Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons^™

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Developments 2000-01, Bruce B. Johnson, Peter Brummels, Lance Kuenning

Nebraska Farm Real Estate Reports

Despite turbulent economic conditions in the state's agricultural sector, Nebraska's agricultural land values and cash rent levels remain on a generally stable course. In the February 2001 UNL Nebraska Farm Real Estate Developments Survey, the all-land average of $709 per acre was up 1.5 percent from year-earlier levels. Together with all-land average changes of the previous two years, the 2001 level is essentially unchanged from early 1998 value levels.

While the overall value level has been steady, the "choppiness of economic waters" is reflected in modest value movements in both directions across various land types and regions of the state. …

What’S Ahead For Farm Programs?, Roy Frederick

Cornhusker Economics

At a family gathering over the long Memorial Day week-end, a shirttail relative used this for a conversation starter: “So, have you got the new farm bill figured out?” My response was a quick and unequivocal “no.” In fact, the whole process becomes more uncertain as the Democrats assume majority control of the U.S. Senate.
The House Agriculture Committee originally had planned to complete at least the commodity titles (sections) of a new farm bill by July 11, 2001. More recently, the House target date has been pushed back to August. The leadership on that panel still holds out hope …

Nebraska’S New Generation Agriculture, Sam Cordes

Cornhusker Economics

Aggregate net farm income in Nebraska in 1999 was $1.66 billion. While this is a substantial dollar amount, it is also misleading in two important ways. First, 1999 aggregate net farm income was nearly 20 percent below the average for the 1990's. Second, a whopping 80 percent of the aggregate net farm income, or $1.32 billion came directly from Federal Farm Program payments. As recently as 1996, government payments were only 11% of Nebraska’s aggregate net farm income (Johnson and Burkholder). In other words, very little of today’s net farm income in Nebraska comes from the economic marketplace. This situation …

Power Deregulation: Blessing Or Curse; South Dakota's Hog Market, Gary Taylor, Matthew A. Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Power Deregulation: Blessing Or Curse; South Dakota's Hog Market, Gary Taylor, Matthew A. Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Is Farmland A Good Investment?, Glenn A. Helmers

Cornhusker Economics

It is frequently questioned how farmland as an investment can maintain its value while seemingly generating such low returns per dollar invested. Often a parallel is drawn between investing in farmland vs. a relatively riskless but higher return investment such as U.S. Treasury notes. Risky investments are expected to require a risk premium (higher returns) compared to a less risky investment. Yet it often appears that farmland returns are less than the return from relatively risk free opportunities. Further, farmland and other real estate investments are generally considered less liquid compared to other investments.

The investment market is complex. However, …

Production Ag Profitability Report, Gary Bredensteiner

Cornhusker Economics

For the past 6 years, Nebraska Farm Business Association (Cooperative Extension) and Nebraskaland Farm and Ranch Management Educational Program (Community Colleges) have combined data into a single “Production Ag Profitability Report.” The 2000 Report, recently released, contains average data from 156 Nebraska production ag operations enrolled in one of the two programs. Data is monitored and reconciled for accuracy prior to inclusion in the report.

An Added Cost Of Production, Larry L. Bitney

Cornhusker Economics

Agricultural producers typically consider death loss when budgeting costs and returns for a livestock enterprise. But, the cost of disposing of the dead animals has not typically been considered. In the past, rendering companies picked up animals free of charge. They received value from the hides, meat and bone meal, and other by-products.

Technical Change And Welfare In An Open Economy With Distortions, Richard K. Perrin, Lilyan E. Fulginiti

Department of Agricultural Economics: Faculty Publications

'Iraditional measures of technological change, such as the rate of technical change, are based on producer-oriented prices. Here, we employ a general equilibrium analysis of an open economy to examine how the consumer welfare gain from a technological change, measured as Hicksian equivalent variation, is related to the rate of technical change, the biases of the technological change, and tax distortions in the economy. An analytical solution shows these relationships in a readily computable framework, and demonstrates that the rate of technical change will equal the rate of welfare change in only very unrealistic cases.

Random Walks, Lemmings, And Behaviorism: Looking For A Market Lodestar, John Sondey

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Random Walks, Lemmings, And Behaviorism: Looking For A Market Lodestar, John Sondey

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

The Mcdonaldization Of American Agriculture, Jeffrey S. Royer

Cornhusker Economics

In his best-selling book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2001), journalist Eric Schlosser takes aim at the fast food industry, leveling a broad array of charges against it. According to Schlosser, the success of the fast food industry has transformed the American diet, landscape, economy, workforce and popular culture, and is responsible for a national epidemic of obesity, the propagation of an unskilled and poorly paid workforce and the exploitation of teenagers and minorities. It also has contributed to the restructuring of American agriculture.

