A NORTHEAST BORROWER TRAINING PROGRAM: EVOLUTION AND IMPACTS

A financial training program designed by Cooperative Extension specialists was provided to over 2,000 USDA/FSA borrowers from the Northeast during the period 1994-1999. Key to the success of the workshops was an in-depth, user-friendly curriculum that evolved over time, eventually replacing satellite-feed instruction with pre-taped videos. Cluster analysis classified nearly 70 percent of workshop participants as "Low Finance Priority" or "Low Finance Knowledge." Farmers in these clusters received a relatively greater educational benefit from the program than those not in these clusters.. Impact analysis indicated that perceived annual gain in farm net worth from application of workshop tools ranged from approximately $5,000 to$10,000. The training addressed the needs of producers typically isolated from Cooperative Extension because the workshop was the only extension program attended that year by nearly two-thirds of them.agricultural finance, workshop methods, borrower training, cluster analysis, impact analysis, Agricultural Finance, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Interview with Robert D. Hanson, October 2, 1998

Robert D. Hanson, son of Gettysburg College President Henry W.A. Hanson, was interviewed on October 2, 1998 by Michael J. Birkner & David Hedrick. He discusses his father\u27s presidency, and what it was like to grow up in Gettysburg College\u27s White House. He also describes his experience as a student in the class of 1939--what it was like to be the son of the president as a student, fraternity life, academics, and his service in World War II. Length of Interview: 134 minutes Collection Note: This oral history was selected from the Oral History Collection maintained by Special Collections & College Archives. Transcripts are available for browsing in the Special Collections Reading Room, 4th floor, Musselman Library. GettDigital contains the complete listing of oral histories done from 1978 to the present. To view this list and to access selected digital versions please visit -- http://gettysburg.cdmhost.com/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16274coll

Post-elastic dynamic response of mild steel structures

The current philosophy of earthquake resistant design is that a structure should be able to withstand an extremely strong motion earthquake without collapsing, even though a certain amount of damage is incurred. To make such a design requires a knowledge of the dynamic behavior of structures under large amplitude vibrations. The objective of the work reported here was to investigate the dynamic frequency response characteristics of a mild steel structure vibrating in the plastic range. Comparisons were made of the static, the dynamic, and the theoretical responses of the yielding structure. The behavior of single-story structures having structural steel columns was investigated experimentally by means of horizontally applied forces generated by a shaking machine. The experimentally determined dynamic response showed the decrease in resonant frequency for increases in deflection amplitude which is characteristic of a "softening spring" type of nonlinearity. Ultraharmonic response was also observed. Under steady-state oscillations the fraction of equivalent viscous damping varied from 0.0016 at small, elastic deflections to 0.089 at large, plastic deflections. Structural deterioration was observed in both the static and dynamic experiments with a recovery of strength occurring between tests. A completely stable hysteretic loop was not attained at large deflection amplitudes, and the hysteresis loop did not become completely stable until the deflection amplitude was reduced to almost the initial yield value. However, the change in the hysteretic loop per cycle for the large deflections was small enough to permit assuming that a steady-state dynamic condition existed over a limited number of cycles. Discrepancies between the theoretical and the experimental virgin force-deflection curves were found and these are shown to be the result of simplifying approximations introduced in the structural analysis. It was found that the resonant vibrational amplitude of the structure can be predicted within 20%, and the resonant natural frequency within 2 1/2%, on the basis of the static virgin force-deflection curve. For large, plastic deflections at an excitation frequency of 3 cps, it was found that the differences between the dynamic and the static hysteresis loops were less than the changes in the static loops resulting from the deterioration caused by repeated cycles of loading

Educating Engineers for Rebuilding Rather Than Building

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72784/1/j.1749-6632.1984.tb27045.x.pd

OPTIMAL POST-HARVEST GRAINS STORAGE BY RISK AVERSE FARMERS

Most previous research on post-harvest grain storage by farmers has assumed risk-neutral behavior and/or made restrictive assumptions about underlying price probability distributions. In this study we solve the optimal post-harvest storage problem for a risk averse farmer under more general assumptions about underlying price distributions. The resulting model is applied to Michigan corn farmers and results show that, contrary to the sell all-or-nothing risk-neutral rule, risk averse farmers will spread sales out over the storage season. The optimal pattern for sales by Michigan corn farmers is to sell approximately 50% of corn at harvest in November (a risk-reduction strategy) and approximately 40% in May (a return-enhancing strategy).Crop Production/Industries,

HEDGING WITH FUTURES AND OPTIONS UNDER A TRUNCATED CASH PRICE DISTRIBUTION

Many agricultural producers face cash price distributions that are effectively truncated at a lower limit through participation in farm programs designed to support farm prices and incomes. For example, the 1996 Federal Agricultural Improvement Act (FAIR) makes many producers eligible to obtain marketing loans which truncate their cash price realization at the loan rate, while allowing market prices to freely equilibrate supply and demand. This paper studies the effects of truncated cash price distributions on the optimal use of futures and options. The results show that truncation in the cash price distribution facing an individual producer provides incentives to trade options as well as futures. We derive optimal futures and options trading rules under options as well as futures. We derive optimal futures and options trading rules under a range of different truncation scenarios. Empirical results highlights the impacts of basis risk and yield risk on the optimal futures and options portfolio.farm programs, futures, hedging, options, truncation, Marketing,

A PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS OF DAIRY FEEDING SYSTEMS IN THE NORTHEAST

This study analyzes the use and profitability of three distinct feeding systems; confinement feeding, traditional grazing, and management-intensive grazing from a randomly selected sample of northeastern dairy farms. The confinement feeding farms were significantly larger and produced more milk per cow, while the farms using management-intensive grazing incurred the lowest production costs. Both confinement feeding and management-intensive grazing generated significantly higher rates of return to farm assets relative to farms using a mixed system. Multiple regression analysis confirms the critical importance of herd size, milk production per cow, debt level and veterinary expenses to farm profitability in all production systems.Livestock Production/Industries,

IDENTIFYING FREQUENT SEAFOOD PURCHASERS IN THE NORTHEASTERN U.S.

Factors affecting the frequency of purchase of fish and other seafood for at-home and restaurant consumption by Northeastern consumers were investigated. Cluster analysis identified six groups of consumers with similar perceptions of the attributes of fish. Demographic and cluster membership variables were employed in logistic regressions to identify the characteristics of frequent at-home use and restaurant purchasers. At-home purchase was more likely to be frequent among respondents with white collar occupations, older ages, urban/suburban and New England residence, recreational fishing participation, and membership in one of five attitudinal clusters. Restaurant purchase was more likely to be frequent among whites and among those with higher incomes, white collar occupations, recreational fishing involvement and among members of two clusters with favorable attitudes toward fish; it was less likely to be frequent in households with children age 10 and under present.Consumer/Household Economics,

Expanding Extension\u27s Reach: Partnering With FSA to Meet Educational Goals

Extension specialists at Penn State and University of Vermont continued their successful expansion of extension clientele to partner with FSA to train new loan officers from 12 states on agricultural production practices, related equipment and marketing challenges. The 3-4 day workshops were designed around a series of visits to farms and ag businesses. A follow-up workshop focused specifically on entrepreneurial innovators. Participant evaluations indicated that visits to ag businesses were the most highly rated activity, followed closely by farm visits. Overall satisfaction was very high, and nearly all participants indicated the training would make them better loan officers