Agricultural Economics Commons^™

International Comparison Of Cost Efficiency Of Corn And Soybean Production, Elizabeth Anne Lunik

Open Access Theses

Comparing detailed production costs and input use across countries allows producers to see if they are competitive with similar operations in other countries. This thesis looks at the cost efficiency of a sample of corn and soybean farms representing 16 countries to understand efficiency and cost trends at the farm-level, compare these farms, and identify factors that might explain farm-level performance. This analysis delves into detailed production data to calculate an important international benchmark, which is currently not available. ^ The data consist of a six-year (2008-2013) unbalanced panel of 35 corn-producing farms and 16 soybean-producing farms, which come from …

Stages Of Succession Planning And Factors Of Transferring Management And Ownership For The Family Agribusiness, Ryan D. Musselman

Open Access Theses

Although many family business owners want to maintain family control of the business for future generations, few businesses survive across generations. Neglecting to plan an entry and exit strategy for family members are just two factors that explains why more businesses don't succeed in transferring the business to the next generation in the family. Ordered Probit models and Probit models were used to discover factors that influence the process of family business transfer of management and ownership. Data came from a survey of 736 businesses in four Midwest states. ^ Four factors were found to be correlated with the transition …

Are Cover Crops Worth It? It Depends, Joshua S. Leirer

Open Access Theses

Society is becoming increasingly more aware of the environmental consequences of agricultural production. Farmers today are under increasing pressure to adopt more sustainable farm management practices. One method to improve the sustainability of crop production is the use of cover crops. Cover crops are planted "off-season" to provide agronomic and environmental benefits. The objective of this research is to quantify the impacts of cover crops and determine where and under which management practices cover crops provide the greatest benefit. Management practices include different crop rotations, tillage practices and residue removal rates. This paper will focus on soil erosion, nitrate leaching …

Tracking Sales Activities In Agribusiness, Jiayu Li

Open Access Theses

Decisions in the sales area, including customer and product selection and margin discipline, shape profits for companies in agribusiness. Management of the sales function takes place at the organizational, managerial, and practitioner level, each of which requires data about the process. Individual salespeople benefit from better knowledge of customers (Dixon & Adamson, 2011), and sales managers benefit from understanding the activities of salespeople. Organizationally, data on sales activities may be used to determine progress toward organizational goals or to compensate salespeople. ^ This research utilized surveys to investigate how agribusiness companies differ in the ways they keep track of sales …

Does A Family-First Philosophy Affect Family Business Profitability? An Analysis Of Family Businesses In The Midwest, Maria Victoria Iglesias

Open Access Theses

Previous family business literature has analyzed how various management strategies or family tension has impacted profit. However, profit can vary due to the different family values and goals placed on the firm. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the business philosophy of a family business influenced profit. The present study sought to examine how the family business' philosophy, as in if they have a family-first or business-first orientation, influences profit. This study also investigates how the distribution of the business to the next generation, as well as how hiring family members who may not have the qualifications …

Communication, Home Bias And Social Capital, Sharon Raszap Skorbiansky

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three essays on the effects of communication, home bias and social capital. The first study analyzes three different laboratory treatments that determine if policies that introduce and improve communication are beneficial to a market. The control treatment has no communication. Then, two different types of communication mechanisms are introduced: cheap communication, where subjects are able to lie, and truthful communication, where only honest messages may be sent. The results demonstrate that truthful communication dramatically improves subjects' ability to trade efficiently, ultimately leading to higher social surplus and lower income inequalities. Cheap communication does not produce the …

Modeling, Empirics And Policy Implications Of Firm Heterogeneity In International Trade, Zeynep Akgul

Open Access Dissertations

Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models are essential computational tools for trade policy analysis. While traditional CGE models based on the Armington assumption of national product differentiation have been successfully applied to various policy scenarios, they also have significant limitations in explaining the firm-level information prevalent in the recent international trade literature. The pioneering work of Melitz (2003) has provided a firm heterogeneity theory that can help address the shortcomings of Armington-based CGE models by introducing additional productivity mechanisms and extensive margin effects. Incorporation of firm heterogeneity in mainstream CGE models offers great potential to improve computational policy analysis. Even though …

Growing South Dakota (Spring 2015), College Of Agriculture &. Biological Sciences

Growing South Dakota (Publication of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences)

This issue includes the 2014 SDSU Extension Annual Report.

[Page] 2 Committed To South Dakotans: Programs Focus On “Healthy Food, Healthy Families, Healthy Communities”
[Page] 4 Serving South Dakota’s Multi-Cultural Communities: Programs Take Root In Sioux Falls And On Standing Rock Indian Reservation
[Page] 4 Relevant Resource: New Manual Provides Guidance For Farmers Markets
[Page] 6 Food Growers Unite: Formation Of “Food Hub” Being Explored
[Page] 8 Envisioning The Future: Extension Assists Community Leaders With Forward Thinking
[Page] 10 Innovative New Tools: Online Resources Provide Useful Climate Data, Drainage Calculators
[Page] 12 Meeting Producer Needs: Production Knowledge Enhanced With Extension …

Taming The Teesta: Exploring The Holistic Effects Of Hydroelectric Dam Development On The Teesta River Through Documentary Film, Taylor Graham

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since time immemorial, the Lepcha people have called the Himalayan region that makes up the modern state of Sikkim their home and have held sacred the rivers, mountains, and forests that make up the biologically diverse region. Over the past two decades, India’s rapid development has generated a powerful thirst for electricity, and the country has increasingly looked to the cold, powerful rivers thundering from the Himalayas to supply that desired power. Hydroelectric projects have been proposed and implemented throughout the Himalayan region. Nowhere, however, are the dams as numerous or their effects as acutely felt as in India’s northwestern …

U.S. Drought Monitor, March 31, 2015, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for March 31, 2015 (3/31/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

The Impact Of Agriculture On African Civilization In The 21st Century, Andrew S. Targowski

International Journal of African Development

The purpose of this paper is to define the impact of agriculture on African Civilization in the 21^st century. The methodology is based on an interdisciplinary big-picture view of the African Civilizations. The multifaceted layers of civilizations will be analyzed as interdependent with the agricultural development of African societies. Among the findings are: Sub-Saharan Africa falls short of meeting its agricultural needs. Only one of two individual Africans has access to clean and enough water. Energy and supply of electricity are woefully inadequate and unreliable. Agriculture as a foundation for development and modernization for Africa is too limited. Environmental …

U.S. Drought Monitor, March 24, 2015, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for March 24, 2015 (3/24/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, March 17, 2015, Chris Fenimore

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for March 17, 2015 (3/17/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, March 10, 2015, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for March 10, 2015 (3/10/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, March 3, 2015, David Simeral

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for March 3, 2015 (3/3/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 24, 2015, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for February 24, 2015 (2/24/15) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), an approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought during the past 52 weeks (line graph) for corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 17, 2015, Richard R. Heim Jr.

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of the United States for February 17, 2015 (2/17/15) plus: United States crop areas experiencing drought (map), an approximate percentage of crop located in drought by state (bar graph), and the percentage of crop area located in drought during the past 52 weeks (line graph) for corn, soybeans, hay, cattle, and winter wheat.

Harmony At The Farm: Rediscovering The “Community” In Community Supported Agriculture, Christopher Kaltsas

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 10, 2015, David Simeral

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for February 10, 2015 (2/10/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, February 3, 2015, Brian Fuchs

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for February 3, 2015 (2/3/15) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.