AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PASTURE-RAISED BEEF SYSTEMS IN APPALACHIA

Cow-calf operations are important enterprises for family farmers in Appalachia and provide significant opportunity for supplemental income. This analysis constitutes a thorough economic assessment of pasture-raised beef production, an alternative to traditional production that could benefit the region's producers in terms of profitability and mitigated risk. Stochastic budgeting was utilized for profitability and risk comparison between traditional and pasture-raised operations and accounted for seasonal variability in prices, pasture availability and animal performance. Pasture-raised systems, in relation to traditional ones, were shown to consistently yield higher returns over variable costs and were shown less likely to yield losses over total costs in typical production seasons. Economic risk for pasture-raised producers stems largely from production factors but, overall, is seemingly less pronounced than the market risk faced by traditional producers selling live cattle.Farm Management,

Formulation of an Optimum Winter Food-Patch Mix for Bobwhite Quail

Many state game agencies are seeking to improve winter quail food and habitat by means of artificial food-patch plantings. The objective of such plantings is to increase the limited supplies of nutrients available to quail in late winter. Desirable qualities of food species included in the seeding mixture are: low seeding cost, high nutrient and energy content, persistent seeds, and cultivation ease. Presently used mixtures have been formulated in the absence of detailed nutritional analysis and cost-minimization techniques. This paper seeks to demonstrate the utility of modern operations-research technology in such decisions by outlining the procedures for determining the composition of an optimum food-patch mix. This mix will meet nutrient and cultivation requirements at a least-possible cost per acre of food planting. Although a solution is presented, the emphasis of the paper is on the method for obtaining such a solution

Comparison of Crop Yield Estimates Obtained from an Historic Expert System to the Physical Characteristics of the Soil Components—A Project Report

Crop yields vary due to soil type. Expected crop yields are reported in published soil surveys based on the knowledge of local conservation and extension professionals. Crop yields have increased over the years due to improved genetics and management. The objective of this project was to compare historic expected crop yields to soil physical characteristics and to update expected yields for West Virginia soils in the United States National Soils Information System (NASIS). Regression analysis found that soil physical characteristics explained 57 to 65% of the variation in corn and hay yields. Corn and hay yield regressions calculated from a regression data set predicted yields for crops on soils in a test data set without bias and with residual errors of 10 to 15%. Updated crop yields under good management on more productive soils were obtained by surveying farmers and variety trials conducted in West Virginia and surrounding states. The updated yields and relative historic yields were used proportionally to update expected crop yields by soil series. The updated yields were reviewed by local conservation professionals and adjusted as needed based on local experience. These updated yields are now being used as the expected crop yield for the West Virginia soil series in the NASIS

Comparison of Crop Yield Estimates Obtained from an Historic Expert System to the Physical Characteristics of the Soil Components—A Project Report

Crop yields vary due to soil type. Expected crop yields are reported in published soil surveys based on the knowledge of local conservation and extension professionals. Crop yields have increased over the years due to improved genetics and management. The objective of this project was to compare historic expected crop yields to soil physical characteristics and to update expected yields for West Virginia soils in the United States National Soils Information System (NASIS). Regression analysis found that soil physical characteristics explained 57 to 65% of the variation in corn and hay yields. Corn and hay yield regressions calculated from a regression data set predicted yields for crops on soils in a test data set without bias and with residual errors of 10 to 15%. Updated crop yields under good management on more productive soils were obtained by surveying farmers and variety trials conducted in West Virginia and surrounding states. The updated yields and relative historic yields were used proportionally to update expected crop yields by soil series. The updated yields were reviewed by local conservation professionals and adjusted as needed based on local experience. These updated yields are now being used as the expected crop yield for the West Virginia soil series in the NASIS

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF PASTURE-RAISED BEEF SYSTEMS IN APPALACHIA

Cow-calf operations are important enterprises for family farmers in Appalachia and provide significant opportunity for supplemental income. This analysis constitutes a thorough economic assessment of pasture-raised beef production, an alternative to traditional production that could benefit the region's producers in terms of profitability and mitigated risk. Stochastic budgeting was utilized for profitability and risk comparison between traditional and pasture-raised operations and accounted for seasonal variability in prices, pasture availability and animal performance. Pasture-raised systems, in relation to traditional ones, were shown to consistently yield higher returns over variable costs and were shown less likely to yield losses over total costs in typical production seasons. Economic risk for pasture-raised producers stems largely from production factors but, overall, is seemingly less pronounced than the market risk faced by traditional producers selling live cattle

Determining Consumer Perceptions of and Willingness to Pay or Appalachian Grass-fed Beef: An Experimental Economics Approach

The U.S. market for commoditized beef is a dynamic one that has, over the last 30 years, seen decreases in per capita consumption and an increased reliance on large, integrated feedlot facilities that focus on efficient weight gain and producing carcasses deemed desirable according the USDA quality grading system. Because of the problems inherent in the conventional production system and the existence of farm-to-retail price spreads that do not favor primary cow-calf producers, analyses of alternative beef production and marketing strategies that facilitate enhanced profitability and simultaneously address surging consumer demand for specialty food products are necessary. To that end, focus of the current study was on the market potential for grass-fed beef products in the Appalachian region, given that these products embody observed, experience, nutritional, and process attributes that may appeal to a large consumer base. Specifically, a variant of the Becker-DeGroot-Marschack experimental auction mechanism was employed in grocery stores in Morgantown, WV and Pittsburgh, PA in order to determine consumer preferences and willingness to pay for grass-fed steak and ground beef products. A majority of beef consumers sampled preferred the grass-fed products in both steak and ground beef experiments and were willing to pay a price premium in order to obtain them. It was concluded that consumers would respond positively to the availability of these products in the retail sector, based largely on their superior nutritional content and core observed attributes