Contribution of Non-Timber Forest Products to Rural Household Income in Zambia

Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) play an important role in supporting rural livelihoods and food security in Zambia. NTFP-dependent households are poorer, have younger household heads with lower levels of education, and are located closer to district towns than other rural households are. NTFPs are a particularly important source of income in Luapula, Northwestern and Western provinces. • Income from woodfuel represented the greatest share of income for households that participated in NTFPs, and it was the most commonly reported business activity, with 68% of NTFP households reporting income from charcoal and firewood. NTFPs contribute an average of 32% to total household income among participants, with the poorest being more dependent on these sources. • Given the widespread demand for woodfuel and other forest products, it is likely that rural households will continue to engage in the extraction and trade of NTFPs as a business activity. However, charcoal production, if left unchecked, could compromise the integrity of forests and adversely affect the availability of other NTFPs. In order to reduce households’ reliance on charcoal/firewood as an income source, outreach efforts could promote other NTFPs such as wild honey, ants, and mushrooms as business activities. Mushrooms, ants, and caterpillars may particularly be important activities for female-headed households, as more female-headed households derived income from these sources.NON-TIMBER FOREST, ZAMBIA, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics,

Financial Impacts of Regional Differences in Dairies

The sensitivity of net cash farm income to changes in selected production variables, output prices, and input costs varies significantly across representative U.S. dairies. Different regions of the country were impacted differently by changes to production and prices.Agricultural Finance, Q12, Q14,

Regional and Structural Impacts of Alternative Dairy Policy Options

Milk and dairy product prices have fallen to their lowest levels in 3 years following the record highs of 2004 and 2005. The large government stockpiles of non-fat dry milk are gone, but threaten to build again as non-fat dry milk and cheese prices decline nearer the support price level. A new farm bill is scheduled to be written in 2007. The Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program included in the last farm bill was only authorized through September 2005. Subsequent legislation reinstated the MILC program through August 2007. WTO negotiations are on-going and could influence U.S. farm programs 1/. Dairy’s role in the U.S. amber box limit of $19.1 billion may necessitate some possible trade-offs with other commodities. Dairy counts about$4.2 billion toward the annual amber box limit, but actual spending only averages about $1 billion (Outlaw, et al). The pressure of low prices, WTO negotiations, MILC continuation, and a new farm bill has created the potential for a number of options and alternatives for dairy policy. This paper examines the regional and structural impacts of 3 dairy policy options: MILC continuation, a target price/deficiency payment program, and an increase in the support price. All three options are designed to spend$400 million in amber box payments per year. The analysis uses representative dairy farms in major milk producing regions of the country developed by the AFPC for policy analysis.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Livestock Production/Industries,

The Effectiveness of Dairy Risk Management at Managing Income, Revenue, and Margin Risk

With the 2009 milk prices still fresh on everyone’s mind, there has been increased interest in ways to limit milk price volatility. Using SERF, this paper determined some dairies are willing to pay for limited milk price volatility and found a value they are willing to pay using risk premiums.Dairy, Stochastic Simulation, price volatility, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management,

What a Difference a Year Makes in the Dairy Industry

The projections for feed and milk prices have changed over the last year. This study looks at how the changes affect the dairy industry. The high feed prices have been trumped by higher milk prices and the economic viability of the dairy industry has improved across the board.Demand and Price Analysis, Industrial Organization,

The Effects of Sex-Sorted Semen on Southern Dairy Farms

This paper examines the impact of sex-sorted semen adoption on dairy farm level economics. Representative dairies are used to simulate the financial impacts of moving to this new technology. Key economic, financial and herd dynamics will be compared among dairies to show how the uses of sex-sorted semen will affect dairy farms. All seven of the representative dairies that were analyzed sold surplus replacement heifers using sex-sorted semen. The increase use of sex-sorted semen can have very positive impacts on dairies throughout the Southern United States.Dairy production, sex sorted semen, production economics, scenario analysis, Agribusiness, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics,

Risk Assessment in Economic Feasibility Analysis: The Case of Ethanol Production in Texas

The objective of this study is to demonstrate the benefits of quantifying the economic viability of a proposed agribusiness under risk relative to a feasibility study which ignores risk. To achieve this objective, the economic viability of a 50 MMGPY ethanol facility in Texas is analyzed over a 10-year period in two ways: with no risk and with historical risk for prices and costs.Risk and Uncertainty,