Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

The Economic Returns To U.S. Public Agricultural Research, Julian M. Alston, Matthew A. Anderson, Jennifer S. James, Phillip G. Pardey

Agribusiness

We use newly constructed state-specific data to explore the implications of common modeling choices for measures of research returns. Our results indicate that state-to-state spillover effects are important, that the research and development lag is longer than many studies have allowed, and that misspecification can give rise to significant biases. Across states, the average of the own-state benefit-cost ratios is 21:1, or 32:1 when the spillover benefits to other states are included. These ratios correspond to real internal rates of return of 9 or 10 per annum, much smaller than those typically reported in the literature, partly because we have …

Promoting Land Conservation In The Coastal Watershed Through Local Faces, Special Places, Brian Hart

PREP Reports & Publications

The Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership provided nearly $3,300.00 to support the Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire’s (SELTNH) promotion of donated conservation easements in the coastal watershed of Rockingham County. The Southeast Land Trust produced three short web-friendly videos, explaining land conservation from the perspective of a tree farmer, vineyard owner, and a community leader. In addition, the Land Trust hosted two workshops in Kingston and Epping for landowners interested in learning more about the tax and financial benefits of land conservation. Workshop invitations were mailed to more than 1,200 current use landowners within the region. Twenty-two landowners attended the …

What Do We Do With All This Carbon?, Benjamin Eigbrett

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Urban Sprawl, Noah Philson

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

No Means No, Mr. President, Danny Martin

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Ethanol's Impact On Nebraska's Economy, Kasey Rathke

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

From Climate Change To Mountain Range, Mitchell Flash

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Suburbanization: Not A Good Fit For The Future, Gavin Salee

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

From Trash To Treasure, Caleb Greenfield

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Nuclear's True Image, Bryan Bordenkecher

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Red Ethanol, Blake Albers

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Cleaner And Greener Doesn't Always Mean Clean And Green, Justin Hladik

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Riding The Gdpism Wave, Zach Mcdonald

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

The Benefits Of Biogas, Sam Neal

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

This Land Is Our Land: The Ngöbe Stuggle For Land, Fran Del Rosario

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Los Ngobes han estado luchando por su tierra por muchos años. En los 1500s, debido al conquista española, Los Ngobes fueron forzados a huir a otras aéreas. Hoy, ellos están luchando por su tierra contra inversión y comercialización. Su tierra es muy importante para ellos porque su manera de vivir viene directamente de su tierra. La construcción de calles adentro y alrededor de su tierra se ha afectado mucho. Entre mas abierta su tierra, mas vlnerable son ellos a contacto con el exterior. Es más difícil preservar su cultura y tradición con proyectos de desarrollo amenazando su manera de vivir …

Residential Scaled Renewable Energy System In Nebraska, Jerrod Bley

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Electrifying Nebraska's Daily Commuters, Dirk Wiseman

Op-Eds from ENSC230 Energy and the Environment: Economics and Policies, Fall 2011

No abstract provided.

Review Of Hard Grass: Life On The Crazy Woman Bison Ranch. By Mary Zeiss Stange, Linda M. Hasselstrom

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Twenty years ago, Stange and her husband traded a modest New Jersey house for seven square miles of overgrazed prairie and set out to right the wrongs done to a place that had been mismanaged ecologically as well as environmentally. The restoration begins disastrously with llamas before it proceeds to success with bison. Her narration includes her own experiences, but most of her essays are serious, in-depth studies of the broader topics that constitute life in the great grasslands spreading across the interior of the country. She begins with prehistory, analyzing the evolution of both plants and animals in the …

Review Of Remaking The Heartland: Middle America Since The 1950s. By Robert Wuthnow, Randolph Cantrell

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Shrinking farm numbers, population losses, and empty storefronts on Main Street have come to be seen as symptoms of an inevitable slide to oblivion for many Heartland communities. Empirical evidence of such decline is easily found, making the trend a favorite topic for journalists. In Remaking the Heartland, Robert Wuthnow offers a very different interpretation of the same trends. His central argument is that Middle America (defined as eight states including most of the Great Plains) has been characterized by adaptation to changing social and economic realities in a way that has made the region a "more vibrant contributor …

Nebraska Isolated Lands Statutes, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Nebraska statutes establish a procedure for owners of land that does not have access to a public road, to have the county build an access road at the landlocked landowner’s expense. These statutes are called the Isolated Lands Statutes (NRS §§ 39-1713 to -1719). The process to provide access to isolated lands is not simple, and probably costly. The best way to avoid these situations is to make sure your land has access to a public road before you buy it. This newsletter provides a general overview of the isolated lands statutes. If you have questions regarding the isolated lands …

Animal Welfare Update, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Beginning in 2002, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) embarked upon a campaign to ban battery cages for laying hens, gestation crates for pregnant sows and veal crates for veal calves. The HSUS strategy is to gather sufficient signatures to place their animal welfare initiative on the ballot, and present an emotional campaign regarding food animal confinement including sad pictures of laying hens, pregnant sows and veal calves in tight confinement. This approach has resulted, in recent years, in voter support exceeding 60 percent.

