RISK MANAGEMENT THROUGH ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTION PRACTICES AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: DISCUSSION

Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

Cotton Futures Dynamics: Structural Change, Index Traders and the Returns to Storage

The commodity bull cycle of 2006-2008 and subsequent dramatic price decline have been a source of hardship for traditional commodity market participants such as producers and merchant/shippers. The usefulness of futures markets has been called into question, especially given that some market movements did not appear to be justified by economic fundamentals. An emerging research literature examines the possible influence of futures traders, and particularly the non-traditional Index Traders, on the well-functioning of futures markets and underlying commodity markets. Cotton is a relatively under-studied commodity that is of particular importance for producers in the South and Southwest. To this end, this paper asks the following questions: (1) What role have (primarily long-only) Index Traders played, if we simultaneously account for important ongoing changes in cotton economic fundamentals? (2) Have seasonal and long-run patterns of convenience yield and price volatility changed during or since the commodity bull cycle? (3) How well do the data support a theory of storage model using the concept of convenience yield, and has the relationship changed with the commodity bull cycle? The results presented in this paper suggest that traditional, well-established economic relationships for cotton futures markets clearly have been disrupted during the period 2006- 2009. However, we find no direct evidence to support the claim that Index Traders are responsible for changes in prices or volatility.Cotton, futures markets, theory of storage, convenience yield, Index Traders, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis, Farm Management, Financial Economics, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty,

IMPACT OF NEW FARM BILL PROVISIONS ON OPTIMAL RESOURCE ALLOCATION ON HIGHLY ERODIBLE SOILS

The study focuses on incentives to produce crops under reduced tillage systems on highly erodible soils. A mixed integer, mathematical programming model was developed to identify optimal resource use under alternative farm program provisions. A positive counter cyclical payment only reinforces the incentive to comply with NRCS soil erosion constrains.Crop Production/Industries,

Simulation of Alternative Marketing Strategies for U.S. Cotton

Three marketing strategies (selling a put option, cash sale at harvest, and cash sale in June) are simulated based on historical values and ranked based on certainty equivalents for a representative irrigated and dryland cotton farm Scenario analysis is also used to compare varying yield values.Simulation, Marketing, Cotton, Risk, Marketing, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

Designing Digital Projects for Your Courses

R.C. Miessler (Systems Librarian) and John Dettinger (Assistant Director of User Services) deliver a 30-minute workshop on how to design digital projects for your courses. They provide a model for digital project assignment design, including planning, instruction, and assessment strategies, as well as address how to successfully negotiate copyright concerns

The WTO Cotton Case and US Domestic Policy

Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

Mitigating Cotton Revenue Risk Through Irrigation, Insurance, and Hedging

This study focuses on managing cotton production and marketing risks using combinations of irrigation levels, put options (as price insurance), and crop insurance. Stochastic cotton yields and prices are used to simulate a whole-farm financial statement for a 1,000 acre furrow irrigated cotton farm in the Texas Lower Rio Grande Valley under 16 combinations of risk management strategies. Analyses for risk-averse decision makers indicate that multiple irrigations are preferred. The benefits to purchasing put options increase with yields, as they are more beneficial when higher yields are expected from applying more irrigation applications. Crop insurance is strongly preferred at lower irrigation levels.cotton, crop insurance, irrigation, options, puts, risk, simulation, stochastic efficiency with respect to a function, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty, D81, Q12, Q15,

In patients with radiologically-staged resectable oesophago-gastric junctional tumours, is diagnostic laparoscopy useful as an additional staging procedure?

AbstractA best evidence topic in surgery was written according to a structured protocol. The question addressed was in patients with oesophago-gastric junctional tumours which have been radiologically-staged as potentially resectable, is diagnostic laparoscopy useful as an additional staging procedure. 292 papers were found using the reported search, of which 5 represented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The authors, journal, date and country of publication, patient group, study type, relevant outcomes and results of these papers are tabulated. We conclude that as an additional tool following radiological staging of oesophago-gastric junctional tumours, diagnostic laparoscopy does appear to detect previously occult peritoneal metastases as well as liver metastases and lymph nodes and these findings do in turn lead to changes in management in over ten percent of patients. The procedure is however associated with some morbidity and its efficacy in changing management in the era of routine PET scanning remains to be evaluated

Results of emergency Hartmann's operations for obstructive left-side colorectal cancer

Up to 15 % of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients present with obstructive or perforated tumours, and require emergency surgery. The Hartmann's procedure (HP) provides the opportunity to achieve a potentially curative (R0) resection, while minimizing surgical trauma in poor-risk patients. Hartmann’s procedure, first described by the French surgeon Henri Albert Hartmann in 1921. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3658

The influence of chop location on pork loin quality

Pork longissimus muscle quality characteristics were evaluated on 109 center cut boneless loins. After 21 d aging, loins were cut into 1-inch chops and allowed to bloom for 30 minutes before visual measurements (color, marbling and firmness) and instrumental color were recorded for each chop. Overall, visual color was the lightest on the anterior and posterior ends and was the darkest from approximately 50% to 80% of the length of the loin. Marbling was the highest at the posterior end, lowest in mid-loin, then higher toward the anterior end. Loins were the softest at the anterior end and became firmer toward the posterior end. From the anterior to approximately 40- 50% of the loin length, chops became darker (lower L*), redder (higher a*), and less yellow (lower b*). Near the center of the loin, color was constant, but became lighter (higher L*) and more yellow (higher b*) at the posterior end. Chops located at 25% (anterior), 50% (middle) and 75% (posterior) of the length of each loin were collected and further analyzed. Section chops within loins had similar pH values. The chop from the anterior section contained the highest percentage of crude fat, followed by the posterior section chop, and the middle section chop contained the lowest percentage. The middle section chop contained the highest percentage of moisture. The posterior section chop had more moisture display loss than the anterior and middle section chops. The anterior section chop had more cooking loss than the posterior section chop. Chops became progressively less tender the more posterior the section location