A RANGELAND GRASSHOPPER INSURANCE PROGRAM

The incidence of benefits and costs from controlling rangeland grasshoppers on public grazing lands poses problems of economic efficiency and distributional equity. Public grasshopper control programs operate like public disaster assistance. However, grasshopper infestations are an insurable risk. This article proposes a rangeland grasshopper insurance program which reduces the economic inefficiencies and distributional inequities of the existing program.Risk and Uncertainty,

SUSTAINABILITY: OBSERVATIONS, EXPECTATIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Agricultural and Food Policy,

INCREASES IN COSTS AND RETURNS DUE TO INTENSIFYING RANGE FORAGE PRODUCTION SURVEYS: AN INFORMATION ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

The U.S. Congress and courts have directed federal natural resource agencies to use better information for management decisions than they have used in the past. It is also important for these agencies to improve the efficiency of resource use where possible. This information economics study estimates increased costs and revenues which can be directly imputed to improving the accuracy of range forage production surveys. It suggests that a high level of survey accuracy may often be justifiable.Crop Production/Industries, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

THE ECONOMIC THRESHOLD FOR GRASSHOPPER CONTROL ON PUBLIC RANGELANDS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is responsible for controlling grasshopper populations on public rangelands. Under current guidelines, control of grasshoppers on rangeland should occur if grasshopper densities are at least eight per square yard. This article evaluates the concept of an economic threshold relative to the value of forage saved from destruction during a grasshopper outbreak. It is shown that financial justification for treating grasshopper outbreaks depends upon grasshopper density, rangeland productivity, climate factors, livestock cost and return relationships, and the efficacy of treatment options.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Regional Impact of Retiring Whole Farms

Suppose the government adopted a program of returing marginal land on a whole farm basis. What would happen to the Corn Belt in 1965 if the major goal were to balance supply demand? Where would the nation stand in 1975

Agricultural Price Policies, Policy Goals, and Methods of Estimating Costs of Production

Agricultural economists commonly base their agricultural price pohcy recommendations on costs of production (although wtth reservations). Their reseivat10ns are centred on the problems of assigning values to the contributions of inputs: durable and those supplied by the farm operators' household. Some of the reseivations can be reduced if, when developing the production cost estimates, the focus is placed on the policy goal to be achieved The policy goal affects both the selection of the population for which the cost estimates are made and the items to be included in the cost estimates. Policies designed to provide incentives to producers must be targeted towards the costs of those producers supplymg the maJOr portions of output of the commodities m question. The costs of an often relatively small number of large producers thus become heavily weighted. However, policies to sustain the mcome of selected groups of farmers must be based on the costs of production expenenced by a large number of small farmers. Cost estimates should distinguish between financial costs and economic costs. Structural differences exist in the cost structure among farmers. In setting prices, major attention should be given to the annual financial costs of capital replacement. Pnce policies cannot be directed to meet a specifically targeted economic cos