Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Farm Size and Performance

Replaced with revised version of poster 08/03/10.Farm size, farm performance, SEM models, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management,

North Dakota Crop Production Economics in 1991

Production Economics,

United Producers Inc. Chapter 11 Restructuring

Cooperatives have been used as examples of successful collective action activities. However, member free riding within cooperatives and other collective action groups continues to be a challenge. The board of directors and management of United Producers Inc. confronted the member free riding issue when creating a restructuring plan after their Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The plan integrated three strategies which have been proposed to mitigate free riding in large groups; coercion, a federated organizational structure, and selective incentives. This article compares Mancur Olson’s theoretical framework for addressing free riding behavior with United Producers Inc. restructuring plan

POTENTIAL ROLE OF NON-AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT: A REPORT ON FOCUS GROUP STUDIES CONDUCTED IN RURAL NORTH DAKOTA

Focus group discussions were conducted in April 1997 in two rural North Dakota counties to examine whether the problem of inadequate or missing goods and services in those areas can be solved by using the cooperative business approach. An earlier study (Bhuyan, 1996a) has shown that many rural North Dakota communities lack essential goods and services, such as supermarket or grocery stores, clothing stores, drug stores, bank/credit facilities, and ambulance or fire-services. Focus group participants corroborated those earlier findings at the local level. It was also found that the rural residents were not fully aware of the potential role of cooperatives in the non-agricultural sectors as a means to provide inadequate or missing goods and services. Participants demonstrated motivation for follow-up action

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Farm Size and Performance

Confirmatory Factor Analysis is used to determine the explanatory power of indicator measures for farm size and performance

Towards a Measurement of Free Riding within Private Collective Action Organizations

The objective of this study is to determine if there is a dominant free riding activity which can be identified and used as the basis for measuring free riding, or if multiple free riding actions and/or behaviors coexist within large collective action organizations. The study uses a confirmatory factor analysis model to evaluate member level survey data from a large agricultural marketing cooperative

Economic Contribution of the Soybean Industry to the North Dakota Economy

The purpose of this study was to measure the economic contribution of the soybean industry to the North Dakota economy. Expenditures and returns from soybean production, grain handling, and transportation were estimated to calculate the direct economic impacts from soybean activities. Secondary economic impacts were estimated using the North Dakota Input- Output Model. Soybean production in North Dakota has trended upward over the past three decades. Increases in acreage were relatively modest in the 1980s, but by the mid 1990s acreage was beginning to rapidly expand. In 1990, North Dakota had about 500,000 acres of soybeans. By 2000, acreage had increased to 1.9 million acres. By 2009, soybean acreage in the state was approaching 4 million acres. Direct impacts (expenditures and returns) from soybean production averaged $312 per acre or$1.1 billion annually from 2007 through 2009. Average direct impacts from handling soybeans at North Dakota elevators were estimated at $27.5 million annually. Transportation of soybeans to market destinations was estimated to generate$49.8 million in annual direct impacts to the state. Total direct impacts from soybean production, grain handling, and transportation were estimated at $1.2 billion annually. Total annual economic impacts (direct and secondary effects) from soybean production, grain handling, and transportation were estimated at$3 billion, $75.9 million, and$129 million, respectively. The total annual economic impact from all soybean activities was estimated at $3.2 billion. Soybean industry activities supported 11,400 full-time secondary jobs in North Dakota. Soybean activities were also responsible for$85 million in combined property tax, sales tax, individual income tax, and corporate income tax revenues. Based on comparison to economic impact estimates from the 1996 through 1998 period, the economic contribution of the soybean industry in North Dakota increased by $2.4 billion or by 306 percent in real terms. Much of the increase in the gross business volume of the industry has come from a three-fold increase in soybean production combined with higher crop prices, handling margins, and transportation rates

Incentives for Machinery Investment

Machinery investment directly effects agricultural production efficiency and profitability. Machinery investment decisions are a function of tax policy, financial, and structural characteristics. This study uses a double hurdle model to determine the factors that affect the decision to purchase machinery as well as the intensity of the machinery purchase. Results indicate that depreciation expense, type of farm, experience, and tax policy are significant determinants in the decision to purchase machinery and the level of machinery purchased