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Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

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Full-Text Articles in Agricultural and Resource Economics

Institutions And Agricultural Productivity In Mercosur, Preeti Bharati, Lilyan Fulginiti Oct 2007

Institutions And Agricultural Productivity In Mercosur, Preeti Bharati, Lilyan Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We revisit earlier estimates of agricultural productivity in original Mercosur member countries and later associates: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, for 1972-2002. We estimate a translog frontier production function and revise our earlier estimates as well as those of others that indicated declining agricultural productivity. We find that the average rate for the region was a strong 2.25 percent. All the member countries experienced positive agricultural productivity growth for the sample period with Brazil being the fastest gainer. Institutions such as investments in public health and in public agricultural R&D, as well as an …

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Intellectual Property Institutions For Plant Breeding, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan Fulginiti Oct 2007

Intellectual Property Institutions For Plant Breeding, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Intellectual property rights for crop plant material should in principle increase social welfare by increasing private research investments to a level closer to the social optimum. In the US, plant patents were first introduced in 1930 by legislation that applied only to asexually reproduced plants. This was followed in 1970 by the weaker plant breeders' rights legislation (PBR) for sexually reproduced plants. Judicial decisions in 1980 and 1985, however, extended much stronger utility patent protection to plant materials. Here we examine theoretical welfare implications of weak PBR vs strong utility patents in a North-South context of technology transfer in agriculture …

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Accounting For Taiwan Gdp Growth: Parametric And Nonparametric Estimates, Ling Sun, Lilyan Fulginiti May 2007

Accounting For Taiwan Gdp Growth: Parametric And Nonparametric Estimates, Ling Sun, Lilyan Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of changes in prices of tradables on economic growth in a highly open economy, Taiwan. We do so by measuring productivity growth with both index number and parametric approaches, and identifying the sources of output growth using a methodology that allows the impacts of changes in the terms of trade to be accounted for. The results show that Taiwan’s economic growth depends on inputs accumulation as well as technical progress with the terms-of-trade effect being negligible.

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The Economic Impact Of Ethanol Production In Hall County, David J. Peters May 2007

The Economic Impact Of Ethanol Production In Hall County, David J. Peters

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This analysis estimates the economic impact of a 110 million gallon dry-mill ethanol plant in Hall County. The facility is operated by BioFuel Energy LLC and is currently under construction in Wood River. This analysis looks at both the construction and operation impacts of this facility.

Hall County, including Wood River, is part of the Grand Island Micropolitan Statistical Area. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has over 55,000 residents, and has grown by nearly four percent in the last decade. Over 80 percent of the adult population has a high school education, and nearly 16 percent have …

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Accounting For Agricultural Decline With Economic Growth In Taiwan, Ling Sun, Lilyan Fulginiti, E. Wesley F. Peterson Jan 2007

Accounting For Agricultural Decline With Economic Growth In Taiwan, Ling Sun, Lilyan Fulginiti, E. Wesley F. Peterson

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

In this paper, we develop an empirical model to decompose the evolution of the agricultural share of GDP into three components: price changes, factor endowment changes and technological change. Our results suggest that relative prices have a positive but small influence on the share of agriculture in GDP in both the long-run and the short-run. An increase in capital per unit of labor, on the other hand, is associated with a smaller agricultural share. Technical change has been biased in favor of the agricultural sector but this effect has been swamped by the magnitude of the input effects, in particular, …

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Book Review: The Nature Of The Farm: Contracts, Risk, And Organization In Agriculture By Douglas W. Allen And Dean Lueck, Azzeddine Azzam Jan 2007

Book Review: The Nature Of The Farm: Contracts, Risk, And Organization In Agriculture By Douglas W. Allen And Dean Lueck, Azzeddine Azzam

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The conventional wisdom about the future of family farming in North America is that it is a bleak one. Like any other family firms, family farms are not immune to industrialization and eventually all stages of food production will be in the hands of large corporations. The poultry industry has become the poster-industry for the corporate take-over of food production and the guide to what is in store for the rest of agriculture. That, among other theories about organizational features of North American agriculture, is closely examined by Allen and Lueck’s Nature of the Farm—Contracts, Risk, and Organization in Agriculture. …

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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 Sep 2006

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 …

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Public Inputs And Dynamic Producer Behavior: Endogenous Growth In U.S. Agriculture, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Alejandro Onofri Feb 2006