Basis Changes In The Pork Pricing Structure, Al Prosch

Cornhusker Economics

In December 1998 hog prices fell to unprecedented levels. Adjusted for inflation these were some of the lowest prices received by pork producers. The basis relationship (the difference between a futures contract price for a commodity and a local cash price for that commodity) between the cash markets and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures contract on lean hog carcasses increased to record proportions as well. Was the record wide basis a one time event, based on the futures markets inability to drop as quickly as the cash bid, or are there underlying fundamental changes in the basis for hogs?

Is There Any Light At The End Of The Tunnel?, Lynn Lutgen

Cornhusker Economics

Lately, it seems that one of the most commonly asked questions is, will we ever see grain prices recover? There are some indicators that would leave us to believe that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. It appears that global consumption over the past few years has been catching up with the increase in production that has occurred recently. When looking at the chart on the next page, the grain stocks to use ratio is at a relatively modest 16.5 percent. This is the lowest since 1996 when world inventories declined because of a relatively poor …

Developing Better Economic Information About Coastal Resources As A Tool For Integrated Coastal Management, Judith T. Kildow Dr, Brian Baird, Charles S. Colgan, Hauke Kite-Powell, Rodney Weiher

Publications

Measuring economic activity associated with the ocean through examination of the goods and services produced by specified industries and in coastal locations will provide answers to many of the most commonly asked questions about the ocean economy. But even this data will still be incomplete. Beyond are a variety of "non-market" values, which are needed to complete the picture. When someone goes to the beach in Florida or boats on Chesapeake Bay, there may be little that is directly purchased on that day. But the popularity of such activities is testament to their underlying value. Economists have developed a variety …

The Conservation Reserve Program: Then And Now, Richard T. Clark

Cornhusker Economics

The Food Security Act of 1985 first authorized the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Since that time CRP has undergone numerous changes with the passage of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act (FACTA) in 1990 and the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (FAIR) in 1996. Nonetheless, CRP has survived, and today enjoys an enrollment not much smaller (33.4 million acres) than its peak of about 36.4 million acres, nationwide. Most contracts for enrollment in CRP were, and currently still are for 10 years. There are some exceptions such as land enrolled for tree practices and other conservation specific practices, …

Farm Household Income And Employment Trends, Matthew A. Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Farm Household Income And Employment Trends, Matthew A. Diersen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.

Consumer Willingness-To-Pay For Flavor In Beef Steaks: An Experimental Economics Approach, Dillon M. Feuz, Wendy J. Umberger

Cornhusker Economics

This article summarizes the major findings of a just completed agricultural economics dissertation research project that analyzed consumers' perceptions of beef flavor, and more importantly, their willingness-to-pay for various flavor preferences. The research was conducted jointly with the Animal Science Department at UNL. A novel experimental design was used to determine consumers willingness-to-pay for their flavor preferences. After tasting various steak samples, consumers were given the opportunity to bid on and purchase steaks from the same sample. The experimental auction was a sealed-bid, fourth-price auction (similar to a Vickrey auction) where the fourth highest bid determined the market price and …

South Dakota's Hog Market: Developments And Prospects, Matthew Diersen

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

This paper examines the developments that have occurred in South Dakota's swine industry and offers insights into its future prospects. Data, trends, and literature related to this market were gathered in an effort to fill in specific gaps about South Dakota's market. Nationally and in South Dakota there are fewer producers raising hogs. The exit of relatively small producers from the industry reduced a seasonal spike of farrowings during the March-May quarter in recent years. A growing trend of in shipments, where feeder pigs are brought into South Dakota, finished, and marketed, has partially offset the reduction in farrowings. An …

Moving Beyond Gloomy Environmental Policy, Gary D. Lynne

Cornhusker Economics

The wide-array of books and materials (both textbooks and supplementary reading) now available for helping students in our universities understand the arena of environmental and ecological policy economics is staggering and impressive, while at the same time disturbing. The books are impressive in their comprehensiveness and sophistication of analysis; students can be well prepared, indeed. Yet the same books are disturbing, for while some project doom (e.g., Hackett, 1998) and others seem to have an air of surrealistic cornucopia (e.g., Anderson and Leal, 1991), both lead to a rather gloomy set of environmental policy recommendations.

