WHAT ROLE DOES SPECIALIZATION PLAY IN FARM SIZE IN THE U.S. HOG INDUSTRY?

Replaced with revised version of paper 02/09/04.Farm Management,

Levels or Differences in Meat Demand Specification

We estimated a wholesale demand system for beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and turkey using quarterly U.S. data and a dynamic, CBS system (Keller and Van Driel). The CBS system is a differential system, which means that it might be more appropriately applied in those situations where the data have unit roots. If there are unit roots, differencing the data can improve the properties of the estimates. If the data do not have unit roots, differencing the data might harm the properties of the estimates. We tested the specification of the model's error terms using state-space techniques. State-space units allow one to deal with roots on the unit circle without filtering the data (See Durbin and Koopman). The demand system has only four independent error terms. The state-space model we used could have decomposed these four independent error terms into four errors with unit roots and four with 0 roots. Adding state-space features to the model greatly improved its performance as measured by the likelihood ratio statistics. The estimates imply that the raw demand data have two unit roots and three 0 roots. Our mixed approach improves the properties of the estimates.Demand and Price Analysis,

ANALYSIS OF IMPORT DEMAND FOR U.S. FRESH GRAPES: AN APPLICATION OF THE ROTTERDAM MODEL

The Rotterdam model was used to determine the demand for fresh table grapes in Canada, Japan, and Sweden from 1971-1990. Results of elastic expenditure elasticities and cross price elasticities indicating that U.S. grapes are considered substitutes for grapes from other countries, suggest that the U.S. grape producers have a competitive edge in these countries. The trade agreements and trade negotiations with Canada and Japan will assist in making relative prices lower for U.S. grapes, encouraging their consumption. Lastly, Canada, Japan, and Sweden are all expected to grow in wealth, as well as their demand for fruit, especially grapes.Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

Consumption of Pork Products: Now and to the Year 2020

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 1994-96 and 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) are used to describe pork consumption patterns as well as to estimate a censored demand system for pork cuts. The descriptive analysis fills the void about basic information on who consumes pork, how much, and where. A censored system of four pork cuts is estimated for adults, using a maximum-likelihood procedure. The estimated system is used to predict consumption of pork products by adults through the year 2020.censored dependent variables, CSFII, pork consumption, Tobit system, Consumer/Household Economics, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Factors Driving Sow Breeding Operations to Become Large

This study examines the influences of economic and non-economic variables on the size of U.S. sow breeding operations using a probit model. Data from a national survey of U.S. hog operations identifying two different size categories were used in this study. Findings indicate that factors such as operations located in Delta States, climate controlled facilities, specialized operation, breeding practices, and risk attitudes toward investments influence decisions to establish breeding operations with 500 or more sows. Producers located in Iowa were more likely to choose breeding operations with 499 or less sows.Farm Management,

Consumer Knowledge and Meat Consumption in the US

We investigate the roles of consumer knowledge and sociodemographic factors in the consumption of meat products at home and away from home, using data from the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals and its companion Diet and Health Knowledge Survey conducted by the US Department of Agriculture. The sample used contains individuals not consuming some of the products. In addition, diet knowledge is potentially endogenous because it is likely to be affected by unobserved factors which also affect meat consumption. It is well known that traditional estimation procedures not accounting for censored dependent variables or simultaneity produce biased estimates. These econometric issues are addressed by developing a simultaneous -equations system, estimated with the maximum simulated likelihood procedure. Results suggest endogeneity of knowledge and support the system approach to the estimation of demand functions for meats. Health knowledge decreases consumption of beef and pork at home and away from home; it increases consumption of poultry at and away from home but does not affect fish consumption in either occasion. Our findings on the effects of sociodemographic factors are in general consistent with a priori expectations: men eat more meat and fish than women, meat and fish consumption generally declines with age among adults, and regional and racial/ethnic differences in meat and fish consumption are observed. The simultaneous-equations model can be extended to one with multiple endogenous variables and can be a useful tool in other analyses of consumer demand with micro survey data, which have become available in many developing countries.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Consumption of Pork Products: Now and to the Year 2020

Data from the recent USDA's food consumption surveys are used to describe pork consumption patterns, to estimate a censored demand system for pork cuts, and to forecast pork consumption. Results indicate that between 2000 and 2020, pork consumption is predicted to grow for all cuts mainly due to population growth.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Consumer Demand for Meat Cuts and Seafood

Household at-home consumption of different types and cuts of meat and fish products is investigated by estimating a large censored demand system with a two-step procedure using ACNielsen's Homescan data. We find different price and expenditure elasticities between low-income and high-income households. High income households are less responsive to price changes, and the substitution patterns also differ between the low- and high-income households. Whereas the uncompensated elasticities suggest a mixture of gross substitutes and complements among the products for both low- and high-income households, the compensated elasticities suggest net substitution is the obvious pattern for the low-income households.censored dependent variables, sample selection model, meat, fish, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, D12, C34,

Does Consumer Knowledge Affect Meat Consumption in the US?

We investigate the roles of consumer knowledge and sociodemographic factors in the consumption of meat products at home and away from home. Results indicate that health knowledge decreases consumption of beef and pork and increases consumption of poultry at home and away from home but does not affect fish consumption.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Immersion microscopy based on photonic crystal materials

Theoretical model of the enhanced optical resolution of the surface plasmon immersion microscope is developed, which is based on the optics of surface plasmon Bloch waves in the tightly bound approximation. It is shown that a similar resolution enhancement may occur in a more general case of an immersion microscope based on photonic crystal materials with either positive or negative effective refractive index. Both signs of the effective refractive index have been observed in our experiments with surface plasmon immersion microscope, which is also shown to be capable of individual virus imaging.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure