THE CONTRIBUTION OF NORTH DAKOTA'S COMMUNITY PHARMACIES TO THE STATE'S ECONOMY

A pharmacist shortage, mail and internet competition, thinning margins, and third-party payer issues are some of the issues challenging community pharmacies. Those challenges have raised concerns about the long-term viability of independent community pharmacies, especially those in rural areas. In addition to a pharmacy's role in the delivery of prescription drugs, community pharmacies also play an important role in the state and local economies, again, especially in rural communities. Community pharmacies consistently have been classified as a business that provides essential services. Because of the issues and challenges facing community pharmacies and their role as an essential service, this study was undertaken to quantify the economic contribution North Dakota's community pharmacies make to the state's economy and to examine community pharmacies' business characteristics, services provided, and other issues. This study estimates all relevant expenditures and returns associated with North Dakota's community pharmacies.Economic impact, pharmacy, pharmacists, drug stores, Health Economics and Policy,

CONTRIBUTION OF THE NORTH DAKOTA AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS UTILIZATION COMMISSION PROGRAMS TO THE STATE ECONOMY

The North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission (APUC) has the mission of creating new wealth and jobs through the development of new and expanded uses for North Dakota agricultural products. The Commission administers four grant programs encompassing basic and applied research, farm diversification, marketing and utilization, and prototype development. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Commission's success in attaining its goals. The project team examined the outcomes of a sample of grant recipients from each program type to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the program in meeting its stated objectives. The time frame for the evaluation was 1995-2004. During the study period, a total of $9.3 million was awarded to 396 projects. Marketing and utilization grants accounted for 54 percent of awards and 70 percent of total funds awarded. The review of the four APUC grant programs indicates that each program appears to be quite successful in meeting its objectives. The farm diversification grantees who were contacted generally indicated that their projects had been implemented as planned, and most had plans to continue or expand their new enterprises. Prototype development by its very nature is a high risk venture, but of seven grant recipients contacted, two had commercialized their products, reporting annual gross revenues of$100,000 and $750,000, respectively. Two others reported that their products were nearing commercialization and were planning to begin marketing in 2007. Basic and applied research grants typically represent front-end efforts to develop and commercialize new products, crops, or value-added opportunities. Several of the basic and applied research grant recipients contacted were able to report very concrete outcomes with substantial economic impacts. Finally, the marketing and utilization grants program supports a diversity of projects directed at market analysis, feasibility studies, business plan development, and related services to support the launch and/or expansion of value-added enterprises. This program has supported the launch of a number of major processing ventures, as well as a number of smaller projects. The larger and more successful projects assisted by this program have made very substantial economic contributions. For example, nine agricultural processing projects supported by APUC during the 1995-2004 period are estimated (when fully operational) to contribute more than$157 million annually to the state economy, to support almost 2,300 new jobs, and to result in $2.4 million in added state sales and use and personal income tax revenues annually. In addition, APUC support has assisted the launch of a number of smaller enterprises which are important to the livelihood of the individual, may provide employment opportunities that would not otherwise exist, and may have potential for future growth.economic development, agricultural processing, North Dakota, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

CHARACTERISTICS OF NATURE-BASED TOURISM ENTERPRISES IN NORTH DAKOTA

Recreational activities related to North Dakota's wealth of natural resources are well-established in North Dakota. In recent years, North Dakota's abundant resources have attracted visitors from around the country and the world. In addition to providing recreational activities for residents and visitors alike, natural resource-based tourism is a basic sector that may have considerable potential for creating economic opportunities in rural areas. Recognition of the potential importance of resource-based tourism to rural economies is well-advanced in other parts of the United States. However, little attention has historically been paid to tourism in North Dakota. While much anecdotal evidence exists suggesting that natural resource-based tourism is growing in North Dakota, no basic research on the sector has to date been completed. The goal of this study is to identify and analyze existing agricultural and natural resource-based tourism enterprises in North Dakota.nature-based tourism, outdoor recreation, enterprise characteristics, rural businesses, economic development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