Agricultural Land Values And Rents In A Stable Mode, Bruce B. Johnson, Peter Brummels, Lance Kuenning

Cornhusker Economics

In an ocean of economic uncertainty, Nebraska’s agricultural real estate market remains on a generally steady course, as revealed by preliminary results from the UNL’s 2001 Nebraska Farm Real Estate Market Survey. As of February 1st, the state’s all-land average value was $709 per acre, up 1.6 percent from 12 months earlier (Table 1). However, the choppiness of the economic waters is evident by the variations in the value changes across the various land types and substate areas.

Market Prospects Organic Carrots & Other Vegetables, Steven Mccoy

Horticulture published reports

This report provides a brief overview of the market opportunity for West Australian organically grown carrots and other vegetables grown in rotation with carrots. The report outlines market opportunities and important aspects of the local WA, interstate and export markets for consideration by conventional carrot growers with an interest in investing in the production of carrots grown organically, certified in compliance with the Australian "National Standards for Organic and Biodynamic Production".

The United Kingdom's Experience With Agri-Environmental Stewardship Schemes: Lessons And Issues For The United States And Europe, Thomas Dobbs, Jules Pretty

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

Agricultural policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic are now faced with fundamental pressures and choices about farming and the environment. Member states of the European Union (EU) are attempting to shape new policies in implementation of the Agenda 2000 reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and the US is beginning active debate on a new farm bill. On the European side of the Atlantic, Agenda 2000 reforms are being influenced heavily by the concept of 'multi-functionality'. The Rural Development Regulation, essentially a second CAP pillar, allows EU member states to shift some of their CAP funds to …

Community Development And Small Business Training, Marilyn R. Schlake

Cornhusker Economics

Findings from a CARI study conducted in 1997 illustrated the importance of business development as a key component of community development. Sixty-five percent reported that the development of small businesses was a high priority. In fact, in communities of less than 500, 72% of the respondents indicated business development would be an effective strategy for their community. How we work with these businesses can determine the future of Nebraska’s communities.

County Feedlot Regulations Invalidated, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

The development of large swine production facilities has been highly controversial in Nebraska for the past several years. On November 1, 2000 the Nebraska Supreme Court issued its first decision dealing substantively with local government efforts to regulate large swine facilities. In Enterprise Partners v Perkins County, 260 Neb. 650 (2000) the court ruled that county regulations requiring swine lagoons to be covered and regulating discharges from lagoons onto county roadways were zoning regulations, and in this case were invalid because no comprehensive plan had first been adopted. The court came to the correct conclusion but used an incorrect legal …

Year 2001 Multiple-Peril Crop Insurance For Nebraska Corn, Grain Sorghum, Soybeans And Wheat, Roger Selley, H. Douglas Jose

Cornhusker Economics

The deadline for sign-up for Multiple-Peril Crop Insurance for spring crops in Nebraska is March 15. Winter wheat sign-up deadline is September 30. Premium subsidies have changed, particularly for higher coverage levels and CRC. In 2001 the administrative fee for CAT is $100 per crop per county, and for all policies above CAT the fee is $30 per crop per year.

The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act: Could It Be A Mixed Blessing?, Azzeddine Azzam

Cornhusker Economics

The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (the Act), which went into effect February 1, 2001, requires meat packers to report detailed price and quantity information on cattle, hogs, lambs and products to the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) on a daily basis. Historically, packers reported to AMS on a voluntary basis. However, “as more animals are being bought and sold under marketing arrangements where neither the arrangements nor the final purchase prices are publicly disclosed, ... it has become more difficult for producers to determine the actual prevailing purchasing price for livestock..” So, by making reports to AMS mandatory …

Agricultural Production Contract Act, J. David Aiken

Cornhusker Economics

Agricultural production contracts are becoming more widespread in Nebraska. (Contract production should be distinguished from custom farming, which is not at issue here). Under ag production contracts, farmers may contract to produce crops or livestock typically for processors. Contracting is widespread in the broiler industry, and is becoming more common in the swine and beef industry, and for some crops. The Producer Protection Act of 2000 (PPA) is a proposed model state statute prepared by the National Association of Attorneys General to deal with legal issues associated with agricultural contracting. The PPA was developed in order to avoid some problems …

South Dakota Agricultural Land Tenure And Ownership Trends, Larry Janssen

Economics Commentator (1972- 2016)

No abstract provided.