DO PROFITABLE GRAIN MARKETING STRATEGIES EXIST FOR KANSAS CROPS?

The issue of whether profitable preharvest and postharvest marketing strategies exist relative to harvest sales for Kansas crops for the 1985-1998 marketing years is addressed. Practical application of market efficiency concepts is discussed. Nonharvest wheat marketing strategies offered less opportunity relative to harvest sales than for feedgrains and especially soybeans.Grain marketing, efficient markets, futures, options, marketing strategies, Crop Production/Industries, Marketing,

The Effects of the Micro-Market Structure for Kansas Grain Elevators on Spatial Grain Price Differentials

Corn and wheat cash prices in Kansas are affected by a number of local supply-demand, market structure, transportation access and other factors. Kansas corn prices in 2008 were affected by form of business organization, local feedgrain production and livestock feed usage, elevator storage capacity, access to railroad grain handling facilities, and to a limited degree by the number of competitors in local markets. Geographic proximity to grain ethanol plants did not have a positive impact on local corn prices, although a number of mitigating factors may exist. Kansas wheat prices in 2008 were affected by local wheat production, elevator storage capacity, the number of competitors in local markets, and by location relative to flour mills. Evidence of operating cost and efficiency differences among grain elevators indicate the presence of market power in local Kansas grain markets.grain markets, market structure, grain ethanol, wheat flour, monopsonistic competition, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Consumer/Household Economics, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

Cost of production and equitable leasing arrangements for center pivot irrigated corn in central Nebraska

Presented at the 2007 Central Plains irrigation conference on February 27-28 in Kearney, Nebraska

The Economics of Selling Crop Residue Biomass for Cellulosic Ethanol Production at the Farm Level

A partial budget decision making framework has been developed to assist crop producers in analyzing the profitability of selling cellulosic biomass from their fields for ethanol production. A multidisciplinary approach is taken in assessing the agronomic and economic factors relevant to biomass contract sales decisions – with direct application made to western Great Plains cropping systems and enterprises. Within this framework the benefits of increased revenue from cellulosic biomass contract sales and potential government assistance payments are considered against possible decreased revenue from diminished crop yields resulting from less crop residue cover and subsequent soil moisture evaporation. Increased biomass harvesting and handling are also considered, as is the cost of replacing crop nutrients removed as part of biomass harvest operations. Examples of the profitability of cellulosic biomass contract sales in center pivot irrigated corn and non-irrigated wheat enterprises are shown.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Market for Teacher Quality

Much of education policy focuses on improving teacher quality, but most policies lack strong research support. We use student achievement gains to estimate teacher value-added, our measure of teacher quality. The analysis reveals substantial variation in the quality of instruction, most of which occurs within rather than between schools. Although teacher quality appears to be unrelated to advanced degrees or certification, experience does matter -- but only in the first year of teaching. We also find that good teachers tend to be effective with all student ability levels but that there is a positive value of matching students and teachers by race. In the second part of the analysis, we show that teachers staying in our sample of urban schools tend to be as good as or better than those who exit. Thus, the main cost of large turnover is the introduction of more first year teachers. Finally, there is little or no evidence that districts that offer higher salaries and have better working conditions attract the higher quality teachers among those who depart the central city district. The overall results have a variety of direct policy implications for the design of school accountability and the compensation of teachers.

Economic analysis of flood and center pivot irrigation system modifications, An

Presented at the Central Plains irrigation short course and exposition on February 4, 1997 at the Colby Community Building in Colby, Kansas.Includes bibliographical references.An after-tax net present value(NPV) analysis of investing in three irrigation system modifications for the production of corn, grain sorghum, wheat, and alfalfa is conducted. Modifying a high pressure center pivot with low-drift nozzles and adding surge valves to a gated pipe system is economically feasible for each crop

THE EFFECT OF PERSONAL AND FARM CHARACTERISTICS UPON GRAIN MARKETING PRACTICES

A survey of Kansas, Texas, and Iowa agricultural producers was taken to examine the factors affecting their grain marketing practices. Sales indices models and models of qualitative choice are used to determine whether marketers' choices of cash market, forward contract, or futures and options oriented marketing practices are significantly affected by their personal farm business characteristics. Results indicate that geographic location, farm size, grain enterprise specialization, farming experience, use of grain storage, and use of crop insurance have significant effects upon the respondents' choice of grain marketing practices.agricultural options, cash marketing, futures, grain marketing practices, multinomial logit, Tobit, Marketing,

MF2242

Daniel O'Brien et al., Economic comparison of SDI and center pivots for various field sizes, Kansas State University, October 1997

Field testing of World Health Organization (WHO) 2003 recommendations for initiating anti-retroviral therapy (ART) where CD4 is not available revealed low sensitivity among stage I and II patients; a combination of Automated Total Lymphocyte Count (TLC) and Haemoglobin (Hgb) can ration the referral for CD4 testing.

2006 AIDS Conference, Toront

A Case Study of the Impact of Bioenergy Development Upon Crop Production, Livestock Feeding, and Water Resource Usage in Kansas

The development of grain-based ethanol production in Kansas has had a marked impact upon the feedgrain and livestock industries of the state. The increased focus on feedgrain production stemming from ethanol development impacts the use and sustainability of Kansas water resources, and has changed the proportional mix of crops grown in the state. The need to handle increased amounts of feedgrains and to transport them to ethanol plants has affected the functional role of local grain elevators as well as the directional flow of grain within the state. The grain trucking industry has been dramatically affected by the increase in demand for moving both feedstock inputs and co-product outputs to and from ethanol plants in the state.Crop Production/Industries, Livestock Production/Industries, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,