What Governs Farm Land Prices?

Research studies by the USDA and the state agricultural experiment stations have helped to pinpoint the forces that have been operating in the land market, both as to their existence and the nature of their effects

Sell Cropping Rights on Your Farm?

A large part of our farm problem is more farm output than our population needs. A land-use easement program could be a step in the right direction toward a relatively permanent remedy for the overproduction problem

Public water for rural areas and small towns

"Much of the information presented in this publication is based on a study by Wendell Gortman, "Planning and Management of Public Water Supply Districts," an unpublished M.S. thesis. Special acknowledgment is also given to the Farmers Home Administration in Missouri which provided data and encouraged the study; and to the Water Resources Research Center, University of Missouri, for providing funds (project number A-018-Mo)."--Acknowledgment"New water towers and standpipes are becoming a familiar sight in the Missouri countryside. The number of rural water supply systems in the state has increased especially since 1965, the year the Farmers Home Administration expanded its loan program for this purpose. FHA offers financial assistance to two general types of water distribution organizations, ( 1) municipal systems which include villages, towns, or cities with less than 5,500 population, and (2) rural districts. City officials serve as the governing body of the municipal systems. The rural districts differ in that a new organization is established ( under Chapter 247, Revised Statutes of Missouri) to administer the water distribution program. This organization is usually outside the city and serves both rural residents and farmers."--First page.Coy G. McNabb and Melvin G. Blase (Department of Agricultural Economics

An investigation of the effects of urban expansion on the taxation of real property in west central Missouri

Digitized 2007 AES MoU.Includes bibliographical references (pages 55-56)

Why Do We Let Our Soil Erode?

This is the third report on the progress being made in erosion control in western Iowa. Soil losses have been reduced, but they still exceed levels that operators themselves believe necessary to maintain soil productivity

Soil erosion control in western Iowa: progress and problems

The study on which this analysis is based was concerned with the socio-economic factors that prevented erosion control in western Iowa from coinciding with goals of erosion-control programs. Information was obtained by personal interview from 138 farm operators and 49 nonoperating owners of farms in the area in 1957 in a continuing investigation of the obstacles preventing adoption of erosion-control practices and of possible remedies for these obstacles. The same sample of farms had been included in two previous studies in 1949 and 1952. Data from these three studies were used to analyze the effects of changes in obstacles to erosion control on changes in soil loss. The average estimated annual soil loss for the sample decreased from 21.1 to 14.1 tons per acre from 1949-57. In an effort to determine why the 5- ton-per-acre goal of public programs in the area had not been attained in 1957, multiple variable linear regression was used to analyze the relationships between obstacles, farm characteristics and soil losses. The statistically significant obstacles preventing the reduction of soil losses by farm operators were (1) operators\u27 need for immediate income, (2) their failure to see the need for recommended practices (custom and inertia) and (3) field and road layout of the farms. Characteristics which explained a significant amount of variation in the estimated soil loss were (1) topography of the farm, (2) soil conservation district participation, (3) the operator\u27s ability to borrow funds for erosion-control practices, (4) days of off-farm work and (5) recognition of the seriousness of the erosioncontr01 problem by farm operators. While not statistically significant, the most important obstacles for nonoperating landowners were (1) need for immediate income and (2) insufficient roughage-consuming livestock on tenant-operated farms

Soil erosion and some means for its control

The control of soil erosion on the many farms where it is still a problem would not be difficult if it required only an understanding of the critical physical relationships between climate, topography, plant cover, water and soil as well as an ability to prescribe the proper engineering and agronomic measures for each situation. Soil losses, when greatly in excess of those produced by natural geological processes, result from the use of particular farming practices and cropping systems. While an understanding of the physical conditions which produce this erosion is essential, so is an understanding of the reasons that farmers choose the methods of farming which expose their soil to the hazard of heavy erosion losses.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/specialreports/1027/thumbnail.jp

A comparative analysis of alternative technical assistance delivery systems, with emphasis on consortia

"Final report submitted under Contract No. DAN-0000-C-00-1060-00"This analysis focused on 18 agricultural projects AID had under contract at the beginning of 1981 with five permanent consortia--CID, SECID, SutSU, MIAC AND MUCIA. Data were also obtained about comparable projects from 18 of the 36 respondents. Information was primarily obtained on site for five projects and from project monitors in AID/Washington and Campus Project Directors for the remaining projects. Statistical and other analyses of these data resulted in the following conclusions and recommendations: 1. Consortia were performing significantly better than comparable contractors with regard to linkage establishment, involving small universities, and were better received by host governments in the judgement of the respondent. The comparable contractors were doing significantly better staffing their projects during the initial year. Regional differences were important in consortia performance. Recruiting, especially Ph.D.'s, for projects in some regions was much more difficult than in others. Likewise, the adequacy of AID support varied from region to region. 3. Projects were plagued by numerous delays. Regardless of cause of delay, once a project got out of synchronization, regaining its full potential effectiveness level was difficult. 4. The four largest permanent consortia studied differed significantly. Major differences were manifest in staffing rates, recruiting of Ph.D.'s, providing opportunities for small universities, and staffing projects with faculty members from their member universities. 5. A uniform evaluation procedure was not evident. Project performance could be improved by better evaluation procedures. 6. A tendency was found that the larger the university membership in the consortium, the better the staffing rates of projects but the poorer the organizational-management ratings given the projects by the respondents. Conversely, small consortia tended to get better organizational-management scores but had greater problems staffing projects. 7. Several management oriented changes were suggested. These centered on improved tracking of projects, experimenting with joint permanent consortia-project specific consortia contracting, use of project management councils, and an annual award program for the outstanding consortium project. 8. Present procurement procedures would be modified by some of the recommendations. These included considering a bidder's past staffing record, requiring posting of nominated personnel, reducing the contractor selection time period, limiting each bidder to one submission, integrating elements of the cost proposal in the technical proposal and encouraging or discouraging consortia to prepare proposals in the contractor selection criteria. 9. A training program of short courses on 1) business practices and 2) preparation for a technical assistance assignment were recommended. 10. Finally, a research program on technical assistance and institution building was suggested with the following initial foci: development of an index of project effectiveness, cost/effectiveness of host country contracts, project evaluation procedures and costs of consortia.--Page 1-3