Key Facts and Key Resources for Program Evaluation

Extension educators have been more and more involved in program evaluation. This article gives some tips on different ways to create evaluation, which formats are best, how to ask questions, and how to communicate the results to the stakeholders. This article indicates also several helpful resources to learn more about program evaluation

GUIDE FOR PROGRAM EVALUATIO??

Extension programs must be evaluated in order to assess their value to participants, institutions, funders, and all other stakeholders. Evaluations can be especially useful when the program has specific objectives that are measurable, either qualitatively and quantitatively. There are many different methods and formats for evaluation, and choosing the correct evaluation can be critical to ensuring the accuracy and relevance of the evaluation results. Considerable thought must be put into determining the correct method for an evaluation, and they must always be focused on the specific objectives of the extension program. After administering an evaluation, the results should be communicated back to the stakeholders of the program in an effective manner and, after some deliberation, the program should be considered for alteration if deemed necessary. This paper aims to be a ‘how-to’ guide for development, administration, and appraisal of evaluations and evaluation results for a broad spectrum of extension programs.extension program, evaluation, LOGIC

Strategic Decision Making Under Uncertainty: Innovation and New Technology Introduction during Volatile Times1

Deere and Company, uncertainty, real option, organizational structure, option, risk, innovation, Industrial Organization, Risk and Uncertainty, Q1,

FARM HOUSEHOLD LABOR ALLOCATION AND HIRED LABOR DEMANDS IN THE MIDWEST U.S.: THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT PAYMENTS

In addition to farm work, most farm households in developed countries have at least one person working off-farm. The purpose of this paper is to examine if, and how, government payments, personal characteristics and household characteristics affect labor allocation of farm operators and their spouses, and the decisions to hire labor. We estimate an 8-regime multinomial logit model and a three equation multivariate probit model to quantify these impacts. Results indicate that age of household members is consistent with the life-cycle hypothesis on increasing then decreasing labor market par, and is positively associated with demand for hired labor. Hired farm labor and off farm activities increase with the operator education levels. As household size increases, a household member is more likely to work off the farm. Increasing net worth is found to have a positive impact on probability of spouses working on the farm as well as hired labor being used. Both coupled and decoupled payments increase demand for hired labor which is consistent both with farm expansion and reduced family labor time on the farm.government subsidies, government programs, time allocation, labor allocation, off-farm labor, farm labor, hired labor

The U.S. Seed Industustustry: An Exploration of Statistics Highlighting the Economic Cctivity of the U.S. Row Crop Seed Industry

This report presents relevant statistics that highlight the economic activity of the U.S. seed industry. The focus of this report is on the four main U.S. crops: corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton. The report contains three sections. The first is related to the U.S. seed market’s size based on seed sales and expenditures. The second section examines industry investment in research and development (R&D) activity in terms of both budget and human resources. The final section illustrates the impact of the seed industry in terms of intellectual property development, improved productivity, and other benefits. This report focuses on using publicly available data to examine these three areas. In addition, the report presents the results of a survey conducted among American Seed Trade Association (ASTA) members that helped fill some gaps in publicly available information. The report ends with identification of deficiencies in the industry data that could be improved with more study and/or reporting from the industry.Seed industry, field crops, biotechnology, herbicide-tolerant crops, Bt crops, corn, soybeans, cotton, wheat.

MILKING THE MOST FROM YOUR PROMOTIONAL DOLLARS: AN ANALYSIS OF AGRIBUSINESS FIRMS SERVING U.S.AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS

Although the marketing mix has been covered in great detail in many veins of literature, very little information exists regarding the mix of marketing tools within the agriculture industry serving U.S. agricultural producers. Using a survey conducted by AgriMarketing magazine in June 2006, a two-fold analysis is undertaken. This study attempts to determine the differences in the use of marketing tools by industry and simple regression analysis is conducted to determine promotional factors that produce a significant impact on sales. Both mass media and other promotional tools were found to be the most consistently significant factor impacting sales of firms in the study.marketing mix, agribusiness, promotion, agriculture, marketing, mass media. expenditures

ESTIMATING THE IMPORTANCE OF SHELF SPACE CONFIGURATION ON RETAILER'S PROFIT

Retail shelf space allocation remains a central issue in grocery retailing. A literature review produced many studies on retail shelf space allocation, but none which evaluated shelf space allocation using three major factors at once: space, vertical height, and price. In this study, shelf space allocation was modeled from the perspective of a retailer maximizing profit using space, vertical height, and price. Using benchmarking, the results show how shelf configuration affects consumer demand and retailer profit. Parameters for the model were based on experience-based intuition. Although the initial results are not valuable at this point, the method and results create a rationale and motivation to gather primary data. Once primary data is collected, this methodology has important applications. First, it develops an understanding of which parameters are important in determining optimal shelf space configuration. Second, a properly specified model would determine retailer's profit for specific shelf level configurations.shelf space allocation, retail, optimization, grocery, elasticity, GAMS, ketchup.

Future Agribusiness Challenges: Strategic Uncertainty, Innovation and Structural Change

The IFAMR is published by the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association.(IFAMA) www.ifama.orgStrategic uncertainty, innovation, structural change, Agribusiness, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty, ISSN #: 1559-2448,

EFFECTS OF FIRM-SPECIFIC FACTORS ON R&D EXPENDITURES OF AGRIBUSINESS COMPANIES

The objective of this paper is to determine how the firm's infrastructure, the financial characteristics of a company (net income, sales), and the organizational structure (number of acquisitions, age of establishment of the firm) affect R&D investments in the agricultural sector. We use data for companies under the SIC codes for agricultural chemicals, and crop planning and protection. The results based on analysis of 69 observations of 12 firms revealed that firm's financial and organizational infrastructure does affect its R&D expenditures. Older and larger firms tend to spend more on R&D. During the last 17 years the R&D expenditures with respect to the sales of the company have been reduced. Finally, contrary to the expectations, previous year's profit margins are negatively correlated with the R&D over the sales ratio of the following year.Manufactured Housing; R&D, agriculture, chemicals, crop planning, crop protection, agribusiness, expenditures

The Innovation Process: Practices in Food and Agribusiness Companies

Agribusiness,