LOCAL SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACTS OF THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), first enacted in 1985, seeks to achieve both conservation and agricultural supply control objectives through voluntary, long-term (10 year contracts) retirement of cropland. By fall 2000, the program had enrolled about 31.4 million acres nationwide, and North Dakota ranked third among the states, with 3.2 million contracted acres, or 11 percent of the state's total cropland. Although long-term land retirement offers a variety of environmental benefits, as well as providing a stable income to participating landowners, large-scale land retirement can pose adverse economic impacts for nearby communities, primarily because agricultural supply and service sector businesses may be adversely affected. This study was undertaken to examine the local socioeconomic effects of the Conservation Reserve Program in rural areas of North Dakota. Interviews with agricultural and community leaders in six rural areas of North Dakota revealed that the CRP was perceived to have both positive and negative effects. The program was considered a substantial benefit to landowners, providing them with a guaranteed income from some of their least productive land. In addition, the environmental benefits of the program, including reduced soil erosion, improved water quality, and enhanced wildlife populations, were widely recognized. Negative effects cited by the leaders focused on the adverse impacts of cropland retirement on the farm supply and service sector and the role of the CRP in declining farm numbers and rural depopulation. A survey of more than 1,000 CRP contract holders provided additional perspective regarding the program's effects. Leading reasons for enrolling land in the CRP were to reduce erosion/increase soil fertility (24%), reduce income risk (23%), CRP was economically attractive (22%), and provide a transition to retirement (11%). The contract holders also reported that the land they enrolled in the CRP had lower yields than other land in the area, by an average of 5 percent. Forty-two percent of the respondents had enrolled 150 acres or less and only 21 percent had enrolled more than 450 acres. Of the contract holders who had once farmed but were no longer farming, only 23 percent indicated that the CRP influenced their decision to quit farming. On the other hand, of the respondents who were currently farming, 31 percent indicated that the CRP had been instrumental in keeping them on the farm. When the leaders were asked for suggestions to improve the program, their responses reflected three major themes. One group felt that the CRP should focus on highly erodible land and that recent changes in enrollment criteria have allowed too much productive farmland to be enrolled. Another group of respondents argued for periodic haying of the CRP land (e.g., every third or fourth year), a measure they thought that would both improve the wildlife habitat value of the land and provide a feed base for livestock producers. Finally, a number of leaders in each study area suggested options to increase recreational access to CRP land. They believe that increased economic activity associated with recreational activities (primarily hunting) may offer their communities a means to offset some of the economic losses associated with land retirement.Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), cropland retirement, socioeconomic impacts, costs and benefits, Land Economics/Use,

RURAL ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM IN NORTH DAKOTA

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, provides conservation benefits and agricultural supply control through voluntary, long-term retirement of crop land. Large-scale, long-term land retirement programs produce, in varying degrees, negative effects on those businesses and economic sectors that provide agricultural inputs and services. While the effects of the CRP on agriculture are well understood, economic assessments of the market-value of conservation benefits from the program accruing to rural economies remains largely undocumented. One of the conservation benefits of the program is wildlife habitat, which has bolstered upland bird, waterfowl, and big game populations. Growing wildlife populations have contributed to increased consumptive and non-consumptive wildlife-based recreation. This study addressed the net economic effects of decreased agricultural activity and increased recreational activity associated with the CRP in six rural areas of North Dakota from 1996 through 2000. The negative effects of the CRP on agricultural revenues were based on the level of economic activity that would have occurred in the absence of the program. The net change in revenues from CRP land returning to agricultural production in the six study areas was estimated at $76 million or about$56 per CRP-acre. However, returning CRP lands to agricultural production was estimated to lower commodity prices and reduce agricultural revenues on non-CRP lands by $25.9 million. The combined effect was estimated at$50.2 million annually or $37 per CRP-acre in the study areas. The CRP affects many types of outdoor recreation; however, hunting was identified as the most influenced type of recreation in North Dakota. Recreational impacts were determined by comparing pheasant, waterfowl, and deer hunter numbers before and after the CRP, assigning the relative role the CRP has played in the change in hunter numbers, allocating a percentage of the change in hunter numbers to each study area, and applying seasonal hunter expenditure patterns to the change in hunter numbers. Average annual CRP-related hunter expenditures in the six study areas were estimated at$12.8 million or $9.45 per CRP-acre. Overall, recreational revenues averaged 26 percent of the agricultural losses. The degree to which CRP-based hunting revenues in rural areas offset agricultural losses varied throughout the state. In several cases, hunting expenditures offset a substantial portion of the agricultural losses, while in other areas, the net economic loss from the program remains high. The net economic effects of the program in western and central North Dakota were the most favorable, whereas the effects were least favorable in eastern areas of the state. In North Dakota, the net economic effect of losses in agricultural revenues and gains in hunting-based recreational expenditures indicated that several areas of the state are not as economically burdened by the CRP as previous research has suggested.Conservation Reserve Program, Economic Impacts, Rural Economies, Land Economics/Use,

PERCEPTIONS OF LEAFY SPURGE AND EVALUATION OF THE TEAM LEAFY SPURGE PROJECT, BY PUBLIC LAND MANAGERS, LOCAL DECISION MAKERS, AND RANCH OPERATORS

