LAND DIVERSION AND SUPPLY CONTROL PROGRAMS

Land Economics/Use,

Wealth, Debt, Government Payments, and Yield Performance

We use a large sample of Kansas Farm Management Association farms for eight different crop/practice combinations (dryland and irrigated corn, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat)for 1994 through 2006 to evaluate the determinants of relative yield performance and explore the ability of financial variables to account for some of the remaining unexplained variation. Our hypothesis is that more financially sound farms should be able to implement better production thecniques, thus have better yields. We further test whether decoupled payments can be used to enhance yield performance. Our hypothesis is that payments may be used to boots investment in inputs or equipament that can lead to better yields. Our results suggest this could be the case.yield performance; decoupled payments.

MODELING CHANGES IN THE U.S. DEMAND FOR CROP INSURANCE DURING THE 1990S

The crop insurance purchase decision for a group of Kansas farmers is analyzed using data from 1990sa period that experienced many changes in the federal crop insurance program. Farm-level data are used. Results indicate a reduction in the elasticity of the demand for crop insurance with respect to premium rates by the end of the decade. This corresponded with a considerable increase in government subsidies by the end of the 1990s. This may also reflect the attractiveness of new revenue insurance products that may have made producers less sensitive to premium changes.Risk and Uncertainty,

Longitudinal Effects of Peer, School, and Parenting Contexts on Substance Use Initiation in Middle School Adolescence

Substance use initiation (SUI) among adolescents is a critical public health concern. Research indicates SUI in middle adolescence increases the risk of substance use in adulthood and later dependence, which can result in deleterious consequences for youth, family relationships, and community (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, [SAMSHA], 2014). This study investigated the role of involvement with deviant peers, school connectedness, and parenting quality on SUI (e.g., alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana) in middle adolescence using secondary data from a 5-year longitudinal study (N = 387). First, exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses with a separate independent sample were conducted to develop a measure of parenting quality. Second, moderated mediation was tested using PROCESS (Hayes, 2013) with each parenting quality factor as a moderator of two mediation pathways (involvement with deviant peers and school connectedness) on three SUI outcomes. Results from the exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses were consistent and provided evidence for a three-factor solution for parenting quality: Parental Knowledge and Affective Relationships, Parental Control, and Parental Communication and Involvement. Results from the moderated mediation analyses did not support parenting quality factors as moderators for either mediation model. Involvement with deviant peers (Wave 3) mediated the relation between school connectedness (Wave 2) and each of the three substances (Wave 5) across all levels of parenting quality (e.g., bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals = -.50 – -.18 at low, -.47 – -.19 at average, and -.50 – -.16 at high levels of Parental Knowledge and Affective Relationships for alcohol use initiation). More specifically, low school connectedness predicted higher involvement with deviant peers, which, in turn, predicted a higher likelihood of SUI. School connectedness was not a significant mediator in the relationship between involvement with deviant peers and SUI. Although parenting quality factors did not moderate either of the mediation pathways, development of a comprehensive and psychometrically valid measure may aid in identifying specific parenting problem areas necessary for preventive intervention planning. Additionally, supporting adolescents who lack strong connections within the school may help prevent involvement with deviant peers and SUI

Neutron capture mechanisms in the threshold region

Neutron capture mechanisms in the threshold region are investigated through the measurement of high resolution y-ray spectra and resonance capture cross sections. Initial and final state width correlations are observed for many nuclides across the periodic table, and are indicative of dominant valence and doorway interactions. A detailed investigation of resonant capture in the isotopes of iron provides strong evidence for these effects. Estimates of the magnitude of the doorway component are obtained for the 3s region when valence and statistical contributions are compared with the average s- and p-wave radiative widths

Farmers' Crop Acreage Decisions in the Presence of Credit Constraints: Do Decoupled Payments Matter?

While in theory decoupled payments do not distort production decisions, in practice there are several potential coupling mechanisms for these payments. We use farm-level data from Kansas to revisit the issue of how (de)coupled are these supposedly “decoupled” payments by focusing on how they may impact production through credit constraints. In particular, we study how production effects may have differed across farmers with varying levels of debt pressure. Our empirical approach exploits the fact that we can observe the same farm over time (and so can account for the effects of time-constant omitted variables) to study how these payments affected total crop acres, owned acres, and the decisions to plant corn, sorghum, soybeans and wheat. Like previous studies, we find small production effects. Nonetheless our results suggest decoupled payments have potentially distortionary effects on production.decoupled payments, credit constraints, Agricultural Finance, Q17, Q18,

Effects of Decoupling on the Average and the Variability of Output

Previous research has ignored the influence of inputs on output risk when assessing the effects of decoupled income-support payments on production decisions. This paper studies the impacts of agricultural policy decoupling on output variability and mean by explicitly considering the influence of agricultural input use on the stochastic component of production. We develop a theoretical framework that studies production responses of agricultural producers to apparently decoupled payments. Results show that, under DARA preferences, government transfers will have the effect of increasing production risk. Inferences on the effects of payments on output mean are also made. In our empirical application we use farm-level data collected in Kansas to illustrate the model.decoupling, output risk, risk preferences, Just-Pope production function, Demand and Price Analysis, Q12, Q18,

Decoupling farm policies: how does this affect production?

This paper studies the extent to which decoupled income support measures in agriculture can have production implications both at the extensive and intensive margins. We develop a theoretical framework that analyzes production responses of agricultural producers to apparently decoupled payments, by explicitly considering risk attitudes and uncertainty. We use farm-level data collected in Kansas to estimate the model. Technology and risk preference parameters are jointly estimated. Results show that though lump sum payments are not fully decoupled in the presence of risk and uncertainty, their effects on agricultural production are likely to be of a very small magnitude.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Barry McVinney and David Allen Wehr in a Faculty Duo Recital

This is the program for the faculty duo recital featuring flutist Barry McVinney and pianist David Allen Wehr assisted the performance. This recital took place on April 24, 1995, in the Mabee Fine Arts Center Recital Hall