MOTOR CARRIER REGULATION AND ITS IMPACT ON SERVICE: AN ANALYSIS OF TEXAS FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE SHIPPERS

Crop Production/Industries, Public Economics,

EVALUATING RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR NON-IRRIGATED SMALL GRAIN PRODUCERS

Risk management strategies (market and insurance based) are evaluated for selected small grain producers in the Pacific Northwest using expected utility maximization. Equivalent variation (EV) compares alternative risk management portfolios to cash sales under specified restrictions and conditions. Resulting EV's are strongly influenced by government payments, and hedging-based strategies are not used when counter cyclical payments are included in government programs. Optimum risk management portfolios include extensive coverage by insurance-based products only when such products have premiums that are heavily subsidized, or have premiums with no significant expense load.Risk and Uncertainty,

THE CROWDING OUT EFFECTS OF THE 2002 FARM BILL ON HEDGING: EVIDENCE FROM PACIFIC NORTHWEST GRAIN FARMS

The 2002 Food Security and Rural Investment (FSRI) Act introduced a price protection program called Counter Cyclical Payments (CCP) to major grain producers in the US. The CCP program is an addition to the Loan Deficiency Payment (LDP) and Direct Payment (DP) programs from the previous 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act. At the same time, US federally subsidized crop revenue insurance programs also protect farmers from market and production risks. These government policy programs may crowd out the traditional price risk management role of hedging in commodity futures markets.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

EFFECTS OF INCREASING PANAMA CANAL TOLL RATES ON U.S. GRAIN EXPORTS

Some believe Panama Canal toll rates will increase dramatically as Panama's sovereignty over the Canal becomes complete at the end of this century. This paper focuses on the ability of Panama Canal management to extract additional toll revenues from United States grain traversing the Canal and the impact of increased toll rates on export grain flows. Analyses show toll rates established by a revenue-maximizing Canal management would exceed historical and current rates. A monopolizing Canal operator would have moderately increased Pacific port exports in the mid-1970Â’s; whereas, in the 1979-82 period, Pacific port flows would have exceeded historical levels.International Relations/Trade,

Production Risk and Crop Insurance Effectiveness: Organic Versus Conventional Apples

This paper empirically examines the income risks for Pacific Northwest apple growers, both conventional and organic. Current yield based apple production insurance, the Growers Yield Certification (GYC), and hypothesized revenue based insurance are also examined for their risk management effect on growers. Results show that organic apple production is more risky but has higher expected return than its conventional counterpart. The current GYC is subsidized and subsidized more for organic growers. However, the current low price selection levels prevent these programs from offering effective risk reducing effect, and they also prevent the hypothesized revenue insurance from showing its advantage over yield insurance as in the case of other major field crops.Risk and Uncertainty,

Factors Influencing Producer Support For A State Mandatory Seed Law: An Empirical Analysis

A probit model identifies characteristics influencing Idaho potato producer support or opposition to a state mandatory seed law

Pricing nontraditional products and services

3 p.; 28 cm

Marketing internationally

4 p.; 28 cm

Production And Export Patterns For Hard Red Spring Wheat, 1970-1985

The recent drop in U.S. wheat exports and related price impacts illustrate the importance of international markets to domestic wheat producing and marketing firms