RISK AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN AGRICULTURE: HOW INCOME SHOCKS INFLUENCE FARM SIZE

Farm-level Census data and county-level income shock data reveal that past unexpected income shocks affect the rate of change in average farm size. Average farm size increases more quickly in counties experiencing negative income shocks as compared to counties experiencing positive income shocks. This result cannot be explained by perfect-market models, which predict farm size should adjust according to changes in the relative prices of labor and capital. We posit a model wherein cash flows affect liquidity, which in turn affects farm borrowing and capital costs. In the model, farms that do not face liquidity constraints benefit from negative income shocks because they reduce land values, so these farms expand while liquidity-constrained farms contract. Observed farm consolidation patterns and farm exit rates are consistent with a model wherein liquidity constraints affect small farms more than large farms.farm size, farm structure, income shocks, liquidity constraint, risk, Agricultural Finance, Industrial Organization,

Did the Baby Boom Cause the Farm-Size Boom?

Growing farm size has generally been explained by technological advances that have allowed farmers to substitute capital for labor. Another possible factor in explaining recent farm size is the demographic shift: the age distribution of farmers has shifted to the right and older farmers generally operate larger farms than younger farmers. This paper uses data from the 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002 Agricultural Censuses to examine the relative importance of the demographic shift versus technological factors in explaining overall farm size growth. Results indicate that farm sizes tend to increase with age and that, holding age constant, the typical farm-size has increased over time for all ages, presumably due to technological change. The age-distribution shift is combined with the age-specific farm-size shift, to provide a preliminary estimate of the effect of the age distribution shift and technological change on average farm size growth.farm structure, demographic shift, age distribution, farm size distribution, Farm Management, Industrial Organization, Labor and Human Capital,

Government Payments and Farmland Concentration

Over the last twenty five years commodity crop farms have steadily declined in number and grown in average size, and production has shifted to larger operations. During the same period, the share of agricultural payments going to large farms has increased, in large part because payments are tied to actual or historical crop production. This study evaluates whether payments from federal farm programs may have contributed to the concentration of farmland. Using zip code-level data constructed from the micro files of the 1987-2002 Agriculture Censuses the study estimates the association between government payments per acre and subsequent growth in weighted median farmland area. A semi-parametric generalized additive model controls for location and initial concentration levels, and narrows comparisons to nearby zip codes with similar average farm sizes. Findings indicate, both with and without spatial controls, that government payments are strongly associated with subsequent concentration growth.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Commodity Payments, Farm Business Survival, and Farm Size Growth

In the last 25 years, U.S. crop farms have steadily declined in number and grown in average size, as production has shifted to larger operations. Larger farms tend to receive more commodity program payments because most payments are tied to a farm’s current or historical production, but whether payments have contributed to farm growth is uncertain. This study uses farm-level data from the census of agriculture to determine whether there is a statistical relationship between farm commodity program payments and greater concentration in production. The analysis indicates that, at the regional level, higher commodity program payments per acre are associated with subsequent farm growth. Also, higher payments per acre are associated with higher rates of farm survival and growth.agricultural payments, farm size, farm survival, concentration, consolidation, government payments, commodity programs., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management,

Do Government Payments Influence Farm Business Survival?

Using a unique farm-level panel data set derived from three U.S. Agricultural Censuses, we estimate a Cox proportional hazard model to examine the effect of direct government payments on the survival of farm businesses, paying particular attention to the differential effect of payments across farm size categories. For identification the study exploits variation in payments resulting from historical differences in 'base acreage' in otherwise similar farms. We find an increase in government payments has a small but statistically significant positive effect on the rate of farm survival, and the magnitude of this effect increases with farm size.Agricultural and Food Policy,

NONPECUNIARY BENEFITS TO FARMING AND DECOUPLED PAYMENTS

The first part of this paper presents a simple labor supply and production model wherein farmers with diminishing marginal utility of income derive nonpecuniary benefits from farming. We use the model to show how lump-sum or decoupled government payments could have positive and substantial effects on the supply of agricultural products. The result is simple and intuitive: payments allow those who enjoy farming to continue farming while maintaining a reasonably high living standard. Without payments, a lower living standard leads to higher marginal utility of income, making higher off-farm wages more desirable than lower on-farm wages plus non-pecuniary benefits from farming. Farmers respond to a reduction in payments by shifting their labor off-farm or exiting farming. This effect on labor supply and production is potentially much larger than effects predicted by earlier theoretical models that rely on utility with declining absolute risk aversion. The second part of this paper estimates the hourly nonpecuniary benefits to farming, for farms where the operator or spouse works off-farm, by comparing returns to household labor on-farm and off-farm. Results indicate substantial nonpecuniary benefits to farming. The empirical findings support a necessary (though not sufficient) condition for lump-sum payments having a substantial influence on production via an income effect.Decoupled payments, government payments, nonpecuniary benefits, labor supply, trade, Agricultural and Food Policy,

