FIELD CROP SUBSECTOR STRUCTURE AND COMPETITION UNDER FREE TRADE: CANADA

Crop Production/Industries, International Relations/Trade,

STRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CANADIAN GRAINS AND OILSEEDS SECTOR

Industrial Organization,

China's Melamine in Milk Scandal: Failures All Around

Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

IMPACTS OF GLOBAL WARMING ON CROPPING PRACTICES IN ALBERTA

A Target MOTAD farm-level model was developed to assess the expected impacts from global warming on representative grain and oilseed farms in Alberta. It was found that a warmer climate would increase crop yields and length of the cropping season. Net returns and shadow values of land would increase substantially. Price risk generally was more important than yield risk under simulated warmer climates.Environmental Economics and Policy,

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRICE STABILIZATION AND CYCLES IN THE CANADIAN WHEAT MARKET

In this study, moving average price stabilization schemes were analyzed under the assumption of rational expectations. It was shown that moving average price schemes may induce cyclical behavior into market prices where no cyclical pattern previously existed. Moving average price stabilization schemes are important to Canadian agricultural policy analysis because they are a characteristic of stabilization programs in Canada. Indeed, the Agricultural Stabilization Act, introduced in 1975, and the Gross Revenue Insurance Program, introduced in 1991, use moving average prices to calculate returns to producers.Demand and Price Analysis,

Water for Life Strategy in Alberta: Changing Priorities in Canadian Water Policy?

Water resources are being stretched to the limit in Alberta and irrigation activities account for more than 70 percent of consumptive water use in the province. Conflicts among users and potential users may be looming. Pollution of surface water and groundwater and outbreaks of water-borne pathogens have been increasing. Freshwater systems are likely to deteriorate further with impending climate change. Following passage of the Alberta Water Act in 1999 and the Irrigation Districts Act in 2000, which allowed limited transfers of water among water users, the Alberta government issued its Water for Life Strategy in late 2003. The strategy’s principal goals include (1) evaluation of the use of economic instruments to manage water demand by 2007; (2) demonstration of best management practices by 2010; and (3) a 30 percent increase in productivity and efficiency over 2005 levels by 2015. This seems to presage a new era in water management in Alberta, but will the necessary changes in water management be forthcoming? This study examines the need for demand-based management and the constraints that make effective changes in water policy problematic. Evidence from a recent study in the St. Mary’s River Irrigation District highlights problems with water markets.Environmental Economics and Policy,

SAY HAY AND HAY WEST: CHARITY, GOVERNMENT AND FARMER RESPONSES TO THE 2002 DROUGHT IN WESTERN CANADA

Crop Production/Industries,

Alberta's Water for Life Strategy: Some early indications of its acceptance by the irrigation industry in Southern Alberta

Water is essential for sustainable agricultural development - for irrigation of crops, livestock watering, processing, and sustaining farm families. Agriculture uses 71 percent of all water diverted for consumptive use in Canada (Environment Canada, 2004), and is by far the greatest water consumer in Canada. In the absence of a Canadian national water strategy, Alberta has developed a long-term water management plan called the Water for Life Strategy. Its successful implementation will depend largely on the participation of irrigators. This study explores the reaction of irrigators to one of the strategy's main goals - a 30 percent increase in water use efficiency and productivity by 2015 over 2005 levels. The study reveals that irrigators vary significantly in their views as to the extent to which this goal can be reached, and the means by which it should be achieved within agriculture. Further, these responses reflect differences among irrigation districts relating to the extent of water stress, on-farm irrigation water efficiency and natural factors that limit crop diversity in some areas. Ultimately the government may have to revise its 30 percent target and tailor the strategy to irrigation districts as opposed to a broad-based approach.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Principal-Agent Relationships in Agricultural Cooperatives: An Empirical Analysis from Rural Alberta

Cooperatives throughout North America are consolidating at an increasing rate and for a variety of reasons. While many cooperatives merge with others or are acquired to achieve greater economies of scale, several fail due to changes in the external economy, which make them redundant. Often, such redundancy is reflected in a heightened sense of member dissatisfaction. Many argue that such dissatisfaction is likely to arise in cooperatives as a result of principal-agent problems. In order to determine whether or not cooperative managers maintain the same goals as their owners, this study uses data from a member-survey to compare Alberta cooperative members' objectives with those they believe to be held by their cooperatives' managers. An econometric model of the difference between members' expectations and perceptions shows how various socioeconomic variables affect the extent to which these objectives are aligned. The results of this analysis can help cooperative boards design managerial incentive programs to better align their goals with those of the cooperative membership.Agribusiness,

The Losses in the Beef Sector in Canada From BSE

The appearance of BSE in the Canadian beef herd brought immediate financial hardship to the industry due to the immediate closure of export outlets to Canadian beef, live animals and by-products. Nobody knew how long the border would stay closed and many worried that the Canadian beef industry could not survive a prolonged disruption of markets for beef. Previously, producers in Canada had enjoyed secure access to markets for beef around the world, with most of the exports destined for the United States, Mexico, Japan and South Korea. Both federal and provincial governments quickly developed assistance programs and, over the next two years, transferred about $2 billion to various sectors of the beef industry. Government subsidies certainly helped the beef sector but industry representatives argued that it did not cover nearly all the losses that had occurred. This is consistent with the results of this study.Livestock Production/Industries,