Agricultural Economics Commons^™

Impact Of Automated Guidance For Mechanical Control Of Herbicide-Resistant Weeds In Corn, Terry Griffin, James M. Lowenberg-Deboer

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

This study evaluated the feasibility of reintroducing mechanical weed control as an alternative for herbicide-resistance weed infestations. The production practice tested included row cultivation with a separate banded spray application using high-accuracy automated guidance systems. A range of ground speeds were tested for the row cultivation operation, each with a different per acre cost and timeliness penalty. A typical eastern Corn Belt farm with a rotation of corn and soybean served as the base for the linear programming model. It was found that if the farmer was willing to reintroduce tillage, row cultivation conducted at higher operating speeds in conjunction …

Do Profitable Farms Remain Profitable? Transition Probabilities Using Markov Switching Models Applied To Kansas Farm Data, Jayce S. Stabel, Terry Griffin, Greg Ibendahl

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

Financial vulnerability has been observed across agricultural production regions; however, uncertainty regarding farms’ persistence within specific profitability categories exists. This study compared farm characteristics that persist in most and least profitable categories and then evaluated the probability that farms transitioned among profitability categories. Using 425 Kansas Farm Management Association (KFMA) farms that were present for the 20-year period 1994–2013, the persistence of remaining or transitioning to another profitability category was tested. Specifically, Markov transition probabilities were estimated for Kansas and the six regional KFMA regions. Comparisons of farms that persist in the highest and lowest profitability categories revealed no dramatic …

Application Of The Adjusted Weak Axiom Of Profit Maximization To New Zealand Dairy Farming, Anne E. Dooley, Nicola M. Shadbolt, Koohyar Khatami, Loren W. Tauer

Journal of Applied Farm Economics

The weak axiom of profit maximization is a nonparametric, empirical approach that has been used in the United States to analyze dairy farmers’ production and profit behavior under input and output price changes to determine whether farmers effectively respond to these changes. The expectation is that profit calculated using the current year’s input and output combination will be greater than that calculated from the previous year’s combination with current prices more often than due to chance. This approach was replicated using New Zealand dairy farm data (1,785 pairs of records over five years). Current year’s profits were significantly greater in …

Hedonic Pricing Of Chocolate Quality Characteristics: Is There A Difference For Fruit Or Nut Chocolate?, Willie B. Bedell, Michael R. Reed

Agricultural Economics Presentations

Chocolate campaigns in the United States have focused on the production of premier quality and healthy blend chocolate bars. We expect that merchandising efforts will offer a higher price for fruit or nut blend chocolates. Using online retail data from Amazon, eBay, and Walmart, we applied the hedonic function to estimate retailers offer price for a blended bar. The findings show that online retailers have mixed offer prices for a blend or plain bar. The paper suggests that studies would learn much more from a data and analysis that control for quantity sold and time effects in the chocolate market.

Strengthening Quality Of Life In Small Towns, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel

Cornhusker Economics

Quality of life is often mentioned as the reason why some people choose to live in a small town. But if you try to get a definition of what quality of life means, you quickly discover that there are all kinds of answers. For instance, it may be the low student-to-teacher ratios in the local school, or it may be the friendly check-out person at the grocery store or the variety of activities available through civic organizations and local churches which come to mind when people define small town quality of life.

Is Less More In Food Safety Information Provision?, Kofi Britwum, Emie Yiannaka

Cornhusker Economics

The development of several niche food markets has been enabled by labels highlighting the existence of desirable or the absence of undesirable food attributes and/or production technologies, effectively targeting consumers willing to pay for this type of information. Examples include the "All Natural," “No growth promoting antibiotic," "No GMOs," and "Cage-free" food labels. In what could be viewed as an extreme example of labeling what is absent, consumers can now purchase gluten-free water (McFadden 2017). This type of "redundant" labeling seeks to exploit uninformed consumers.

Livestock Production And Health, Christopher Gustafson

Cornhusker Economics

As in Nebraska and other cattle-producing states, livestock are an important source of income for hundreds of millions of people living in developing countries. However, for livestock keepers in developing countries, animals are often central to multiple dimensions of the family’s existence, providing—in addition to income—important sources of energy-dense, nutrient-rich animal source foods, generating cultural status, including playing a role in family formation through wedding dowries, and serving, for some, as the household’s primary store of wealth. Livestock play all of these roles in pastoralist—semi-nomadic livestock-keeping—communi-ties. While in the past pastoralism was a relatively common way of life throughout the …

Shrimp Aquaculture In Aguadulce: Impacts On Mangrove Forest Health And Shrimp Larvae Populations In Two Sites On The Salado Coastline, Nick Jickling

