Price and Quality of Pork and Broiler Products: What's the Role of Vertical Coordination?

Significant changes in vertical coordination of the U.S. broiler industry many years ago may provide useful insight into the rapid changes occurring in today's pork industry. Under production contracts and vertical integration, the broiler industry developed and grew into the leader in U.S. meat production-outpacing beef and pork. Production efficiencies, quality assurances, and convenience in product offerings have led to falling chicken prices and rising per capita consumption. Incentives for contracting in the pork industry are similar to those in the broiler industry in many ways. The similarities suggest that consumers may also expect plentiful supplies of high-quality pork products at economical prices.Demand and Price Analysis, Industrial Organization,

CONSUMER INTERESTS IN VERTICAL COORDINATION IN THE PORK AND BROILER INDUSTRIES

Industrial Organization,

A Comparison of Vertical Coordination in the U.S. Poultry, Egg, and Pork Industries

Changes in vertical coordination in the U.S. broiler, turkey, and egg industries decades ago may provide useful insight into more recent developments in the U.S. pork industry. The need to protect relationship- specific investments created incentives for contracts and vertical integration. In the presence of relationship-specific investments, market uncertainty from a number of sources helped determine the type of contract/vertical coordination alternative selected.Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Estimating the Value of Retail Beef Product Brands and Other Attributes

This paper finds wide variation in brand premiums and discounts across types of branded beef cuts, ranging from -98 cents for a brand of ground beef targeting cost-conscious consumers to $4.15 for a brand of steak produced by a family-operated beef alliance. Other factors affecting beef cut prices include package size, price promotions, store format, ground beef leanness, type of steak cut, and geographic region where the beef was purchased.Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing,

Vertical Coordination in the Pork and Broiler Industries: Implications for Pork and Chicken Products

Recent changes in structure of the U.S. pork industry reflect, in many ways, past changes in the broiler industry. Production contracts and vertical integration in the broiler industry facilitated rapid adoption of new technology, improved quality control, assured market outlets for broilers, and provided a steady flow of broilers for processing. Affordable, high-quality chicken products have contributed to continual increases in U.S. chicken consumption, which has surpassed pork and beef on a per capita basis. Incentives for contracting and vertical integration in the pork industry may yield comparable results. If so, these arrangements might be expected to result in larger supplies of higher quality pork products at economical prices.vertical coordination, vertical integration, contracts, transaction costs, technology, chicken, pork, Livestock Production/Industries,

VERTICAL COORDINATION IN PORK: IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD DISTRIBUTION

Agribusiness,

EVALUATING PRIVATELY FUNDED PUBLIC RESEARCH: AN EXAMPLE WITH POULTRY AND EGGS

A procedure is described for evaluating poultry and egg research projects. A peer review questionnaire and benefit-cost analysis are utilized incorporating elasticities from an econometric model for poultry and eggs. Production, cost, and price changes are used to calculate changes in producer surplus and net economic surplus for a set of privately funded publicly conducted research projects.Public Economics,

ANALYSIS OF CHANGING METHODS OF VERTICAL COORDINATION IN THE PORK INDUSTRY

This study examines the motivation behind contracts and vertical integration in the pork industry, and simulates the effects of potential improvements in coordination. Incentives related to lowering costs of measuring and sorting hogs, and protecting against opportunistic behavior associated with specific assets, can result in hog quality improvements. A framework for simulating the effects of increased coordination through contracts and vertical integration was developed and used to evaluate potential improvements in leanness. Although simulations suggest only modest changes in pork prices and supplies, gains in consumers' surplus could be substantial for larger demand shifts due to quality improvements.Contracts, Hogs, Lean pork, Simulation model, Vertical coordination, Vertical integration, Industrial Organization, Livestock Production/Industries,

Strategic Alliances in U.S. Branded Beef Programs

In this paper, we combine concepts from organizational economics to examine supply chain alliances formed to market branded beef products. To illustrate application of the framework, we examine three different types of alliances. We conclude that measuring costs associated with quality attributes have an important role in alliance structure.Agribusiness,

Regulation of the mitochondrial apoptosis-induced channel, MAC, by BCL-2 family proteins

AbstractProgrammed cell death or apoptosis is central to many physiological processes and pathological conditions such as organogenesis, tissue homeostasis, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Bcl-2 family proteins tightly control this cell death program by regulating the permeabilization of the mitochondrial outer membrane and, hence, the release of cytochrome c and other pro-apoptotic factors. Control of the formation of the mitochondrial apoptosis-induced channel, or MAC, is central to the regulation of apoptosis by Bcl-2 family proteins. MAC is detected early in apoptosis by patch clamping the mitochondrial outer membrane. The focus of this review is on the regulation of MAC activity by Bcl-2 family proteins. The role of MAC as the putative cytochrome c release channel during early apoptosis and insights concerning its molecular composition are also discussed