THE DYNAMICS OF FEEDER CATTLE MARKET RESPONSES TO CORN PRICE CHANGE

A feeder-calf price model is estimated which incorporates elements of break-even budget analysis, including estimates of placement weights, slaughter weights, ration cost, and feed-conversion rates. From this model, a corn price multiplier is calculated which quantifies the corn/feeder-calf price relationship. Because the multiplier includes information on cattle weight, feed conversion, and ration cost, it also provides insight into how feeding programs are altered in response to corn price changes. Changes in feeding programs which occur in response to corn price changes are illustrated with dynamic simulation based on weight, ration cost, and price models presented here.corn, corn price multiplier, dynamic simulation, feeder cattle, Demand and Price Analysis,

ESTIMATED IMPACT OF NON-PRICE COORDINATION OF FED CATTLE PURCHASES ON MEAT PACKER PROCESSING COSTS

Stochastic simulation of daily slaughter level was used in conjunction with an estimated packing plant cost curve to assess potential reductions in processing costs due to improved vertical coordination between feedlots and packing plants. Results indicate that processing cost reductions of $1 to$5 per head may be possible. Savings result from ensuring a more stable processing volume that is near the plant's cost-minimizing level of production.cattle, cost curve, meat packing, vertical coordination, Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Exceptional ground accelerations and velocities caused by earthquakes

This project aims to understand the characteristics of the free-field strong-motion records that have yielded the 100 largest peak accelerations and the 100 largest peak velocities recorded to date. The peak is defined as the maximum magnitude of the acceleration or velocity vector during the strong shaking. This compilation includes 35 records with peak acceleration greater than gravity, and 41 records with peak velocities greater than 100 cm/s. The results represent an estimated 150,000 instrument-years of strong-motion recordings. The mean horizontal acceleration or velocity, as used for the NGA ground motion models, is typically 0.76 times the magnitude of this vector peak. Accelerations in the top 100 come from earthquakes as small as magnitude 5, while velocities in the top 100 all come from earthquakes with magnitude 6 or larger. Records are dominated by crustal earthquakes with thrust, oblique-thrust, or strike-slip mechanisms. Normal faulting mechanisms in crustal earthquakes constitute under 5% of the records in the databases searched, and an even smaller percentage of the exceptional records. All NEHRP site categories have contributed exceptional records, in proportions similar to the extent that they are represented in the larger database

Using Customer Satisfaction for Measuring the Effectiveness of Integrated Product Teams

In attempting to develop a performance measurement system for assessing the effectiveness of integrated Product Teams (iPTs), this research focused on the identification of those characteristics that were most important to the customers of Hyrs. Customer satisfaction was selected as the focal point because it is the foundation of the Integrated Weapon System Management (IWSM) philosophy which fostered the IPT approach to conducting business. The customer satisfaction data was gathered from the Quality Air Force self-assessments conducted by the B-1, B-2, F-15, F-16, F-22, and C-17 System Program Offices, as well as interviews conducted by Brigadier General Kenne with several of the major customers of the Aeronautical Systems Center. The seven characteristics identified, through the analysis of the data gathered, provide the initial step in the development of a performance measurement system for assessing the effectiveness of IPTs