Credit, Crop Insurance and Sustainable Agriculture in Iowa

As part of a project funded by the Leopold Center, Iowa Farmers Union (IFU) and the Center for Rural A ffairs (CFRA) undertook a survey of Iowa producers, agricu ltural lenders and crop insurance agents. The purpo se was to understand each groups attitudes toward “sustain able agriculture,” and to determine the extent, if any, of discrimination against sustainable agriculture in l ending and crop insurance practices

Giving a Beginner a Chance in the 2007 Farm Bill

This report outlines training, support and programs that could help more young people enter agriculture. The report outlines how existing programs could be targeted for beginning and new farmers, as well as suggestions for new programs, such as individual development accounts. The study was supported by the Leopold Center\u27s Policy Initiative (P2006-09)

Brief of Amicus Curiae American Antitrust Institute in support of Appellants and Reversal of the District Court\u27s Decision, Federal Trade Commission and State of Minnesota v. Lundbeck, Inc. Nos. 10-3548 and 10-3549, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth District (2011)

The basis for the District Court’s ruling was its view that cross-price elasticity of demand was “very low” between the two drugs acquired by Lundbeck, and therefore that they could not be in the same relevant market.2 AAI urges reversal on three grounds. First, assuming arguendo that crossprice elasticity was low – even if it were zero – the court’s approach fundamentally misapprehended the law. A lack of price competition between two functionally interchangeable products does not preclude a determination that they are in the same relevant market. Second, regardless of “low” cross-price elasticity, the acquisition removed an actual or potential constraint on a monopolist’s ability to exercise monopoly power and was therefore anticompetitive and illegal under Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 2 of the Sherman Act. And third, the court’s finding of “low” crossprice elasticity should be rejected because it cannot be reconciled with the rest of its findings and is otherwise riddled with errors

Brief of Amicus Curiae American Antitrust Institute in support of Appellants and Reversal of the District Court\u27s Decision, Federal Trade Commission and State of Minnesota v. Lundbeck, Inc. Nos. 10-3548 and 10-3549, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth District (2011)

The basis for the District Court’s ruling was its view that cross-price elasticity of demand was “very low” between the two drugs acquired by Lundbeck, and therefore that they could not be in the same relevant market.2 AAI urges reversal on three grounds. First, assuming arguendo that crossprice elasticity was low – even if it were zero – the court’s approach fundamentally misapprehended the law. A lack of price competition between two functionally interchangeable products does not preclude a determination that they are in the same relevant market. Second, regardless of “low” cross-price elasticity, the acquisition removed an actual or potential constraint on a monopolist’s ability to exercise monopoly power and was therefore anticompetitive and illegal under Section 7 of the Clayton Act and Section 2 of the Sherman Act. And third, the court’s finding of “low” crossprice elasticity should be rejected because it cannot be reconciled with the rest of its findings and is otherwise riddled with errors

Exchange Bias Induced by the Fe3O4 Verwey transition

We present a study of the exchange bias in different configurations of V2O3 thin films with ferromagnetic layers. The exchange bias is accompanied by a large vertical shift in the magnetization. These effects are only observed when V2O3 is grown on top of Ni80Fe20 permalloy. The magnitude of the vertical shift is as large as 60% of the total magnetization which has never been reported in any system. X-Ray diffraction studies show that the growth conditions promote the formation of a ferrimagnetic Fe3O4 interlayer. The change in the easy magnetization axis of Fe3O4 across the Verwey transition at 120 K is correlated with the appearance of exchange bias and vertical shift in magnetization. Both phenomena disappear above 120 K, indicating for the first time a direct relationship between the magnetic signature of the Verwey transition and exchange bias.Comment: Accepted for publication Physical Review

Red Sea Coral Reef Trajectories Over 2 Decades Suggest Increasing Community Homogenization and Decline in Coral Size

Three independent line intercept transect surveys on northern Red Sea reef slopes conducted in 1988/9 and 1997/8 in Egypt and from 2006–9 in Saudi Arabia were used to compare community patterns and coral size. Coral communities showed scale-dependent variability, highest at fine spatial and taxonomic scale (species-specific within and among reef patterns). At coarser scale (generic pattern across regions), patterns were more uniform (regionally consistent generic dominance on differently exposed reef slopes and at different depths). Neither fine- nor coarse-scale patterns aligned along the sampled 1700 km latitudinal gradient. Thus, a latitudinal gradient that had been described earlier from comparable datasets, separating the Red Sea into three faunistic zones, was no longer apparent. This may indicate subtle changes in species distributions. Coral size, measured as corrected average intercept of corals in transects, had decreased from 1997 to 2009, after having remained constant from 1988 to 1997. Recruitment had remained stable (~12 juvenile corals per m2). Size distributions had not changed significantly but large corals had declined over 20 years. Thus, data from a wide range of sites taken over two decades support claims by others that climate change is indeed beginning to show clear effects on Red Sea reefs

Understanding the United Kingdom marine aquarium trade–a mystery shopper study of species on sale

In this study, we conducted a unique survey of marine ornamental fishes appearing in UK retail stores, as well as a review of government trade statistics, with the aim to significantly strengthen the evidence‐base in support of future management initiatives. Fifty marine aquarium retailers were visited. A total of 380 marine aquarium fish species (4926 individuals), from 48 families were recorded with the largest proportion of individuals belonging to the families Pomacentridae, Acanthuridae, Apogonidae, Labridae, Pomacanthidae, Gobiidae and Labridae. The majority of fishes for sale (91% of species) originated from the Indo‐Pacific Ocean, with only a small number (9% of species) derived from the Atlantic Ocean. However, exact sources of individual species were unclear and poorly documented. Government trade statistics revealed that the ornamental reef‐fish trade in the UK grew markedly between 1996 and 2008 with a rapid acceleration in 2003–2004. However, imports have declined since 2008 and amounted to less than 305,000 kg in 2017 with an economic value of UK £3 million (c. US $3.8). Recent trade data (2017) identify Indonesia, USA, Philippines and the Maldives as the most important countries in terms of imports to the UK. The UK is an important exporter of wild‐caught fishes via trans‐shipment, but also production of tank‐reared animals. Several species observed for sale in the UK have been designated by the IUCN and CITES as being of conservation concern, although all these animals are thought to have been captive‐reared