A model for implementing cooperative learning

Today\u27s children need to learn more academics than ever before. They need to learn social skills and how to cooperate. Teachers must address all these needs in the classroom. The cooperative learning model is an exciting teaching model that teaches academics while concomitantly teaching social skills. However, many teachers are not using this model. Many veteran teachers may be unwilling to adopt this new model, feeling that their tried and true methods are better. Rookie teachers may not have been exposed to the cooperative learning model, or they may feel incapable of implementing the model in the classroom. Many teachers are currently using group work in the classroom and are mistakenly labelling it cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is a structured model that utilizes specific steps in a required order. Teachers and students must all be active participants in order for maximum learning to occur on all academic and social levels. This researcher believes that, in order for all students to mature into well-adjusted, productive members of American society, all teachers on all grade levels and in all subject areas should embrace cooperative learning and use it in their classrooms. Unfortunately, this is not the case at this present time. The purpose of this research was to outline the cooperative learning model and to demonstrate its implementation. The majority of American teachers are not utilizing the cooperative learning model at this time (Prescott, 1989). Increased presentation of the cooperative learning model, increased demonstration of implementation of the model, and, ultimately, the increased use of the cooperative learning model will increase its utilization across the country. This researcher believes that teachers will implement the cooperative learning model if it is available in a usable form. This model must be basic and flexible enough to be adapted to all subject areas or grade levels. As teachers throughout the country use this model, students will become more sophisticated in its use and will gain intrinsic social skills. This will lead to untold benefits for all students and ultimately for society. This research is based on the review of studies involving students in grades kindergarten through fifth. The students in the studies were from all racial, ethnic, and socio-economic stratas. The research materials covered all subject areas in the curriculum across the United States. The materials reviewed dated from 1985 to the present

The effect of perceptual availability and prior discourse on young children's use of referring expressions.

Choosing appropriate referring expressions requires assessing whether a referent is “available” to the addressee either perceptually or through discourse. In Study 1, we found that 3- and 4-year-olds, but not 2-year-olds, chose different referring expressions (noun vs. pronoun) depending on whether their addressee could see the intended referent or not. In Study 2, in more neutral discourse contexts than previous studies, we found that 3- and 4-year-olds clearly differed in their use of referring expressions according to whether their addressee had already mentioned a referent. Moreover, 2-yearolds responded with more naming constructions when the referent had not been mentioned previously. This suggests that, despite early social–cognitive developments, (a) it takes time tomaster the given/new contrast linguistically, and (b) children understand the contrast earlier based on discourse, rather than perceptual context

Production Effects of Decoupled Commodity Program Payments: An Instrumental Variables Approach

Instrumental Variables, IV, Policy, Agriculture, Subsidies, Production, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Q1, Q12, Q15, Q18,

The 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act: Correcting a Distortion?

This study makes use of farm-level data from the Agricultural Census to evaluate the effects of the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act, which intended to "decouple" commodity payments from production decisions. Prior to this Act, agricultural support payments were linked to production decisions via prices and a complex set of restrictions that acted to control the supply of agricultural commodities. We compare farm-level 1992-to-1997 changes in commodity crop plantings of farms that participated in government programs with farms that did not participate. We find that the growth rate of program-crop acreage of non-participants was 19 percentage points below that of participants. This estimated difference remains unchanged after we account for unobserved effects relating to farm size, type, location, and interactions of these factors using over 1900 fixed-effects variables. These results may imply that program participation rules associated with pre-1996 programs effectively acted to limit program acreage in 1992. An alternative explanation is that payments associated with decoupled programs instituted with the 1996 Act were in fact distortionary and induced farmers to produce more than they would have without the payments. Additional research would be needed to test these competing theories.Agricultural and Food Policy,