these regional economies?

The Cost Of Reducing Irrigation, Ray Supalla, Brian Mcmullen, Tom Buell

Cornhusker Economics

For several decades Nebraska has proudly and appropriately regarded irrigation development as an important source of economic growth. However, in some parts of the state we now have too much of a good thing! To meet our Compact obligations to Kansas and Colorado in the Republican Basin and to comply with the proposed Cooperative Agreement for the Platte Basin we must find a way to consume less irrigation water. The cost of reducing irrigation and the equity implications will depend on what methods the state uses to achieve this objective.

The 2007 Farm Bill: U.S. Producer Preferences For Agricultural, Food And Public Policy, Bradley Lubben, Nelson L. Bills, James B. Johnson, James L. Novak

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The development of the next farm bill is a complex, comprehensive process that involves numerous issues. The process will, in part, be driven by the economic climate, the budget situation, the trade arena, and the political setting at the time of the debate. The economic setting and the political setting invite a significant debate on the shape of the farm bill and the potential for new directions or alternatives. The budget setting and the trade setting both present challenges for this farm bill debate in terms of program priorities and potential program trade-offs.

In this complex environment, understanding producer attitudes …

Adaptive Management, Economic Realities And The Platte River Cooperative Agreement, Karina Schoengold

Cornhusker Economics

In the past several years, the term ‘adaptive management’ has been used a lot with reference to the Platte River Cooperative Agreement. This leads to many questions – what exactly is adaptive management? How does it relate to economic and policy choices? How does it affect management choices made on the Platte River?

Reducing The Pace Of Global Warming: Can The Environmental Buyer Compete With The Climate Exchange In Buying Carbon Offsets?, Natalia Ovchinnikova, Gary D. Lynne

Cornhusker Economics

The term “global warming” was coined in 1896 by the Swedish chemist Svante August Arrhenius. He observed that as the consumption of hydrocarbon fuels and industrial production had grown over the years, the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gasses (GHG), mainly carbon dioxide (CO2, which accounts for 80 percent of these gasses), began to correlate with a global increase in temperature. There is now general agreement in the scientific community that it is the burning of these carbon containing fuels that is causing global warming. There are two means to combat this warming: first, to reduce CO2 emissions; second, to offset …

Economic And State Budget Cost Of Reducing The Consumptive Use Of Irrigation Water In The Platte And Republican Basins, Ray Supalla, Thomas V. Buell, Brian Mcmullen

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

The potential costs to irrigators, the state economy and the state budget were estimated for different methods of reducing consumptive use (CU) of irrigation water in the Platte and Republican Basins. The policy methods considered included: leased retirement of irrigated land using a willing buyer-willing seller approach; required land retirement with lease payments equal to actual producer losses; retirement of irrigated land by purchasing water rights using a willing buyer-willing seller approach; forced retirement of irrigated land with the purchase price equal to actual market value; allocation with 100 percent producer compensation; and allocation with 50 percent producer compensation. Both …

Farm Lease Termination, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Many farm leases, especially those between family members, are not written but are verbal "handshake" agreements. Because nothing is in writing, the parties may have different recollections of their agreement, making lease disputes more difficult to resolve. In legal terms, verbal farm leases in Nebraska may be either "year-to-year" leases or "holdover" leases. Holdover leases result when a written lease terminates but the landlord and tenant continue the lease with an oral agreement, either directly or implied, without entering into a new written lease. The most common legal issue associated with verbal farm leases is how a lease may legally …

What Makes An Efficient Farm?, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

It seems that answers to questions often bring more questions. It is certainly true for both my fouryear- old daughter and our study of efficient farms. Natalie’s favorite question is “Why?” and our studies seem to ask “How can they do that?”

A Long Run Of Profit, Al Prosch

Cornhusker Economics

According to data1 from Iowa State University, the longest run of profits for Iowa hog producers was from December of 1976 through August of 1979 (Chart 1). If hog prices continue as expected through October of 2006, that thirty-three month record will be broken. Already, this is the longest series of profitable months since the mid-1980s.

Western Nebraska Visitors Survey

Rural Initiative Program: Publications and Reports

During the months of September, 2005 through August, 2006 the Western Nebraska Tourism Coalition, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Rural Initiative and University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension conducted a survey of visitors to 16 counties in Western Nebraska.

The survey was designed to provide information related to the activities and experiences of tourists and other visitors to Western Nebraska, especially as related to the hospitality industry.

Livestock Gross Margin Insurance For Cattle, Josie Waterbury, Darrell R. Mark

Cornhusker Economics

Livestock Gross Margin Insurance (LGM) for Cattle is a relatively new insurance policy offered through USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) that offers protection against a decline in cattle feeding margins. LGM provides protection as a bundled option that comprehensively covers the cost of corn, the cost of feeder cattle and the fed cattle selling price, unlike traditional options on futures where these margin components must be hedged separately. Essentially, LGM provides insured producers an indemnity when the spread between fed cattle sales prices and feeder cattle and corn input prices narrows due to changing market conditions.

An Examination Of Farm Program Payments On Farm Economic Structure, Saleem Shaik, Glenn A. Helmers

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

System of input demand functions is estimated to examine the impact of farm program payments on farm economic structure. Influence of farm program payments on input resource use for the time periods corresponding to the thirteen farm bills in effect since 1938 is also examined. Empirical application to Nebraska agriculture sector for the period 1936-2004 indicate positive impact of farm program payments on farm real estate, breeding livestock and other inputs. Negative influence of farm program payment on the use of farm equipment, farm labor, farm inputs, chemicals and energy was observed during the same period.