It seemed that the HSUS could do no wrong, and that wherever they proposed …

Changing Farm Policies For Changing Times, Bradley D. Lubben, Jim A. Jansen, Matthew C. Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

It has long been said that farm policy and farm bills are much more evolutionary than revolutionary. Policy changes tend to occur rather slowly and gradually, unless some economic or policy shock creates an opportunity or urgent need for a change in policy direction.

The current debate in Washington could provide just that shock to point federal farm policy in a new direction. Farm legislation authorized in the 2008 Farm Bill expires in 2012, and the initial debate over re-authorization was already well underway when the Federal Debt Ceiling/Deficit Reduction Compromise legislation was passed in August. That legislation created a …

From Pasture To Plate: A Study Of The Rituals, Ecology And Economics Of Sheep In The Context Of Aid Al Adha In Morocco, Carrisa Sue Pritchard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project addresses the ecological and economic roles that sheep play in Morocco in the context of Aid Al Adha celebration. It specifically examines the methods of sacrificing, butchering and preparing the different parts of the ram as part of the holiday as experienced by the researcher in a case-study located in the Rabat Medina. However, it goes further, as to explore the impact that sheep agriculture has on the nation’s economy and on the lives of Moroccans in both urban and rural areas. It discusses strategies that the Ministry of Agriculture and other agencies use to help facilitate local …

Does Contribution Equal Compensation?, David J. Goeller

Cornhusker Economics

Should contributions to the success of a family farm or ranch be compensated? One of the most difficult decisions owners of a farm and ranch business confront occurs when one heir returns to the family business, while he or she has siblings that do not. If you start out with the premise that we all love our children and hope to treat them fairly, it follows that if contributions to the success of the farming business are more or less equal we should compensate our children more or less equally. The difficulty arises because the farming heir will many times …

Conflicting Perspectives, Contentious Problems A Case Study Of Kwale International Sugar Co. Ltd. In Msambweni District, Jayme Tsutsuse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper presents a report of the findings from a four-week study on the varying perspectives towards Kwale International Sugar Co. Ltd. which have brought about problems concerning land, development, and politics. It discusses findings fromliterary sources and field work, including correspondence, interviews, forums, and focus group discussions with government representatives, company managers, and community members. It highlights where recorded information is inconsistent, making it difficult for the people and company to coexist. Additionally, it describes how the community’s grievances developed and critiques the various actors and actions that are responsible. Lastly, it provides recommendations to a way forward towards …

Hay Supply And Demand Balance Sheet, Tosha L. Opheim, Matthew Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Executive Summary, Cumberland County Foodshed Assessment, Report 1, Barbara Ives

Local Food Systems

Like everyone else in these troubled economic times, Mainers are looking for ways to create jobs that will remain relevant and vital in a global economy, that cannot be outsourced, and that will regenerate rather than exploit our natural resources.

A growing number of people believe that a food system rooted in local farms, fisheries, and food production and distribution enterprises can strengthen Maine’s economy and its communities’ health, thereby increasing revenue and decreasing an expense that is crippling government agencies and individuals alike – healthcare. Business people who want to make a living related to food, and public and …

“I Think I’M Going To Have A Tax Problem This Year”, Tina N. Barrett

Cornhusker Economics

Many things in agriculture move fast. Technology is growing and changing rapidly. Input dealers are knocking on your doors earlier and earlier each year. This summer it seemed like many producers were dealing with marketing their 2010 crop, growing their 2011 crop and making input decisions on their 2012 crop. Each of these things complicates the tax planning each year. Add that to the record high profitability many agricultural producers have seen over the past five years, and one of the most common comments I’m hearing is “I think I’m going to have a tax problem this year.” You’re not …

Farmland Values: The Effects Of Commodity Prices, Yields, Profit Margins And Capitalization Rates, Matthew C. Stockton

Cornhusker Economics

Recent price increases for many of the crops grown in Nebraska have been followed directly by higher input costs. Land cost is one of these escalating factors. Typically, those that invest in real estate or land use a ratio of income relative to opportunity cost to evaluate the value of that purchase. This ratio involves factors related to the lands use and productive capacity, and is known as the “Capitalization rate” or “Cap Rate.”

Buyer Willingness To Pay For Irrigation Systems: Evidence From The 2011 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey, Chris L. Thompson, Bruce B. Johnson

Cornhusker Economics

In Nebraska, irrigation is the best risk management tool to hedge against weather variations that negatively impact crop production. An agricultural producer’s ability to “make rain” is insurance against yearly variation in both yields and financial returns. As technology has progressed, reducing labor requirements and increasing efficiency of water application, irrigation has become a mainstay on thousands of Nebraska farms. In fact, the state ranks first in irrigated acres.

Along with increased irrigation come irrigation regulations to control over-use or abuse of water rights. With legal restrictions forcing the year to year management of irrigation allocations, some producers in Nebraska …