Public Inputs And Dynamic Producer Behavior: Endogenous Growth In U.S. Agriculture, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Alejandro Onofri

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper is an attempt to understand the impact of public R&D and public infrastructure on the performance of the U.S. agricultural sector during the last part of the twentieth century. A neoclassical Solow growth model is not sufficient for this understanding given the sustained growth performance of the sector. We base our analysis on a well known endogenous growth model, the 'AK model' where nonconvexities are introduced through non-rival inputs. Based on these models and within the dynamic models that rationalize private and public decision making, we have identified three testable hypotheses regarding the aggregate agricultural production technology. They …

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Strategic Labeling And Trade Of Gmos, Luc Veyssiere, Konstantinos Giannakas Jan 2006

Strategic Labeling And Trade Of Gmos, Luc Veyssiere, Konstantinos Giannakas

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The emergence of agricultural biotechnology and the subsequent introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the food system have been among the most controversial issues surrounding the increasingly scrutinized agri-food system. They have received considerable attention in the economics literature with the main focus being on the optimal regulatory response to products of biotechnology. This paper builds on the literature on the regulation of products of biotechnology by placing the analysis of labeling decisions in a multi-country context. Specifically, the objective of this study is to examine the effect of the strategic interdependence between countries on their regulatory responses to …

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Hydrologically-Connected Ground Water, Section 858, And The Spear T Ranch Decision, J. David Aiken Jan 2006

Hydrologically-Connected Ground Water, Section 858, And The Spear T Ranch Decision, J. David Aiken

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This 2006 Nebraska Law Review articles analyzies the 2005 Nebraska Supreme Court decision of Spear T Ranch v. Knaub in which the court adopts section 858 of the the Restatement of Torts (2d) as the judicial rule for resolving conflicts between competing users of surface water and hydrologically-connected ground water.

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Target Markets For Grain And Cotton Marketing Consultants And Market Information Systems, Oscar Vergara, Keith H. Coble, Darren Hudson, George F. Patrick, Thomas O. Knight, Alan Baquet Apr 2005

Target Markets For Grain And Cotton Marketing Consultants And Market Information Systems, Oscar Vergara, Keith H. Coble, Darren Hudson, George F. Patrick, Thomas O. Knight, Alan Baquet

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This paper examines the use of market consultants and market information systems by grain and cotton producers. A model of producer demand for marketing information and consultants is proposed that decomposes price received into exogenous and endogenous components. The analysis is based on a survey of over 1,600 producers. The results suggest that expenditures on market information systems and market consultants are not independent and, more specifically, expenditures on marketing consultants substitute for expenditures on market information systems.

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Forward Pricing Behavior Of Corn And Soybean Producers, Todd Davis, George Patrick, Keith Coble, Thomas Knight, Alan Baquet Apr 2005

Forward Pricing Behavior Of Corn And Soybean Producers, Todd Davis, George Patrick, Keith Coble, Thomas Knight, Alan Baquet

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Forward pricing behavior of random samples of Indiana, Nebraska, and Mississippi crop producers was analyzed using Heckman's two-step limited information maximum likelihood estimation procedure. Producers who forward priced during the 1995-1998 period generally expected to forward price in 1999 using similar techniques. Probit models were estimated for cash forward contracts and taking a direct position in futures or options separately and combined. Results provide limited support for the hypothesis that forward pricing should be analyzed as an adoption decision. Variables reflecting risk attitudes do affect the decision to use forward pricing, while variables related to economic position affect the level …

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Productivity And Welfare, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin Feb 2005

Productivity And Welfare, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Technical change is generally characterized by a rate and biases, both evaluated for given producer prices. This paper examines the potential discrepancy between this rate and the corresponding rate of consumer welfare change as measured by Allais distributable surplus. We postulate a general equilibrium context with various market failures (taxes, quotas, imperfect competition, and “poorly priced” commodities), and use comparative statics to express the rate of welfare change in terms of the rate and biases of the technical change. An elementary simulation model of a taxed economy suggests that the rate of welfare change may differ from the rate of …

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Symposium Paper: Economic And Tax Implications For Managing Beef Replacement Heifers, R. T. Clark, K. W. Creighton, H. H. Patterson, T. N. Barrett Jan 2005