The Relationship Of U.S. And Canadian Cull Cow Prices To Lean Beef Prices: A Dag Analysis, Dillon Feuz, Matthew C. Stockton, Suparna Bhattacharya

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

What is the price relationship between a cull cow in San Angelo, Texas, Sioux Falls, South Dakota and other major U.S. cull cow markets and those in Ontario or Alberta Canada? How are these prices impacted by the price for lean beef trimmings or the price of imported lean beef from Australia or New Zealand? What impact did the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in North America in 2003 have on these price relationships? Answers to these and other questions are the purpose of this paper.

Numerous market and price analysis studies exist on the fed cattle and feeder …

Blanding’S Turtle (Emydoidea Blandingii): A Technical Conservation Assessment, Justin D. Congdon, Douglas A. Keinath

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

Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are secure in Nebraska, and they range from being vulnerable to threatened, or endangered throughout most of the rest of their distribution. In Region 2, they have not been reported from Kansas, they are extremely rare in South Dakota, and they occupy wetlands in the northern half of Nebraska. The largest population known within the range of Blanding’s turtles is at Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska.

The core habitat of Blanding’s turtles has an aquatic component that consists of a permanent wetland and a suite of other, usually smaller and more temporary, wetlands such …

Should I Sell My Wheat?, Paul Burgener

Cornhusker Economics

At this time of year, the most common question that I get from producers is, “Should I sell my wheat?” For an extension economist, this is a loaded question. If my answer is yes, then the price will go up $0.30 per bushel next week and I will get another less pleasant call. If I say no, the price will go down $0.30 the next week, and I get to have another conversation.

Regulation And Trade Of Genetically Modified Products, Luc Veyssiere, Konstantinos Giannakas

Cornhusker Economics

The emergence of agricultural biotechnology and the subsequent introduction of genetically modified (GM) products into the food system have been among the most controversial issues surrounding the increasingly scrutinized agri-food system. While agricultural producers have responded to the agronomic benefits associated with the producer-oriented, first generation of GM products and have been adopting GM crops in increasing numbers, consumers around the world have expressed an aversion to food products containing GM ingredients. Consumer opposition to GM products varies significantly both between and within countries and is founded on health, environmental, ethical and/or philosophical concerns about agricultural biotechnology.

Market Reports

Cornhusker Economics

No abstract provided.

Drought Issues And Taxes, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

Even with the recent rains that have fallen across parts of Nebraska, drought continues to plague farmers and ranchers and always brings up the question of consequences to the tax bill.

Nebraska Custom Rates Changes From 2004 To 2006, H. Douglas Jose

Cornhusker Economics

The increase in machinery costs this year has created uncertainty about what are fair costs for custom services. Fuel costs certainly are a major factor, but the purchase or “sticker” prices of machinery and the repair costs have increased as well. Fuel costs have increased about 46 percent over the past two years since the last Custom Rates surveys were taken in the Spring of 2004. Over the same period, overhead costs which include taxes, interest and insurance went up 14 percent and labor costs increased 10 percent. These increases are measured by input cost indexes reported by USDA’s National …

Real Estate Assessment And Tax Breaks: Reality Or Myth?, Bruce Johnson

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska continues to be one of the highest states in terms of its dependency on property taxation for funding governmental functions. For agricultural real estate property owners, this tax can, and often does, become quite burdensome since it does not relate directly to the level of income earnings (off the land) or the benefits received (the majority of property tax obligations are for public schools and not propertyenhancing services like police and fire protection, roads/bridges, etc.). It is little wonder that rural citizens are particularly concerned about it.

Agricultural Disaster Assistance, Bradley Lubben

Cornhusker Economics

The U.S. Congress has been working on an emergency supplemental appropriations bill in recent weeks to provide funding for defense, the global war on terror, and additional hurricane relief in response to the lingering needs following the devastating set of hurricanes in 2005. Currently, the bill sits with a Conference Committee to resolve differences between versions passed in the Senate and in the House of Representatives. Expectations are that the bill will be completed before the end of June as funding for continued defense operations will become critical, but exactly what will be in the final version of the bill …

Big Box Stores: Their Impacts On The Economy And Tips For Competing, Sean Golden, Noel Jeutang, Ratikanta Pattaik, David I. Rosenbaum, Eric Thompson

Rural Initiative Program: Publications and Reports

This is a study in three parts: the general impact of Wal-Mart and big box stores on the economy; an empirical look at Wal-Mart’s impacts on 15 Nebraska communities; and a review of research on ways that local retailers can compete against big box stores.

Part one suggests that Wal-Mart has both positive and negative impacts on the economy. Wal-Mart helps increase productivity and causes consumer prices to fall. Further, a number of studies found that employment increased in communities that received a new Wal-Mart store. However, other studies found that entry of a Wal-Mart failed to lead to net …

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Developments 2005-2006, Bruce B. Johnson, Ben Blomendahl, Kyle Overturf

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Reports

Nebraska’s agricultural land values rose an average of 9.6 percent during the year ending February 1, 2006. This brought the state’s average all-land value to over $1,000 per acre and the total worth of agricultural real estate to more than $45 billion.

In the wake of a series of generally favorable income years for most of the state’s agricultural sector, land values have advanced rather sharply over the past three years – particularly in the eastern third of the state. The three eastern districts have experienced value increases of 40 percent or more since February 2003.

In contrast to these …

New Youth Entrepreneurship Curriculum On The Horizon, Marilyn R. Schlake, Charlotte Narjes, Patricia Fairchild

Cornhusker Economics

The Agricultural Economics Department at the University of NebraskaSLincoln is teaming up with UNL’s Extension 4-H Development Program to produce a youth entrepreneurship curricula that incorporates 4-H projects, entrepreneurship, schools and community.