Cheap Food Policy: Fact or Rhetoric?

The term "cheap food policy" has frequently been used as a descriptor for U.S. commodity programs by those who contend these payments to farmers ultimately result in lower food costs for consumers. More recently, farm policy has been criticized for contributing to the obesity problem in the U.S. by making large quantities of fattening foods widely available and relatively inexpensive. This paper econometrically evaluates the impact of direct government payments to farmers from 1960-1999 on the proportion of disposable income consumers spend on food. The model finds the payments do not significantly affect the affordability of food.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Estimation of sea surface wave spectra using acoustic tomography

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution August 1987This thesis develops a new technique for estimating quasi-homogeneous and quasi-stationary sea surface wave frequency-direction spectra using acoustic tomography. The analysis of acoustic (mode and ray) phase and travel time perturbations due to a rough sea surface is presented. Two canonical waveguides (ideal shallow water and linear squared index of refraction) are used as examples for the mode perturbation. The analysis is used to explain high mode coherence measured in the FRAM N experiment. The forward problem of computing the acoustic phase and travel time perturbation spectra given the surface wave spectrum is solved to first order. An application of the technique to ray phase data taken during the MIZEX '84 experiment is shown. The inverse problems for the homogeneous and quasi-homogel1eous frequency-direction spectrum are introduced. The theory is applied to synthetic data which simulate a fetch-dependent sea. The estimates made agree well with the "actual" (synthetic data) spectrum. The effect of noise in the travel time estimates is studied. The sensitivity of the technique. to the number of rays used in the inversion is investigated and the resolution and variance of the inverse method are addressed.gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Office of Naval Research, the General Electric Foundation, and the Ford Foundation

FARM PROGRAM PAYMENTS AND ECONOMIES OF SCALE

Economies of scale are investigated and the impacts of farm payment limitations for producers of cotton and soybeans in Mississippi are evaluated. Limits proposed by the Senate following the recent farm bill debate are overlaid on estimates of the scale economies for the cost of producing these crops to determine the different impacts on farm efficiency and welfare benefits.Agricultural and Food Policy,

EVALUATION OF CROP INSURANCE PREMIUM RATES FOR GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA PEACHES

We estimate actuarially fair premium rates for yield insurance for Georgia and South Carolina peaches for comparison to the premium rates established by the Risk Management Agency (RMA) for the 1999 crop. The RMA premium rates varied from county to county, but were identical for all growers in a given county. The estimated premium rates decrease with the grower's expected yield. The RMA rate structure encouraged adverse selection, as premium rates were too low for growers with low expected yields (especially at low coverage levels) and were too high for growers with high expected yields (especially at high coverage levels).adverse selection, crop insurance, peaches, premium rate, yield guarantee, Risk and Uncertainty,

REVENUE INSURANCE FOR GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA PEACHES

We estimate actuarially fair premium rates for yield and revenue insurance for Georgia and South Carolina peaches. The premium rates for both products decrease at a decreasing rate as the mean farm-level yield increases. In general, the premium rate for revenue insurance exceeds the premium rate for yield insurance for a given coverage level and expected yield. Although the revenue and yield insurance rates differ in a statistical sense, they do not appear to differ in an economic sense except at high coverage levels for growers with very high yields.crop insurance, peaches, revenue insurance, yield insurance, Risk and Uncertainty,

Stratigraphic significance of uvigerinid foraminifers in the Western Hemisphere

100 p., including 40 pl., 3 fig.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm

Surface control system for the 15 meter hoop-column antenna

The 15-meter hoop-column antenna fabricated by the Harris Corporation under contract to the NASA Langley Research Center is described. The antenna is a deployable and restowable structure consisting of a central telescoping column, a 15-meter-diameter folding hoop, and a mesh reflector surface. The hoop is supported and positioned by 48 quartz cords attached to the column above the hoop, and by 24 graphite cords from the base of the antenna column. The RF reflective surface is a gold plated molybdenum wire mesh supported on a graphite cord truss structure which is attached between the hoop and the column. The surface contour is controlled by 96 graphite cords from the antenna base to the rear of the truss assembly. The antenna is actually a quadaperture reflector with each quadrant of the surface mesh shaped to produce an offset parabolic reflector. Results of near-field and structural tests are given. Controls structures and electromagnetics interaction, surface control system requirements, mesh control adjustment, surface control system actuator assembly, surface control system electronics, the system interface unit, and control stations are discussed