Symposium Paper: Economic And Tax Implications For Managing Beef Replacement Heifers, R. T. Clark, K. W. Creighton, H. H. Patterson, T. N. Barrett

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Sustainable cowherds require replacement of cull cows either internally via raised heifers or externally with purchased females. Managing raised replacements begins with a weaned heifer calf and continues on through her second pregnancy and calving. Replacement costs were estimated from research conducted in Nebraska for spring-calving cowherds and included the opportunity cost of the heifer calf. The analysis, based on research data, showed that heifer development programs targeted to 50 to 55% of mature BW (MBW) at first breeding can be successful, challenging the traditional target of 65% of MBW at first breeding. The lower BW programs achieved …

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Understanding The Economic Factors Influencing Farm Policy Preferences, Keith H. Coble, Thomas O. Knight, George F. Patrick, Alan E. Baquet Dec 2004

Understanding The Economic Factors Influencing Farm Policy Preferences, Keith H. Coble, Thomas O. Knight, George F. Patrick, Alan E. Baquet

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

A survey conducted in Mississippi, Texas, Indiana, and Nebraska elicited producers’ preferences for various farm policy changes. This permitted examination of the diversity of preferences that single-state studies have not allowed. Five policy choices, including deficiency payments, loan programs, crop insurance, export programs, and disaster payments were examined. Logit model results predicting producer preferences for each of the five dichotomous policy choices are reported. Explanatory variables based on expected utility theory such as risk aversion, price and yield variability, and price–yield correlation are significant in various models.

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Farm Income Variability And The Supply Of Off-Farm Labor By Limited-Resource Farmers, Oscar Vergara, Keith H. Coble, George F. Patrick, Thomas O. Knight, Alan Baquet Aug 2004

Farm Income Variability And The Supply Of Off-Farm Labor By Limited-Resource Farmers, Oscar Vergara, Keith H. Coble, George F. Patrick, Thomas O. Knight, Alan Baquet

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

We study the relationship between the off-farm labor decision and the limited-resource farmers' and spouses' off-farm wages, experience, education, and sources of income. We found that farmers' and spouses' off-farm experience and wages are significant factors in explaining the off-farm labor supply decision. Contrary to expectations, farm income variability is not significant in the farmers' and spouses' decision to seek off-farm work. The off-farm labor supply of farmers and their spouses is negatively correlated with income transfers from the government. It was also found that the spouse is a residual supplier of on-farm and off-farm labor.

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Nebraska Feedyard Labor Cost Benchmarks And Historical Trends, Rik R. Smith, Darrell R. Mark Jun 2004

Nebraska Feedyard Labor Cost Benchmarks And Historical Trends, Rik R. Smith, Darrell R. Mark

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Cattle feedyards in Nebraska were surveyed in April 2004 to determine costs of labor for various production and administrative employees. Fifty-nine feedyards, with an average size of 9,473 head, provided levels of salaries, benefits and bonuses paid to their employees, and the number of employees in several job-function categories. Results of the survey indicate that the average total compensation (salary, benefits, and bonuses) for feedyard managers was more than $66,000 per year, but it varied substantially by feedyard size. Total compensation to other supervisor categories of labor, including assistant manager, yard foreman, mill foreman, and maintenance foreman, averaged in the …

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Effects Of Replacement Rate On Cow Herd Budget, Darrell R. Mark, Richard J. Rasby Jan 2004

Effects Of Replacement Rate On Cow Herd Budget, Darrell R. Mark, Richard J. Rasby

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Cattle inventory numbers and cow herd size vary cyclically over time. Historically, cattle cycles have lasted about 10 years. However, the most recent cycle is in its 15th year (1990 to 2004) as a result of an eight-year period of liquidation caused by multi-year drought in many western states. In 2004 and 2005, many cow-calf producers will likely begin to rebuild their cow herd in response to improved profit projections and drought relief. Purchasing bred heifers or young cows will be an option for some producers; others will likely choose to retain additional females from within their own herd. While …

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Cotton Producers’ Choice Of Marketing Techniques, Oscar Vergara, Keith H. Coble, Thomas O. Knight, George F. Patrick, Alan Baquet Jan 2004

Cotton Producers’ Choice Of Marketing Techniques, Oscar Vergara, Keith H. Coble, Thomas O. Knight, George F. Patrick, Alan Baquet

