Risk Sharing and Transactions Costs in Producer-Processor Supply Chains

Industrial Organization,

Restructuring of the Ag Lending Markets: The FCS Dilemma

Agricultural Finance,

THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF AGRICULTURE: IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE POLICY

Farming is in the midst of a major transformation—not only in technology and production practices, but also in size of business, resource (land) control and operation, business model and linkages with buyers and suppliers. This paper describes the fundamental drivers of today’s structural change in U.S. agriculture. The impact of the drivers are illustrated by describing some illustrations of the kinds of innovative farming operations that are developing in agriculture, not the typical farms but those who appear to be leading and shaping the new agriculture. Finally, farm policy implications of the transformation of farming to an industrial manufacturing model are discussed.Farm policy, industrialization of agriculture, structural change, biological manufacturing

U3 snoRNA genes are multi-copy and frequently linked to U5 snRNA genes in Euglena gracilis§

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>U3 snoRNA is a box C/D small nucleolar RNA (snoRNA) involved in the processing events that liberate 18S rRNA from the ribosomal RNA precursor (pre-rRNA). Although U3 snoRNA is present in all eukaryotic organisms, most investigations of it have focused on fungi (particularly yeasts), animals and plants. Relatively little is known about U3 snoRNA and its gene(s) in the phylogenetically broad assemblage of protists (mostly unicellular eukaryotes). In the euglenozoon <it>Euglena gracilis</it>, a distant relative of the kinetoplastid protozoa, Southern analysis had previously revealed at least 13 bands hybridizing with U3 snoRNA, suggesting the existence of multiple copies of U3 snoRNA genes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Through screening of a λ genomic library and PCR amplification, we recovered 14 U3 snoRNA gene variants, defined by sequence heterogeneities that are mostly located in the U3 3'-stem-loop domain. We identified three different genomic arrangements of <it>Euglena </it>U3 snoRNA genes: <it>i</it>) stand-alone, <it>ii</it>) linked to tRNA^Arggenes, and <it>iii</it>) linked to a U5 snRNA gene. In arrangement <it>ii</it>), the U3 snoRNA gene is positioned upstream of two identical tRNA^Arggenes that are convergently transcribed relative to the U3 gene. This scenario is reminiscent of a U3 snoRNA-tRNA gene linkage previously described in trypanosomatids. We document here twelve different U3 snoRNA-U5 snRNA gene arrangements in <it>Euglena</it>; in each case, the U3 gene is linked to a downstream and convergently oriented U5 gene, with the intergenic region differing in length and sequence among the variants.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The multiple U3 snoRNA-U5 snRNA gene linkages, which cluster into distinct families based on sequence similarities within the intergenic spacer, presumably arose by genome, chromosome, and/or locus duplications. We discuss possible reasons for the existence of the unusually large number of U3 snoRNA genes in the <it>Euglena </it>genome. Variability in the signal intensities of the multiple Southern hybridization bands raises the possibility that <it>Euglena </it>contains a naturally aneuploid chromosome complement.</p

VERTICALLY ALIGNED VS. OPEN MARKET COORDINATION: DOMINANCE OR CO-EXISTENCE?

Will a more tightly aligned system become the exclusive coordination or governance system in the pork industry? The analysis shows that the packer prefers to source hogs from both an aligned market and an independent market. This result is because the packer, facing variability in the demand for premium pork, must balance the cost of higher quality aligned hogs and independent hogs against the states of nature for demand for the premium product.Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Sustainability Strategies in U.S. Agribusiness: Understanding Key Drivers, Objectives, and Actions

sustainability, triple bottom line, strategy, stakeholders, supply chain, Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty,

The Innovation Process: Practices in Food and Agribusiness Companies

Agribusiness,

Is Growing Livestock Inventories a Sustainable Initiative Given Phosphorus Crop Removal Regulations?

As environmental regulations continue to tighten and shift from nitrogen to phosphorus-based application standards for manure, phosphorus removal will become increasingly important for any state considering a livestock growth initiative. A framework was developed that can determine a state’s phosphorus removal capacity based upon production of livestock and crops and varying phosphorus removal standards. The state level results indicate that Indiana, along with Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, and Texas, are well positioned to undertake a livestock growth initiative given that each state has excess phosphorous removal capacity.Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries,

Scorecarding and Heat Mapping: Tools and Concepts for Assessing Strategic Uncertainty

The dramatic changes occurring throughout the agriculture industry are creating new and different uncertainties that result from a turbulent business climate. The objective of this paper is to present a methodology to understand, assess and evaluate, and manage strategic uncertainty. The approach is to present a mental model that frames assessment of strategic uncertainty from a potential and exposure perspective. Scorecarding and heat mapping assessment tools operationalize the mental model. Participants in an executive agribusiness educational workshop applied this mental model and the assessment tools to one of three hypothetical seed companies. The participants then provided an evaluation of the usefulness and effectiveness of uncertainty scorecarding and heat mapping.Uncertainty, scorecarding, strategic uncertainty, heat mapping, potential, exposure, likelihood, Risk and Uncertainty,