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Shrimp aquaculture is an important industry in Republic of Panama, providing jobs and infrastructure, while supplying the country with seafood and export income. Aquaculture is accompanied by many negative impacts on mangrove ecosystems, and subsequently offshore marine stocks. The abundance and diversity of gastropods and shrimp were sampled in the Salado coastline of Aguadulce, Panama to evaluate the impacts of aquaculture disturbance on mangrove forests. Gastropods were sampled at 3 sites on 9, 100m transects in a “pristine” and disturbed forest. Shrimp were sampled using a push net in 24 sites in tide pools and abandoned shrimp ponds of the …

Do Advisors Perceive Climate Change As An Agricultural Risk? An In-Depth Examination Of Midwestern U.S. Ag Advisors’ Views On Drought, Climate Change, And Risk Management, Sarah P. Church, Michael Dunn, Nicholas Babin, Amber Saylor Mase, Tonya Haigh, Linda Stalker Prokopy

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Through the lens of the Health Belief Model and Protection Motivation Theory, we analyzed interviews of 36 agricultural advisors in Indiana and Nebraska to understand their appraisals of climate change risk, related decision making processes and subsequent risk management advice to producers. Most advisors interviewed accept that weather events are a risk for US Midwestern agriculture; however, they are more concerned about tangible threats such as crop prices. There is not much concern about climate change among agricultural advisors. Management practices that could help producers adapt to climate change were more likely to be recommended by conservation and Extension advisors, …

Luchadoras: Resistencias Contra La Violencia De Género Por Las Mujeres En La Región De San Ramón, Olivia "Livey" Beha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This qualitative study describes the dynamic resiliency-building process against gender-based violence in two rural coffee-producing communities in the region of San Ramon, Nicaragua. It examines the methods and efficacy of economic empowerment and educational interventions facilitated by the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives Augusto Cesar Sandino (UCA San Ramón) in addressing gender inequality, preventing gender-based violence, and increasing access to resources for women in the cooperatives of El Privilegio and Danilo Gonzales. This complex ecology, comprised of the interactions between women, their communities, available resources, and institutions, is assessed through the lens of women’s individual perspectives as they engage in three …

Aroostook County Community Food Resources, Hannah Kenison

Aroostook

Food resources found in Aroostook County, Maine:

• DHHS offices
• Food pantries
• Farm stands
• CSA farms
• Farmers' markets
• Other resources

Aroostook County Community Food Resources, Jennifer Curtis

Aroostook

Food resources found in Aroostook County, Maine:

• Local school pantries
• Farm fresh produce
• Good Shepard Food Bank partners
• Emergency food resources

Franklin County Community Food Resources, Emily Couture

Franklin

Food resources found in Franklin County, Maine:

• Farm stands
• CSA farms
• Farmers' markets
• SNAP office
• WIC office
• Additional resources

Kennebec County Community Food Resources, Mikayla Libby Gilbert

Kennebec

Food resources found in Kennebec County, Maine:

• Farmers' markets (EBT)
• Retailers (Harvest Bucks)
• DHHS office
• Meals on Wheels
• Food pantries
• Meal sites

Knox County Community Food Resources, Mikayla Libby Gilbert

Knox

Food resources found in Knox County, Maine:

• Farmers' Markets (EBT and Harvest Bucks)
• Retailers (Harvest Bucks)
• DHHS office
• Meals on Wheels
• Food Pantries
• Meal Sites

Hancock County Community Food Resources, Savannah Lowrey

Hancock

Food resources found in Hancock County, Maine:

• Farm stands
• Farmers markets
• CSA farms
• Food pantry
• Community centers

Aroostook County Community Food Resources, Sierra Edwards

Aroostook

Food resources found in Aroostook County, Maine:

• Farm stands
• The Country Food Co-Op and Farm Store
• Farmers' Markets

Oxford County Community Food Resources, Laura Mills

Oxford

Food resources found in Oxford County, Maine:

• Farmers' markets
• Food co-operatives
• Cooking classes
• CSA farms
• Farm stands
• Farm stands that accept Husky Bucks
• Retail Stores

Penobscot County Community Food Resources, Savannah Lowrey

Penobscot

Food resources found in Penobscot County, Maine:

• Farm stands
• Farmers' markets
• Food pantries
• CSA farms
• Community centers

Piscataquis County Community Food Resources, Samantha Machado

Piscataquis

Food resources found in Piscataquis County, Maine:

• Local farmers' markets
• Local farmers' markets (SNAP, WIC, and/or EBT)
• Free meals through the month (churches)