Leafy spurge is an exotic, noxious, perennial weed which is widely established in the north central United States and is an especially serious problem in the northern Great Plains (Bangsund et al. 1999). In 1997, the Agriculture Research Service and Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, initiated a major Integrated Pest Management (IPM) research and demonstration project to develop and demonstrate ecologically based IPM strategies that can produce effective, affordable leafy spurge control. In 1998 and 1999, a survey of ranchers and public land managers was conducted to evaluate managerial, institutional, and social factors that might affect the rate and extent of implementation of various control strategies. In 2001, a second survey of the same ranchers and public land managers was conducted to (1) assess any changes in land managers' perceptions of weed problems, control alternatives, and related issues, and (2) evaluate the impact of the TEAM Leafy Spurge project on the respondent's weed control practices. The impacts of noxious weeds on grazing operations, specifically leafy spurge, are not abating, and ranchers seem more aware than ever of the severity of the problem. A slightly larger percentage of respondents in 2001 view leafy spurge as a major problem and the most serious problem for grazing operations than in 1998 and 1999. Heightened awareness among landowners may also be linked to TEAM Leafy Spurge's efforts to inform landowners of the problem and offer affordable, effective weed management techniques. While the use of biological control methods, specifically flea beetles, has grown, herbicides continue to be the control practice of choice. While slightly fewer respondents reported using herbicides in 2001 than in 1998 and 1999, the vast majority of landowners plan to continue to use herbicides. Over 50 percent of respondents are using biological control, and over 76 percent of respondents indicated flea beetles were either somewhat or very effective in controlling leafy spurge. Nearly half of the respondents had heard of TEAM Leafy Spurge, and all TEAM Leafy Spurge demonstration sites, events, and publications were favorably rated. A large majority of the respondents agreed that the program had been effective in demonstrating and communicating leafy spurge treatment and control options. Based on the results of the 2001 survey, it would appear that the program has indeed made progress in communicating the type of information landowners need to address what continues to be a significant issue for grazing operations in the Midwest.leafy spurge, noxious weeds, weed management, rancher opinion, Land Economics/Use,

RESULTS OF THE RURAL CASS COUNTY BUSINESS AND SERVICES PREFERENCE SURVEY

Changing demographics in rural and urban North Dakota have provided both opportunities and challenges for rural communities. Cass County boasts the state's largest and fastest growing urban center, but the impact of the county's growth extends beyond the Fargo-West Fargo city limits. Towns like Casselton, Horace, and Kindred have experienced substantial changes not only in the number of residents, but also in the composition of households and their business and service needs and preferences. To address these questions, the Rural Cass County Business and Services Preference Survey was designed to identify and quantify residents' perceptions on a variety of issues. This report details respondents' perceptions on quality of life issues, business and service patronization, as well as describes some basic demographic characteristics of rural Cass County residents.rural development, rural Cass County, population growth, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

DEVELOPING THE NATURE-BASED TOURISM SECTOR IN SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA

The purpose of this study was to: 1) identify opportunities for expanding the tourism sector in southwestern North Dakota, 2) identify challenges and obstacles facing the area's tourism businesses, and 3) frame key issues and outline potential options for area decision makers (the primary clientele for the study). The findings reveal some basic characteristics of businesses in the region's tourism sector, identify some of the key constraints to expansion and development, and identify respondents' perceptions of opportunities for growth and expansion.nature-based tourism, agritourism, North Dakota, economic development, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

ASSESSMENT OF THE EXTENT AND SUCCESS OF LEAFY SPURGE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS

Leafy spurge is an exotic, noxious, perennial weed which is widely established in the north central United States and is an especially serious problem in the northern Great Plains. In 1997, the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), initiated a major Integrated Pest Management (IPM) research and demonstration project, TEAM Leafy Spurge (TLS), to develop and demonstrate ecologically based IPM strategies that can produce effective, affordable leafy spurge control. A key component of the project was to expand the use of biological control (biocontrol) agents, specifically flea beetles. To assess the level of insect establishment and the level of current and perceived future control of leafy spurge, a mail survey was conducted of 468 individuals who obtained biocontrol agents (insects) at TLS-sponsored events, as well as County Weed Boards in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. Respondents reported basic information about the number and characteristics of release sites, characteristics of leafy spurge stands, as well as the level of control to date and perceived level of eventual control. Substantial numbers of landowners and County Weed Boards have utilized biocontrol agents as part of their leafy spurge control efforts, as well as collected flea beetles from release sites for redistribution. Respondents indicated biocontrol efforts are affecting at least some level of control and, in some cases, reported substantial reductions in spurge stands.leafy spurge, biological control, Apthona lacertosa/czwalinae, flea beetle, noxious weeds, weed management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

CHARACTERISTICS AND EXPENDITURES OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE POTHOLES AND PRAIRIE BIRDING FESTIVAL

North Dakotans are well aware of the abundance of the state's natural resources. Fishing and hunting are part of the culture of North Dakota, and more recently nature-based tourism has grown in popularity. National surveys illustrate growth trends in nature tourism, soft adventure, and heritage and historical tours. Several studies identify birders as a substantial source of economic activity in other parts of the country; these estimates, however, may not accurately reflect conditions in North Dakota. While anecdotal evidence suggests that nature-based tourism has economic development potential in North Dakota, little research exists describing the characteristics or expenditures of visitors participating in nature-based tourism activities in North Dakota. Accordingly, the objective of this research was to identify the basic characteristics of participants attending the 2004 Potholes and Prairie Birding Festival, estimate average expenditures per participant, and estimate the direct and secondary economic impacts of the Birding Festival on the local economy, in order to quantify the economic development potential of birding in rural North Dakota.birding, nature tourism, economic development, wildlife viewing, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,