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

A survey of cotton producers was conducted in Mississippi and Texas. The econometric model consists of a multinomial logit model of cotton producers’ choice of marketing techniques. The results indicate that cotton acres positively influence pooling and negatively influence cash sales. Producers willing to incur higher transaction costs in market information systems and training tend to choose futures/options contracts and forward pricing. It was found that risk-averse producers tend not to choose pooling contracts. On the other hand, producers who seek abnormal gains through speculation tend to choose pooling contracts. Finally, producers who perceive markets as being price-efficient prefer cash …

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Captive Supplies And Cash Market Prices For Fed Cattle: The Role Of Delivery Timing Incentives, John R. Schroeter, Azzeddine Azzam Jan 2004

Captive Supplies And Cash Market Prices For Fed Cattle: The Role Of Delivery Timing Incentives, John R. Schroeter, Azzeddine Azzam

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The use of non-cash methods of procuring fed cattle for slaughter has led to concern about the effect of these so-called “captive” supplies on cash market prices. Some empirical evidence suggests that there is a negative short-run relationship between the two: Cash market prices tend to be low in weeks in which captive supply shipments are high. We advance a different perspective on the relationship between captive deliveries and cash prices, arguing that the incentives that influence cattle delivery-scheduling decisions could lead to a negative relationship, not between the contemporaneous levels of captive shipments and price, but between the volume …

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Institutions And Agricultural Productivity In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin, Yu Bingxin Jan 2004

Institutions And Agricultural Productivity In Sub-Saharan Africa, Lilyan E. Fulginiti, Richard K. Perrin, Yu Bingxin

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 …

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Case Study: To Replace Or Not To Replace: Determining Optimal Replacement Rates In Beef Cattle Operations, W. S. Mackay, J. C. Whittier, T. G. Field, W. J. Umberger, R. B. Teichert, D. M. Feuz Jan 2004

Case Study: To Replace Or Not To Replace: Determining Optimal Replacement Rates In Beef Cattle Operations, W. S. Mackay, J. C. Whittier, T. G. Field, W. J. Umberger, R. B. Teichert, D. M. Feuz

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Data from a Nebraska cattle ranch were used to compare three female replacement strategies to determine optimal replacement and marketing strategies of females for maximizing the long-term profit potential of that operation. The income statement model (ISM) maximized 10-yr net income by altering the number of females marketed from different age categories depending on price changes influenced by the cattle cycle. The net present value (NPV) model maximized 5-yr herd NPV by adjusting the number of marketed females. The NPV vs the net market value (NMV) model maximized the 5-yr difference between herd NPV …

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The Western Common Law Of Tributary Groundwater: Implications For Nebraska, J. David Aiken Jan 2004

The Western Common Law Of Tributary Groundwater: Implications For Nebraska, J. David Aiken

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This 2004 Nebraska Law Review article reviews the historical development of the tributary ground water doctrine under English and American common law, and its judicial reception in the western United States, and analyzes its suitability for adoption by the Nebraska Supreme Court.

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Analysis Of Beef Producers’ Risk Management Perceptions And Desire For Further Risk Management Education, David C. Hall, Thomas O. Knight, Keith H. Coble, Alan E. Baquet, George F. Patrick Dec 2003

Analysis Of Beef Producers’ Risk Management Perceptions And Desire For Further Risk Management Education, David C. Hall, Thomas O. Knight, Keith H. Coble, Alan E. Baquet, George F. Patrick

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Beef cattle producers were surveyed in Texas and Nebraska to investigate perceptions of sources of risk, the effectiveness of risk management strategies, and interest in further risk management education, particularly production risk, using probit analysis. Important decision variables identified are age, prior use of risk management tools, previous attendances of risk management education, and risk aversion. Severe drought and cattle price variability are identified as primary risk factors with potential to affect farm income. Extremely cold weather and disease are of less importance. Understocking pasture and storing hay are perceived most effective as risk management options.

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Extension Educators' Perceptions Of Risk Management Training Needs, Steven W. Martin, Oscar Vergara, George F. Patrick, Keith H. Coble, Thomas O. Knight, Alan Baquet Aug 2003

Extension Educators' Perceptions Of Risk Management Training Needs, Steven W. Martin, Oscar Vergara, George F. Patrick, Keith H. Coble, Thomas O. Knight, Alan Baquet

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Risk management is a key issue for farmers and also receives significant national and local political attention. Because much of the outreach in this area is delivered through the Cooperative Extension Service, research on how Extension educators perceive their clients' needs and their own demand for additional training is important for educational programming.

The Risk Management Agency (RMA) and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) initiated a risk management education competitive grants program during 1998. The information reported here is partial output from one of the surveys conducted by …

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Tough Love: Optimal Enforcement Of Output Quotas In The Presence Of Cheating, Konstantinos Giannakas, Murray Fulton Apr 2003

Tough Love: Optimal Enforcement Of Output Quotas In The Presence Of Cheating, Konstantinos Giannakas, Murray Fulton

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This study builds on the literature on the economics of output quotas in the presence of cheating. We extend previous work by Giannakas and Fulton (2000a) by examining the decisions of the agency responsible for the enforcement of output quotas in a decentralized policy-making structure. Enforcement policy design is modeled as a sequential game between the agency that determines the enforcement of the quota program (designed by a regulator), and farmers who make production decisions. Analytical results show that the level of enforcement depends on the size of the enforcement costs and the political preferences of the enforcement agency - …

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Costly (Dis)Agreement: Optimal Intervention, Income Redistribution, And Transfer Efficiency Of Output Quotas In The Presence Of Cheating, Konstantinos Giannakas, Murray Fulton Apr 2003

Costly (Dis)Agreement: Optimal Intervention, Income Redistribution, And Transfer Efficiency Of Output Quotas In The Presence Of Cheating, Konstantinos Giannakas, Murray Fulton

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

This study builds on previous work by Giannakas and Fulton (2003, 2000) on the economics of output quotas in the presence of cheating by examining the efficiency of the policy in transferring income to producers as well as the optimal regulatory response to enforcement costs and farmer noncompliant behavior in a decentralized policy making environment. Analytical results show that enforcement costs and cheating change the transfer efficiency of output quotas, the level of intervention that transfers a given surplus to producers, the socially optimal income redistribution, and the social welfare from intervention. The incidence of the policy is shown to …

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Strategic Labeling And Trade Of Gmos, Luc Veyssiere, Konstantinos Giannakas Apr 2003

Strategic Labeling And Trade Of Gmos, Luc Veyssiere, Konstantinos Giannakas

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

The emergence of agricultural biotechnology and the subsequent introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the food system have been among the most controversial issues surrounding the increasingly scrutinized agri-food system. They have received considerable attention in the economics literature with the main focus being on the optimal regulatory response to products of biotechnology. This paper builds on the literature on the regulation of products of biotechnology by placing the analysis of labeling decisions in a multi-country context. Specifically, the objective of this study is to examine the effect of the strategic interdependence between countries on their regulatory responses to …

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Agricultural Land Ownership And Tenure Patterns In Nebraska, Bruce B. Johnson Jan 2003

Agricultural Land Ownership And Tenure Patterns In Nebraska, Bruce B. Johnson

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Agricultural land in Nebraska is a significant asset of wealth and a key economic input into the state’s economy. It is no mere coincidence that Nebraska consistently ranks fourth among the 50 states in total cash receipts from farm marketings while also ranking fourth in land acreage in farms and third in terms of irrigated acreage. Consequently, it is of considerable importance to identify and understand the basic patterns of land ownership and tenure that exist within the state.

Every 10 years the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts a national land ownership survey of landlords as well as farm operators. …

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Captive Supplies And The Spot Market Price Of Fed Cattle: The Plant-Level Relationship, John R. Schroeter, Azzeddine Azzam Jan 2003

Captive Supplies And The Spot Market Price Of Fed Cattle: The Plant-Level Relationship, John R. Schroeter, Azzeddine Azzam

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

Numerous articles in the agricultural economics literature investigate the empirical relationship between the spot market price of fed cattle and the volume of packers’ precommitted, or “captive,” supplies of cattle. In this article, we use an extensive data set on the cattle procurement activities of four large packing plants in the Texas Panhandle from early 1995 through mid-1996 to examine this relationship at the plant-level. We find evidence to support the hypothesis that plants that anticipate near-term future deliveries of captive supply cattle that are high relative to their regional-market rivals’ degrees of reliance on captive supplies tend to pay …

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